Dinky Toy

Dinky Toys was the brand name for a range of die-cast zamak zinc alloy scale model vehicles produced by British toy company Meccano Ltd. They were made in England from 1934 to 1979, at a factory in Binns Road in Liverpool.

Dinky Toys were among the most popular die-cast vehicles ever made – pre-dating other popular die-cast marques, including Corgi, Matchbox and Mattel's Hot Wheels.

Vehicles commercialised under the "Dinky" name include cars, trucks, aircraft, military, ships.

Pre-war history

Frank Hornby established Meccano Ltd. in 1908 to make metal construction sets. The company later moved into model railways, with its O gauge clockwork trains appearing in 1920.

In the early 1930s, Meccano made many types of tinplate and other metal cars, such as its Morgan and BSA three-wheelers, mostly in kit form. In 1933, Meccano Ltd issued a series of railway and trackside accessories to complement its O gauge (1/45) Hornby Trains model railway sets. The accessories were first called "Hornby Modelled Miniatures", but in the April 1934 issue of ''Meccano Magazine'', they were given the name "Meccano Dinky Toys" for the first time. In August 1935, the name Meccano was dropped and the marque became DINKY TOYS, which lasted until 1971. By December 1934, the Dinky name was also used for the "Dinky Builder" sets, which were coloured flat metal pieces that could be hinged together to make buildings and vehicles.

One story about the origin of the "Dinky" name is that it derived from a nickname that a friend gave to Frank Hornby's daughter. Another version is that when one of Hornby's daughters-in-law first saw the models, she called them "dinky", a Scottish word meaning "neat" or "fine".

The legacy of vehicles

In the mid-1930s, six vehicles were released (designated 22a through f), including a sports car, a sports coupe, a truck, a delivery van, a farm tractor, and a tank, all cast in lead. Soon after, the first Dinky model car, a sports car based on the MG Magic Midget, was made available individually, numbered 23. At that time, a series 24 (a-h) was introduced, which included a generic ambulance (made until the late 1940s), a grand sport open four-seater, a grand sport two-seater, a coupe and a limousine. The 24 series was also made in France.

Some smaller vehicles were produced alongside model track workers, passengers, station staff and other O scale trackside accessories. All of the early cars were inaccurate representations and had die-cast metal bodies and chassis, and wheels with rubber tyres. By August 1935, there were around 200 different products in the Dinky Toys range which included die-cast ships, aeroplanes and small trains. Dinky Toys model cars were available individually in trade packs of six cars per pack. Most models were not made available in individual boxes until 1952.

The number of commercial vehicles expanded with the addition of Series 28, which included many delivery vans. In 1935, a new series 30 was introduced which, for the first time, featured accurate likenesses of specific vehicles. They included a generic ambulance, a Daimler saloon, a Vauxhall saloon, a Chrysler Airflow saloon, and a Rolls-Royce saloon. Smaller Matchbox-sized Austin 7 saloons and tourers were also made. At about the same time, several models were also made and marketed in France. Liveries of well-known companies began to decorate the commercial vehicles.

Series 30 included:
*30a Chrysler Airflow Saloon (originally no. 32)
*30b Rolls-Royce
*30c Daimler
*30d Vauxhall
*30e Breakdown car
*30f Ambulance

In 1938, a new Series 36 was introduced. Most of those models were also made after World War II, up to 1948. Production was halted during the war so that the Binns Road factory in Liverpool could produce many items for the war effort. Models in series 36, meanwhile, included a Rover Saloon, a Bentley 2 seat sports coupe, an Armstrong-Siddeley limousine, a British Salmson 4 seater convertible, a British Salmson 2 seat convertible, and a Humber Vogue coupe. Chassis were cast with open holes, saving expense and metal. Provision was made on some models for attachment of metal drivers, but not many appeared before the war, making them more valuable.

Dinky had acute problems on early models with zinc pest, also known wrongly as metal fatigue, caused by impure alloys which caused corrosion between molecules, resulting in cracking of the metal, which would crumble prematurely. That was much more common in the years 1938–1941, and is the main reason why it is rare to find surviving toys in good condition from that period. Some early castings have survived in numbers, while others are rare without some form of damage – such as the 28/2 Series vans. Another theory is that the metal was corrupted by contamination with lead from Hornby train and Dinky Toys production, or lead ties from sacks and foil from cigarette wrappers.

Military

Between 1937 and 1939, a number of military vehicles were introduced, numbered from 151 to 162. They were painted army green, and consisted of a medium and a light tank, an Austin 7 military car, a six-wheeled truck, a reconnaissance car, a searchlight lorry, an anti aircraft gun, a Vickers Light Dragon artillery tractor with limber and 18-pounder gun. Most interesting were several fairly detailed trailers, including an ammunition trailer, a cooker trailer and a water tank trailer. The military offerings were produced through 1941, though a few select models – the clever 16lb anti-aircraft gun, the 151a medium tank, and some of the trailers – were also made again from 1946 to 1955.

Pre-war models were fitted with thin diameter 1.626 mm. (0.064 in.) axles, whereas the post-war axles were 2.032 mm. (0.08 in.). The pre-war hubs were smooth, but after the war there was a raised part in the centre of the hub. Tracks on the tanks and the 162a Light Dragon artillery tractor were made with a wire-link sprocket chain wrapped around the hubs. That gave a mechanical, although not very realistic, appearance to the tracks. The side panels of the anti-aircraft folded and, not only did the gun swivel 360 degrees, but it could be moved from level to about a 50-degree angle upward. The searchlight was also adjustable in horizontal and vertical directions.

Military models were made until the end of production in the late 1970s. A wide variety of military vehicles were produced, such as thejeep-like Austin Champ, which included a driver and passengers.

Aircraft and ships

Aircraft

In the early days of the Dinky Toys range, aeroplanes and ships formed a considerable part of the output of the Binns Road factory, along with models of cars, vans and trucks. Both civilian and military aircraft were subjects for the Dinky Toys modellers, and the model of the Spitfire was sold in a special presentation box between 1939 and 1941, as part of ''The Spitfire Fund'', to raise money for the supply of a real Spitfire to the Royal Air Force. Some models were clearly identified, whereas others re-issued in 1945 had generic names such as Heavy Bomber (66a) and Two Seater Fighter (66c). The reason for that is not clear, but it may have been that they were not true representations of particular aircraft types. However, there were rumours that some models of aircraft and ships were disguised so that enemy agents would not be able to recognise allied aircraft and shipping from the Dinky Toys models. That was of particular importance in the production of French Dinky models, due to the political friction in Europe before the war and the fact that France was occupied by the Axis forces during hostilities. Those theories do not seem to be valid, because the models with generic names were issued in 1945, after hostilities had ceased.

Production of model aircraft resumed after the war with a mixture re-issues of pre-war models, along with models of new civilian airliners and recently introduced jet-powered aircraft. Production of Dinky planes tailed off in 1968, but was resurgent in 1971 with a range of World War II types complete with battery-powered propellers, as well as modern jet fighters, and even a Sea King helicopter. Those large-scale planes had been developed by Airfix but were made by Meccano Ltd., which had recently been bought by Airfix.

The range included:

*60a Imperial Airways Liner ( Armstrong Whitworth Atalanta) (1934)
*62a Supermarine Spitfire (1939)
*60c Percival Gull (1934)
*60d Sikorsky S58 Helicopter
*60f Cierva C.30A autogiro
*60g de Havilland Comet
*60h Short "Singapore III" flying boat
*60r Short S 23 Empire flying boat
*60s Fairey "Battle" bomber (1940–41)
*60w Clipper III Flying Boat
*62g Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress (1939)
*62k The King's Aeroplane
*62m Airspeed Envoy
*62p Armstrong Whitworth Ensign
*62s Hawker Hurricane (1940)
*62w Imperial Airways Liner Frobisher Class
*63 Mayo Composite aircraft
*63b Mercury Sea Plane
*64a Amiot 370 (1939)
*64b Bloch 200 (1939)
*67a Junkers Ju 89 (1941)
*70a Avro York (1946)
*70c Vickers Viking (1954)
*70d Twin Engine Fighter
*70e Gloster Meteor (1946)
*70f Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star (1947)
*701 Short Shetland Flying Boat
*702 De Havilland Comet BOAC (1954)
*703 Handley Page Herald (1955)
*704 Avro York Airliner (1954) – re-issued from 70a
*705 Vickers Viking – re-issued from 70c
*706 Vickers Viscount Airliner (1956)
*707 Avro Vulcan – renumbered as 749 before release
*708 Vickers Viscount Airliner (BEA) (1957)
*710 Beechcraft Bonanza S35
*712 US Army T-42A – retracting undercarriage
*715 Beechcraft Baron – retracting undercarriage
*716 Westland Sikorsky S51 Helicopter
*717 Boeing 737 in Lufthansa Livery
*731 Twin Engine Fighter – re-issue of 70d
*730 Hawker Tempest II Fighter
*732 Gloster Meteor (1946) – re-issue of 70e
*732 Bell Police Helicopter – same issue number as above (Meteor) – 1974 release
*733 Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star – re-issue of 70f
*734 Supermarine Swift (1955)
*735 Gloster Javelin (1956)
*736 Hawker Hunter (1955)
*737 P.1B Lightning Fighter (1959)
*738 de Havilland Sea Vixen (1960)
*715 Bristol 173 Helicopter
*718 Hawker Hurricane Mk IIe (1972)
*719 Supermarine Spitfire Mk II (1969) – motorised propeller
*721 Junkers Ju 87 'Stuka' (1969)
*722 Hawker Siddeley Harrier (1970) – retracting undercarriage
*723 Hawker Siddeley H.S.125 Executive Jet – retracting undercarriage
*724 Sea King Helicopter and Apollo Spacecraft Capsule (1971) – motorised main rotor.
*726 Messerschmitt Bf 109E (1972) – motorised propeller
*730 US Navy McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom (1972)
*731 SEPECAT Jaguar (1973) – retracting undercarriage
*749 Avro Vulcan (1955) – boxes marked "992" – "Supertoys" range
*997 SE 210 Caravelle Airliner (1962) made alternatively in France and in England – "Super toys" range
*998 Bristol Britannia Airliner (1959)
*999 Comet Airliner (1956) – re-issue of 702

Although the production of aircraft models continued after the war, the heyday of Dinky ships was between 1934 and 1939. The models, which were 1/1200 to 1/1985 scale, were cast from the same unstable alloy that was used across the entire pre-war Dinky range and have therefore suffered from the metal decay that makes survivors all the more rare. Small metal rollers were also included in the design and concealed in the underside of the hull so that the models could be moved smoothly across surfaces. Mirroring the aircraft range, both civilian and military ships were issued, and again, some were disguised.

Ships

The liner ''France'' was the only Dinky Toys ship produced in France after the war. It was made partly of zamac and partly of plastic, at the scale of 1/1200. It was not until 1976 that five further models were added to the long line of maritime releases from Dinky Toys. Those were in the larger scale of 1/180 – 1/200.

Models in the pre-war range include:

*50a
*50b Battle ship Nelson class
*50c Cruiser Effingham
*50d HMS ''York''
*50e HMS ''Delhi''
*''50f Destroyer Brook class''
*50g K class submarine
*50h Destroyer Amazon class
*50k X class submarine
*51b Norddeutscher Lloyd Europa
*51c Italia Line Rex
*51d CPR Empress of Britain
*51e P & O Strathaird
*51f Furness Queen of Bermuda
*51g Cunard White Star Britannic
*52a Cunard/ White Star ''Queen Mary''
*52c Paquebot ''La Normandie'' ''made in France''
*52c ''Battleship Dunkerque'' ''made in France''

Post-war history

No Dinky Toys models were made between 1941 and 1945. The French Meccano factory was occupied by the Germans, some of whom worked for Märklin, and the British factory was on war work but every Christmas a few models would be sold from pre-war stocks. Thus during and after the war a few 'pre-war' models survived and were sold in 1945. The first new models released after the war were U.S. military jeeps ref.153a in April 1946 in England and ref. 24M in France, it was the first Dinky Toy made at the scale of 1/43.

Besides some of the military vehicles offered before and after the war, the first significant releases from Dinky in the late 1940s were the 40 series, which were all British saloons. The first new model car released was an Armstrong Siddeley Coupe. These were the opening chapter of the "golden age" of Dinky Toys in the post-war era and represented far greater accuracy and detail than their pre-war relatives. These were very popular and today are often considered by collectors to be the quintessential Dinky Toys models. The 40 series cars were manufactured from better quality alloy, meaning that the survival rate is higher and although originally sold in trade boxes of six, they were renumbered in 1954 and re-coloured in two-tone paintwork in 1956, the Austin Somerset ref. 40j is probably the first model sold in its own individual yellow box. The first two models in the 40 series were in 1:48 scale, while the others were in 1:45 scale. The Jowett Javelin saloon is an interesting case as plans were made, but the model was never issued. More recently, Odgi Models have remade the Jowett and a couple other Dinky Toys Models which were planned but never manufactured.

The series included :

Dinky Supertoys

As part of the post-war development and expansion of the range, in 1947 Meccano Ltd introduced a series of model lorries modelled to the usual Dinky scale of 1:48, and introduced the altered name of Dinky Supertoys. Some models issued in this line included:

In 1950, Meccano introduced in the Supertoys series a number of Guy Vans finished in appealing period liveries. Each model was an identical all metal box van with opening rear doors. The Guy cab was joined by a Bedford S cab in 1955 and a Guy Warrior cab was introduced in 1960. Later, A.E.C. and other models were also added. Supertoys were commonly packaged in white boxes with thin blue horizontal lines and were marketed all on their own – no longer were these models solely focused on railroad accessories. Still, they did not quite reach the commercial marketing level of later die-cast brands like Corgi Toys or Solido.

Meccano continued producing detailed Dinky Supertoys commercial vehicles through the fifties and sixties, including such subjects as a Mobile Television Control Room and Camera Van in both BBC
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