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Dinky aircraft do not seem to get much exposure on the forum so I thought I would show my collection of Camouflaged aircraft that I have spent the last 10 years collecting. Camouflaged aircraft appealed to me because they formed a small area of collecting that I could cope with compared with the much greater variety of commercial aircraft. Also they were all made in a very short timespan - 1940-41. There are variations in the camouflage scheme - light and dark, and also in the type of RAF roundels. Again there are variations in the colour of the underneath of the wings and fuselage. Some, like the Spitfire have no undercarraige, while the Fairy Battle was made both with and without the undercarraige. Some, like the 66a Heavy Bomber and 66b,66c and 66d have tinplate wings attached to the cast fuselage, while the others all have cast wings. A few have the gliding game hole in the top of the fuselage. I still have a few of the variations to collect but I have at least one of every type. There are several post-war camouflaged aircraft but I will leave those until another time. Below is a list of the camouflaged aircraft - 60s - Fairy Battle Bomber (1940-41) 62d - Blenheim Bomber (1940-41) 62e - Spitfire (1940-41) 62h - Hawker Hurricane (1940-41) 62t - Whiteley Bomber (1939-41) 66a - Heavy Bomber (1940-41) 66b - Dive Bomber (1940-41) 66c - Two Seater Fighter (1940-41) 66d - Torpedo Dive Bomber (1940-41) 66e - Medium Bomber (1940-41) 68a - Ensign Airliner (1940-41) 68b - Frobisher Class Airliner (1940-41) Chris.

So this is the clue, Jonathan! it's a miracle that you managed to collect (or complete) exactly this selection in such a short timespan. Congratulations! If the Mobile Crane is the version which you showed in #1272 it is about one decade older (1950-1952) than the display you filled it with (nasty purist as I am ) Kind regards, Jan

Well, Chris, I like Dinky Toys aircraft very much. So, if it's only for me, you have one admirer at least! This is a marvellous and scarce selection. You might show each of them in some more detail in the respective British Aircraft topics, if you like. Kind regards, Jan

Chris, I might not collect aircraft, but I know a fabulous collection when I see it. And Jan, yes, the mobile crane is an earlier version, but we must remember the shop where the display came from was operaeting in a small town in Illinois since 1944, so they obviously had some old stock around. I am more concerned about the Massey Harris Tractor, Manure Spreader, and the Land Rover, which perhaps are versions too new for 1963. However, we must remember time travel is an inexact science!

Thanks Jan & Johnny for you comments. I have started a more detailed file in British Dinky aircraft, the first being the Fairy Battle.

Jonathan, what a great project! One of the joys of collecting is the ability to re-create something like this display. I have been doing something similar with a shelf of books - re-creating an illustration in a reference volume. What may interest you is that I was fortunate enough to buy last year a small selection of Dinky sales ephemera from a US vendor. I've been looking forward to announcing their acquisition but I have had a lot happening in my life lately so I was delaying it. However, this seems a good time to mention the items in case you Jonathan might be able to incorporate one or two in your re-creation. I have a couple of duplicate items. The items came from a shop in Ohio called HOBBYVILLE. It was located at 10911 LORAIN AVENUE, CLEVELAND 11. I believe all the items came from the same source and they consist of the following: Dinky Pocket Catalogue USA dating from 1957 (I think!) It has a correction slip inserted with the date 9-30-57 in the American style. Dinky Pocket Catalogue USA dating from a year (or maybe two) earlier. Perhaps someone can tell me from the photographs. Large Dinky Flyer USA published by Lines Bros. This has a handwritten date for 9-15-64. it's a folding flyer with NEW models including 134 Triumph Vitese, 135 Triumph 2000, 136 Vauxhall Viva, and 952 Vega Major coach. Small Dinky Flyer USA published in England and dated January 1961 (16/161/100) A folding flyer showing 948 McLean Tractor-Trailer as 'coming soon'. I regret that none of the above items is intended for disposal but I might be persuaded into an exchange for UK material. Additionally there are the following: National Model Distributors Inc. (Chicage, Detroit, Columbus) Dinky Toys Check List and Order Form (x 2). This is not dated but should hopefully be identifiable by the model prices. E.g. 666 Missile Erector Vehicle with Corporal Missile and Launching Platform $7.95 or 584 Berliet GAK Covered Truck (identified as 'Coming Soon') $3.90. Nation Model Distributors Inc. Dinky Price List and Order Form (x 2). This is in the form of a single sheet with models listed on one side, and the other with illustrations of several models and marked for folding into a Business Reply Envelope (sic) addressed to the Chicage branch of NMD Inc. National Model Distributors Inc. Business Reply Envelope dated 11MY62 showing a range of hobbyist items inluding Dinky Toys, Pyro Model Ships, Spray PLA Instant Drying Enamel, and several others. The Dinky Order Form is present but no longer attached and indicates models 987 ABC TV Control Room and 988 ABC TV Transmitter Van as *coming soon. These were presumably the BBC equivalents in suitable livery. Finally there is the item which your post prompted me to dig out and examine - a sheet of 200 self-adhesive price labels each with model number, name, and dollar price. Actually seven have been left blank but they complete the sheet. The sheet starts with #105 TR2 and ends with #999 DH Comet Airliner. After a bit of research I conclude that the list is incorrect for your display as my 191 Dodge Royal is $1.00 where yours is $1.05 but I'd be willing to part with it. I shall post photographs shortly so everyone can see what I'm talking about. Again, congratulations on such a wonderful display. John

Here is one photo of the Dinky labels I've just posted about. I shall take some decent photos shortly and post them here for everyone's perusal. I'd particularly like to date the two Pocket Catalogues as I can't seem to find them in the Publications section. Edit: Some further photos of the two Pocket Catalogues. Each is 140mm x 114mm or 5.5' x 4.25'. The copy that is marked STORE COPY was obviously kept by Hobbyville and used in store for reference and not given or sold to a customer. It is the earlier of the two, based on the prices. The other copy has the correction slip. A date would be welcome for either or both copies.

John, Thank you for your congratulations and for your interesting post. I would venture to say that some of your ephemera from 'Hobbyville' might not be valuable, but it is is probably very rare. As you will see (or may have seen previously) in the Meccano Inc. thread ( /node/7117]/node/7117) Meccano Inc. thread, after longtime U.S. distributor H. Hudson Dobson shut down in 1960, Meccano Ltd for 1961 and 1962 moved to multiple distributors for various U.S. states. (See Post #21 in that thread for a list of them all.) National Model Distributors was the distributor for Ohio and six other Midwestern states only. The price labels are surely from 1961 or 1962 also, since the 1963 prices I have reflect slight inflation. This 1961/62 period will forever fascinate me as well as be a source of angst, since I was already an avid Dinky fan at five years old. The distribution mess made models hard to get and the change of sources -- H.H.D. in 1960, a regional distributor from 1961-2, Gilbert in 1963, and then Lines Brothers in 1964 -- meant that many toy shops sold off their Dinky stocks and stuck with what they could get more reliably. In contrast, Matchbox and Corgi always enjoyed stable U.S. distribution (Fred Bronner and Reeves International, respectively). Well, I had Matchboxes, Corgis, and many other toys too, but have kept few over the years as they were never special to me the way Dinky Toys were. I guess this scarcity at a impressionable time of my life is what really made me a Dinky collector -- just as many colleagues in the UK became adult collectors as a result of postwar deprivation!

John, As I mentioned in a separate post, the price stickers come from 1961 or 1962. Meanwhile, the pocket catalogues are from 1956 and 1957 respectively. -- J

Thanks Jonathan for both your posts and the steer towards the thread where so much more interesting US Meccano history abides. Perhaps that is where I should upload a full series of decent photographs. Incidentally, the two catalogues that you kindly dated for me have H. Hudson Dobson's New Jersey and NY addresses on the cover, but I'm certain that you already know that. John

A new Jag ... (their workmanship is perhaps not what it used to be) ...

Jonathan---A nice model, but what is with the front tires? They look too small for the size of the wheel well....are they the right tires?Best regards, Terry