153a and 672 Jeep (1946-55)

Hi There, My first post, of many I hope. Received the january 2010 edition of The Journal today, I refer to page 8, No.153a Willys Jeep. I have found that the very first issues that I have obtained over the years have in most cases had the peculiar ribbed tyres fitted, in fact it seems Meccano fitted these tyres to all the re-issued pre-war types. I have the Anti- aircraft gun, 6 wheel wagon , and the Morris reece car so fitted, including one example of the last mentioned with the ribbed tyres in white, later after who knows how many were issued, they went over to plain black rubber. I wonder if the revised casting with the domed bonnet was to do with weakness in the mould, or perhaps the castings came out more cleanly with the domed shape. As stated the real vehicles had flat bonnets. There must be some people who worked on the Dinky production of the time that the jeeps were made, who are still alive and still living in or around Liverpool, who perhaps could shed some light on why the mould was revamped. When I get the time, I will dig out the ones I have and send some photos in.

Hello Distribution, I have tried to make some sense (if possible, anyway) of this early post-war ribbed tyres matter in a new discussion thread: 'Tyres (early post-war, 15mm fine tread)'. I hope that some discussion can produce more period and model definition for this kind of tyres. As the no. 153a is concerned: if you want to know 'everything' (except the reason for raising this model's hood, unfortunately) about it, please read the article by Keith Harvie in his 'The Binns Road Gazette' vol 1 no. 1, of January / February 1999, pages 5-18. Detailed descriptions are given there about all known variations (six issues in the period 1946-1955) of this model (including tyre type occurence). Besides that the drawings 12140 (assy), 12142 (windscreen) and 12143 (steering column) are shown there in detail. Kind regards, Jan Werner

I noticed that this post about the immediate post war 153a U.S. Military Jeep does not show any photos, of either the first and flat hood version, or the later domed one. I recently acquired a decent model of the early one, with the flat hood and also the early post war treaded tires. It is far from mint, but is still pretty decent and is an example of the early Jeep. It also does not have the later paint spraying ring, Best regards, Terry

Terry. This is my Dinky Toys 153a. According to Keith Harvie USA in his Binns Road Gazette is it the 1st issue 1946 with smooth wheel hubs, solid (closed) steering wheel and star layout. It has also a flat hood and base showing smooth gate area inside hood and behind rear axle. There is also a smooth area in center, later used for a painting ring. For the fun I added some photos of a Willys Jeep from Hongwell Cararama that I bought in a gift shop for 4.95. It is a very lovely model in 1:43 scale and very detailed.










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Jan---That's a very nice 1st version! And your tires still have lots of tread left. I sure like these early treaded tires.....much better, with finer tread than those they created in the late 1950's. Very nice, and Dinky made a very good model of the Jeep when they brought this out. Best regards, Terry

A first issue to be proud of to own, Jan! I am still looking for one, because that very first one only is the really first post-war Dinky Toy and of course with a direct relation to (the end of) WWII. It was first advertised in the April 1946 issue of Meccano Magazine, together with the no. 38c Lagonda Coupe. The latter was also a post-war issue, but designed pre-war already, whereas the Jeep was (of course) a real post-war design. My example is a type 3 of 1947/48, also with the nice finely treaded tyres. The red Civilian Jeep 25j, also type 3 of 1947/48, is less common than the Jeep, but the French version, no. 80B of 1957 on the left (and its later variants) is also common. Your other Jeep is nice too. A much newer issue I presume? Kind regards, Jan W

Jan---I have never heard of that before; will be interesting to see if others have. Always learning something new with Meccano and Dinky Toys!Best regards, Terry

I have a special question about my 153a Jeep and I think that this is the best place to ask it.. I did not noticed it in my earlier post. When Jan Werner visited me, he brought to notice to me to the rings/washers between the hubs and the axles of my Jeep. He found this very special. At that moment I did not have that much in my mind, but then I went to find and look after pictures of the same Jeeps 153a 1st version. I did not find any one with rings around the axles and I began to realize that I perhaps have a very rare version. That's why my question: 1) Are there more 153a Jeeps known with rings around the axles. 2) Are there UK Dinky Toys been issued with rings around the axles? I have added a clear picture of my Jeep with rings around the axles. Best wishes to all, Jan Oldenhuis 22-4-2017

Greetings Jan O., Like Terry, I too have never seen washers being placed between the hub and the frame of any model in particular the 153a Jeep. As can be seen with the photograph below of my example of the first issue with a solid steering wheel, it does not contain any washers. I am wondering if someone on the assembly floor thought it would benefit the model if some form of protection of the hubs were inserted. If so, how many similar Jeeps were in fact fitted with these small washers? Just a thought as comparing the axle ends of your model, they are identical to mine so I do not think the washers were inserted as part of a recent years restoration. The only real difference in comparing your Jeep and mine are the quality of the axles themselves - yours are pristene whereas mine have considerable surface rust, most likely caused through the model spending a large part of its life in a damp, or slightly damp environment. Kind regards Bruce H. (150) 20170425/1083:0130

Hello gentlemen, when I observed Jan Oldenhuis' first type Jeep, with its washers behind the hubs, it wasn't the phenomenon as such, but the occurrence on this Jeep, which surprised me. Many - if not all - 27d/340 Land Rovers are also equipped with these little rings behind the wheels. I'm not aware of any other contemporary models with the same washers. I understand that they may reduce some friction or rubbing over there, but I don't know why the adoption of this was limited to this model only. Kind regards, Jan W.

Thanks all of you for your contribution to my question.Meanwhile, I've searched my archive on several places and I discovered a photo of a 153a 1st version Jeep too with washers around the axles.This is the proof that in the beginning of the production of the Jeep 153a these washers originally were fitted for a short period. Remains a riddle, why stopped there to resume this later in the production of the Land Rover Jeep.Kind regards, Jan O.

As a companion to my 2nd issue 153a Jeep (flat bonnet, 'open' steering wheel, crimped axle ends, 1947), I found a 5th issue (raised bonnet, now with painting ring, crimped axle ends, 1948-1952). My 2nd type, lacking the painting ring, clearly shows some imprints in the paint where the base touched the supports or grid it was resting on (am I correct?), whereas the 5th type shows no such traces, is 'clean', with the inside of the painting ring left bare. Kind regards, Jan