The Greatest Show on Earth

Atlas Editions 'Greatest Show on Earth' series review

 

I have previously written about Atlas Editions, so you should be familiar with their business model of offering subscriptions to collections of items. One such collection, announced in 2014, was 'The Greatest Show on Earth', a range of fairground and circus models in 1/76 scale, and as a collector of fairground vehicles in this scale I naturally subscribed to this series. Although I have not received any confirmation that the collection is complete and no further models will be sent, it has been over six months since anyone received a new model and I have exactly thirty so it seems as if it has indeed come to an end and thus I can do a review of the entire collection.



This series is a very mixed bunch, with some excellent models but also some extremely poor ones, and had the potential to be so much better than it turned out. They were made either by Oxford Diecast or using old Corgi tooling, although I understand that Corgi didn't actually produce these models but leased this otherwise dormant tooling to Atlas, who had them produced elsewhere in China. Initially there was a fairly even mix of Oxford and Corgi models (the latter using tooling from both the Trackside and Original Omnibus Company ranges), but in late 2015 Oxford appear to have parted company with Atlas and model number 20 was the last one they made, the final ten being exclusively Corgi. Atlas claim these models are exclusive to them and are not available elsewhere, and that is true of all the Corgi castings and some of the Oxfords, but others are identical to those available in Oxford's own range and in some cases Oxford actually released their version for general sale before Atlas's.

The Oxford models are definitely the better ones, as the Trackside castings are quite old and in some cases rather crude (the AEC and most of the Scammells lack glazing), and Oxford have a much better range of fairground-specific vehicles so it is a shame they stopped producing for Atlas and a number of interesting proposed Oxford models were never released. While it is good to see the Trackside tooling getting some more use as Corgi have given up on this range, detail and authenticity of many of these models is somewhat lacking. There is a bit of duplication, most notably four Guy pantechnicons, and some missed opportunities: the Trackside range included an ERF LV and a Scammell Handyman, both types used in large numbers by showmen but not featured in this collection at all.

After a promising start, circus enthusiasts were left disappointed by this collection as only seven circus-liveried models were included and from number 19 onwards all were fairground vehicles. There is a definite West Country bias among these, especially in the later stages, which I suspect is because Atlas were using the collection of a well-known West Country-based photographer as their principal source of reference. With one exception, all are classic vehicles from the 1970s and before, and apart from one they are all models of British-built vehicles. Model number 1 was offered as a loss-leader for just £2.99 or free of charge if you bought number 2, also at a reduced price, but from then onwards they were a standard price of £18.98, so some are much better value for money than others. You can't pick and choose and have to subscribe to the whole collection and receive every model in whatever order Atlas decide to send them.

What follows are my opinions of each model in the collection. Note that I have used my own more accurate descriptions as Atlas's are often vague and sometimes plain wrong.

1. Foden S21 and trailer - Carters Steam Fair (Trackside)

The introductory £2.99 model and quite attractive for the low price but basically fictional. Carters did have an S21 but it was a box-bodied six-wheeler used with their Jets ride and looked quite unlike this four-wheeler. Another version of this model was produced a little earlier as a tester for the series, which didn't go ahead at that time, and this can be identified by the box on the trailer being a solid casting and much heavier.

2. Burrell steam locomotive - Winston Churchill (Oxford)

The second cheap model, this time based on an Oxford casting. A lot of fine details on this model and it's definitely the best of the steamers in the series but these details unfortunately make it rather fragile and unsuited to Atlas's poor packaging: my first arrived with crushing damage that had bent the canopy supports and had to be replaced. 'Winston Churchill' is the name of the engine rather than its owner, and it is lettered for the manufacturer, Charles Burrell & Sons.

3. AEC Mammoth Major and trailer - Harris Bros (Trackside)

The first full-priced model and frankly a bit disappointing. It uses one of the older Trackside castings that lacks cab glazing and the plastic lump on the trailer is unconvincing: it is described simply as a non-specific 'load' and doesn't look like any fairground ride I've ever seen. This appears to be inspired by Harris's Matador crane lorry that has been authentically modelled by Oxford.

4. Bedford OX booking office - Billy Smart's Circus (Oxford)

This model was the first circus lorry in the series and was actually released by Oxford Diecast several weeks before Atlas despatched their 'exclusive' version. It replaced the one shown on the initial leaflet, which bizarrely used a Trackside AEC tractor unit coupled to an Oxford living trailer, and the booking office trailer appears to have been made specifically for this model and hasn't been used on anything else.

5. Burrell steam locomotive and trailer - Emerson & Hazard (Trackside)

Another Burrell, but this one uses the cruder Trackside casting and the standard low-loader trailer, and is finished in a rather lurid green. This was the only time I received a model out of sequence, having gone straight from the Smart's Bedford to the Scammell Contractor and then received this one a little later presumably due to stock issues, but it isn't one of the better models in the series.

6. Scammell Contractor - Austen Brothers Circus (Trackside)

Although other Scammells are erroneously described as Contractors, this massive beast genuinely is one. VLH 434G is a quite a famous lorry and served Austen Brothers for many years. This was the only one of its type to operate with a circus, but the real vehicle did wear a number of different colour schemes during its long career and Corgi had previously modelled it in blue, white and red.

7. Scammell Pioneer and trailer - T. Whitelegg & Sons (Oxford)

The first Oxford Scammell in the series and a much better model than the Trackside versions, most of which date back to the 1990s and don't even have glazing. The livery is authentic and well detailed but like many of Oxford's Pioneers it looks odd thanks to the strange omission of the headlights. The lorry and trailer have since been released as separate models in the normal Oxford range.

8. Scammell 20LA - Pat Collins (Trackside)

This could so easily have been an authentic model as it is based on Anthony Harris's restored Scammell EYY 597, but the real thing is a ballast tractor and for some reason Atlas chose to depict it as an artic with a dodgem trailer. It has a real identity crisis, being described on the plinth as a Contractor and despatched with the certificates for the then-unreleased Maudslay horsebox.

9. Bedford QLD and trailer - Bertram Mills Circus (Oxford)

Based on new Oxford castings that appeared here before the standard range, this looks authentic but Bertram Mills expert Roy Simmonds says there are a number of errors. The livery is apparently wrong as the cab should be red, and the trailer is out of gauge for the British railway network; this circus was unique in travelling mostly by train and had only a small fleet of road vehicles to move the loads from the station to the ground.

10. Maudslay Harrington horsebox - West of England Boxing Academy (Trackside)

This model was anticipated by its certificates being sent with the Pat Collins Scammell, so to set things right I was expecting the Pat Collins certificate with the horsebox, but that didn't happen and instead it came with a duplicate of the correct certificate. It was the first of three models in boxing liveries and the last of those illustrated on the leaflet sent with the Carters Foden, and the standard Trackside casting is uniquely enhanced by the addition of a plastic moulding representing the extra equipment carried on the roof.

11. Diamond T 980 and trailer - Charles Thurston (Oxford) 

The first livery on the new Diamond T casting, this former US Army tank transporter is the only overseas-built vehicle in the collection. It is another where Oxford's general release predated the 'exclusive' Atlas model, although Oxford sell the lorry and trailer separately where Atlas combined them. The certificates for this model appear never to have been released as everyone I know received the missing Pat Collins Scammell certificate with it.

12. Scammell 20LA - Carters Steam Fair (Trackside)

Another fictional Carters model, again using the Trackside Scammell artic but this time coupled to the even older short box trailer that originated in the Days Gone range. Not only is it again wrongly described as a Contractor but the certificate gives a detailed but sadly irrelevant history of the Contractor. Carters do have a Scammell of this type with fleet number 5, but it is a ballast tractor registered GXV 372.

13. Ford Cargo - John Lawson's Circus (Oxford)

The only modern-image model in the series and a favourite for personal reasons. This circus visited my home town a few years ago and I have seen this very vehicle in the flesh. Generally a very good model but comparing it with my photos of the real one allows some nitpicking: the black trim on the front is wrong, the numberplate is incorrectly positioned and there is a red star missing from the cab doors.

14. AEC Regent bus - N. Smith (OOC)

This was a surprise, not previously announced and the first use of tooling that wasn't from the Oxford or Trackside ranges. It is based on the Weymann-bodied Regent, one of the early models in the Original Omnibus Company series, but has the smaller wheels usually seen on Trackside models, and I assume is authentic as a number of showmen used old buses converted to living accommodation.

15. Bedford Green Goddess fire engine - Robert Brothers Circus (Oxford)

In the days before flame-retardant big tops and other safety measures, many large circuses had their own fire appliance and Robert Brothers did indeed own a Green Goddess, although it was actually the older 4x2 S-type version rather than the 4x4 RL represented by both the Oxford and Trackside models, either of which could have been chosen here. This was by no means exclusive to Atlas, being a reissue of a model released by Oxford several months previously.

 

16. Burrell road roller - F. Sharp & Sons (Trackside)

The definite low point of the series and it's hard to know where to start with what's wrong with it. F. Sharp & Sons are not showmen but steam engine preservationists, and a roller is a piece of road construction equipment that has no place on a fair or circus so it just doesn't belong here. On top of all that, the Trackside model isn't even a good attempt at a roller: crudely adapted from a traction engine, it retains the raised bands on the rear wheels that would put grooves in the freshly-rolled tarmac.

17. AEC Matador - Sir Robert Fossett's Circus (Oxford)

Much better after the utter disappointment of the roller, an authentic model of a proper circus vehicle. This is another favourite as Fossetts' winter quarters were not far from my dad's childhood home in Northampton, and the timber tractor body is so far unique to this model and hasn't even been announced in Oxford's own range.

18. Scammell 20LA - Billy Smart's Circus (Trackside)

Strangely the colours on this second Smart's model are completely different from those on the earlier Oxford-made booking office, the grey being much darker and the green lighter, and it turned out to be the last circus model in the series, much to the disappointment of circus enthusiasts. The tent trailer is a solid resin casting and this is another Scammell with an identity crisis, this time being described as a Handyman.

19. Scammell R6 - J. Rowland & Sons (Trackside)

The oldest tooling used in this collection, this dates back to 1991 when it was introduced to the Lledo 'Days Gone' range and is now rather crude, further spoilt in this version by a huge metal post cast into the base to attach it to the plinth, which prevents the wheels from touching the ground. Considering it was designed to originally retail at around £5 in Lledo's budget range, it was poor value for money at Atlas's price of almost £20 compared with many of the previous models in the series, but not as bad as the roller.

20. Scammell Highwayman and trailer - R. Edwards & Sons (Oxford)

By contrast this is one of the best but sadly also the last Oxford model in the collection. It hasn't appeared in Oxford's own range and is a well-detailed and authentic replica, although the real lorry actually had quad headlamps. Things went downhill from here with no more circus liveries and a reliance exclusively on the inferior Corgi tooling that didn't include any fairground-specific models, and the ending of the relationship with Oxford meant some interesting proposed models never made it to production.

21. Austin Noddy Van - Colin Shaw (Trackside)

The collection was getting a bit Scammell-heavy by this time so this Austin was a welcome change, and it is a much better and more authentic model than the older castings. Like the Scammell R6, this and the later A&R version are both spoilt by large pillars attaching the model to the plinth, but fortunately in this case these are plastic and easily removed.

22. Guy pantechnicon - L. Appleton (Trackside)

This casting made its first of four appearances at this point, liveried for Appletons' Horror of Frankenstein freak show from Kings Lynn and a change from the West Country bias that was setting in. Guy pantechnicons were popular on the fairs but I can't comment on its authenticity as Atlas have used this model to represent some vehicles that are nothing like the Guy in real life.

23. Bristol J-type bus - A.J. Hurrell (OOC)

It was good to see the old Bristol single-deck tooling, last used by Corgi way back in 1999, make a reappearance, although there is something odd with the way the radiator and headlights are fitted compared with the OOC versions. The certificate gives a detailed history of the Bristol L-type bus, but although generally similar this vehicle is actually a rebodied pre-war J-type.

24. Leyland Octopus - N. Smith (Trackside)

With so many showmen in the UK, it shouldn't have been necessary to repeat the same livery but this is another N. Smith vehicle from the same owner as the AEC bus and in the same colours, so they do at least make a nice pair. The Leyland Octopus was popular on the fairs but the load on this one doesn't seem very convincing: it is a pile of unpainted wooden planks that make it look more like a timber haulier's lorry.

25. Burrell steam locomotive - T. Whitelegg & Sons (Trackside)

More recycling of old themes, a fourth Burrell steam engine and a second vehicle in T. Whitelegg's livery. Again it is based on the Trackside casting, which having less in the way of separate parts at least makes it a bit tougher and more suited to Atlas's flimsy packaging. This one doesn't have the benefit of a trailer yet was the same price as the trailer-equipped Emerson & Hazard version, so it isn't the best for quality or value for money.

26. Guy pantechnicon - Mickey Kiely (Trackside)

Just a few months after the Appleton version, the Guy pantechnicon appeared again. This time it is in the distinctive lilac and mauve of Mickey Kiely, a well-known promoter of boxing and wrestling on the fairs; the livery is attractive but the real vehicle was apparently an eight-wheel AEC so representing it with this Guy that doesn't even have the same number of wheels is stretching modellers' licence a bit too far.

27. Guy pantechnicon - A.C. Whitelegg (Trackside)

It had been suggested at the time that this may be the last model in the series, but that turned out not to be the case. A second consecutive use of the same casting is disappointing and suggests Atlas were running out of ideas. Once again the livery was in real life carried by an eight-wheeler, this time a Leyland that looked just as unlike this Guy as Mickey Kiely's AEC, and it is the third model of a vehicle owned by the Whitelegg family.

28. Austin Noddy Van - Anderton & Rowland's (Trackside)

One of the best of the Trackside models. This Noddy Van served A&R for many years and wore several different liveries: it had already appeared many years ago in the Trackside range in the more familiar maroon, but Atlas chose to depict it in the blue adopted for a short period in the late 1970s, and it makes a nice companion for Oxford's blue A&R Showtrac.

29. Guy pantechnicon - Sam McKeowen & Sons (Trackside)

The fourth and final use of the Guy casting, meaning over 10% of the series are based on the same vehicle and frankly I think it was overused. Again it is in the livery of a West Country showman who travelled a boxing and wrestling booth, so there is not much to say about this one except that quality had started to slip by this time: the rods that hold the model together were not attached to the roof and it was loose in the box, but I was able to repair it.

30. Bristol J-type bus - Hardimann's Amusements (OOC)

The final model in the series is another Bristol J masquerading as an L. It is based on 'Alice', now preserved in Shropshire, but Atlas have got the registration wrong: the model is BHT 432 when it should be BHW 432, an inexcusable error given that the real vehicle still exists and can often be seen in public. Mine has a quality problem and seems to have been assembled on the skew as the chassis is level but the body has a pronounced lean to one side.

The original leaflet advertising some forthcoming models. Only one of these actually made it into production though and the content of the collection changed significantly.

Chipperfields Bedford TK camel truck - not produced
Austen Brothers Scammell Contractor - produced as model number 6
Billy Smart's AEC booking office - replaced by Bedford OX as model number 4
Robert Brothers Bedford TK and trailer - not produced
Burrell steam locomotive - not produced in this form
Harris Bros Scammell Contractor - not produced
Chipperfields Bedford TK cage truck and trailer (bottom left corner) - not produced


This later version of the leaflet came with the Foden model and shows (from top) models 4, 6, 10 and 3. The Burrell number 2 featured on the front as the next model in the collection.

General opinion of this collection is sadly disappointing. It had great potential and got off to a fairly good start, although quality was variable even in the early days, but soon went downhill and didn't live up to expectations, and for this reason many customers chose to cancel their subscriptions long before the series was complete. The loss of the Oxford models seems to have been a severe blow and Atlas appeared to run out of ideas and lose interest, recycling the same few themes several times in the latter part of the collection. There was an over-reliance on a small selection of crude, ageing and inauthentic Corgi tooling that wasn't really worth the money being asked, and many opportunities to produce better models were missed. What a shame as things could easily have turned out so much better with a bit more effort on Atlas's part, but despite a few highlights The Greatest Show on Earth unfortunately ranks as one of their poorer collections and is nowhere near as great as its name might suggest.