23 & 23a M.G. Magic racing cars.

Hi John and Walter, no rarities from me as I only collect the 'ordinary' post-war versions. A nice trio below which - however - do not belong to the trade box underneath, simply because they are all of a different age. The blue one is the oldest (ca. 1946-1948), black hubs, crimped axle ends and no strut inside the tail (which the other couple do have). The one on the left has silver hubs and crimped axles, so that one is next in sequence (ca. 1950-1952). The one in the middle is the very common silver finished with red hubs and rounded axle ends (23a/220, ca. 1952-1956). Kind regards, Jan

Hey Jan, Perfect, the models and the picture. Here are my 23a Racing Cars: The models from Liverpool are in the back row. From left: 23a 'Humbug' with two raised number circles and Tootsie-Toys rims/late 1934/early 1935 23a with 2 raised number circles, chromed smooth rims, rounded axles on one side/late 1934/early 1935 23a without raised number circles and black smooth rims/late 30ies 23a without raised number circles, black smooth rims but post war colour scheme/1946 23a with black ridged rims, in silver/1946 23a with black ridged rims, with centre strut, in blue/1946 23a with silver ridged rims, centre strut, in silver/1949 23a with red ridged rims, tail strut, rounded axles, in silver/1950 The models from Bobigny are in the front row: Both 23a with dual exhausts (23 and 23a), Zamac, Dunlop tyres/1936 Best regards Walter

Sorry, I forgot No. 5 in the back row: 23a with black ridged rims, in red/1946 Of course, the indicated years of production are my rough guess only, without any claim to be absolutely correct. Just about. Walter

Hi Walter, a great variety you have there! And I said before (it was on TMT I presume) that I like the pleasant, simple, straightforward way of keeping your models in place by applying pins, hidden behind the wheels. Without them every move of the drawer would cause a disastrous traffic jam ... The years of introduction or availability are very often tentative and the actual availability may differ by country (agent) and even shop. It is sometimes said that the no. 23 racers were discontinued between 1949 and 1952, but I presume the export from the UK to many countries just went on in that period, especially the ones with non-black, coloured hubs and crimped axles, but admittedly this counts not for all. Kind regards, Jan

The only one I have ! Richard Cheers

Richard, My guess it's an early Fifties issue, because of the rounded axles and the silver hubs. Nice piece. Regards Walter

Hello Walter, Some more pictures of the 23 models and boxes from my collection. Here two different trade boxes for six models 23. Never seen a box with 23a number, does this exist? John.

Box 23 with Liverpool pre war models. John.

The Paris factory had their own 23 trade boxes. Some models had the racing numbers stamped at the side. Models had Dunlop tyres, sometimes matching with the color of the flash on the model. Green No 6 is a lead model with green Dunlop tyres, the other No 6 is zamak. No 3 with red tyres. John.

Not many collectors buy German Magazines. If you are interested in a very nice article on the MG Rekordwagen from Walter, see Altes Spielzeug Nr. 2 2011. Some 23 Humbug models had coloured tyres to match the stripes. This model has nice red tyres. John.

John, Thank you for posting this rare model and the second type box which by the way does not match with the model. Blue, red and green tyres are known on English 23 and 23a but not only on the Humbug as on the picture above. Here are two tradeboxes with 23A but I have not seen one with the frame of black squares and 23A although there are three variations of this box with :

Another nice 23 Racing car Humbug. Despite it is fatigue, I admire the blue colour on this model. Hard to find in any condition. Tootsy hubs and crimped axles at one side. On this model original white tyres. Racing number 11 still visible. John.