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--14c and 401Coventry Climax Fork Lift Truck (1949-64)

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--14c and 401Coventry Climax Fork Lift Truck (1949-64)

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ORIGINAL MECCANO DINKY TOYS FACTORY BOX ART 175 HILLMAN MINX SALOON + DRAWING

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--29c and 290 Double Decker Bus (1938-63)

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--29c and 290 Double Decker Bus (1938-63)

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New arrivals (cont...)

janwerner's picture
janwerner
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Apart from the nice models: wonderful and unusual display case you have! Kind regards, Jan 

johnnyangel's picture
johnnyangel
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Still some new arrivals to squeeze in ...

 

dinkyfan's picture
dinkyfan
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Nice adds Jonathan! I rather like the Daimler Ambulance in white, instead of the older cream color. I would think white would be a more realistic color. I couldn’t tell from the photo...does that still have the smooth tires, or are they the later treaded type?
Best regards, Terry

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johnnyangel
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Terry -- this sample has smooth tires.

I have collected every Dinky ambulance (though I do not have a prewar one) but I belatedly realized that I didn't have the Daimler, so that had to be rectified.

To be honest I never thought this Dinky to be one of their best efforts. If they weren't going to open up the rear windows because of concerns about die wear, they should have at least painted the windows in black or silver. Also the red cross is inaccurate and the rear window spacing is wrong.

 

johnnyangel's picture
johnnyangel
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Well, the day had to come -- I think this will be my last Dinky acquisition, at least until I give up on the idea of displaying almost every model I have.

(I might be able to squeeze one small bus into the relevant area, so we'll see what turns up.)

It came from a nice gentleman who bought the model with "paper route money" in 1958, and had gotten a discount from the toy shop because of one chip on the hood (not shown in the picture)

 

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janwerner
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Your latest additions are too beautiful to be squeezed Jonathanwink. All of them look 'as new', untouched. The Snow Plough especially is fine, with the scarcer silver blade and the attractive later box. The Daimler model has its shortcomings indeed, but, as an iconic Dinky Toy, we all went to believe that this is how a real ambulance should look like!

An addition to my library below. Britain's Toy Car Wars: Dinky vs Corgi vs Matchbox by Giles Chapman. Stroud : The History Press, 2016. Bought in a bookshop in Liverpool and plenty of copies still in stock. Also plenty available on the internet.

Besides the illustrations a lot of text, which I did not have the opportunity for to read yet. Comment on the internet:

"Diecast-metal Dinky Toys arrived in 1934. In 1953, Lesney launched the Matchbox series. Mettoy brought its Corgi range in 1956, with working suspension, seats, steering wheels, and opening doors and hoods. The brand hit the jackpot with its James Bond movie tie-in: a 1:43 scale Aston Martin DB5 with working versions of the on-screen gadgets, including ejector seat. Dinky hit back with models based on Gerry Anderson TV shows. From the U.S. (but made cheaply in Hong Kong), Mattel’s Hot Wheels arrived in 1968. The British establishment was left reeling. Throughout the 1970s, the nation’s three toy car heroes battled on, trying to alter their offerings so that they offered as much "play value" as possible." Any comment by others?

With the addition of two tiny dublo figures sets, 1001 Station Staff and 1003 Passengers, I have definitely completed the figures sets in my collecting era. Excellent for use with Hornby Dublo trains but hard to adopt for Dinky Toys layouts. Only the Dinky Toys buses and coaches are modelled in the OO or 1/76 scale. All other Dinky road vehicles are too large for them in comparison. Kind regards, Jan 

johnnyangel's picture
johnnyangel
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Thanks for your nice comments, Jan. Below are several shots of the cramped conditions my Dinky Toys must endure. (When I acquired a second ex-shop display earlier this year, it was supposed to allow better spacing, but being essentially incorrigible, I took the opportunity to expand the collection instead.)

There is a non-Dinky Miata in one picture, which may be subject to eventual banishment -- but it is a model of a full-size car I own, right down to the proper color. Oh, and one can't tell from the photo, but the Snow Plough with the silver blade also has a lighter blue roof beacon than the other version, whose beacon is more of a dark purple.

Meanwhile you raise several thoughts. The "Toy Wars" book, which I also have, does succinctly state the impact of Hot Wheels (as well as why I have always disliked Mattel, and decry the fact that they own the Matchbox and Dinky trademarks now). Their unrealistic wheels, colors, and prototypes had a devastating effect on competitors, and while one could argue that these are what children wanted, people want what they are made to want, and Hot Wheels were -- in the U.S., at least -- advertised on television. No rivals could match Mattel's promotional efforts.

Secondly, as the author notes, Mattel was the first to move to cheap overseas manufacture in a major way.

Regarding the 1001 and 1003 sets, does anyone know whether the 051- and 053-labeled versions came first, or second? I'm guessing second, since the later plastic OO-scale figures (some seen in my photo) have 05x numbering.

 

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janwerner
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The parking police has a tough job to do, as I am aware of, seeing your photos.

1001 precedes 051 and 1003 precedes 053, both renumbered in 1954. Kind regards, Jan 

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johnnyangel
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Jan, I did ring the police, but they complained they could not help as they cannot get out of their car park ...

 

johnnyangel's picture
johnnyangel
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This bus arrived today. The stickers supplied with it by Binns Road were for the Single-Decker Bus, and certainly not appropriate here.

 

 

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Richard
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I friend.

I got also a bus this morning with two Bedford van from John Gay production.

Johnathan, beautiful police squadron but tell us more about the red Jaguar : is it a Dinky ?

Kind regards

Richard

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johnnyangel
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Richard -- I've never seen those two particular John Gay models, though as we know, he created a practically endless number of 410 vans, some in bespoke boxes! Meanwhile the Routemaster Bus models are a continuing source of confusion to me, specifically in trying to correlate all the different variations with the boxes they came in. 

Your Tussaud's bus is just like one I have in that it has the diecast wheels and still retains the more detailed casting showing where windows opened, and yet you have the last-type box. My silver bus has the last-type casting with the horrible Speedwheels, and yet it came with an earilier box. I've seen enough anomalies like this to believe that it was Binns Road itself that mixed up the boxes, rather than it happening after the fact, but I guess we'll never know.

The red Jaguar in my police compound is the Nicky version, made in India from Dinky tooling. Behind it one can see another of those anomalies I love, a Pilen Ford Fiesta in police livery. It fits in here because the same Fiesta model was sold in civillian guise as a Dinky Toy.

Chris1
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A couple of recent arrivals. 

Firstly the Vickers Viscount Airliner 706. This is the English version of the Air France plane with registration no. F-BGNL. It was the first version and only produced for one year from 1956 to 1957. It differs from the French version in not having landing gear doors and other minor details.

Secondly the French Dinky Supertoys Super G Constellation no. 60C with Air France livery and the registration no.F-BHBX. This was made between 1956 to 1963. There were, according to Jacques Dujardins CD, Catalogue of Dinky Toys, two versions, one painted grey and one painted silver. Mine appears to be the grey version.

Both planes are in extremely good condition with good boxes.

Chris.

Richard's picture
Richard
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DTCA MemberFrance

yesyes

Chris. I like specially the super G.

Richard

janwerner's picture
janwerner
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Good to see that on your example of the British no. 706 the annoying deficiency of the 'blind' cockpit has been tackled! A very nice Constellation too. I never understood why its roof wasn't finished in white, as in reality. Kind regards, Jan 

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janwerner
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Three variant additions to models already present this week. I have been looking out for a nice no. 40h Austin Taxi in yellow for a very long time. It is pre-1954 with the cast-in number 40h below and without box. They are so hard to find without obvious chipping. The early no. 25x Breakdown Van with dark brown cab and packed in the orange lid box was another old desideratum. As a bonus this one with a H. Hubson Dobson sticker on the box lid's side with the early address: P.O. Box 254 - 906 Westfield Avenue, Elizabeth N.J. The third one is an early red companion to my much later all light blue export edition of no. 38f/105 Jaguar Sports Car. The export edition has the later flimsy pair of windscreens and this one, on the contrary, has the firmer windscreens, moreover, nicely silver framed. Happy as ever with these wonderful items! Kind regards, Jan 

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Jan Oldenhuis
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Indeed, wonderful additions and often difficult to find in this condition. Very special the Jaguar 38f with silver edges on the windshield. Congratulations.

Kind regards, Jan O.

johnnyangel's picture
johnnyangel
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Some recent arrivals ...

 

janwerner's picture
janwerner
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Lovely items, Jonathan, all four of them, and each in their own right. The spot on Bedford with perfect box, the early smooth hubs post war Bentley, the iconic, historical Pool tanker and such an equally early Frazer Nash. I hope you won't blame me for trying to improve one of your photos, as an experiment - with just some simple image-processing actions. Kind regards, Jan 

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Jan, I'm always glad to get tips from our resident master of photography and displays -- speaking of which, I know this is the wrong thread, but I'm amazed at those new signs you made for your displays. I'm amazed that you got the fonts and lettering so perfect, as if they came from Meccano Ltd. itself!

Chris1
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This came a few days ago - a Dinky Supertoys Air France Caravelle SE 210 Airliner. This is the English version which was made between 1962 & 1965. It has the retractable stairs under the tail and also note the words Super Toys under the wing rather than Supertoys.There are quite a few variations with different airlines featured on the fuselage - Air Algerie, Swiss Air, Scandinavian Airlines System and SAS and with different registration numbers. The die apparently went between England & France several times. Rather strangely the windows are slightly triangular rather than round.

Chris.

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dinkycollect
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Chris,

 

Nice buy of this jet in good condition.

The triangular windows are of the right shape, this was a caracteristic of the actual Caravelle

The white wheels are peculiar, are they Dinky Dublo smooth plastic wheels or are they overpainted ?

janwerner's picture
janwerner
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Chris, Jacques, comparing mine with yours I think it's rather the blackish front wheel on starboard than the whitish main landing wheels that makes the difference/exception. But it could be some kind of wear by corrosion. Kind regards, Jan 

Chris1
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Jacques, Jan,

Regarding the wheels, the 8 metal main wheels and one of the front wheels are painted white, though the paint is very worn. The other front wheel is painted black. However I am absolutely sure that they are genuine and have not been tampered with.

 Attached are a couple of photos of the plane in its box with the original packing piece, which I forgot to put in my original post.

janwerner's picture
janwerner
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A wonderful example, complete with box insert! I made an effort to gather some comparative remarks and pictures some time ago, in the British Aircraft > 997 thread.

 

johnnyangel's picture
johnnyangel
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I recently received this extremely rare gift set from an eBay seller (unfortunately, the price was not $3.95). I have only ever seen two others, via searching past Vectis auctions. I imagine it is as uncommon as prewar Dinky sets, and in fact it has something in common with them, as we will see.

I pose the question of whether these are the worst ever Dinky Toys, but there is also the question of whether they can be considered Dinky Toys at all. While sold by Meccano Ltd., the Mini-Dinky range was designed by Lines Brothers in Merton, London* and had nothing to do with Binns Road. While separate leaflets advertising them were published, they were never included in a Dinky catalogue as far as I know.

 

Appearing in 1967, the Mini-Dinkys were produced in Hong Kong. The moulds were well-designed and the models came in attractive (though flimsy) plastic garages, but the paintwork was mostly drab, wheels tended to come off, and -- worst of all -- many of the castings tended to suffer from metal fatigue. This sometimes manifested itself before the toys had even left the shops, although that could be a while since the range did not sell well. How Lines Brothers thought these toys could compete with much-more-attractive-and-sturdy Matchboxes or Hot Wheels is a mystery.

 

When the toys were "deleted" is hard to say, given slow sales. I recall buying several Mini-Dinky models at London souvenir stands in 1972, but they may have been old stock. Meanwhile, various 1967-model cars (Rambler, Camaro, etc.) were made by Mini-Dinky in prototype form but not issued, suggesting the plug had been pulled on this range pretty quickly.

 

As an aside, as well as passenger cars, the Mini-Dinky range also included construction vehicles, via moulds previously used by Mercury in the USA (and later to be issued under other brands), and several Formula One racers made by Best Box in Holland.

 

Underlining Mini-Dinky's second-class status, these toys were often sold by retailers that did not have regular Dinky Toys. (Perhaps UK readers can comment on whether they ever saw Mini-Dinky and Dinky Toys together in the same shop.) I've already mentioned purchasing some of the models in a London souvenir shop. Here in California, they tantalizingly appeared in a Palo Alto hobby shop at a time when my best friend and I were unable to purchase the real Dinky Toys we wanted. Naturally we quizzed the proprietor, and she reported that her distributor had no other Dinky Toys, only these.

 

So I purchased various samples as a curiosity, even if they were always pretty disappointing for the reasons I've mentioned. As for the present gift set, I never saw it at the time, but they obviously existed in small quantities.

 

I believe the eBay seller when he says that the models in the set were never removed from the box. They all came strapped down in their individual garages, obviously unplayed with. And at first, all looked well -- but you can see the condition of the Jaguar E-type, which has fallen to bits from fatigue. (I have an intact one with which to "complete" the set -- though I suspect that its original contents were a random selection from the Mini-Dinky range ... otherwise why include two Fiat station wagons, for example?)

 

*Several years ago, an eBay user "ziggystardust" acquired a quantity of drawings, test castings, and pre-production Mini-Dinky models from a former Lines Brothers designer. These were unfortunately dispersed, auctioned off to a variety of different buyers.

 

 

dinkycollect's picture
dinkycollect
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Johnny

A similar set has been sold on eBay on September 8, 2007 for £ 171.

johnnyangel's picture
johnnyangel
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Very much more expensive in 2018, though another of these sets sold for £620 at Vectis in 2006.

A foolish purchase, perhaps, but I do think history is proving how rare the set is. Mind you, the contents of the cardboard case could probably be assembled separately for £300 or so!

janwerner's picture
janwerner
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Three wonderful acquisitions this month, all within the 1945-1950 time span. An early post-war no. 34b Royal Mail Van, this one with open oval rear windows, early smooth hubs and very nice fresh white treaded tyres. Also a maroon no. 36g Taxi with Driver, although with later ridged hubs still with early open tiny rear window. And finally a no. 14c Climax Fork Lift Truck, an early production example with large black round treaded tyres and packed in a less common green labelled orange lift box. Time to produce new display labels, supports, photos and catalogue descriptions for each of them! Kind regards, Jan   

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dinkyfan
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Jan—More wonderful acquisitions.....and I really like those early post war versions. They are usually free of the fatigue often present in their pre-war brothers, but still retain much of the charm, such as those finely treaded white tires and smooth wheels. I also like having those open windows. Very nice Taxi too.
Has anyone ever really concluded why the English Meccano factory chose to close all those small windows? Their French counterparts kept their open windows. I have heard theories about less flash issues, but that doesn’t seem to likely when you look at all the other open windows still there.....just curious!
Best regards,
Terry

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