New arrivals

Nice Standard Atlas Ambulance - Nicky Toys, or a repainted Dinky?

This is the Nicky ambulance ...

Thats what I call a very nice mixed lot of Dinky Toys.....there is a little bit of almost everything there: old, new, commercial, military, cars, trucks...... you covered a lot of ground collecting wise! Nicely done and now the need is even greater for expanding your display area..... Best regards, Terry

I thought so, ironically they are far more rare and valuable than the original, despite the lower quality. A good find indeed!

And what about my mixed lot of Dinky Toys? Not the first time that a friendly former colleague of mine thought of me with old Dinky Toys. I collected these over thirty Dinky Toys (one Lion Toys included) this morning. Unfortunately they will not fit in my collection, as he was aware and as you may understand, but it's a very friendly gesture after the many years we shared as old books specialists. I have all freedom to use them for the benefit of my collection: sell, swap, restore etc. Kind regards, Jan

Jan. It is certainly a friendly and collegial gesture. He was aware of the playworn condition and therefore very thoughtful of him to give you also a few jars of paint to restore the models . After all, every worn-out Dinky Toys is entitled to a new life and some have the ability to restore them as new. You have proven that you can. I expect to see them back as new again. Kind regards, Jan O

Speaking of newer Dinky Toys, I forgot to include this one. I had the set it came in already but could not resist adding another at a low price, since this version can't be common. As for the Nicky Toys, I have collected what I can -- mostly acquired prior to the drastically ascending prices -- since they have a certain charm despite the horrible quality.

Well Jan, you have quite a collection there! This is how I like to buy my Dinkys - played with but (as far as I can see) essentially sound examples. I don't recognise the blue car with the white roof, next to the paint tins. Is it a Vedette?

Hello, it is the French no. 24Z Simca Versailles, issued in 1956. I must admit that the one on the right must have experienced a much more exciting life than its counterpart on the left.

Thanks for your response Jan. What nice friends you have! it's a lovely model that I had not really noticed before and one I shall look out for. I recently bought a repainted Chambord but that's obviously later than this. Yours is in very good condition considering how fragile the quarterlight frames appear. You mentioned you were an 'old book specialist'. From that I understand that you were an antiquarian book dealer (correct me if I'm wrong). For many years I have been associated with an antiquarian book dealer here in Folkestone who attends among others the fair at Mechelen.

The provenance of both is very different. I bought the excellent one from a collector in Bangkok, of all places ... I visited him there exactly one year ago and I bought about ten lovely models from him, all as far as I could afford, of course. He hoped to sell many more to me. And the play-worn example, yes, I got so many for free in the course of time from colleagues and friends. On the one hand my colleagues thought I was mad, playing with Dinky Toys (as I am indeed), but on the other hand they admired my perseverance with this odd subject. This man was the head of the manuscripts department, the same as I was the head of the early maps and atlases department. We often called ourselves with some self-mockery 'waste-paper specialists'. Interesting to know your related profession and interest (that is, besides Dinky Toys!). Kind regards, Jan

Greetings all, It has been almost 5 months since I made a contribution to the New Arrivals topic. So here they are: 1) 943 Leyland Octopus Tanker 'ESSO' - the final version with plastic hubs and paper side transfers. I would like to say the model is totally mint, except unfortunately, it has four minute chips, three on the tank and one on the edge of a rear mudguard - but one has to look very closely to see them, fortunately. The box displays very little damage, and it still has the small cardboard retainer to stop the model rubbing on the box lid. 2) Pathe News Camera Car - another example in new mint condition with camera, tripod, attachment, and cameraman with brown trousers. (To go with my other example with black trousers.) This is a modified 172 Fiat 2300 Station Wagon. I am delighted with both these new arrivals! Both of these as well as another lot came from the Parodi Family Dinky Toys Collection Part 2 sale held by C and T Auctions in Kent on 14 February 2018. This is 'the other lot': This lot contained four Dinky Toys mounted on a wooden plinth that according to the auctioneer was used by salesmen from the Parodi Family who were the Meccano agents in Italy. The 198 is not in good shape, with some of its sliding windows missing, and the seats and drivers are loose inside. The wooden base has also seen better days. This item appears to be an ashtray, or as a receptacle for the family car keys. Kind regards Bruce H. (150) 20180603/1845/1185