Chances are the name Dennis Franklin means little to most CCB readers. However if, like me, you grew up in the 1960s and had an interest in model cars and/or model trains, then this gentleman, who recently died at the age of 89, is likely to have had a profound effect on you.
You see, Dennis was a highly skilled injection moulder who, from the mid-1950s until 1960, was Technical Manager at Rosebud, a toy manufacturer based in Raunds, Northamptonshire. Initially Rosebud’s main product line was dolls. In 1959 however, it launched model railway construction kits under the Kitmaster brand. Dennis – only in his late 20s at the time – designed the entire 1959 Kitmaster range, including classics like the 0-4-0 Pug saddle tank, Schools Class 4-4-0 and Great…
