39b and 893 Tracteur Unic saharien [Unic Sahara Pipe Transporter] (1959-70)

Hi Dave. The french catalogues from 1959 to 1965 show a white roof. I don't have the 1966 but in 1967, the catalogue show an Unic all in sand color with the concave hubs. Yes Jan a miracle ! Do you think that the box is decorated with a photo ? It would be interesting to find the commercial leaflet sent to the shops for the promotion of the new Dinky Toys ! Kind regards Richard

Hi Jan. I thought to an other supposition : The Meccano method department could have modified an item to fit with the box and be shown at a big exhibition as 'Foire de Paris' ou 'Salon du Jouet'. They did it with other models as the Citron 11BL that I have on a wooden display unit : it has the inside hubs paint in black, the outside in cream (even the axles ends) and the front lights paint in black with silver glass ! Just a supposition ! Friendly yours Richard

I have noticed another anomaly/difference on the 893 Unic Saharien. A very nice 1962 French Dinky catalogue arrived today and it is the same as the other catalgues in that the pipes are shown as being the same diameter throughout their length. The model is supplied with pipes that incorporate a 'coupler' i.e. a part at one end which allows the pipes to be connected together as they would have been in the real world. The 893 box shows the pipes as having a 'coupler'. I have illustrated this in the photo below. Are there any catalogues showing the correct pipes and are there any boxes showing incorrect plain pipes? Dave

Only the later catalogues show a new clich, with the correct pipe ends (and the concave hubs, introduced in 1959/60 already!). The box illustrations remain the same. Kind regards, Jan

Thanks for that Jan There does not seem to be anyone else on this site at the moment what has happened? Dave

Hi Dave, nothing has happened, there's just more in life than Dinky Toys alone ... it's only Jacques that we should worry about, let's hope he will recover soon. Kind regards, Jan

Jan---That is interesting that the French Dinky folks finally either noticed or just got around to fixing that illustration with those pipes. It is also amazing that we are still discovering these types of anomolies so many years later.....and I am quite sure there are more! Best regards, Terry

Hello Dave I am glad someone else has noticed the apparent 'lack of signing in' by many, except for one bloke by the name of 'dinkinius'! While I was in China and using my mini iPad, a strange thing happened. Although I signed out, I found when I reopened the website that I was still signed in. When I had finished, I again signed out, and the same thing happened, so I just left it with me being signed in for the next 16 days! I noticed then that frequently I was the only member on-line except during the last few days, my good mate Terry 'dinkyfan' would be keeping me company! But in the main, I was the only one, although the time difference may account for all those in Europe still in the land of nod! Having written all that, I have noticed the marked difference with those members signing in on this site as against the old site. Far more with the old site. Although those who administer this site may have access to details of which ordinary members are not privy and may very well disagree. Returning to the Unic Saharien and its pipes, the style of pipe used was aimed at the play value rather than the type of pipe the real vehicle would have carried. Normal oil pipes do not have a coupling sleeve but are in fact 'downhill welded' using a system whereby the two pipes are clamped and sealed completely by two welders working on either side of the pipe. The join is then machine tested before moving onto the next pipe to be attached. Thus the drawing on the early catalogues shows the correct pipes that would have been carried by the Unic trucks perhaps based on oil recovery in Algeria. Then, perhaps even before the model was released, the play-value came into 'play' and the type of plastic pipe changed, although one wonders why this did not follow through with the numerous catalogues etc. Kind regards Bruce (150) 20160605/931/2007

Hello Dave, Jan and Terry. Yesterday night I had a look at my catalogues and I found this : The right pipes are shown in the general french Meccano catalogues in 1959 and 1960. it's a drawing in black and white colors. In the french catalogues named 'Dinky Toys/ Dinky Supertoys' in 1964 the pipes are still incorrect but a little drawing, just over it , show how to fit the pipes together and then the pipes are correct !!! Jan, the same drawing that we can see on the pages you have posted. Same thing for 1965/1966 In the small french catalogues from 1959 to 1963 pipes are incorrect The curious thing is that, for the same period (1959 & 1960) the pipes presentations in the general catalogues and in the small ones are different ! The right pipes came back in the small catalogues 1967 to 1970. The Unic Saharien is not in the 1971 french catalogue but it is shown in the 1971 english catalogue n 7. I will try to post some photos later. Nice sunday to everybody Richard

Here are the documents : Meccano catalogues 1959 and 1960 and the drawings. Friendly yours Richard

I just see that the trucks are not in the same position and that the pipes are not loaded in the same order ! An another mystery ! Richard

Here is my third one. The latest version with the filled trailer-girder and the box without the reference number 893 on the top. I think that it is a very hard to find item and I was very lucky to win it ! Best regards Richard