The 43b RAC Motorcycle Patrol was first introduced and included in the #43 RAC Hut, Motorcycle Patrol and Guides set, from 1935. As with the other two motorcycles, this was also discontinued in 1940, but re-introduced after the war and made until 1954. As with the other two motorcycles, this shared the same pre-war detailing.
Best regards, Terry
Nice to see these pictures of your stunning examples back again, Terry!
It strikes me that your post-war example has more modest glove painting than mine. Perhaps a little later example?
Some photos of the real vehicle, mostly Norton motor cycle with sidecar box, included. Many patrols had to supply their own bicycles in return of a small allowance. '"Thus equipped, the Road Patrols kept busy on regular beats. They clocked in at RAC telephone boxes to call one of the sixteen regional offices. They gave news of local conditions, which enabled the RAC to provide nationwide weather reporting service. And they received information about breakdowns in their districts" (The Motoring Century, The Story of the Royal Automobile Club, p.256).
Jan---Thanks so much for your always nice comments....it was nice to once again take some photos, do some research, scanning, and writing for our wonderful hobby. As you can tell, I have come to have some special admiration for pre-war Dinky's.....similar in most ways to their post war brothers, but also very different in others, so it has been interesting to learn more about them and acquire a few nice examples.
And thanks for including some very nice photos of the real motorcycles, as well as some very nice added information on the RAC.....I really had no detailed information on that organization, so that filled in some good knowledge for us.
And yes, my post war example does appear to have "skimpy" glove painting, compared to yours. Looks like just the top of the gloves were covered. I am guessing that even post war, this type of painting was still done by hand...just less of it, and not complicated areas, such as faces. I am also guessing that the application could vary somewhat, as to which lady was employed at that time. I can only guess some were more talented or cared more about it? I have also seen some disparity in the pre-war model detailing, and can only ascribe it to the individual worker. The face on your RAC patrolman is also lighter, and more flesh like; mine is much darker and more tan color...........
Best regards, Terry
Hello terry and Jan,
Nice to see the pictures and comments on this little model. It happens that I have original drawings for this model, assembly and RAC sidecar. Assembly drawing has Job no 7381 and date 11-9-1935. The side car has Job no 7385 and date 4-2-35. Quite a long period between the two. Both are drawn on linen. This was standard for the time despite linen was much more expensive as paper.
On the dieline drawing for the side car there is only one change. Initially the distance between cycle and side car was .250". Probably this was to tight and and the dimension of the boss rear and front was altered to .363" on change order 20-5-36 finally.
The assembly drawing shows changes on axles and wheels. First change order 26-3-46 and last 4-5-62. Of course the axles first were made with flat ends and later changed to crimped. The wheels went from small rubber to the later post war. See pictures of the drawings.
John.
John---How wonderful and nice that you have those drawings. As many others have mentioned, many of the drawings have been sold and disappeared, and any knowledge or information to be gained from them missing. As to the crimped axle ends being changed to the rounded, it appears that was done right after WWII, correct? Meaning there should be no post war versions with crimped axles.
As a very young boy, 2 of my first 5 Dinky Toys in 1951 were the AA Motorcycle and the other was the Police Motorcycle, and from a young age I just loved these tiny models, largely I think due to the cute sidecars. And I really have come to appreciate the extra detailing on the pre-war versions; that extra work involved must have been very tedious to perform, as much of the detail is tiny.
Best regards, Terry
Wow, that's so great, John, you owning these important documents! If possible, share the contents, so important for research, with us, under 'Publications - Documents - Factory drawings'. Kind regards, Jan
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