Where it came from

It is an AEC armoured command vehicle , 151 were manufactured and only 1 exists, discovered in the old Pounds scrap yard in Portsmouth. Based on the chassis of the 6x6 AEC airfield refueller truck. A book is available depicting all the military products they manufactured during WW2. Try and get hold of a copy. Hope this is of interest.

haven't seen this one displayed before, so here goes...the Dinky Sunbeam Alpine. I never thought that this model was particularly pretty, and had not seen a real one until a few weeks ago (I live in S. California). I attended a concourse in La Jolla, CA (in San Diego), and low and hehold, there was a pristine Sunbeam Alpine right before me. It was very recognizable, but seemed to look much better than our little Dinky model. I think it is all the subtle details that Dinky could not capture, such as the gentle crease lines in the fenders, the brightwork trim, and the edges on the real car are just softer. On the Dinky, those bonnet louvers also really stand out...they are too pronounced. And this color that Dinky used is maybe not the best for this model...not very rich looking.Terry

catellag wrote: 'Im the only (up to now) Italian DTCA member and Im a bit in confusion: how happens that Austin and Bedford are so similar? Do Dinky 410 represent an Austin or a Bedford O Series? ' Hi There. There was no connection between the Bedford and Austin companies, though they do look very much alike. So much so that the Austin was jokingly called 'The Birmingham Bedford'. As far as I know the Bedford came out first. The Dinky 25m / 410 is the Bedford, the Dinky 30j / 412 is the Austin. A simple grille change could have given us a convincing large scale Austin had Dinky wanted to! Chris Warr.

catellag wrote: 'I have found this picture, which I think can match Dinky 250 fire pumper. The problem is that it is not a Merryweather, but a Leyland PE BHH1 from 1938. ' Not a problem at all as the Dinky is a Leyland too! Chris Warr.

Thank you Chris, for the precious information. Do you know anything about the real Austin which has been reproduced by Dinky? I post here an imagine of the asticulated Bedford, which I assume is an O-Type. Or not?

Hi Gianni, Nice photo, yes it is a Bedfiord O series lorry. The Austin is a K series, either a K2 or K3 made from 1939 - 54. Here's a real K2....... [/url] Cheers, Chris Warr.

... and this is my favourite photo of the real Sunbeam Alpine: By the way, I did not know of these tiny split wind screens, like the SS Jaguar. Remarkable! Kind regards, Jan

Thank you guys for your warm welcome
and kind words.There are still plenty of real size Dinkies in the wild in New Zealand ! This TK belongs to our neighbours ' vineyard: www.lawsonsdryhills.co.nz Wilfried [img] / images / sites / default / files / old - forum - images / TK.jpg [/img]

Good shot,
Wilfried ! Here in Italy it is much more difficult to find Dinky prototypes.Perhaps you can give me some information about the real Bedford TK,
like engine capacity,
years of production,
etc ? Thanks a lot for your kindness,
Gianni [img] / images / sites / default / files / old - forum - images / 0703.jpg [/img]

Wilfried ---What a wonderful picture....very well done!! Terry

I have searched and never before seen or found an image of the prototype Studebaker Tanker truck, the model of which Dinky made from 1950 through about 1961. I recently found and purchased a Studebaker Heavy Truck brochure from 1949, the first year of the revised truck line, and inside was a small photo of a representative tanker. This photo differs slightly from the Dinky model, but is nonetheless, very close, and again shows that Meccano was pretty much right on the mark with the detailing.Regards, Terry



[img]/images/sites/default/files/forum-images/Studebaker 1949 brochure tanker image.jpg[/img]
[img]/images/sites/default/files/forum-images/Studebaker 1949 Heavy Truck brochure1.jpg[/img]

That is a great find Terry, I also have tried to find a tanker. I contacted the Studebaker Museum in America but they were unable to confirm the existence of a tanker. I had narrowed it down to the 1949 range as shown with the photo below. Dave

[img]/images/sites/default/files/forum-images/1949 Studebaker Petrol Tankers montage.jpg[/img]