Dave--You are quite right about the various motorcycles that Dinky produced over the years. I have always had a fondness for them, that started with my very first 5 Dinky Toys that I got as a young boy: one was the Police Motorcycle Patrol, and another was the AA Motorcycle Patrol. Those tiny motorcycles, with their very cute sidecars, were always a favorite of mine.
You had some nice pictures of the post war versions, and you alluded to the changes that Meccano made in regards to paint detailing. Like most of their models, it was necessary after the war to reduce the hand work involved in painting the minute details on both the motorcycles as well as the various figures in many of the sets. I am posting some pictures that will show just how much was changed. Generally, the pre-war motorcycles had silver painted cylinder heads plus silver painted exhaust and mufflers, and of course, white tires. On the AA Motorcycle Patrol, the gas tank in the pre-war version was also painted yellow, to match the sidecar.
In addition, the motorcycle riders pre-war were also detailed. Their hats sport black brims, their faces are painted in with eyes and mouths, chin straps for hats or helmuts, buttons on outerwear, etc. The detail is astounding when you look closely and then realize how much time must have been involved using very tiny brushes. Enjoy!!

Terry

Lovely stuff, and again an area I need to work on, only having the Postwar AA Combo. Isn't it a shame Dinky didn't make a large scale RAC / AA Combo?
Chris Warr.

Our loyal and ever present RAC Patrol has arrived at the scene of a small problem.....a stalled car or truck?? Whatever, they are always there to help!

Terry

I must admit that I haven't paid these items too much attention before, but I can definitely see their attraction. It's very interesting to see the difference between pre-war and post-war - the detailed brushwork on the pre-war versions is pretty impressive!

I recently bought an AA Box, as I like having street furniture items to add some interest to my display cases. It came with the original outer box and what was left of the motorcycle (sadly the sidecar has disappeared :( ).

I bought a reproduction insert for the box, and popped in some reproduction figures and motorbike I already had. These have a lot less trim than the originals! I will now have to look out for some originals - I wonder how easy they will be to find...). Meccano really did a good job with the beautiful presentation of this little set, as well as the RAC and Police versions.

Here is a plastic copy of the Dinky from Hong Kong. It is the same size as the original, and has the number 7438 moulded on the side. Can anyone confirm the manufacturer of this item?

Fred--
That was nice that you could find a repro insert for the pre-war AA box and set, along with the figures. The pre-war sets of the AA, RAC, and the Police Motorcycle Patrol are just lovely, to me at least. They combine pre-war diecast, with tinplate, and then the box artwork, all with the wonderful pre-war intricate brush work and detail. Below are some photos of my original pre-war AA Motorcycle Patrol with box and figures.
Terry

Thanks for posting picutres of your original AA set, Terry. I can't imagine many disagreeing with your opinion of these motorcycle sets as being just lovely.

Do you have the RAC and Police sets to show us?

Thanks for posting picutres of your original AA set, Terry. I can't imagine many disagreeing with your opinion of these motorcycle sets as being just lovely.

Do you have the RAC and Police sets to show us?

Fred--I have posted these before, but will show them again so that you can see them. All three are a lovely set to acquire, with their artwork inserts and lovely pre-war detail..........

Terry

Here is the RAC Motorcycle Patrol set

And here is the Police Motorcycle Patrol set

Thank you Terry for posting pictures of these beautiful sets!

Dave--Nice going and a great find! Those all appear to be in very nice condition, and I don't see any obvious fatigue. Good luck on finding a box....hopefully one will turn up.

Terry

Wow--you have moved very quickly to acquire those 2 nice sets.....now you just have to find the Police version. Am curious....did you happen to find those from another collector/dealer or on auction? Either way nice score! And you are right....that AA box is much more intricate and involved than the simple RAC. I have come to enjoy the pre-war items of tinplate and die cast and feel it is somewhat of a shame that tinplate did not survive the war. I also have both the garage and the filling station and enjoy the nicely detailed scenes on both of them. Good luck on finding the rest!!

Terry

Terry, Dave, I feel like a beginning amateur seeing the unbelievably beautiful and scarce items both of you are presenting here, and the high tempo in which they seem to be acquired! Congratulations, must have cost something ... Best regards, Jan

The pre-war AA Motor Cycle Patrol

The post-war AA Motor Cycle Patrol

The Dutch ANWB Motor Cycle Patrol

The Dutch ANWB Motor Cycle Patrol as it should be!

Jan--Isn't the detail on the pre-war figures wonderful? The tiny applications of paint...badges, buttons, sashes, hats, eyes.............you wonder just how quickly those ladies were able to turn them out back in the day...very nice and thanks for showing!

Terry

I do agree, but sometimes the expressions on their faces are a bit odd!

Regards, Jan

One of my Hausemann & Hotte publicity photographs, this one rather special because this ANWB model was meant for the Dutch market only. I love the straightforward, simple style of these drawings, which were used in advertisements in Dutch papers and periodicals. At present I am researching the H&H archives in Amsterdam and I found a lot of similar and related material, of which  I may publish an article in the future.

By the way, I have produced a pdf file of my talk and presentation touching on this subject, in Derby, last July, with far more images than my recent Journal article could include. It consists of 70 slides and the size is about 15 mb. I wonder if it could be uploaded somehow to the website for a wider DTCA audience. Kind regards, Jan

Jan--That is a very nice, crisp drawing that shows the subject very well.  That would be really great if you could find some more Dinky images in their archives.  I also would really like to see your talk/discussion that you gave......hopefully they can find a way to download items like that on the site and make them available to the rest of us.

      Regards,  Terry