139a and 170 Ford Fordor Sedan (1949-59)

Thanks, Bruce, for your notes and comments. Nothing stamped inside the major end flaps, unfortunately! Model name cast inside roof of the tan sedan, not inside the Army Staff Car. Kind regards, Jan

Hi Bruce. Same colour variations with the Cadillac Eldorado 131 as you can see on the photo bellow. Did you notice that both the Rambler and the Cadillac in beige instead of pink salmon, have spun hubs ? For me, the explanation is : the paints manufacturer did not succeed to obtain the right Meccano pink colour and the colourist needed to add some colouring matter to fit with the previous delivery and that operation take time. Meccano needed urgently the paint to face the orders and accept the new lot with, probably a little discount. Friendly yours Richard

Richard I quite agree with all that you have written with the different colour being applicable to later issues. Here are some pictures of the Cadillac, Rambler and Ford together in a differing set-out. Placing the models together in their similar shades of 'Salmon Pink' and one can readily see that the various olours are similar. I rather like this 'accidental' Salmon Pink'!! Returning to the Ford itself, and referring to Post #7 above, I have in recent weeks, added another Ford Sedan to my collection; the tan, third from the bottom in the photograph below and the third left in the bottom photograph. This model has the shortened front axle supports and the inscription 'Ford Sedan' under the roof. More later! The colour tan is also of a slightly paler shade of tan. I still have a few more to acquire before the collection of this single model, the139a/170 Ford Fordor Sedan is complete! What a nice series that Meccano manufactured for over 10 years. Can anyone imagine a toy maker these days even thinking of retaining a basic design for anything more than a year or two! Larger images are below. Kind regards Bruce H. (150) 20172206/1124/2230

Bruce---Great post along with super photos, showing all of those subtle shade variations. Seeing them all together makes it very clear just how much they varied....very interesting! Best regards, Terry

Thank you Terry for your most appreciated comments. This set started with just an example of the red with shortened front axle supports and then the collection of Ford Sedans grew from there! There are still four more to add before the series is complete. One thing I have been meaning to include in my previous Posts: Why did Meccano make this model without the centre windscreen (windshield) pillar? Was it an intentional omission or did something occur with the mould very early in its life which to rectify it would have involved a lot of time and therefore expense? All the previous 39 series (with the exception of the Lincoln Zephyr) had their centre pillar, as to the later 139b Hudson Commodore, so why leave it out with the 139a Ford Fordor? Kind regards Bruce H. (150) 20173006/1128/0312

Bruce Did the original Ford have a center windscreen pilar which was part of the body ? The picture which I have shows a very thin pilar or a seal which was part of the windscreen and not part of the body. If you reduce this pilar to 1/43, it will be hardly visible. for example : 2cm / 43 = 0,4 mm or 3cm / 43 = 0,6mmimpossible to cast.

Jacques If you look at the photographs below showing a) 1954 Holden FJ Sedan b) Ford Fordor Sedan, and c) Hudson Commodore Sedan, all three vehicles have similar centre posts. These posts are in fact dual chrome supports for the glass windscreen for both sides. None of these vehicles with this type of windscreen had a metal extension from either the engine compartment and the roof. The individual windscreen glass is slotted into each side together with a rubber sealant. A similar system was used for all cars having separated windscreens. One vehicle of which I have intimate knowledge is the Holden 215 and its successor, the Holden FJ. This can be seen with the following photograph. Please excuse the age-wear! This is my eldest brother standing beside his then new Holden FJ, with my mode of transport behind leaning on the garage! Dad worked in a Holden dealership, and we visited the showroom each time a new model was released. I also went down to the garage on Saturday afternoons when Dad had some jobs to finish. He was a fully qualified motor mechanic and held a diploma issued by the Automotive Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Institute, a prestigious organisation that only granted these certificates to those who have passed a very stringent test. I was very proud of Dad and his wisdom that came in handy with my own Morris Minor and then Hillman Minx Series II - as well as my later 'stuff' from Japan!! This system can also be seen with the following Ford Fordor Sedan and Hudson Commodore Sedan. As can be seen above, the centre post is a chromed strip. Therefore, if the Hudson Commodore Sedan was given a centre windscreen post, I can see no reason why the Ford Fordor should have been missed out. Just found a photograph I took of 'Mouse', my 1954 Morris Minor - its centre windscreen post can also be seen. I remember this one very well, as when I polished Mouse, I had to also include this chromed centre windscreen post as well as all the other chromed areas around the windscreen, doors, etc. I still have the gear lever 'knob' as a souvenir of this little motor car, my first venture into car ownership! I was so glad to move up to a 1958 Hillman Minx II in Antelope paintwork, as I could start saving money! Mouse was a mess of a car and I only bought it for wheels to get me out to a farm where a young lady lived! Kind regards Bruce Hoy (150) 20170907/1136/1924

I only have one 170 Ford Fordor Sedan to contribute here, but it is the low-line version in red and cream. I bought this in 1959-1960 directly from H. Hudson Dobson, and at the time, definitely did not like the two-tone colors that Meccano was introducing on our Dinky Toys. Included is a photograph of the box, which shows a high-line version. My question is, did Dinky ever make this box with the correct low-line illustration, or did they simply have plenty of high-line boxes and just used those? Best regards, Terry

Hello Terry, As far as I know only the highline illustration was used for the box for the two tone Ford Fordor. This is also the case with the 171 Hudson Commodore and the 172 Studebaker Landcruiser. Dinky Toys saved some money there! For the 171 Hudson Commodore early boxes show the first type of two tone paint scheme, with the body in one colour and the roof and window frames in the second color. Kind regards, Rob

Rob---Thanks for confirming that....I was thinking the same thing. I also have the later low-line Studebaker, bought at the same time, and it also has the low-line box. Dinky did find ways to improvise and save money!Best regards, Terry

925 475 While I was looking for Lucky Toys of Hong-Kong, I found this.