Hell Jan,

As we have discussed this already in private message, I agree with you that these hubs are not original and repainted. Compare this with original pre war blue hubs and the difference is clear. Possible these hubs were initially plated.

Greetings John.

Jan——I have an original pre-war Caravan, that has blue hubs or wheels. I will examine those and also take some closeup photos for comparison and post a little later.
Best regards, Terry

Jan—-I just pulled several of my pre-war trucks and the Caravan, that all have blue wheels, and I must agree that the wheels are very likely repainted. All of mine have very smooth wheels, and the blue color is a somewhat darker shade. Your wheels look very rough and are a lighter shade, so perhaps they were nickel plated originally. My pre-war Mechanical Horse and Five Assorted Wagons all had nickel plated wheels, almost all traces of it has vanished by now....perhaps that is happened, and the owner wanted the wheels to look fresh again. But I am a little puzzled how that would be able to remove and replace those old white tires, which are often as hard as a rock, and would go to pieces if pried off......
Best regards, Terry

In those excellent closeup photos, one can actually see traces of the blue on the tires. I'm left wondering if this coloring was done using a fine-tipped permanent marker (as sold under the "Sharpie" brand here in the States).

Here is a closeup photo of a blue wheel, from one of my pre-war Mechanical Horse Railroad Trailers.......complete with fatigue cracks!

      Best regards,  Terry

Jan——Absolutely, and I would feel the same way....it was more of a minor distraction, on an otherwise extremely nice model, free of that pesky fatigue and with very nice decals intact. I think, purely from an investigative standpoint, it was still an interesting discussion, and keeps us on our toes..... but a great addition Jan!
Best regards,
Terry