29c and 290 Double Decker Bus (1938-63)

Thought I would show my very nice 29c Double Deck bus, early post war version, in a very pleasing color combination. This one was one of those times where I got a very nice model for a very reasonable price.Regards, Terry

A new addition: a green/cream no. 29c, no advertising, no number cast in chassis, roof box, rounded axle ends, smooth tyres, ca. 1952-1954 (from trade box). Compared with: An older addition: a green/cream no. 290, advertising Dunlop, number 290 cast in chassis, no roof box, rounded axle ends, treaded tyres, ca. 1958-1961 (with individual box). Kind regards, Jan

Ciao Gianni! Did you ever receive a reply to your question about the buses on which the Dinky 29c was modelled? All I can tell you is that the pre-war version was based on an AEC Regent I chassis and that the later versions were probably modelled on the AEC Regent III and Leyland Titan chassis. Google any of those and you will find details. The London Bus museum site has technical details but there will also be Wikipedia entries for them. I hope this is helpful. John (Gianni) Powell PS Also look here - www.old-bus-photos.co.uk

Hello all. Some time ago I won an auction lot that included a pre-war 29c. The chassis was fatigued and the cab end of was missing although the body, albeit a bit chipped, was in good condition. Having Googled for a replacement I found that the Dinky Club offers a kit but before I commit to a reproduction I wanted to ask here whether anyone has a spare pre-war chassis that they'd consider selling. I hope that I'm not transgressing forum rules by doing so. Thank you John

Just a quick followup to my earlier post on the Double Deck buses.This last week I received a pretty good model of the post war AEC,
type 1 version,
with the curved front wings
and the old style AEC radiator grill.
From
what I have read,
this model was the same as the pre - war,
but without the simulated stairs in the rear passenger area.It was only made a couple of years
and always had black wheels
and crimped axles.TerryThis type 1 bus alongside the type 2 Leyland version....notice the front wings
and the grill [img] / images / sites / default / files / forum - images / Dinky Toys Double Deck Bus type 1 frt angle.jpg [/img] [img] / images / sites / default / files / forum - images / Dinky Toys Double Deck Bus type 1 rear angle.jpg [/img] [img] / images / sites / default / files / forum - images / Dinky Toys Double Deck Bus type 1 and 2 angle.jpg [/img] [img] / images / sites / default / files / forum - images / DinkyToysDoubleDeckBustype1frtangle.jpg [/img] [img] / images / sites / default / files / forum - images / DinkyToysDoubleDeckBustype1rearangle.jpg [/img] [img] / images / sites / default / files / forum - images / DinkyToysDoubleDeckBustype1and2angle.jpg [/img]

Except for the hubs (smooth/ridged) I happened to find another slight body casting difference comparing the earliest post-war Double Decker of 1945/46 and the later one with ridged hubs from 1946 on. Initially the spacer keeping the front wheels in place is a small knob, and situated above the axle only, whereas my 1946 examples show the spacers considerably enlarged and extended further, down below the front axle, with a flat underside. I have no pre-war 29c's, so I wonder if someone can show the pre-war situation of this area here. Kind regards, Jan

Hi Jan! 2020 greetings! At the time you posted the question regarding the little knobs above the front axle on your early post-war bus I didn't own a pre-war example that HAD a front axle! Since then I have obtained an example and can now respond to your question with a definitive answer. The pre-war has the two little knobs above the axle. Clearly this carried over to the immediate post-war offering. Incidentally, in comparing the underside of my pre-war and your early post-war, I notice a casting difference. Immediately behind the front wheels there is an obvious difference. The pre-war curves down to the base plate whereas the post-war has a step on each side behind each wheel. I hope this is of interest. Kind regards John

Obviously there was never a dull moment for this casting. It was involved in a continuous process of change, revision, repair and replacement. Thanks, John, for your comment. Happy 2020 to everyone! Kind regards, Jan

Thanks John, I love this website for all these little discoveries. It keeps me searching for whats out there.

Me too! I've just noticed another little factory anomaly on my original pre-war bus. The DUNLOP TYRES on the left-hand side has been applied twice. It looks as though the first application was misaligned and they made a second application to correct it. The surface has flaked off in places and revealed the original layer. The flaking may be visible in the photos as a faint line curving at one point over the T and Y to the left of the very obvious chip over the R.

On Ebay USA I came across this variant with number 29c in the baseplate that I have not yet seen in this topic. Ebay item number 352979754503. Jan Oldenhuis

This 290 Double Deck Bus with its characteristic half cab and open left rear platform entrance is a masterpiece of this British icon produced by Meccano Liverpool. It were already issued from April 1938 as Double Decker Bus with advertisement DUNLOP TYRES and after the war reissued as Double Deck Bus, but initially without advertising that appeared on the model again after 1954. It became very popular and during its production time till 1963 it got 3 different radiator grilles and still so many other variations that it has become a beloved collector's item. I bought it in my home country of the Netherlands, but without a box. Fortunately, an empty 290 box was for sale in France at the same time, and coincidentally also with the correct 2-tone colour spot. Both model and box are of the Leyland radiator grille issue. In this way, I was able to acquire a beautiful new 290 combination of model and box. It has the vertical black Dunlop advertising transfers with the very nice Italic red slogan: 'The World's Master Tyre' in perfect condition, which is hard to find. This Dunlop advertisement was after 1954 reinstalled and from the early 1960s, the vertical Dunlop letters were slanted. I think my model is a 1959/1960 issue, because it has a roof box, which was re-applied from 1960, and it doesn't have a number in the base, which was deleted late 1958. It has also a recessed place in the rear body for the license plate with cavity stop lights above it. My model had black smooth tyres of which 2 were flat and petrified. I renewed them with ribbed Dunlop tyres, because there was a tyre change from late 1957 and ribbed tyres are also depicted for this model in the 1959 till 1963 catalogue. I special like this glossy colour scheme green-cream with the light green wheel hubs together with this very nice Dunlop advertisement version, as well as the red-cream Dunlop version. This Dunlop advertisement was very appropriate for Meccano Liverpool, because so many Dinky Toys have been released with Dunlop tyres. I don't understand why after the war the advertising did not immediately reappear on the models. I found some nice pictures of the real double deck buses AEC and Leyland which could be the prototype of the Dinky Toys 29c/290. I think that the bus has been accurately reproduced. I discovered some small details that I haven't seen discussed anywhere before. If you look closely at the model and the photos you can see on the right side of the bus/model the foot step for the driver on the left under the cabin door and the fuel filler cap in the middle of the bus. On the left side of the bus you also see a foot step at the front near the cabin. These are very small details, but they should absolutely not be overlooked and I think it's classy that Meccano Liverpool have also reproduced these small details. Enlargements of the respective Meccano drawing clearly show the relevant details. No picture of a box has been shown here yet so I'm showing my 290 box here. Also a photo of the mask spray painting of the Dinky Toys 29c Bus at Meccano Factory Liverpool in the 50s should not be missing in this topic. Note: I could only find picture boxes with an image of the Leyland grille version. Are there picture boxes known with an AEC grille version? ** Recently this hard back book (154 pages) is published: 'The English Dinky Bus & Coach by Roger Bailey, with all the details about all Dinky buses. (I dont yet have this book) Jan Oldenhuis, 10 September 2021.









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