New arrivals

Hi Terry; I have some kind of suction pump which aspirate all Dinky Toys. Be careful with yours ! Here under 3 buses that arrived this morning. They where sold together, but I was just interested by the french Isobloc, because it's an uncommon version, with smooth roof and the relief grey wings that I haven't in my collection . I am lucky because the British buses have differences with those I already have ! The Duple Roadmaster has a blue color darker than the one I have and on the Single deck bus, the below green paint line on the body is missing. Kind regards Richard

Richard--Very nice little collection of buses you got all at once......and they do look to be in pretty nice condition. I also have the green single deck bus, with no stripe on the bottom. I still remember the day that I got it...a good friend, who also collected, went to downtown Los Angeles with his parents, and found a toy store that sold Dinky's. He managed to find two of those buses, so I got one of them...and that was in 1958-1959. I still can't figure out how or why they still had those in stock as they had been discontinued many years earlier. And that Isobloc is nice and an early one with the smooth roof area. That is one of my all-time favorite Dinky buses.....you did very well! Best regards, Terry

Thank you Terry. Yes, the Isobloc is one of my favorite Dinky too. I still remember the special noise of its engine ! very special indeed ! This morning, two items arrived. An english and a french. The Buick roadmaster is the first version produced. Smooth inside roof and with gross zamac hubs. Photos in the Buick topic to compare. Kind regards Richard

As an addendum, here is another arrival that obviously is not a Dinky, but I hope I may be forgiven for posting it, because it's obviously Dinky-related. As also pictured in the current DTCA Journal, this is the Transit van that was released by Hachette this year as part of a series of publicity vehicles. A leaflet that came with the model -- unfortunately, I am not a Francophone, so I can only guess at what it says -- includes a black-and-white publicity photo of the subject vehicle. I'm left wondering if the creators of the model had ever seen a colour image of the Meccano Transit, because they got the colours wrong. Compare the model with my photo of the Transit (same registration number!), taken when I visited Binns Road in 1975, and you'll see what the colours ought to have been!

Due to my one large display case being thoroughly stuffed, I rarely acquire anything new these days, but these Dinky Toys all infiltrated my home last month. Since that is a rare event (I do amazingly have three more on the way for this month too) I thought I should post them here. (I'm still looking out for the more elusive 050 figure set.)

Some very nice additions there.....glad to see you back in the acquiring realm again. I also have severe display problems, so I have removed some lesser items, to make more room, and some I now leave in their boxes...accessible, but in 'storage'Best regards, Terry

Well, that is certainly an item worth showing here, and a pretty nice Model at that. Your right, the colors aren't quite right, but still pretty good. That was so nice you were able to get that photo in 1975. The factory was still there then, correct? Did you get any other interesting photos of the area?Best regards, Terry

Terry, Thanks for your comments. Yes, the factory was there until 1979 -- of course in '75 we had little inkling of what was to happen later. Unfortunately I have only one or two more photographs of the outside. I can't remember whether they did not allow photos inside, or my little camera (I was a college student at the time, on a tight budget) just couldn't take photos indoors. One of my oldest friends is also a Dinky collector, and his interest was instrumental in inducing his father to start distributing Dinky Toys and Meccano sets in the USA in the early 1970s. That company, called Covell Management, later sold out to AVA in Texas, which then later became Airfix USA. it's fair to say that without their efforts, Dinky never would have returned to the US in the 1970s. I can also say that the troubles at Meccano were obvious to them at the time, and getting adequate shipments of Dinky Toys to the US was sometimes like pulling teeth. As some collectors are aware, AVA even inspired reissues of some Dinky Toys especially for the US (the Pontiac USA police car and the VW/Porsche 914, as well as the Brinks Truck) ... Meccano couldn't be bothered to print boxes for the reissues, which is why these three models exist with special US-printed boxes. Regarding my factory visit, I wish I remembered it more clearly. it's just like a dream at this point. We drove from Berkshire, where my friend and I were in school, to Liverpool, stayed overnight at the Adelphi, and visited Binns Road the next day. At this point it seems so unreal I can hardly believe I was ever there. Alas, unlike some visitors we were not given any Dinky Toys, but two Meccano employees did take us to lunch at a steakhouse ('Berni Inn,' then a popular chain and a nice source of protein for hungry students).

Well Terry, you are my inspiration (grin) ... if one superannuated Californian over 60 can still collect Dinky Toys, so can another!!

Jonathan--I think you had mentioned before that you toured the factory; what a great story, even if the passing years have dimmed the memory of what you saw. Just to have set foot in that long gone sacred' place is something few today can claim. I think I have mentioned before that when my first Dinky collecting phase ended in 1960, I had not a clue of the storm clouds already on the horizon, and it wasn't until many years later that I actually found out what had happened to Meccano. Very neat story that you told.....thanks again for sharing it! Best regards, Terry

A nice piece of Dinky Toys history indeed. For the record! I acquired my first Double Decker Bus on the 24th of May 1980, the fourth item from the right. Yesterday my ninth Double Decker variant was delivered, the latest arrival: red/cream, third type front, crimped axle ends, roof box, no advertising, made 1948-1952, in very good condition. Parked as fourth from the left. I am very happy with it! Kind regards, Jan

Hi all, Two new arrivals: 1. Muir-Hill 2/WL Loader 1st casting fitted with military green wheels. While this is a known variation, it should be noted that the front wheels are cast metal of the standard pattern as opposed to plastic that the rest of the issues of 437 have. 2. Barber-Greene Elevator Loader. With plastic wheels, etc. Notable feature is the sleeveless winding handle as many of the late issue toys with crank handles were issued. I bought this from a local dealer to replace one my grandson broke the rubber belt on, but that had a sleeve on the winder, so I will have to keep both! Ron F