A Postwar Variation You Never Heard of Before… Until Now!
By Mike Stella
Were you like me ignoring Lionel postwar space and military items in favor of more glamorous items, like 6464’s or aluminum passenger sets?
I have long ago amended my collecting ways and pretty much have every space and military item Lionel produced.
I am amazed at prices paid for original boxes {I sold my #6407 [flat car with missile]“box only” for $950} or for hard to find parts {$299 for 5 wooden sticks/shells for a #347 [cannon firing range set]}. I have all of the original Pyro loads and sterling rocket, etc., but I am very happy to see the vast array of reproduction loads making it easy to display complete military trains, etc.
One recent addition to my collection is an ordinary #44 Mobile Missile Launcher but with a very unusual difference making a distinct variation that seems to have been missed by all those “experts” writing all those “guides”.
I discovered a black plastic bottom plate on my #44 that has always been gray on every previous one that I have ever seen. {EDITORS NOTE: I have included an image of my #44 with the gray bottom at the top of this article for comparison.} Don’t look for it in any guide until the author gets one for himself. Until then, take an extra look while attending your favorite toy train meet and you might make a great find.
