Pre War Models

Dave-- Thanks...it has only been the last few years that I finally decided to get a few of the pre-war Dinky models. In the past, I had focused almost 100% on pos-war up to about 1959 or so. I have discovered I really have a lot of fondness for many of the pre-war models; they have a charm all their own. Terry

One of my absolute pre-war favourites, the no. 23m 'Thunderbolt' Racing Car and its post-war descendant no. 23s Streamlined Racing Car:

Jan-- I always liked that model also, and like many others, Dinky's pre--war version just has better detailing. The Union Jack on the tail fin just adds a nice touch that they should have kept. A very lovely model indeed, and thanks also for the nice picture of Capt. Eyston in the car. Terry

When I was a younger collector living in S. California, I did not even know about most of the pre-war models. I always liked the military models, so later on I discovered info on many of the earlier issues. One which captured my attention was the the Military Wagon, along with the Cooker Trailer and the Water tank trailer.Several years ago I was finally able to find one from a dealer in England, so pictures of it are below. It seems that many of these seem to suffer from fatigue, as does mine. Fortunately, it seems to have stopped at a certain point and the models are not in danger of falling apart.A wonderful pre-war issue full of early Dinky charm!Terry The Dinky Military Wagon #151b, the Cooker trailer #151c, and the Water Tanker trailer #151d

I agree Terry, these are very special and interesting reflections of a dramatic period in history. That's why they fascinate me so much whenever I have them in my hands. This is the no. 152 Royal Tank Corps Light Tank Set. Yours (which also includes the no. 151a Medium Tank) and the very big overall set (hard to come by in good condition and at an affordable price) are still missing in the collection. Regards, Jan

Just found the pictures of the others: The 162 set box is authentic, but the contents is post-war. The original contents was in pieces ... Regards, Jan

Jan--Absolutely beautiful sets you have there! And you are right, to me those are some of the most interesting and truly neat sets that Dinky ever made. The fact that they are several pieces and each so different, plus the fact that they are historical....all combines to make them oh so nice!And your boxes appear to be so crisp and nice and bright, plus the vehicles appear to also be in very good condition. Here is the U.S., these are quite hard to come by and I hardly ever see them come up on most of the sites. I think the larger set you referred to is the 'Mechanised Army' set, which I think combines all of the smaller ones. I think one came up several years ago on eBay and it was somewhere between $5,000-$10,000!I wanted to ask you...since you live in Holland, are you able to find Dinky's in shops that sell them, or do you find them from private parties selling on websites? I am not aware of any shops that sell old toys here in S. California, so am pretty limited to eBay and other world wide sites. About 20 years ago there was a local swap meet once a month where buyers and sellers came and you could find some Dinky's there, but that is long gone. Just wondering what the experience is like in Europe compared to here.Thanks again for showing those.....very nice! Terry

No, they are not that easy to find. It takes time and patience to find an example that is both good and reasonably priced. The international internet market would not make it more difficult for you to find items like these in the States than over here, I would presume. Admittedly, I found one locally, in an Amsterdam shop, which is an exception, also for the Netherlands, but the other ones on eBay Germany and eBay UK. One extremely cheap, the other rather expensive. Regards, Jan

Hi Terry, Here in the UK we still have a good number of Toyfairs, I trade at most of the one's within 100 miles of Birmingham. The Mega fairs (500 tables +) like the NEC are slowly squeezing out the small fairs with 30 or so traders. Problem is that a small trader like me needs to sell a LOT to cover the overheads of the bigger fairs, and there's so much competition that you can easily end up losing money. There is a good selection of post war Dinky at all the fairs I go to, but Pre war hardly ever shows up except at the Mega Fairs with prices to match. Ebay is still the best bet for Pre war over here, sadly, as I much prefer to hold a model in my hand before I buy it. Chris Warr.

Hi Gents, I was very lucky to get another few pre wars last week, here they are, This lot includes my first 24 Series, my first 22 Series, and my first ship, so I was very pleased. The green 22 Tourer now has a genuine axle with smooth hubs and white tyres fitted, so it sits a little better. Chris Warr.

Chris--Nice that you were able to find all of those pre-war models....nice addition for your collection for sure!And thank you and Jan for your comments back to me on model buying over in Europe. Here in S. California, we have never had many opportunities such as toy fairs or sales, and also, there is no network of collectors that I am aware of.For many years I have considered this a fun, but lonely hobby, with no one to converse with or share info, that is until the internet came along, and at least we have international clubs and forums we can belong to and use.....but still no one I can drive to or visit with locally.Several years ago I also remember there were also at least a few international toy dealers you could buy from,over the internet, as they had web pages. One I used to use some was 'Burnett Diecasts'....they used to have a wonderful stock of vintage Dinky's....not inexpensive, but at least they had them for sale. I understand one of the partners passed away a while ago and they took the site down. I also used to buy from a French site back then....can't quite remember it, but something named '...Mary' I think. They had a lot of wonderful French Dinky's and I bought some from them. Also used to be a few U.S. dealers, such as Keith Harvie, who I still buy from occaisionly, but by and large, not as many places as a few years ago.

Hi Terry Most of my Dinkys are currently boxed up and stored while works are ongoing in my flat, however I've just poked about among several trays of models and come across an example of what you describe. Alas, without your photos, I can't see whether it is the same as yours. If you have access to your example perhaps we could do a comparison? My 23a has been stripped to bare metal as it had been hideously repainted but is, aside from the usual fracturing of the smooth wheels, in very good condition. It is the six-cylinder version, with thin axles crimped at both ends, and with the open windscreen casting in front of the driver's head. There are no raised circles for numbers or reinforcing webs across the body. I intend restoring it in an appropriate colour scheme but would like to be sure that it will be correct. I've scrutinised all the 23/23a threads but don't see what I'm looking for. Can you, or any other member, help? Kind regards John