Dave
That is a wonderful project and display that you put together. I have seen the video of it running and it works very well. The scenery and backdrop buildings all tie-in nicely.....congrats on incorporating the best of Meccano.....Dinky Toys & Meccano building components! I really need to make some sort of scene for mine as well, as it makes for some great photography......thanks for showing.
Regards, Terry

David's display is excellent, was this type of display the prototype for the one above ? On the first shelve, on the left one can see a car coming out and on the right one goin in. The Hudson and the Triumph are traveling to the right.

I am currently preparing a list of the different displays provided by Meccano or the American importers to the dealers. If you own one or even sevaral, could you please send me some pictures of these displays with some of the models which were available at the same time as the display. With many thanks.

Jacques

Photo by courtesy of Vectis Auctions.

Who are these gentlemen ?

Hello Vic,

Many thanks for this information, I will include it into the Dinky Toys Encyclopaedia.

As a distinguished member of the Binns road R & D office, I think that many collectors would be interested if you could write an article for The Journal about the developpement of Dinky Toys : the selection meetings, the mock-ups, the drawings, the pre-prod models (plastic and die-cast), the first 500 batch etc... I could help you for some pictures.

All the best.

Jacques

Hello Jacques,

Yes, I think I have enough background material to produce an article as you describe. I recall having to do something similar for the HRCA a few years ago and pictures would help a lot as I only have a few. I will get in touch once I have roughed out some text.

All the best

Vic

VIc of course already assisted me with a Q&A that appeared in a previous Journal. I am only sorry that the editor did not use the nice picture of Vic with the Joe 90 car that his wife had taken, and which I removed the background from.

I am pretty sure that the car Vic did not identify is the Volvo 1800s. And if I may be so brave as to contradict an expert, I think the Ford sedan is not the Ford Cortina Mk. 11, but rather the Ford Taunus -- which of course Vic also designed!

I have been familiar with this photograph for quite some time, but only knew the identify of Joe Fallman. I did not know the other was Tony Benn. Before ever seing the photograph, I was not sure what the official plural of Dinky without the toys after it was: Was it "Dinkys" or "Dinkies" -- but this showed me that "Dinkys" it is!

Hello Vic,

If you need you can always contact me by email to : dinkycollect@free.fr

All the best.

Jacques

Hello Johnny and Jacques,

The Ford saloon could indeed be the Taunus and not the Cortina. The image is not super clear and pixelates if you blow it up. One point I must correct is that I did not design the Ford Taunus. However, the Cortina MK11 is fitted with the same window and seat mouldings as the Taunus! This was an instruction from MD Joe Fallman to reduce costs.

Kind regards

Vic

Vic, sorry for my confusion. You had told me about the relationship between the Cortina and the Taunus so the two got mixed up in my mind. I think it is the Taunus because I believe I can discern the white roof and yellow body, as well as the distinctive wheels with removable hubcaps and whitewall trim. (No wonder Dinky did not use that type of wheel again. They are nice, reminiscent of Tekno practice, but must have been expensive. And Joe Fallman does not look like a man to trifle with!)

Off topic, but I just noticed that the sign incorporates a scene from Dinky's very ambitious television advert, circa 1964 or 1965, which as some other surviving signs show -- Meccano was justifiably proud -- showed not only a motorway but also a very large and realistic motorway service area -- all animated using stop-action. It is a great shame that no copy of this has surfaced.

(An earlier less elaborate animated ad from 1960 did survive, and tantalizing snippets of it were seen in a James May TV program.)