Mystery LGB boat

 

Mystery time. I bought this boat a couple of weeks ago. It's a rather nice HO scale vessel. 19cm long, 7cm wide and 11cm to the top of the mast. 

The surprise is inside the hatch. 

LGB? Lehmann Gross Bahn - the "Lehmann Big Train"? 

I'm familiar with their G scale railway products, but an HO scale boat? 

A little digging online tells me that they made some plastic boats in the 1970s - there's this on Etsy - but those look crude compared to this model. The is a tugboat that could be part of the same range though. It's a much better shape with a really nice hull. 

But, for all my searching, I can't find this model. 

Some of the boats I've found are powered by clockwork, but this one could be, but isn't. There's an obvious space on the hull for a rudder, and I think you could fit a motor inside. But I can't see there being that much space in here for a clockwork mechanism. One of those torpedo shaped battery motors perhaps? There's no hole at the back for a propeller for a start.

So far, I'm at a loss. Luckily, I have contacts with contacts at LGB, so I'm going to see if they can help. A letter to Model Boats magazine will be worth a go too. 

Whatever, this is a lovely model. I'd just like to know more about it, but then that is part of the charm!

Update: I found one! My model has had the attentions of a paint brush, but it's the same thing from the 1970s. The main mast on mine is bent, but I can fix that. There's aren't any fish under the hatch cover, but as this is cardboad, presumably the cat got them. A PlastiKard roof replaces the original with compass and horns. 

Here's another one - with torpedo motor too, I guessed right!

And another on French eBay - but this one has a motor inside. The mystery deepens...

Cracked it. Here is a 1981 LGB catologue complete with the boats.