890 Tracteur Berliet et semi-remorque porte-char Berliet Tank Transporter (1959-70)

Hi, I just noticed that - although the Rochet Schneider T 6 vehicle was only used as a one-time prototype for the Camion militaire Berliet (Dinky France 80d), so not the correct example for modelling the Dinky, which should be a Berliet T 6 TBU - the Rochet Schneider with its round front wheel covers (or is it just a similar shape) was correct for the French tank transporter (Dinky France 890). The photo of the tank transporter I found included below. Please note that the semi-trailer seems to be shorter than the one modelled by Dinky France. Kind regards, Jan

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The registration number 146 217 applied to Terry's tank transporter is for a saloon type car registered before 1960.At the same date, the Berliet prime mover would have been registered 611 xxx to 616 xxx and the semi-trailer 10x xxx.After 1960, the Army registration system changed and was made of seven digits.The Dinky tank transporter had no registration, only a tricolour on the front bumper and on the left hand side loading ramp. The transfers 146 217 were wrongly used on the ref. 810 Dodge command car and ref. 801 A.M.X 13. The correct registration for the command car was 066 165 and for the A.M.X 13 : 842 735. The codes and explanations for the army, fire brigade and Paris buses registrations are included in the Dinky Toys Encyclopdia under 'Registrations'.

Greetings Notice how the trailer wheels on the real vehicle differ to those on the Dinky model? For some unknown reason, Meccano placed the trailer wheels inside the trailer framework. Also the tyres are of a different size too. Of course the trailer in the black and white photograph may not be of the same type as on the Dinky model. Still it is a pity Meccano did not use this trailer as its reference material, as the trailer wheels look completely out of proportion for the load they are expected to carry. Bruce (150) 20160422/906/0344

Bruce----I think that for some reason, Meccano modelled this tank transporter on either a prototype or just plain invented most of it, based some on what was being used at the time. The Dinky trailer seems to me to be a 'low-loader' type, intentionally made with smaller diameter tire and wheels, so as to keep the rear of the trailer closer to the ground. To help make up for smaller tires, however, it does have more tires and wheels underneath the rear of the trailer, so I would imagine that it was capable of carrying the heavy load of the tank. As to Jan's older post, mentioning that the transporter in his photo seemed to show a shorter trailer than the Dinky one, I have often wondered if the AMX Tank by Dinky is to the same scale as the Transporter. To my eyes, at least, the AMX Tank does not seem that large, especially when compared to the Centurion Tank. I too have thought that the trailer seems quite a bit too large for it....maybe the tank is too small? Maybe others can comment on that! Best regards, Terry

Terry, in the mean time I found full original French hubs + tyres, replacing the intermediate replicas, so at present my tank transporter is as authentic as feasible after all! Bruce, I agree about the odd tiny wheels on the trailer. That's why I did not like it, neither this one nor the civilian version, as a youngster. Nowadays it has some clumsy 'period charm', so typical for Meccano/Dinky. But one may have to keep in mind that the transporter possibly was not used for real heavy tanks, other than the AMX. Kind regards, Jan

I have managed to find what I believe are the 3 different versions of this model. The castings were identical except for the wheels and this is where the difference lies. The first version has convex or ridged wheels on both the prime-mover and the trailer, the 2nd version has concave wheels on the prime-mover but convex or ridged wheels on the trailer, while the 3rd version has concave wheels on both the prime-mover and the trailer. I have also included a photo of the French Berliet together with the English Mighty Antar to compare, and to show that the later verson of the Antar had a trailer which could be separated from the prime-mover , the same as the Berliet. Regards, Chris.

Hi all, I wonder what these braces on the sides of the trailer are meant for. Could they serve as a means for flexibly extending or shrinking the length of the loading platform? Kind regards, Jan

Dear Jan, This is an interesting question which will probably never be answeared. Remember that this Dinky Toys prime mover and trailer are both based on prototypes which have not been ordered by the army. No photo of the trailer has been found yet. There is a photo of the Schneider tractor but the tank transporter trailer is very different from the Dinky Toys one. See your post # 13 above.It is not possible to obtain a picture from the manufacturer because the company closed down in 1974. I have searched the WWW several times but I could not find a picture of the prototype trailer. After all, the Dinky Toys may be a Bobigny design never build at the 1/1 scale. Jacques