OVAL WINDOW VOLKSWAGEN NO. 8
Vintage Volkswagen Models and Toys VW toy review is of an Oval Window Volkswagen toy that has been sold under various names over the years. This 1/70th scale (58mm in length) metal diecast toy was originally designed and manufactured by the Morris & Stone Limited Toy Company. Morris & Stone was located in north London, England during the mid 1950s and sold under the trade name of "MORESTONE." The MORESTONE series consisted of twenty different diecast miniature toy vehicles, including a VW Sedan (NO. 8) and VW Microbus (NO. 12). The MORESTONE series was to compete with the popular Matchbox Toy series during the mid 1950s and the MORESTONE VWs are often mistaken and called a "MATCHBOX" toy.
The diecast body with cutout windows representing the 1953 to 1957 era of the Oval Window Volkswagen was painted a metallic silver blue color. The body casting is very good and is one of the better castings of the MORESTONE series. The front hood, body seam lines and doors are well defined. The oval rear window, air louvers, and bumble bee wing rear deck lid are defined as well. There is a dab of orange paint for the headlights and red paint for the license plate light and taillights. A silver painted metal chassis with unpainted gray diecast wheels/tires on metal axles were riveted to the above-mentioned body. The chassis has casted the front and rear bumpers. This model is easily identified because of the chassis markings of "MADE IN ENGLAND-VOLKSWAGEN SEDAN NO. 8."
The VW NO. 8 was packaged in a small box, which was printed to look like an ESSO gasoline pump. The toys were sold through ESSO as a concession item at their gasoline filling stations in Europe. These toys were referred to as "The Esso Petrol Pump" series. It also appeared in another box with a different printing and was sold under the name "MODERN" or "MOBILE." In the early 1960s, Morris & Stone Ltd. were no longer producing the VW NO. 8. Another English Toy Company by the name of S. Guiterman & Co. Ltd. acquired many of the molds from Morris & Stone and reissued the VW NO. 8 under the name of "BUDGIE TOYS." The BUDGIE TOYS series toys came packaged in a blister pack. For the USA market, it was released under the name of "THRIFT TOYS" and packaged in a clear plastic bag stapled to a cardboard card. In all the above mentioned releases, the VW NO. 8 has always appeared with the same metallic silver blue color and the same chassis markings. The only variation was some models appeared with black or gray colored plastic wheels/tires instead of the diecast type mentioned previously. Just to note, the VW Microbus NO.12 was produced in three different colors (light brown, light blue or metallic blue) and was also packaged in the same manner as the VW NO. 8 sedan. The production of the VW NO. 8 and NO.12 was discontinued at the end of 1960 and these miniature Volkswagen toys have become collector’s items over the years.
