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dinkycollect's picture
dinkycollect
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De Agostini Dinky Toys

Yesterday, on an other forum there was an announcement that De Agostini the mother company of Atlas will launch a new collection of eighty Dinky Toys in U.K. and Italy.

This will be available by subscription, each model been sent with a "magazine". By paying an additional 75 p. per model, a service station ref. 785.

All the models use existing dies but the base plates are stamped with De Agostini instead of Atlas.

The first models will be : 24 CP Citroën DS19, Fiat 600, Triumph TR2, Bedford CA van Kodak, T Bird, Jaguar XK 120.

dinkyfan's picture
dinkyfan
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The proliferation of these new models at least illustrates that there is a demand out there. I wonder what the age demographics are for buyers of Atlas and these other models, and will any of them "graduate" to collecting real Dinky's?
Best regards, Terry

alkeeling's picture
alkeeling
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AdministratorAeroplanesPostwarPrewarUK

I suspect that everyone who buys these already collects Dinky and/or other diecast.  Many of the Atlas/Dan/etc models are French Dinky copies and the fact is that the originals are virtually unavailable in the UK since Meccano's marketing operation was so poor that a reciprocal supply of English/French toys in those countries was never established.   The only practical way to collect French Dinky is via online sources with all the uncertainty that entails plus the added premium of fancifully high postage.

alkeeling's picture
alkeeling
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Additional info re: deDagostini Dinky.   A partwork subscription is available by picking up the first magazine issue at newsagents.  Naturally, none of our local newsagents have any copies.  Scalpers on ebay have gathered multiple copies are reselling them between 200%-400% markup on the cover price.   However there is also a website http://classicdinkytoyscollection.com where subscriptions can be made.

fodenway's picture
fodenway
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Regarding the DeAgostini issues, does this mean that the Atlas series is now finished, or does this one run alongside it, duplicating many models but with others in different colours, for instance the "Kodak" Bedford van and the Mini Traveller now in ivory as per the original first-issue Dinky?

I would be interested to see what price the profiteers put on the Service Station kit when it appears!

Kevin.

alkeeling's picture
alkeeling
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The UK Atlas series had a list of 30 models in the offer and they are just about at the end of that.   Now Atlas are moving on to Supertoys and large model copies, following what they did in France.  Starts with the esso octopus for £3.

Atlas Editions are a subsidiary company of the DeAgostini Group.

DeAgostini proposes 80 models in their DeAgostini branded series. 80!  Their price point is somewhat lower than Atlas at £12 a model.  (edit to add that the atlas subscription is £15 per, plus £3 postage - and seem to be set at that point going forward with the large model series)  The optional service station adds 70p per issue.  Whether that kit gets shipped one piece at a time or all complete is not clear - but there are not eighty parts to the service station.

https://www.deagostini.com/uk/collections/dinky-toys/

dinkycollect's picture
dinkycollect
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DTCA MemberFrance

The cost of the service station is : 75 x 80 = 600 p. a lot of money for a copy which may be of the same poor quality as the models. It will be sent as the last model in six and a half year.

How many collectors will still collect these models in October 2022 and will have forgotten to claim the money already paid for their service station ? Will De Agostini be still in business when they should send that toy ? There are signs that Atlas will have gone a long time before. This plan seems to be an easy and unfair way to make money on collectors.

So as always, BUYERS BEWARE.

alkeeling's picture
alkeeling
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DeAgostini is a century old corporation still claiming upward trends in growth.   A partwork of 80 issues seems fairly typical of their method  - they publish those kinds of magazines to build a wooden ship one piece at a time.   I've seen them offer model partworks for aircraft, cars, bikes and tanks in recent years.

Setting aside whether £60 is a reasonable price for the service station copy, it could at least be said that an original would cost substantially so much more that you would not dare to even play with it.    I would predict they use modern ABS rather than the primitive celulose plastics of the 60s.

I don't see in the text of their offer where it says that the station will be shipped as a complete item in six and a half years' time.  Can you link me or direct me to where you saw that statement?

 

dinkycollect's picture
dinkycollect
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DTCA MemberFrance

Go to

https://www.deagostini.com/uk/collections/dinky-toys/info.html

and clic on the questions to get the answer. You get this :

 

alkeeling's picture
alkeeling
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Ah, thanks Jacques, yes that's useful information to know.   The deAgostini comments say the partwork is going to be a bimonthly publication, so the series is projected to conclude sometime around the end of 2019.    In that case they have given themselves a little more than three years to produce and deliver the service station!

I would predict that the series is going to cycle through all the same castings that were used in the Atlas partwork.  There are no models mentioned in the deAgostini offer that have not been previously marketed under Atlas Editions.   For sure they are probably intending to go with different liveries and paintjobs to create some variety - a blue TR2, red thunderbird, sage jaguar, ivory mini traveller, kodak van.    But it remains to be seen if they tool up for any new basic castings.

 

 

fodenway's picture
fodenway
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DTCA MemberUK

Thanks to all for answering my question. Having just returned from today's Doncaster Toyfair  complete with a very nice 785 Filling Station  ( just missing one of its doors) for a very fair price, I'll not be needing to wait years for an inferior copy!

P.S. if anyone has a spare door, I'd be pleased to relieve them of it for a reasonable price!

Kevin.

dinkycollect's picture
dinkycollect
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DTCA MemberFrance

The mighty huge self proclaimed expert who is the Chinese stuff manager has written :

"pour la suite je n'ai fait inscrire que des modèles qui ne doubleront pas."

Which translates into : (although the verb "doubloner" does not exist)

For the next models, I have selected only models which have not been issued already.

This means models already issued but in a different finish. No new castings. All the dies have been paid off with the French collections.

alkeeling's picture
alkeeling
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AdministratorAeroplanesPostwarPrewarUK

Yes, I would say that is the correct interpretation, Jacques.  Everything shown in the offer as being part of the collection are the same models offered as Atlas Editions.    Different paintwork but very probably not different castings.   A rough count of the Atlas models gives a total of eighty or more, so there are certainly enough to sustain the series without tooling anything new.    The cost of each deAgostini model is lower than the Atlas version  - presumably because they are saving money by reusing existing dies.  

Of course that implies a disproportionate number of French Dinky models over UK Dinky models, since that's how the Atlas selection was skewed. 

alkeeling's picture
alkeeling
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Just as a footnote to the recent DeAgostini offering, the models in the series included

197 Morris Mini Traveller

111 Triumph TR2

480 Bedford Van Kodak

555 Ford Thunderbird

157 Jaguar XK 120

With the Jaguar delivery was an accompanying letter stating

"We would like to thank you for your enthusiasm and support for The Classic Dinky Toy Collection.  Unfortunately, due to unforseen circumstances, we have been forced to suspend publication of the series until further notice.  We would like to be able to advise you when the series resumes and send you your copy of issue 6 free of charge."

Since every delivery included a zero amount invoice, I assume that the whole exercise was a marketing test.

 

alkeeling's picture
alkeeling
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AdministratorAeroplanesPostwarPrewarUK

DeAgostini Dinky Toys Return

The Deagostini Classic Dinky Toys Collection partwork that was suspended in April 2016 is set to resume in December 2017.

Previous subscribers should have received an email announcement to this effect.

New subscribers can get a free Gak truck at https://www.deagostini.com/uk/collections/dinky-toys-collection/

*

As discussed above, it doesn't seem that Deagostini will be producing any new castings for this enterprise but, rather, will recycle Atlas castings under different paint jobs.

The premium subscription (adds 75p per issue) rewards with an eventual 785 service station.  This will come with the last delivery. However it is not specified how long the partwork is going to last.  Bank on 36 or 48 issues at minimum.  (EDIT: It's 80, so the whole subscription will cost a minimum £960 or £1020 premium over three and a half years)  ***(EDIT AGAIN: Now advertised as 60 issues bimonthly, £719 standard , £764 premium, which means that the service station will eventually have cost £45 in two and half years).

Two issues are shipped at once and each issue is £11.99 freepost on a monthly basis (4 weeks).

Note the small print that the company intends to ship binders for the magazines that it assumes you will want to keep.  Each binder only holds 15 issues but costs £7.99. And they will send special issues (of unspecified content) costing £12.99. It's an automatic opt in, so the subscriber must purposely opt out to avoid the imposition.  Or return the goods within 14 days (good luck with that).

*

The first five issues are

1) 111 Triumph TR2

2) 480 Bedford Kodak

3) 555 Ford Tbird

4) 181 VW Beetle  (issue 4 was a Morris Mini Traveller in the original run)

5) 157 Jaguar XK120

 

 

 

 

Townie54's picture
Townie54
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DTCA Member

Here is a picture of some of the Italian issues, there is also a brown and yellow Fiat 1800 break.

alkeeling's picture
alkeeling
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AdministratorAeroplanesPostwarPrewarUK

In an email on Wednesday (26/5/21), Deagostini announced that their subscription system for the Dinky Toys Collection had finally collapsed.  So the partwork has sputtered out in the UK at issue 64 with a few remaining models that were offered in other territories now only available in the secondary market.   Versus the Atlas partwork, the only new casting in the Deagostini range, the Service Station, failed to materialise.  While their models tended to be presented in standard paintjobs compared to the Atlas counterparts, many were straight up clones - the only difference being the baseplate stamp.  Deagostini never attempted anything like a special edition, so I'd expect all the models to be quite easily found at equally easy prices.