Here is a Dinky and a Nicky Toys Vanwall

Dave

Nice comparison, Dave, of the original with the 'exotic' one.

(and not extremely difficult to make a choice!)

Kind regards, Jan 

Yes I know which one I like.

I have picked up a couple of Nicky Toys in the last few months, one seller on e-bay has been offering loads at absolutely stupid high prices.

Dave

Here are all of them (I think).

Hi Walter, thank you for the nice overview of all variations. I see that even your boxes are 'nail-secured'. 

I wonder, are all numbers deviating from 35 official replacement numbers or are some also factory-originals? Or is 25 the only deviating one that is (mostly) factory made?

I have a nice publicity photograph (in fact a photograph of a drawing) which was used by the Dutch agent Hausemann & Hötte for their advertisements in all kinds of papers, periodicals etc. This one was used i.a. for the Dutch 'Na Vijven' magazine, which published 'Meccano Magazine - like' articles. I think the artistic-technical value of them deserve admiration.  

Kind regards, Jan 

Hi Jan,

as for the racing numbers of the 239 Vanwall, most of them carry the No. 35, but in rare cases No. 25 and No. 26 were applied too. Ramsey's mentions them as well. On Vectis you can find them too. My No. 25 and No. 26 are booth on spun-hubs models with glossy base-plates.

I am convinced they are factory-originals.

Regards from Thailand

Walter

These blister packs were introduced in 1962, when the Vanwalls were fitted with plastic rims, yellow or green. But strange enough, the Vanwall in the blister-pack has diecast rims fitted, as they were used on the first issues in 1958.
Walter

I found this in a 1956 publication, I bet McLaren and Ferrari wish they could make a successful F1 car for £50,000 today.

Dave

Two Vanwalls below, the earlier one with regular white driver and medium size treaded tyres, the later one with plastic yellow driver, plastic steering wheel and small size treaded tyres. The latter - like Richard's - may have come from a bubble pack, as it has no box. A cut-away drawing of the real one included, a photocopy I got from a friend many years ago. Kind regards, Jan 

Jan---Very nice! I have a pretty early one, with the white driver, and it has the smaller treaded tires, which I always thought were just too small for the model.
Best regards, Terry

Here is the complete set (I think) of different racing numbers on the 239 Vanwall, with 35 being the most common.

Regards

Walter

On the first issue of the 239 Vanwall, the racing number up front was placed on a smooth surface.

Soon, a raised number circle was added for more precise allocation of the racing number.

Regards

Walter

This mint/boxed example sold on eBay France the other day, at a very fair 'buy it now' price! Kind regards, Jan 

A very nice model of an attractive real-life car. Because of it's smaller scale (compare the size of the driver) and different construction method from the previous 23 /23x series of cars, I always expected there to have been more "up to date" F1 cars in a new group with the Vanwall. The earlier prototype cars were from the late 1940's and very early fifties, whereas the Vanwall was developed half a decade later. Corgi around the same time also introduced a very similar Vanwall, plus a contemporary BRM - could it be that Dinky had similar plans, but were deterred by Corgi's success, bearing in mind that Corgi racers also had clear windscreens and spring suspension?