Another yellow 406S Land Rover

It's missing some paint and the hook is a little out of shape but this is a rare Land Rover. It is 406S, indistinguishable from 438 apart from the colour, and was issued when Corgi updated their Land Rover models in 1962.

The 1963 Corgi Catalogue has no less than six Land Rovers. Printed in 1962, it shows the Chipperfields model from Gift Set 23 and 19 but the green 438, blue 416S, navy 351S and fawn Gift Set 2S model with Pony Trailer are all shown as available later. So it would appear that 406S appeared in early 1962 but must have been withdrawn before the catalogue was printed, to be renumbered 438 and issued in a more rural green.

The 438-based issues all had canopies too whereas I believe that, like the 406 before, the standard 406S model did not have a canopy. The first release of the Series 2 Land Rover was in April 1962 for Chipperfields. My guess is that the 406S would have been issued at around this time too. I have seen a 406S box but the chances of now finding one of them must be extremely slim!

With so few of these around it is extremely difficult to put a price on them. The numbers must be very small and I would think they must have been rather fewer than the 25,000 351S issued. The RAF version is hard enough to find as it is!

With two similar models now, I am happy to sell one so get in touch and make an offer if you would like one. The pictures each link to my catalogue site where you'll find more information and lots more photos.

406S

These are the photos of my #406S Land Rover that has just come in. Even though it is missing some paint it is something definitely a little special and won't be up for sale for a while.

£3.30 for a model so scarce I didn't know it existed

I didn't even know there was a #406S! Quite how I missed that I don't know but I am not the only one as it isn't featured in the main sources and books I have been using, including The Great Book of Corgi that many have taken as some sort of bible. Having said that, I have noticed errors in colour varieties so I know it isn't reliable.

I did find a reference to this Land Rover where an immaculate one with a 406S printed box had sold for £1800 and, weirdly, Toymart list it at a ridiculously low £105 but there's no illustration and my guess is that no-one has been there to update it.

Rather like the Pop Art Mini that is fetching crazy prices, I concluded that I wouldn't stand much chance of getting one of these. Then one popped up on Ebay and no-one seemed to be bidding. I can't believe my luck but I have got it for less than the postage will cost me!

I don't normally share purchase prices but I shall not be selling this for ages by which time I should imagine this post will either be well buried or it won't matter a great deal as someone will be keen to buy and not worry about my profit margin.

I can only guess that, despite the 'scarce yellow' headline, people have confused this with the common pale brown #438 or, perhaps, thought that the S was a mistake and it was a yellow 406 and not appreciating that that would have had a black roof,

There is another yellow type 2 Land Rover - 416S produced for the Belgian market with TS logos. That is not the same shade, though, being much more brown-orange shade of yellow.

This is really a most intriguing model as it appears to be the second type of Land Rover which would be #438 for all other issues. It had suspension and the red interior that are the same as would be used in others. It is a jolly colour and you might have thought it would have sold well had it remained in production but that was not to be and for reasons known only to a few people at Corgi 406S quietly ceased and 438 was on the market from December 1962. It was late 1962 when Corgi came out with the suspension versions of other Land Rovers - the 416S RAC and 351S RAF Weapons Carrier as well as 417S, itself an odd thing that is pretty much indistinguishable from 477 other than a different detachable cover. 406S would have made sense if it had been 406 with seats and suspension but, as with the others, the cast was upgraded too so this was a totally redundant model almost as soon as it appeared and hence its scarcity.

The one I've bought certainly doesn't look worth much more than a few quid with its battered paintwork but it isn't that bad and, until I strike lucky again one day, it'll take one of the star places in my collection.

I will add photos of the actual model when it arrives.