History of Roly Toys – Part VI

By Miguel Stefanelli

Discovery of Scania-Vabis dump truck, Roly Toys Nr. 4, with light gray chassis.

Miniature Roly Toys have been with me since I was a boy, 12 years old. So, it’s been 54 years collecting these beautiful gems from my nation’s miniature industry. Therefore, I was very excited to discover a light gray Scania-Vabis nr. 4 chassis. Until now, as can be seen in Part I, the Scania nr. 4 was known for the different colors of the cab and the bucket, but the chassis always came in black, as show below.

So, when I found this gem in a friend’s collection, I immediately wanted to have the miniature in hand to make the analysis that I deemed necessary. I managed to make an exchange for another miniature with that friend, having then prepared the following “Audit Report” (Ed.’s note: After all, this is a fun hobby, so why not!):

Report on Authenticity Certification

Object:
Scania-Vabis L76, Roly Toys’ dump truck model nr. 4, 1/100 scale, red cab, yellow dump body, and light gray chassis.

Motivation:
Unprecedented occurrence of the chassis painting in light gray color (sui generis).

Procedure:
Miniature has undergone a process of investigation into the originality of the color of the chassis in reference, since current knowledge has previously identified a black color only, characterized by the cab and dump body of distinct colors.

Analysis carried out:

With the miniature in hand, the following findings were recorded (see photos below):

1. The rivet that secures the cab to the chassis is unblemished and is original, with perfect edges, containing no signs of tampering and/or traces of paint that could originate from overcoating.
2. The coupling pin of the dump with the chassis is original and also does not contain signs of violation and neither traces of paint, of possible repainting.
3. In places where there is damage to the paintwork of the chassis (peeled, chipped, “flea bites”), checked with a magnifying glass, there is no trace of possible undercoating of black paint, recognized as hitherto the traditional pattern of the chassis of this model.
4. At the upper junction of the chassis with the cab, no splash or dash of ink could be detected in such a short space between them.
5. Tyres and axles are intact, totally original in appearance, and also do not show any ink splashes.
6. Seen inside the cab, where possible, with artificial lighting, it predominates internally the light gray color of the chassis.
7. The colors of the cab (red) and the dump body (yellow) are also original.

Conclusion:
In light of the above evidence, I assert that the light gray paint of the Scania-Vabis L76 chassis, Roly Toys nr. 4, red cab and yellow dump, is original, factory-shipped, which characterizes yet another new color composition in this type of model, where, until then and until this date, at least for this collector and researcher, who subscribes to this report, is an unprecedented fact. Therefore, on the basis of the above mentioned evidence, I therefore present my thoughts on the recognition of this new variant of the original chassis paint, in light gray color, for the aforementioned Scania-Vabis dump truck, Roly Toys’ miniature nr. 4.