Dinky of the day.

This finish is not Meccano's idea, there was a cab company in NY runing Chryslers in the same colours.

US catalogue 1951: US catalogue 1952 (only): Regards, Jan

Here is my Dinky of the day...the #25k Streamline Fire Engine with Firemen. This was only made pre-war, from about 1937 through 1940 I believe. It came with painted, tinplate firemen, mounted on tabs through the base, then bent over. I was always fascinated by this little truck and was finally able to find a very nice one several years ago. I think Dinky's use of these little figures inside closed vehicles was a wonderful idea, even though some think they look a little strange! These sometimes come up for sale, but most are quite fatigued. I was very lucky...this one is free of fatigue, except for the wheels, which have a small amount. Terry

this shows the baseplate, with the tabs bent over to hold the firemen in place

and finally, this shows my little collection of Streamline Fire Engines, with the early post war, later post war, and the final numbered 250 version

Hi Terry, Lovely! You are very lucky to get that one in such lovely condition, mine is far gone. The figures were great weren't they? Really added to the model. Chris Warr.

Jan Thanks for showing both the 1951 & 1952 catalogs.....that seems to show that they made those 39 series two-tones only in 1952, which accounts for how rare they are. Terry

Gentlemen Changing the topic to Volvos! Proudly displayed here as my 'Dinky of the Day', actually 'Four Dinky of the Day' is my gaggle of Dinky Toys 184 Volvo 122S, dark red, red, white and the South African Lavender Grey together with two boxes, both showing a colour rendition of the Volvo, except with a creamish roof that the model never wore. I wonder why the artwork was depicted as such? Were there any examples painted in this scheme? I have never seen any but that may not necessarily be so, as with so many other models, someone always manages to dig out a colour scheme previously unknown. I can think of one collector who might just have a two-tone Volvo! Cheers Bruce

Hi Bruce, Lovely line up! Very nice to see the South African Lavender grey! So different and soooo rare! Kind regards, Rob

Bruce, For this subject, there are some documents. a flyer in Swedish as it should be for a swedish car courtesy of Ragnar. The 1956 Volvo catalogue showing that the colour scheme choosen by Meccano was correct. and the December 1961 Meccano Magazine stating that 'the model is issued in red only and not two-tone as illustrated'. Apparently, it had been chosen to make the model in two-tone and the art work was done for the boxes, Magazines and advertissements. Note that on the drawings, the model is exactly in the same position as on the Volvo advertissement. Was this advertissement copied by Meccano. A thought : Most of the art work from Bobigny, boxes and catalogues is signed Jean Mass

Eighty years ago today, September 26th 1934, the Queen Mary was launched. Enough for the Dinky Toys Queen Mary to deserve a REAL

Jan A very nice piece on the Queen Mary......I can only imagine what your original, longer article must be like. I have never started collecting any of the Dinky ships.....seem to have my hands full with just vehicles, but they are always interesting to see......thanks for showing us! Terry

Thank you Jan for sharing this with us, and also remembering the importance of 26 September 1934. It is interesting to see that Meccano released its model as '534' prior to the naming and launching of the ship as 'Queen Mary'. Like Terry, I do not have much interest in Dinky Toys ships, but I can understand and appreciate collectors like Jan who is an ardent ship model enthusiast! So there is hope for collectors like Terry and me!! :laugh: Thanks again Jan for all the details and hopefully you can create a new thread so we can easily retrieve what he has posted without having to go to another link within this website. Finally, my wife and I visited 'Queen Mary' where she is permanently docked at Long Beach, California, on 23 August 1981.

Hello Jan, Thank you very much for sharing this wonderfull topic with us. The great pictures of the Dinky Toys models, the advertising and the box art work, all memories of an era long gone. Just imagine crossing the ocean and arriving in New York, passing the Statue of Liberty on board of such a glorious ship enjoying the luxury and atmosphere