Food Trucks vs. Food Trucks! (AKA Roach Coach’s...). I'm hungry just looking at them!

Matchbox vs. Matchbox vs. Tomica vs. Tomica vs. Corgi Jr. vs. Majorette...

1950s vs. 1980s vs. 1990s vs. 2010s...

Ice cream truck vs. Kebab van vs. noodle truck vs. Roach Coach...

Classic American vs. International...

This has the makings for one of the more fun comparisons I’ve ever done, comparing vastly different vehicles from different companies and across different eras, but whose basic purpose was the same;  To bring the food to the people, rather than making the people go to the food!

And the cool thing is that every entry into this compare is an interesting entry.  There’s not a loser in the bunch!

First up, the mint green Majorette ice cream truck on a Fourgon chassis.  It’s in mint condition with beautiful paint, a nice heft courtesy of the full metal casting, an actual suspension, an open and highly detailed ice cream truck interior, a trailer hook, and even a retractable red awning.  Definitely a contender!

Next up, the first of 2 Matchbox entries, and easily the oldest truck in this test, the blue regular wheel Lesney ice cream truck on a Commer chassis.  This particular example is not only the oldest casting, but it’s also the casting that’s been in my collection longest, since before I was born.... It was actually in the collection of my Dad and Uncle Warren, and “mysteriously” migrated into MY collection at some point in my childhood (funny how those things happen!).  Although it’s got a crack in the plastic roof window, it’s in remarkably good condition given it’s age, especially in comparison to other castings of my childhood collection!

As a contender, it wins originality points, and the ice-cream man and detail in the back  are brightly visible due to the roof-top moonroof.  The metal detail on the truck is nice, and it obviously wins some personal memory points from me.  On the other hand, it is a little under-scale relative to the other trucks, and as a pre-superfast Lesney it has zero suspension travel.

Next up is the newer Matchbox entry, a casting 50 years newer than the Lesney, also in blue, a traditional "roach coach" taking pre-made sandwiches to work sites.  This one is a non-licensed casting, meaning that it is a generic "truck" vs. a Ford or an International.  But even so, it looks pretty good.  It has no opening parts or windows on the sides, but very surprisingly again has a roof skylight offering a view into the nicely detailed food truck interior.   It has tough looking wheels - probably the best wheels of any of the trucks.  Oddly, the base is metal but the body is all plastic.  While many of the above points would typically be show-stoppers, the overall effect is surprisingly powerful.  This is a strong contender!

Next up, the red and yellow kebab truck by Tomica on a Suzuki Carry chassis...  This one is just plain funny, mostly because of the flip-open kebab booth with an actual rotating kebab (but unfortunately not geared by the wheels - ala Matchbox rolamatics) and a painted-in somewhat angry-looking kebab man!

The chassis itself is a little generic, a typical Tomica small truck chassis casting, in this case, of a Suzuki Carry.  Typical of modern era Tomica castings, it has a wonderful soft suspension feel.  (Interestingly, I have another roach-coach style Tomica food truck again on a Suzuki Carry chassis - but I didn't enter it since I haven't yet attached (and now can't find!) the 50+ food label stickers that came with it.  Without the stickers, its hard to know that it's a Roach Coach, so I nixed it from this comparison test...). 

After the Kebab truck comes the other Tomica entry, an older casting of a noodle truck, though ALSO on an (older generation) Suzuki carry chassis.  This one looks vintage but is still modern enough to be made in China vs. Japan (it also has a plastic base).  The detail on the back of this truck is very pronounced, contributing to a high quality feel of the overall casting.  Again, its got the Tomica magical silky-soft suspension...

The final casting in this review is the Corgi Junior, a "mini-shop" truck set-up in a Mercedes van.  This one is one of the more basic of the castings, with the detail in the mini-shop simply printed/painted on the walls of the van rather than cast into the plastic or metal.  However the van itself is reasonable, with clear windows showing the interior of the driving cabin, and a reasonably soft suspension on standard issue Corgi wheels.

So now that I've introduced the players...   ...which one is the best food truck?

Frankly, they all are likable castings, with things to recommend each of them.  The variety is off-the-charts, with 50 plus years between the oldest and newest, and an incredible variety in types of food trucks and how the food preparation detail is shown.

Several of them have some poorer points...  I don't like the fact that the newer Matchbox is a non-licensed generic truck, but it still looks cool.  The Corgi "mini shop" is probably not the winner, with noticeably less detail than other contenders, but I still like the casting a lot so I refuse to let it be in last place.  The Lesney ice cream truck lacks suspension and scale.  The Majorette Fourgon looks kind of campy - while the mint green paint is sharp - its just not a color I would have chosen.  The Tomica kebab truck has an overly large and unrealistic looking plastic hinge on the roof, and while the interior is funny - apart from the kebab there is no other actual detail.  And as for the noodle truck?

There is nothing wrong with the noodle truck.  Period.  The detail is exceptional.  The suspension is soft.  The cab and chassis look vintage, even if they arguably aren't.  And maybe the lack of any major flaws mean that its the winner...!  1st place, Tomica.

For second place, I have to choose the Majorette ice cream truck.  The heft and size is wonderful, with extra points for the movable canopy, the detailed interior and the reasonably-soft suspension.

And I'll declare the final 4 contenders to be in a tie for 3rd place, all vastly different from one another, but all with positive attributes.  As I said at the beginning, there is not a loser in the bunch!

I hope you enjoyed reading about these food trucks as much as I enjoyed writing about them!

I'm feeling a little bit hungry now...  Where's a kebab truck when you need one?