The smallest Standard on this site!

Phil Homer writes:

From my personal collection comes this very small model of the first ever Standard Car.

It is the 6Hp 4-seater of 1903, made by a little known Company called Charbens. It is made to about 1: 55 scale, that is slightly larger than the 1:75 scale used by Matchbox. The Company’s offices were in Mitford Rd, Holloway, London N19 with works in Andover Yard, Hornsey, N19.

The car was one of a series of Veteran Cars , and made from 1955 to 1966. Charbens themselves started in 1920 but ceased production in 1966 when plastic toys started to take over from hollow-cast metal models.

I have included an image of the box, which unfortunately, I don’t possess.

So that you can compare the accuracy, here is also a good image of the actual car, with Alexander Craig at the wheel.

Charbens models are not remembered today, so a good example can be bought off that famous internet website for not much money.

I have a second example of the model, also, but unfortunately the steering column is missing. It might be the smallest restoration project I have yet undertaken!