New arrivals

Four more arrivals on this beautiful day! Not so surprising in this case since they all came from the same seller. I had always wanted the Chrysler Saratoga, and I do have a strong preference for the one with blue trim, but so many samples seem to have small chips on the extremeties. This Saratoga, in contrast, is like new.

This model arrived today and ought to be the last I obtain, at least for a good while. But what a fine 'last' it is!

Jonathan.Congratulations on your new very nice additions. I love the dioramas you use. The models then come out very nice and make them some nostalgic. Personally, I love your dioramas of the Foden tanker Mobilgas very much with the nostalgic service station Mobilgas and petrol pumps with Mobilgas decals.Indeed, it is a very lovely model of which I have also a factory error with reversed transfers and one with grey tires and red filler caps.Jan O.

Very pleasant to see your new arrivals in their natural surroundings, some even parked on their giant boxes! My Saratoga is an oldie, a present dating from 1962, with some chipping indeed. In order to avoid confusion with my brother's properties I wrote my initials in pencil on the box end. Congratulations and kind regards, Jan W

Thank you for the kind comments, gentlemen. I too am glad that the nice sunny day prompted me to assemble the dioramas (such as they are) quickly. The Dinky Toys look so much nicer in natural light! I wish that I could spend more time creating dioramas and layouts for my Dinky Toys; it would be so fulfilling. Sadly my models are so crammed into my displays that the risk of damage as I take them in and out with my clumsy old paws is too great!

Some new models arrived recently. The Euclid is my fourth variant, this later one with the inverted front wheels and plastic grip on the handle. The Bedford Articulated Lorry in its blue striped box with Hudson Dobson sticker has the intermediate number 921 and the no. 693 Howitzer replaces an unboxed example. The Euclid and the Howitzer share the later herringbone heavy duty tyres. Kind regards, Jan

Pretty new models, Jan. Meanwhile here is something interesting for those of us who are fascinated by the re-use of Dinky tooling, or copies of Dinky Toys, as the case may be. I had always wondered why Dinky France produced its drab model of a drab car, the Russian #1410 Moskvitch. I even wondered if the model had been paid for by the Russians to promote their industry. Perhaps, perhaps not, but there is no question of a great resemblance between the Dinky and a Moskvitch created later by Novoexport in Russia. I first learned of the Russian version via autojauneblog.fr/2016/06/15/de-bobigny-a-moscou/]a blog post by Vincent Espinasse who calls it rare and difficult to find, so when I found an affordable sample of what appeared to be the right Moskvitch, I did not hesitate to buy it. I say right Moskvitch because Novoexport created many other Moskvitch models which are definitely unlike the Dinky. This particular one, however, raises many questions. Obviously it has been modified at the front and rear to reflect a facelift version of the real car, but it is exactly the same size as the Dinky. The opening bonnets share the exact same fragile mechanism, and when I switched them between cars, they were a perfect fit. When I disassembled the cars by unscrewing their plastic baseplates, the interior fittings could be interchanged. However, the window glass is subtly different in places, and the engine detail is also different on the Russian toy. As my photo clearly shows, the baseplates are different. But interestingly, the baseplate on the Russian version that VE shared is different yet again, either taken from the Dinky tooling or more closely copied. It even has the square hole that Meccano France had included for attaching a trailer. If anyone has more information on all this, I would be interested to hear it.

Some more new models arrived to bring cheer in these troubled times. I'm not sure I will keep the poor Hudson in my collection, but maybe it will be a placeholder. As for the others, the Mercedes C-111 is another Joal, either a Dinky copy or from Dinky tooling. The Corvair is exceptional because it is old store stock from Illinois, with the 1963 price written on the box, and comes from the same shop as the 'Gilbert' display I acquired a few months ago. The box is incredibly crisp and new. The Peugeot 403 is unexpectedly interesting too, as I noticed after taking the photographs. This model has its original rivets on the base and there is really no question of it having been repainted, but under the few chips and wear points on the paint -- which seems thicker than normal -- it can be seen that the first coat was yellow. I have a French Dinky Buick Roadmaster that has also been overpainted in this manner, and again, the first coat was that same yellow.

Hello Jonathan, Nice lot, the best model is probably the very rare Peugeot with windows and concave steel wheels.Congratulations

Two more arrivals to pierce the gloom! The Beetle has various inexplicable scratches, plus a headlight jewel that has delaminated, but still I am happy because it's an uncommon item. Meantime the other is of course not quite a Dinky -- I picture it with its Dinky box and then as marketed by Pilen.

700 399Hello Johnny, This VW is the first one that I see with plastic wheels and an unpainted base. Has it been striped ? There seems to be some black and blue on the front bumper. Can you please show us the base ?The baseplate and bumpers should be glossy black. If it is original, this is a very rare late model. Congratulations. The Sirocco is also rare specially MIB like yours. Re-congratulations.Jacques

Jacques, thank you as always for your comments. Where did you find the picture that you show of the Deutsche Bundespost beetle with the plastic wheels? It looks just like the one I have. The baseplate and bumpers are unpainted. As you know, this is different from the late PTT Beetle, which has a black painted base. Since the base on this model is screwed, not riveted, it did occur to me that this could be a forgery that someone created using the Dinky Beetle Action Kit as a base. Of course, I prefer to believe that it is genuine late production. Certainly, it does not seem logical for anybody to create a forgery and then disfigure it with scratches!