New arrivals

Two this week ...

Jon----Very nice score on that early 2nd type Foden Flat Truck with Chains, and the box looks to be in very nice condition too. Nicely done! Best regards, Terry

The early all-maroon Foden, with its radial tread tyres, is one of my big favourites, a lovely example. The Ami was an often seen car on the roads in the mid-1960s and the model is a good representation of this remarkable body style. I am not very familiar with these 1960s Dinky's: I wonder, doesn't the bonnet fit well? If so, is that an incident or structural for this model? The latter would be a pity for the rest of the Dinky. Kind regards, Jan

The AMI 6 is the first French Dinky Toys with opening bonnet and boot, the tool makers did not have the experience yet. I must admit that the Morris 1110 ref. 140 which is the first English Dinky with opening bonnet is much more accurate and its bonnet fits much better.

Thank you for your comments, gentlemen. And thank you, Jacques, for adding the Ami topic. It is true that the bonnet of the Ami does not fit well (it almost looks as though it would open by tipping forward and has not been closed properly, but in fact it opens from the front). However I really like the way they realized the grill and bumper overrider at the front. In real life a curious car, which sounds like a 2CV. And later it even got fitted experimentally with a Wankel rotary engine! Meccano Ltd., especially in Liverpool, did not do opening parts very well (unlike Lesney, where parts opened on the little models well and closed crisply). The 'first again' opening doors on the MGB are especially bad and can even scratch the paint of the model when operated. In France they eventually mastered this. The four opening doors on the Ford Galaxie and Peugeot 504 are really impressive. Getting back to the topic of the thread, the Foden actually has wear around -- not scratches as such, but the patina from being loved for many years -- but the maroon paint is forgiving. The box is tired, too, but I never had one of these before and the price was very attractive.

A Matchbox example of the same year 1962, the Jaguar 3.4 Mk 2 on the 1/72 scale!

Jon----From other pictures I have seen it is apparent that many model makers had a hard time, for awhile at least, in mastering opening doors, hoods, and trunks......with many having hideous gaps or just poor alignment. Thank goodness it was finally somewhat mastered! One more comment on the Foden Chain truck.....when I was a youngster this model really stood out, as we never had any real trucks like that when I was growing up in S. California. I always thought they were neat, and I really like the maroon version. Alas, I only have the green in both early and later versions of the Foden.TerryH

Jon----From other pictures I have seen it is apparent that many model makers had a hard time, for awhile at least, in mastering opening doors, hoods, and trunks......with many having hideous gaps or just poor alignment. Thank goodness it was finally somewhat mastered! One more comment on the Foden Chain truck.....when I was a youngster this model really stood out, as we never had any real trucks like that when I was growing up in S. California. I always thought they were neat, and I really like the maroon version. Alas, I only have the green in both early and later versions of the Foden.TerryH

Jan -- that's a good example. I was thinking of, among others, a somewhat later model that I owned, the Ford Cortina Mark II. Its doors would open well and then close with a satisying snap that I remember to this day. In order to hold up Binns Road's honour I am trying to think of a British Dinky with an opening feature that is as slickly implemented, but none comes to mind at the moment ...

The post brought another today ...

Today ...

Is this French lady in her Peugeot 404 cabriolet the same lady as the English driver?