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-196 Holden Special Sedan (1963-70) (cont...)

Dinkinius's picture
Dinkinius
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Al

I cannot believe my good fortune, or better still, the members and readers of this Forum have much to thank you for your absolutely incredible diligence and perseverance in having been able to rescue so much of the previously missing Posts within the 196 Holden Special Sedan topic.

I had no idea following our last exchange of emails that you were busy burning the midnight oil to bring about such a fantastic result! Coincidentally, I too have been burning the midnight oil, and have located virtually my complete Post which you have numbered 5620.  I have just been working on FODENS ON PARADE and my next project was to bring in 5620 as I originally wrote it, including editorial notes where pictures were to be inserted when the Post was first submitted.

Here is that Post which actually completes Post #17 above!

Kind regards

Bruce   (150)

11 February 2016

#767

G’Day Chris

In answer to your question whether GM-H made a utility – the answer is yes.  The two-door Utility and Panel Van were released in January 1963 and these were only available in the Standard version, although many owners ultimately added extras such as chrome trim.

The following is the story of the Holden EJ which Meccano selected to mark the 50th Anniversary of the presence of Meccano in Australia.

The Holden EJ on which the Dinky Toys 196 is based, was released on 30 July 1962 in three body types, Standard Sedan, Special Sedan, (the 196 Dinky Toys) and the Premier Sedan.  The Standard model was the base version – no frills, no chrome trim and was only available in a single colour, costing ₤885 with the Special costing  ₤935.  The Special had plenty of chrome as well as the model was available in a selection of dual colours in addition to a selection of upholstery that matched the exterior paint work. The Premier, the first Holden in this higher quality trim, had leather upholstery, two bucket seats in the front, front seat centre console, glove box and luggage compartment (boot/trunk) lamps, available in an exclusive range of metallic paint (Dinky Toys equivalent of Polychromatic Paint), centre armrest for the back seat passengers, heater, automatic transmission with reversing lamps, narrow band whitewall tyres and other features priced new at ₤1195.  Metallic paint was not available with the other two levels of Standard and Special.  Yet, despite all the added “luxury” equipment, like the Standard and Special, the Premier was not fitted with a radio!  The occupants had to actually talk to one another, as well as provide their own music!

Insert the two advertisements for the sedan/standard

Released at the same time was a four-door station wagon that GM-H referred to as a STATION SEDAN, dispensing with the American “Wagon”.  This version was only  available for the Standard and Special models. The Standard cost ₤960 and the Special ₤1010. The Premier became available in the Station Sedan with the next model Holden, the EH.

Insert the advertisement for the station sedan                                                                                                             

The total production for all Holden EJ units was 154,811.  On 26 October 1962, the 1,000,000 Holden rolled off the production line that happened to have been a Premier. The first Holden came off the assembly line on 29 November 1948.  It took only a further six and a half years until 3 March 1969 when the 2,000,000 vehicle rolled off the assembly line, indicating that by the 1960s, Australian lifestyle was becoming more affluent.

The Holden EJ series was replaced by the Holden EH series that incorporated some bodywork changes in August 1963. This model had the highest production figure of 256,959 units from August 1963 to February 1965 until the arrival of the Holden HQ Belmont/Kingswood in July 1971. It was perhaps a little sad that when the Dinky Toys 196 Holden Special Sedan was released in September 1963, the model had just been superseded by Holden EH.

Now, let’s talk about the 196 Holden Special Sedan that was initially issued in polychromatic bronze with a white roof. Interesting to read in the Dinky Toys News for September 1963 that the Holden was painted in metallic bronze (no mention of polychromatic this time) and has opening bonnet and boot, the first Dinky to have both these features. In addition the model came with a little plastic suitcase, and a new innovation, “red and clear “jewels” for the headlights and taillights that are intended to reflect light giving the appearance that the lights are on. This is how the boys and girls were informed of the arrival of this new model:

Insert Meccano Magazine pages

However, for the purest, 196 is NOT a Holden Special Sedan for two reasons.  Firstly the model is painted in a metallic paint which was not available for the Special Sedan. Secondly, and this one I had not noticed previously until I pulled out my Holden book and read that the seats were those for the Premier – individual seats for the front and moulded individual seats for the rear, whereas the Special Sedan had a bench seat front and rear. Never noticed that before now!!

It is also of interest that the artist’s rendition of the model for the advertisement has the roof colour extending to the bottom of the windows

Insert photo of Premier Euroa Gold

With the Special Sedan being the decided name for the model, there was a similar non-metallic paint used for both the Special and Standard models, a “Magic Mirror” acrylic lacquer from vivid to the most delicate pastel shades.  This was Bunyip Bronze with Atherton Ivory roof, the acrylic lacquer equivalent to the metallic Euroa Gold . Perhaps the word “bronze” threw Meccano out thinking that “bronze” equals metallic.

Insert Bunyip Bronze photos

In fact buyers of the Holden EJ Special Sedan had a choice of 18 colours in two tone, and in many cases, a combination could be selected; the primary body colour could be used for the roof with Atherton Ivory the usual roof colour being the primary body colour .  In effect, a buyer had a choice of 32 single or combinations from which to select although not all the primary colours were reversed. For the Premier, there was only a choice of four combinations, Euroa Gold, Theatre Grey, Hotham Blue and Wimmera Green, all having an Atherton Ivory roof. How many modern-day manufacturers offer such a wide choice of not only colours but where each colour was used.

Insert Picture of the Dinky model.

Three years later, Meccano changed the colour scheme of the 198 Holden Special Sedan with it now having turquoise body with a white roof. This colour was one used  for the Special Sedan, and its factory name was Tamar Turquoise with Atherton Ivory roof. 

Insert picture of Tamar Turquoise Special Sedan

The Holden EJ was available in the following colours: Atherton Ivory, Barrier Coral, Bunyip Bronze, Carlsbad Black, Castile Green, Cathay Grey, Coast Ivory (usually the roof colour), Cottesloe Cream, Dartford Grey, Euroa Gold (Metallic), Fowlers Ivory, Garrison Grey, Glade Green, Grenadier Red, Hayman Coral, Honey Beige, Hotham Blue 4644, Katherine Beige, Loddon Green, Madang Maroon, Marine Blue 9897, Namatjira Red, Nepean Grey, Parisian Lilac, Pittwater Green, Pyramid Coral, Riverina Blue 4684, Seagull Grey, Sherwood Green, Silverton Grey, Snowcrest White, Theatre Grey, Ti Tree Green, Twilight Turquoise, Walhalla Gold, Wedgewood Blue, Welland Red, Wimmera Green, Woodsman Green

There is also a great video that can be downloaded from YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhwSpnlQ0Fg

Kind regards

Bruce   (150)

30 March 2015

#514

alkeeling's picture
alkeeling
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Thanks Bruce,  I've assigned you as the author of my previous post so you can access and edit your content in there.    If you have any other posts that are truncated, please send me page links and I will grep scan the old forum tables to check if anything else survives.     Doing the migration we knew there would be some ragged edges on the data if more delay was to be avoided.  Please email David Kaun or myself about any other known missing or misplaced posts.

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i Bruce,

 

In one of your interesting posts above you wrote that this model was issued in 1963 to mark the CENTENARY of Meccano in Australia.

I suppose that you meant "half centuary as in 1963 - 100 = 1863 Frank Hornby was probably not born.

Can you please confirm the aniversary and correct your post ?

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Dinkinius
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Jacques

I have corrected the appropriate Post, although with most of what I had written manyears ago being screwed up in the transfer process, I can only assume that was the only error. Fortunately, in a later Post with a different layout, I had the correct anniversary.

Kind regards

Bruce   (150)

20190809/2112/1196

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Richard
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DTCA MemberFrance

To complete this post, I present you my two Holden just arrived.

You will notice that Meccano used two dies for the bonnets.

The inside of the turquoise model cover has one "point" under the "N" and an injection mark on the left of HOLDEN.

The inside of the  bronze model cover has two "points" under the "N" and an injection mark on the right of HOLDEN.

smileysmileyenlightenedenlightened

I love this kind of discovery !!

Richard

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Richard
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DTCA MemberFrance

Classic photos :

 

Cheers

Richard

Richard's picture
Richard
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DTCA MemberFrance

And the last one which joined the team today :

Kind regards

Richard

 

 

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At the risk of being accused of being a luggage fetishist, whilst it seemed that possibly the ‘suitcase’ was upgraded to a ‘trunk’ with the change to a window box (when the box terminology ‘boot’ became a ‘trunk’ and the ‘suitcase’ became ‘luggage’ and that whether luggage was green or brown might relate to the bronze or turquoise body colour, the photos in this post suggest no hard rules. Would the buyer be pleased to find a trunk in the boot, when the box states suitcase? Did someone at Dinky get their trunks confused? My Holden now has both (luckily the boot - trunk- is big enough) to cover the bases! With regard to the comment as to whether it is a Premier or Special,it seems Dinky felt that higher spec models had more kudos (for sales), and not just on the Holden but others, just as manufacturers show the base price of a car with a a top spec picture in adverts.

Dinkinius's picture
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Townie, I think you will find the change to a trunk did not occur when the model was packaged in a yellow window box. That box was made specifically for the North American market, although my example packaged in a yellow window box does have a trunk, I have another example in turquoise and white in its usual end-flap box and that one has a suitcase.

As for your final words, "With regard to the comment as to whether it is a Premier or Special,it seems Dinky felt that higher spec models had more kudos (for sales), and not just on the Holden but others, just as manufacturers show the base price of a car with a a top spec picture in adverts", you are not correct with the 196 Holden Special Sedan for two reasons. The Premier model was in fact the top of the range, so why did Meccano call it a "Special"?  Secondly, the colour scheme selected was "polychromatic" or metallic, a type of paint never used on the Special Sedan. And thirdly,  I have written elsewhere in this topic, the front seats are individual which indicates it being a Premier. The Special Sedan had a bench seat. (Which was far better suited for one's girlfriend to sit up real close! Take it from me! 

As for the trunk, I think it the reason for the trunk/suitcase was a matter of availability, as either may have also been used as accessories with the Hornby-Dublo range. I have had several 142 Jaguar Mk 10 with either. Of course there is always the possibility of the trunk/suitcase being switched by a previous little owner, rahter than a collector!!

 

Bruce (150)

20200505/1209/0309

 

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Thanks Bruce for the clarification on the upmarket colour and seats spec. Interesting that an Australian market car made it into the range, and whether it was dipping the toe in the water but no more, leaving the 1/43 market for Trax in the 1980s. Nowadays a casting could have doubled globally as Vauxhall, Opel, Pontiac or Holden, although GM have continued culling several brands. I remember speaking to a driver in Tottenham Court Road in the ‘70s who was driving a strange looking Vauxhall Viva - it turned out to be a Torano HB. Dinky never made the coke bottle HB of course just the rather boxy HA.

Dinkinius's picture
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A little late, but better late than never! Although this Topic, 196 Holden Special Sedan has been well and truly screwed during the transfer process from the old website to the new, Townie54's last Post, raises a question as to why the Holden made it into the Dinky Toys range.

The supposition that it was a case of "dipping the toe into the water" to test the market is not exactly correct.  The 196 Holden Special Sedan was actually an anniversary model - marking 50 years of the Meccano Company having a sales presence in Australia. This is explained in the write-up by Mr Toyman in the Meccano Magazine, and I apologise if the original image on page 1 of this Topic may not have been as clear as it should have been. So here it is again, hopefully in a size that is readable!

It was really quite a remarkable achievement to have obtained the appropriate plans and specifications from the Holden company in Australia and then to translate them into an accurate model of the real car. The Holden EJ was released to the public in July 1962, with its successor, the EH in August 1963. With the 196 being released in September 1962 indicates just how fast Meccano operated to get the model out in time for the Golden Jubilee.

I am very sad that we now rely exclusively on our automotive needs  coming to Australia by ship, thus leaving us extremely vulnerable should a country decide to blockade us.

Having mentioned the Holden that succeeded the EJ modelled by Meccano, the EH, here are several images of the car, the noticeable difference being the rear, and a small change to the grille.

And finally, one more in a similar colour scheme as used by Meccano with its Holden EJ Special Sedan, Tamar Turquoise and Ivory White:

So there we have it. After the EH came a completely different design. The total production for the EJ was 154,811. The EH production was 256,959, indicating it was a much preferred car.

Bruce (150)

14072020/1215/2253

 

 

 

 

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Great to see the old article with the Holden outside a quaintly British style Bayko house. I mourn the change by Trax to resin, having had some great Holden Wagons and Sedan Deliveries; I bought one new resin issue and sent it back as so poor.

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