Dinky Toy

I was reading a Meccano Magazine, that I got from Krautrock. The date is June 1961. Wow! Time sure does fly!

I noticed a couple of the toys that were advertised back then. One such toy was the Dinky toy, a die-cast miniature vehicle produced by Meccano Ltd. They were also the makers of the Hornby railway sets, that were named after Frank Hornby.

 Frank Hornby started Meccano Ltd in 1901 to make toy erector sets. Village houses, churches, bridges and a mill with villagers were just some of the early pieces.

Before 1934, Meccano made many types of tin and metal cars, mostly in kit form and in 1933, they made a series of track and railway trackside pieces to complement their O scale (1/45) Hornby Railway model sets. First they were called “Modelled Miniatures” but in April 1934, the Meccano Magazine began calling them Dinky Toys for the first time.

By December 1935, there were around 200 different products, including doll furniture. Vehicles came in packs of 6 and were not available in individual boxes until 1952. Over the years, Meccano Ltd created airplanes, ships, cars, trucks, railway sets and much more.

In 1947, Meccano Ltd introduced a series of model lorries, also 1:48, and called the range Dinky Supertoys. Two of the models produced in this line were the 503 Foden Flat Truck with Tailboard (1947) and the 505 Foden Flat Truck With Chains (1952). Of course, they produced many others, but I wanted to point these two out for a reason, as you will later see.

Meccano Ltd continued making die cast toys, coming up against the Mattel Hot Wheels which entered the UK model car market in 1967. Since the Mattel Hot Wheels had low friction axles, the Dinky Toys came up with other innovative designs such as the Speedwheels, and was the first British company to have all four doors opening and the retractable radio aerials. Each innovation, however, was more expensive to produce and price could only be kept down if they produced sufficiently high quantities. In the face of Mattel’s creations, Dinky Toys was facing an uphill battle.

In November 1979, the original Binns Road factory in Liverpool finally closed its doors. The Dinky tradename changed hands many times before finally ending up part of Matchbox International Ltd in the late 1980’s.

Today, I decided to look for some Dinky Toy’s and lo and behold, I found some!! Just check these out!!

 

Dinky 905 Foden Truck with Chains 2^nd Grille Dinky Supertoy 505/905 Dinky Truck

Dinky Supertoy Foden Flat Truck with Tailboard 1st Grille, 503 Dinky Foden Truck

Dinky 419 Leyland Cement Wagon, Dinky Supertoy 419

Now, all three of these are available from DebsVarietyShop! I was amazed at the great condition they are in. So if you are a collector, you might want to check these out!!

And if you are interested in the Meccano Magazine, various issues, just check out Krautrock’s store!!

As always, check out OLA.com for the best buys, best sellers, and best times!!

And check out our store, KornKountryTreasures!!

Thank you!