Diecastmolester wrote:Oh yes, the secret group of consumerism resisters, much loathed by the powers there are.
They only reluctantly send an order form to Steve Flowers if that window unit still is knackered after two hours of polishing.
Those 3 stripped Dinkys are just superb castings..I was reading somewhere that Dinkys originaly had raised shut lines like Spot on .That had never struck me before but in those you can see it for real...Little pieces of art indeed...
The first Dinky GB model with recessed shut lines I can spot is the Triumph Herald in the 1959 catalogue.
Dinky France was years ahead, their first model with recessed shut lines is the Buick Roadmaster, released in 1954.
Apparently to make recessed shut lines requires spark erosion technology in the mould making process.
Yes, spark erosion, aka electrical discharge machining (EDM), which is a common metal fabrication process known since the late 18th century, but only perfected during WWII. It became industry standard for pattern making in the Fifties.
Since Dinky France outsourced their pattern making to specialist companies, they had access to the latest technology long before Dinky GB, who did the pattern making in house and used pre war milling machines as late as 1960, when they finally acquired the EDM technology, which then still lay dormant for almost a year until they managed to come to an agreement with the unions as to by whom and for which salary it would be operated.
Therefore, the first patterns made at Binns Road utilising the new facility are the Jaguar 3.4 Litre and the Mercedes 220 SE in January 1961 and then, of course, all subsequent patterns. A characteristic of the first models made with EDM (apart from the recessed shut lines) is that they are extremely lightweight, which just shows that they made maximum use of the technology in every aspect they could. It also enabled them to make the moulds for the plastic injection machines to do the window units, interiors and all sorts of plastic accessories.
The pattern making for both, the Austin Atlantic, the first ever Dinky model with recessed panel lines, and the aforementioned Triumph Herald, were actually outsourced as well. They were commissioned by their respective real car manufacturers as promotional items, hence it is safe to assume that the recessed shut lines were requested and the pattern making at least partially funded by them.
I have no words..That was a great explanation....I would have thought they could have put some sort of half round wire in the moulds to do the indentations..That is how I thought they did it..We get down to the nitty gritty on here hey?
There simply isn't a way to attach wire to the moulds that is sturdy enough for mass production of castings. Solder for example would just melt away and for welding it's too intricate.
As long as the moulds were milled, they were milled smooth and then the panel lines were cut in an additional process, resulting in them being recessed in the mould and thus raised on the castings. Consequently, in order for the castings to have recessed panel lines, they must be raised on the moulds and that is only practical by utilising EDM technology.
