Jonathan, nice acquisitions, to be proud of!

Do I see different tyres fitted on the BOAC coach?

Display space is just a luxury problem. Too little space or too many Dinky Toys? 

Kind regards, Jan 

Just acquired this little lot, will post more detailed shots when they arrive.

A mix of pre and post war, the odd missing headlight and a little missing paint, but I'll be glad to have these in my collection. Obtained from a generalist antique delaer in the States, who had no other toys on offer and didn't know what he had, given the buy Now price he had them listed for.

Very happy to have picked up such a diverse selection. I'm particularly looking froward to seeing what the Studebaker looks like once I have cleaned it up a little.

Cheers

Dave

Greetings all you lucky fellows with their collections proudly displayed - even if space has become a problem.  Never mind the space, use the rotation system.  Send half out to me on loan, and problem is solved - temporarily!

Just think how lucky you are that you actually have your collection on display.  There are those who are reading these comments who do not have the same problem of space.  Then there are those, this writer for instance, who do not have the luxury of being permitted to place one's collection on display anyway!  Wish this house had space for a Man Cave! Here is the solution to my problem:

Keep them in four air-tight plastic lidded bins and the collection is safe from one's spouse, sticky beaks and little urchins with grubby fingers!  At least I do have the luxury of looking at the photographs taken of each one as well as I can get them out when nobody else is around!    I do have a number sitting on my computer desk that keep me company for a time and then these are replaced with others. Right now I have six 139a/170 Ford Fordor Sedans keeping an eye on things as well as my 344 Estate Car with spun hubs. Sorry Jan etal - I really like that model, and surprise, surprise, my first Dinky arrived in 1949 so I am of a similar vintage to those who think otherwise!

I digress - like Richard, I really like the MG as well, Jonathon. Nice catch.

Bruce H.   (150)

20170429/1085/2236

I recently acquired another camouflaged 151b Transport Wagon. I was very surprised to find that I was the only bidder for this item and so managed to get it for a very small amount. These camouflaged items were only found in the Mechanized Army Set 156 which were specially made for the London toyshop Hamleys, for Christmas 1940. They were never advertised in a Dinky catalogue, but only in a Hamleys advertisement.

Although this one is missing the tinplate insert and the canopy it still has its original small ribbed tyres. One thing I did notice was that there is a hole in the base of the rear tray and when I took the tinplate insert out of the other one I find that it also had the hole.

I then looked at my example of the 161a Lorry with Searchlight, which is also pre-war, I found that  this had a painting circle, so the hole was filled in. This must have been done about 1940-41.

Chris

Bruce, you are right, I should count my blessings for how much of my collection is actually on display! Also, if I could find a place for another display case, I would not need spousal permission. Rotating my display is unfortunately not an option because the poor models are so crammed in on each shelf they are practically touching one another -- with my poor vision and unsteady fingers, the risk of damage would be too great.

That yellow Singer is indeed quite the find -- I have never seen one!

Meantime I have acquired one more model, though not a Dinky. It is the Premier Jeep, pictured here with the Dinky that so obviously inspired it.

Jan, I did mention the brand (Premier) but without further explanation! This copy was made in Japan.

According to Jacques' Dinky Toys Encyclopedia, they made four other Dinky copies: an Armoured Personnel Carrier, a Scout Car, a Austin Champ, and a Centurion Tank.

My Jeep came without a box, but here's a picture of what the box would have looked like:

Here are some photos of some of the other Premier copies of Dinky Toys. The first photos show the Premier models by themselves, and then with the Dinky Toy that they were copied from.

The Premier Centurion Tank has a completely differnt turret from the Dinky, with the ability to fire "shells" through the  barrel. It also has all the road wheels, which would have been nice to see on the Dinky. 

The other models vary in detail from the Dinky Toy but are on the whole good copies.

I do not have an example of the Premier Austin Champ.

Chris.

While on the subject of Dinky Toy copies here are a couple more by Kemlow. They were mainly known for their range of railway accessories, but did make a small range of military toys.

The Bedford truck (or 3-ton Army Wagon) is a good copy of the Dinky toy but does not have a spare wheel under the tray. The ammunition limber is completely different from the Dinky model but the 25pdr gun is reasonably similar.

The Armoured Car is also a good copy of the Dinky toy but has no base.

Chris

Hi Chris, very interesting information and pictures of these Premier copies of Dinky Toys. In order not to get 'lost' in this 'New Arrivals' thread, you might consider to open a thread dedicated to this brand in the Other topics>Other diecast models section. Kind regards, Jan 

Hi all,

This 697 25 Pounder Field Gun Set just arrived from Canada. It is in lovely condition and even has one packing piece. It is not a real rarity, but at $ 37,- I could not resist it. The picture box and plastic hubs make this set a bit special.

Kind regards,

Rob

Rob

You did very well with that acquisition!  Just had a look at it, and I am genuinely surprised as to how cheaply you purchased it, although the $40 postage was a little steep!!

Presume this is the model and box!

I was surprised the seller did not mention the packing piece!  In fact, the end-flap pictorial box is very, very uncommon, although lately there has been an influx of them.  I bought mine in 2015 and paid three times what you paid, so perhaps Dinky Toys are on the way down in value!  Although for some reason, some of the usual, yellow lidded boxed models seem to fetch more these days.

But congratulations on a fine addition to your collection!

Kind regards

Bruce H.   (150)

20170405/1092/1159

PS Just checked and mine came in at five times your purchase price! Ouch!  At least it arrived Christmas Eve 2014!

Hi Rob, nice bargain you found! It is my experience that this kind of bargains happen more and more, especially for the more regular models, but also many formerly very expensive models go down in price nowadays, even in (virtually) m/b condition - of course if you avoid the well-known expensive auction houses and luxury internet shops. 

The later issue in colourful end flaps box is less common than the initial one indeed, but on the other hand not extremely hard to find. Sometimes expensive but also for very reasonable prices. Mine, below, bought in 2009, is between your - Rob's and Bruce's - prices paid, sixty euros from a private person in France, on eBay. OK, not fully mint and without packing piece. Kind regards, Jan 

Jan,

I have done as you suggested and put the information about the Premier and Kemlow copies of Dinky Toys in the topic "Other diecast models"

Chris

Hi all from EnZed,

I hae just received a French Dinky Simca 9 Aronde which I tought was grey by the vendor's photos (which I should have studied closer as I missed that the wheels had been replaced - hence their cream colour).  The colour is a pale green halfway between the grey and green versions in the photo.   Now I guess you might say it is a repaint, but I don't think so (have been collecting Dinky for many decades and know the signs of repainting.   The base has not been tampered with and the paint colour is consistent inside and out the casting and has the right sheen and finish of a factory job.  At the rear the trimming is exactly the same as the other 24Us in my collection.

Another rnew arrival is also suspicious - English Dinky 103 Aston Martin DB3 Touring in 'beige' - like the one that was sold from the late John Kinchen's collection.   No driver figure (and looks as if it hadn't been prised out as the mounting hole still 'unused') and it looked like John's one had a replacement driver with its featureless face anyhow.  However, on inspection of this new arrival, I found that th 'biege' is simply faded 'salmon pink' that it was supposed to be.  The later issues of the 131 Cadillc Eldorado and 173 Nash Rambler in pink also fade to beige suggesting that Meccano changed the paint - presumably to eliminate the lead which would have been required for such a colour.

Ron F

Dear Ron,

This colour for the Simca Aronde first casting is not listed anywhere. I suppose that it is the early casting with smooth ceiling which was issued in grey and green. There is a posssibilty that your model was painted during a change of colour and that the system was not flushed giving this in between colour.

I have met a woman who worked on the painting line at Liverpool, she confirmed that the system was not always flushed. This saved time and increased the bonus. A few models with peculiar colours could leave the factory. Dinky Toys were only toys after all.

It could also be a colour test.

Jacques.

Jacques, keep them coming!

A miraculous double-acquisition now.

I have been upgrading the quality of my collection since some 10-15 years already, always searching for better models to replace poor quality models, repaints, restorations etc. from early collecting years. One of the candidates to be replaced this time was the no. 108 M.G. Midget Sports, red with racing number 24. A nice, complete model, but with many paint touch-ins, chips and the red finish considerably faded. 

Early this week I found a worthy replacement, a 'buy-it-now' from a reputable seller who always is very fair in his prices. This one was so fairly priced, especially for a desirable model like the M.G. Midget, that I could not ignore it and I struck. A wonderful example, fresh, very near mint and boxed. The only 'deficiency' was that the box had a white colour spot instead of the correct red one. 

Although I decided that this should be the acquisition of this month, I couldn't help checking eBay the same day once more and I came across a superb white M.G. Midget, racing no. 28. This one a 'buy-it-now' from a more expensive dealer.  So I decided I should ignore it and not spend more than this month's budget allows. Next day I couldn't help taking another look and - surprise - the seller had put a 20% discount on this and some other models for sale. And there was something else: this model too had an incorrect colour spot on its box: a red one! You will understand that I could not resist this unique opportunity and overran my budget without much hesitation.

This afternoon - within four days from UK to NL! - both models arrived by mail, separately of course. They are bright new indeed and fully meet my expectations, with only some 'invisible' chips on one or two protruding points. The very reasonable prices asked for each model must certainly have been more or less affected by the wrong colour dots on the boxes. You can imagine that the box swap has been executed immediately ...

Kind regards, Jan  

Richard---More nice additions, and I really like that 24Q Ford Vedette
Best regards, Terry

Greetings from Oz

Well, this morning I almost needed a larger car to bring home three large boxes from the post office.

The first parcel opened contained the 25x trade box filled with Breakdown Lorries.  Here are the first pictures of the new arrivals, taken indoors with a flash, which I normally do not use, preferring natural sunlight. Today is a gloomy, damp with misty rain, not what one would call a typical Brisbane, Queensland weather and by necessity indoors was the only option!

First one of the end papers. These appear to have been stamped rather than printed.

The lid has a note "Mr Freeman  Unable to repair"  Not sure what that meant unless the box was used for something else, as its contents of four contain three models that should not be there unfortunately.

But the box does contain something that I was not expecting.  This will be revealed when I complete writing a new Post for the 25x-430 Breakdown Lorry topic! (After I make a decision on which Topic to use, as at present there are three in existence!!) For the observant, the tow hooks are loose in the bottom of the box, and these will have to be restrung.

The parcel also contained a boxed Hornby-Dublo set plus other Dinky Toys and photographs of these will be put up on this Topic as soon as I have photographed them under better conditions. As too the contents of the other two parcels. Wow - what a morning! But the pride of them all is this 25x Trade Box.  All I need to find are three more excellent examples of a suitable vintage for the box!

Kind regards

Bruce H.   (150)

20170805/1096/1315

Bruce
Very nice acquisition! You just don't see too many tradeboxes for the 25x. You didn't mention a date code....is there one normally on tradeboxes? If not, what is your best guess as to the date?
Best regards, Terry

Hello Bruce, it seems that the excitement of receiving new Dinky Toys has not diminished in all these decades! Congratulations with this new batch of models. The remarkable box is very uncommon indeed. I cannot remember having ever seen such a base insert of corrugated fibreboard in trade boxes, but I can be wrong. Original? Looking forward to your more elaborate descriptions! Kind regards, Jan  

Hello Bruce,

Very interesting the 25x Trade Box!. It looks like the end paper could cover different printing on the box. I have seen that once before on an early 40a Riley trade box. The paper label covered printing on the box itself with a different number for the Riley. KH had this box for sale a couple of years ago.

Anyway, it am very curious on what you have discovered!

Kind regards,

Rob