starni999 wrote:I've finally got one of each of this series in Racing and Touring finish. OK they're not mint, but if they were I couldn't afford them!
Very, very, very, very nice indeed! Want (big time)!
Like "Matchbox", Dinky had their 'Golden Age' and for many collectors, it is probably the period when those sports cars shown by Chris were available, the 1950's, it was certainly a time when Dinky considered and made a wide variety of vehicles to be seen on British roads at that time. Correct me if I am wrong, but all the models in that picture are of, what we now class as 'Classic' British cars. The Meccano Factory in France was beavering away on it's models for the French market at the same time, but made very little impact on the British market, only a trickle of French made Dinky Toys came into the British range, usually to fill a gap in the line up.
Until Corgi came along with their range of similar models in 1956, Dinky had it all to themselves and a good move by Corgi was to have glazing in their models right from launch day, and of course this made the Dinkies look dated, forcing Dinky to do the same and as we all now know, this led to the two companies competing against each other as to who could put the better details or working features on their models and this carried on right into the late 1970's, when sadly due to various circumstances, the production of the Dinky toys range was suspended, only for the factory to be closed in the early 1980's.
In a similar move to "Matchbox" collectors, Dinky collectors tend to concentrate on pre-Speedwheels models (models made upto 1969), or post-Speedwheels models (models made from 1969-1979). As a Rolls-Royce collector, I have both types with models from the very early years of Dinky production, the 'Golden Age' period (their Silver Wraith coming out in 1959), quite a few from the 1960's, and the last models from the late 1970's, a big Phantom V first launched in 1977 but continued in production into 1979, with reduced opening parts.
I love my Dinkies, they mean a lot to me, more so than my Corgies, not entirely sure why because as a child, I had both brands at the same time.
I have borrowed a section of a page from my Rolls-Royce magazine, featuring Dinky Toys Rolls-Royce models so far...
GHOSTHUNTER.
Attachments
Dinky Rolls-Royce so far....jpg (76.6 KiB) Viewed 1816 times
SMS88 wrote:Great models you have there - mint doesnt have the happy patina of lightly playworn toys imho!
Thank's, some models are so mint you don't want to touch them, do you, and allowing someone else to hold it and look at it, well that's just suicidal, IMHO
GHOSTHUNTER wrote:The Meccano Factory in France was beavering away on it's models for the French market at the same time, but made very little impact on the British market, only a trickle of French made Dinky Toys came into the British range, usually to fill a gap in the line up.
Could someone please explain the exact nature of the relationship between the UK and French Dinky factories?
