I did a bit of digging and it seems that these first appeared in their full crank guise shortly after the arrival of the G4 carburettor.
The earliest models had white handles and cream/white coloured plastic cowls with the zip start on top. From the appearance and the way Victa organised their styling for consistency I would put their introduction in the latter half of the 1970’s.
I hope one of the experts has some information.
