642 Pressure Refueller (195760)

Hello Terry While I am waiting for the website to be fixed by the wizards as I have several Post to lodge, both requiring images to be uploaded I thought I will answer your last Post on the 642 Pressure Refueller. What a simply marvellous acquisition of one of Meccanos magnificent products, and one of my favourite models too! I can still vividly remember when I received mine for Christmas 1957. It mostly stayed in its box except when I took it out to smell it! A pity that some little urchin messed it up a bit after I left home. As for the Quality Inspection stamp that is in your box this is an example of Meccanos warped sense of humour change a system that can be translated by collectors in the future to a system that on the surface makes no sense at all. They used the same system with the quality inspections in the small yellow end-flap boxes too, the idiots! What was so wrong with letters and numbers, I ask? It is the bottom row of numerals that means something and in the case of your model, it was quality inspected during the month of October 1957. October is the 10 month, so it is represented by a zero, the seven is the last numeral for the year, and the 5 at the start completes the year. (As for a model inspected in November, the second last numeral for the year is dropped and the row becomes 117.) However, what I have learned is that there appears to be no hard and fast rule, and in some cases, the price written on the box is useful, although with the 642, the UK price remained constant from April 1957 through to April 1959 at 7/9 and from May 1959 to August 1960 at 7/6. (I have just changed the subject line to the year when the model was deleted from the Meccano inventory from 1959 to 1960, as I have recently obtained some Dealer Order Forms for the later part of 1960 and these included the 642 so all those publications are wrong!) Wasnt that a marvellous era prices were so constant, none of this up and down, or should that be up and up as it is these days! I would like to see some images of the box itself isnt it great when one obtains a model whose box shows very little if any wear! I achieved something similar with a recent arrival, another 666. One has to ask the question, where have these boxes and toys been hiding all these years?! The same for a 689 I obtained through eBay and a seller in New Zealand in October 2001, but I have written a little on this model in that Topic. I presume the interior of the cab has cross-hatching on the ceiling. Again, a great model and box and it is nice that it will remain in this condition for many years to come. Whereabouts in the UK is the dealer from whom you purchased it? Kind regards Bruce 20161011/1000/1159 PS This is my 1,000th Post since I started writing for the Forum a little over two years ago, on 24 July 2014, and it is nice that it is addressed to an old buddy! Not for one moment did I ever consider writing so much, although some may have wished that I never did!!

Congratulations gentlemen! Terry with your excellent acquisition, Bruce with your milestone post! Kind regards, Jan

Bruce You raise an interesting point about top condition boxes. I too find it intriguing that they have survived so well and it would be fascinating to know their life story! In terms of those models from my childhood that retain their boxes, there is a logical relationship between age and condition and even the best have a few scuffs. I guess that's almost inevitable where the owner has retained an interest in looking at them, so you can only imagine that pristine examples have been put away by kids interested in new, more grown-up pursuits, the models have subsequently been rarely handled and, perhaps most importantly, have been stored in conditions that are dry, clean and insect-free. Much is made of the phrase old shop stock, but you can imagine many items in such circumstances suffering the ravages of time just as badly as toys in the possession of their intended audience. I went to an auction last year which included some pristine boxed Dinkys and the story was that every time the young lad went to visit his aunt, she would give him money to buy new models but they stayed at her house and presumably she put them away for safe keeping. it's always a pleasure to see such boxes. Kind regards Mark

Bruce--First of all, congratulations on reaching that 1,000 post milestone. I know that I join many in thanking you for your countless great posts on a wide variety of Dinky subjects. Your knowledge and experience on all things Dinky is fantastic, and I am only so glad that you share it with us! Am including some images of the box that my Pressure Refueller came in. After looking at it more closely, it is not quite pristine, but still very nice. The usual wear points on these are the upper corners on the box lid......those seem to always get the brunt of wear. But for almost 60 years old, it is still very nice. I also attached a photo of the base of the model, not that there is anything unusual there, but as you can see, it is in wonderful condition, and certainly never played with. As to the cab ceiling, it is indeed smooth, and not checkered. I can't remember where that fits in with this date stamp and other examples, but it is smooth. Unfortunately, there is no price marking on the box as a further reference as to date. However, due to the condition of the model and the box, I am quite sure this is the box it came in. Best regards, Terry

Mark I find it quite extra-ordinary how some boxes have survived the test of time for over 50 years. I was reasonably careful with my Dinky Toys but still the boxes suffered from constant opening. I have two boxed models purchased in recent year that exhibit virtually no wear except for a tiny piece of graffiti on one with other having no wear at all. I think I will start a new Topic on these and see over time how many other boxes our members hold that have survived the rigorous actions of time in virtually pristine condition. You are quite right about the often used phrase, 'Old Shop Stock'. (Does it really mean stock held in an old shop!!! ) Auction descriptions can provide some mirth with how the seller or cataloguer describes the Lot. I do have a number of smaller yellow end-flap boxes that show extremely small wear or none at all, which is quite remarkable as these boxes were made from light stock. These too should be included in the new Topic. Must get cracking on it! Kind regards Bruce (150) 20161014/1007/1409

Here are what I believe are the 4 versions of this model - 2 with a smooth ceiling inside the cab and 2 with cross hatching on the inside of the cab. From the left is one with the French roundel on the front of the cab and with cross hatching inside the cab. The box lid has the stamp GU 9 57 (September 1957). Next is one with an RAF roundel on the front of the cab and cross hatching inside the cab. The stamp on the inside of the box lid is J2 859 (August 1959). Next is one with a French roundel and a smooth cab roof. There is no box so no date reference. And lastly one with an RAF roundel and a smooth ceiling inside the cab. The stamp on the inside of the box lid has the stamp X 957 (September 1957). I'm not sure how the dates fit in with previous comments about the sequence of when smooth or cross hatched versions appeared so I will leave that for others to discuss. Regards, Chris.

Chris My apologies for having missed your appreciated contribution! I have added the inspection details as well as the features for each boxed model to my data base. Interesting from my perspective, to see that X 957 was originally sold here in Australia, as the price on the end, 13/6 was the price the model sold here from its release through to its demise. One thing I did notice, although this may have been due to the angle the photograph was taken, with the example on the far right the roundel appears to have a slightly lighter shade of blue and also appears to be slightly larger than the other example with the RAF roundel. Is this the case or are my eyes playing tricks?? It is nice seeing someone else has a similar set of 642 Pressure Refueller boxed models although all mine were manufactured in the first year of production. One thing though, with your models (assuming each are in the same box in which they were originally sold) the use of the RAF roundel apparently occurred throughout the model's production life , rather than only at one set point in time. Kind regards Bruce H. (150) 20161128/1047/0203