Meccano's Dinky Toys Club

Greetings allI was reading my collection of the original Dinky Toys Club Newsletters, and I saw something strange with Newsletter No. 3. Here is it: Do you see what I am referring? Why of course - all the cars depicted as far as can be identified - ARE ALL BRITISH! Try and do that by taking a photograph from the same location today! :laugh: :laugh:But hang on - there is also something very strange with the Rover in the foreground. Yes - Britain's secret invention - a driverless motorcar! Unless my eyes are deceiving me, but I do not think the Rover has a driver, nor do I think the Austin and Morris which leads me to suspect that the photograph has been staged for the benefit of the opening of the new M1 Motorway! Not to mention all the other cars are 'driving' too close to each other!And to think all these years I thought it was a photograph of high-speed traffic on the M1. Yes, I also realize I am being too finicky! ;)Kind regardsBruce (150) #504

Well spotted Bruce! Very accurate in fact, every single time I go south of Junction 10 all I see in front is a line of stationary cars. Oh, Ok, Polish lorries. CW.

Thanks Chris!! Continuing with the Dinky Club's Newsletter No. 3, and adding to the absorbing/fasinating article in The Journal prepared by Dave, this Newsletter lists the members who were selected as winners for September, October and November 1959. Wouldn't it be fascinating to know what became of the above winners! Are they members of the DTCA? Are their children carrying on what their father (and mother) collected almost 50 years ago? And what did they select for their Two Pounds? Kind regards Bruce (150) #507

Nice one Bruce, First thoughts are they're a bit younger than I would have guessed, I'd have said aged 10+ in the 50's, there's a GIRL(!), and five of the 30 lived quite, and in two cases very, close to me. Wonder if the Liverpool lad got to go to Binns Rd to pick them up? Chris Warr.

Chris I think it was great to see that females were just as interested in Dinky Toys as the males. In the first awards that David wrote of, there are THREE young ladies out of the ten winners! And here we are patting ourselves on the back with modern attitudes towards the female sex, and there Meccano was with its Dinky Toys, leading the pack! Kind regards Bruce(150) #508

Last week a female candidate Meccano Guild member paid me a visit! Kind regards, Jan

Greetings! In my last post on this topic, I scanned two pages from the 3rd issue of the Dinky Toys Newsletter, a small publication for the members of Meccano's Dinky Toys Club, listing the winners of

Greetings All How many Newsletters were issued for the 1959-1960s membership of the Dinky Toys Club by Meccano? I have three in booklet format and three in tabloid format. Someone wrote or told me that there were more than three issued in tabloid size before the club wound up due to it being too successful and a drain on Meccano's resources. The Great Book of Dinky Toys only wrote about the club, badge, the special badge for the visits to the factory (anyone seen or have one of these?) and licences but makes no mention of these newsletters, unless I have missed it. If it was missed, how many other Dinky-related subjects were also left out? By the way, The Great Book mentions a blue licence that was issued to club members. What year was this one, as I thought the yellow licence for 1961-62 was the last one issued. Kind regards Bruce (150) #523

Hi Bruce I am sure that only six newsletters were ever produced and that only four licences were ever produced. I have been an avid collector of Dinky related paperwork for 20 years and I have never seen a blue licence. Dave

Hello Dave Many thanks for confirming that there was never a 'blue' licence issued. I wonder to what the Richardsons were referring when they included this on page 247 of TGBDT. I only have licences for 1959-60, 1960-61, and 1961-62. The Richardsons wrote that licences were issued commencing with 1958, so presume that would be 1958-59. What was its colour? Perhaps it is mentioned in one of the Meccano Magazines. It is mentioned in the first newsletter with Stirling Moss on the cover. (I see that Stirling now gets around in a small electric car these days with a top speed far less than what he has achieved in the past!) So it appears that I am missing the first licence issued for 1958-59. Kind regards Bruce (150) #524

Here is the licence for 1958-59 Dave

The french one was issued in 1954. In pink colour as the real french licence driver ! Recto/verso : Kind regards Richard