I'm gonna take you down... to Lee Town

Continuing the HO scale vehicle theme, this whitemetal Lee Town GMC Astro kit was going cheap on ebay so I picked it up.  This is kit #432-3015   GMC Astro with tandem axle and 37' Drop Center Tandem Trailer.

As far as I can tell, Lee Town were an eighties manufacturer so this kit was probably a very contemporary model when it was issued. 

Lee Town are no longer in business but the majority of the range is now distributed by Alloy Forms and currently in-stock at Walthers.

I had expected this truck to be identical to the Lindberg/Revell version, but it turned out to be a slightly different version of the GMC cab.

The plastic trucks feature the more refined step area and lower edge of the cab, with steps built into a more aerodynamic fairing.  The Lee Town metal version is a more basic body style with a flat edge to the cab base and a more functional step arrangement.


Lee Town body style.

Lindberg body style.

It looks like the Lindberg kit depicts a late seventies/early eighties cab, but the highest specification of the GMC Astro, with the larger grille and the extra detailing.  The basic version of the truck would have had a smaller grille and the same flat base as the Lee Town kit.

The Lee Town kit seems to represent a later model year, but a lower specification, with my guess being a model year somewhere around 1984.