Numbers and boxes

 A colleague asked me a question yesterday that I didn't know the answer to. "Why do some models have a white number in a black oval and others have a white number in a red oval?" he wondered. So I thought I'd have a look at the different boxes used from 1959. (Prior to that models were in all-blue boxes with white numbers on a black oval with white numbers on a red oval indicating the M models only).

Here's what I found.

It looks as though things changed in early 1965. The Ferrari was the first to have the red oval. The previous issues that year had been the military models 354-9 and the most recent fairly normal issue had been the 309 Aston Martin, all with black ovals.

Following the Ferrari, there are a few that have later issue dates but black ovals, namely 62 Farm Trailer, 242 Fiat, 471 Joe's Diner and 475 Citroën but that appears to be all (I think, need to check).

That would, therefore, appear to indicate that the company decided to make the change in late 1964 but some boxes were already printed which accounts for the black ovals post-February 1965.

I had initially assumed that the red was an indication of a sports model or some particular category but, clearly, that's not the case at all. If anyone knows of another explanation then do let me know.

The earliest window boxes in blue and yellow seem to all have red numbers in a white rectangle from 1968 until May 1970 when it becomes a black number in a white rectangle on Whizzwheels yellow and red boxes.

Several models can, therefore, be found with either.

This appears to be only the Lamborghini, Ferrari and Pontiac, however, for which I assume the box was printed when it was expected to have Golden Jacks as we know there are boxes for these models which have had to have stickers with revised text.

Whizzwheels models from February 1970's Ford Capri onwards seem to come only in the red and yellow window box (or later, cheaper boxes for those that remained in stock through to the change around the end of 1972.

The Datsun 240Z looks like being the last in the red and yellow box, with most examples now, from 1983, in the cheap dark blue-black box with the red and orange band.

After this there seem to be many colour changes in the band whilst the box stays fairly similar with a yellow number on a dark blue-black background.

The odd 700s series in February 1974 are the first and maybe only models to get a blue, orange and yellow band.

A couple of months later, the Massey Ferguson Tractor has a green, orange and yellow band in May 1974. Or is that just the effect of sunlight or fading?

By mid-1975 models are packed in a pink and yellow band box for a while. And long-running models like the Rolls Royce, which you could have first found in a red and yellow Whizzwheels-style window box with a black number in 1970, can be found in 1977 with a pink and yellow band too.

Finally, in the 1:43 (approx.) series, the VW1200 gets a 'rainbow' band with red, orange and yellow - but not the same as the 1973 type!