New arrivals

Splendid.

Enjoyed the AGM, met some very informative experts and some models that I bid on but lost. Hope to be more involved in the future. David

Hi David, wonderful to have met you in person for the first time, and the other Dinky friends after at least three years. I love your stories about collecting and the fresh ideas that you introduced about the DTCA.The AGM and the get-together, presentations and sales of Dinky Toys were wonderful once more after such a long time. I bought the two different Streamlined Buses and the bright Telephone Call Box from Bob Burnett, and the Robot Two-Face (angled) plus AA Motor Cycle Patrol from Peter Hall of the ACME Toy Company in Birmingham. With Dave Busfield I visited the Coventry old toys fair on Sunday and made acquaintance with Barry Potter. As a little souvenir I spent 4,00 pounds on an Oxford Diecast mini Dinky Caravan. A lovely weekend indeed! Kind regards, Jan

Two long desired models arrived today. The white no. 546 Austin Healey was assembled in France, but the previously used 'Assembl en France' is replaced by 'Made in France' for this model. Many replicas are around today, but this one is the authentic Dinky. It came from Haarlem, the Netherlands. The lovely no. 24n Traction Avant Citroen 11BL is the early version, with tinplate front bumper and the spare wheel at the rear. It came from Calais, France. A snapshot attached. Kind regards, Jan

Jan--Some more quite nice additions! That early Citroen is not very easy to find, especially here in the US, where they were never imported. I found a decent example years ago, but not nearly as nice as yours. Looking forward to further posts of it along with your usual lovely photographs. Best regards, Terry

Hello Jan,A nice pair to be added to your collection.'Made in' and 'assembled in' must not be mistaken.The Austin Healey # 546 as well as the Aston Martin DB 3 # 506 are embossed MADE IN FRANCE because the moulds have been used in Bobigny like the Alfa Romeo # 185 and other French moulds have been used in Liverpool probably to enlarge the range available on each market.These are not to be mistaken with the Renault 16 # 537 / 166 and the Dyane # 1413 / 149 the tool of which have been sent to Liverpool when the Bobigny factory closed. Why have they not been sent to the Calais factory will remain a mystery. Both these models are the only ones to have been cast in three different factories of Bobigny, Liverpool and Ibi, Alicante.The tools for the 24 series Packard and Studebaker have also been used in Bobigny in the 1949 / 50.

Thank you, Terry and Jacques, for your appreciated comments! Another Namac/Houten Fair took place today. I had a stall with a friend. Sales were rather modest but the atmosphere was great, once more meeting many like-minded fellow enthusiasts, as usual. I was happy to add a nice high line red/turquoise Hudson Commodore Sedan to the collection. Just unpacked and photographed. Kind regards, Jan

From Amfreville-la-Mi-Voie, France, a nice Hotchkiss-Willys Jeep avec conducteur, a transitional no. 80bp/816 of 1959, and still with the early convex wheels (the way I like them). A nice complement to my initial 80b and the whole French military 80 range. The only casting difference with 80b is the hole in the driver's seat. The box picture is very slightly different too, not only as the driver is concerned. Both are drawn by Jean Mass, the 80bp/816 box signed 'J.M.' only. The plastic driver is removable. By the way, am I the only one collecting Dinky Toys here? Kind regards, Jan

There are three versions for the Jeep with driver : 1) ridged hubs, smooth 15mm. tyres, no tow hook, reference 80 bp then 816 from 1959 2) ridged hubs, smooth 15mm. tyres, without, later with tin plate tow hook, reference 816 3) concave hubs, treaded 15mm. tyres, with tow hookand four different boxes : 1) remaining 80B boxes with additionnal 80 BP stickers en each end 2) 80 BP box 3) dual numbering box 4) 816 box There is a casting difference where the depth of the seats has been filled in.

Hello Jan. No Jan, you are not alone ! ( it seems to me that I heard these words in a Jacques Brel song ! ) Go on the page of the french military and you will see mine. Kind regards Richard

wow! it's been a long time since I hadn't been hanging there. The South African models blew my mind !!! Talking about British / French made models, I recently acquired this one which is not quite bad , And the underside, sorry the embossing is so light, I haven't been able to take a better picture

Erwan The picture can be improved to a certain degree.Taking photos of the base plates is a bit special, mainly the glossy ones if you want to avoid light reflexions. What I do is first go outside to get the best light and hold the model in one hand and the camera in the other. This allows to search for the best light. Then using photoshop I can adjust the light, remove the fingers and reframe the picture.