Dinky Aircraft – Identification

What is it?

A challenge for any collector is to accurately identify the models that they acquire. Usually the subject is obvious, and by using reference books it is possible to pin down which model one has and access all sorts of data about it. However, sometimes … it isn’t quite as easy as that! To illustrate the point, let’s consider the strange case of the Dinky Vickers Viscount.

Solido Military – Transformables

Build and Rebuild

As we’ve already seen elsewhere in this website, a popular category of toys is those that involve using a set of parts to build, breakdown and rebuild models. Solido termed their creations of this type transformables. Amongst the toys they created in their early years, were a classic example of this: the 1936 “Canons a Transformation”, a range of parts from which a bewildering variety of artillery pieces could be assembled.

Airfix Military Series – Accessories

Accessories

As we have already seen with Britains Deetail, complementary accessories were important in increasing the attraction of the range. Airfix certainly understood this, and created a selection of buildings and vehicles to extend the play possibilities of their figures. One of the vehicles they created may be familiar, as we have already encountered it in this blog – the Bedford RL truck.

Dinky Aircraft – Introduction

Dinky Aircraft

The first aircraft models were released by Dinky in 1934, and the range continued, with a break during World War 2, up to 1965. As with their contemporary range of military vehicles, there were two main periods of production: the first models were created during the 1930s, and then a new set of models replaced them in the 1950s. During both periods, separate but complementary selections of models were produced by the UK company in Liverpool and by the French factory in Bobigny.

Minic Ships – Pleasure Piers

The Development of Piers

For today’s story we go down to the seaside. Put on your sun-hat and tuck into that candy floss, while we go for a stroll along the Tri-ang Minic pier!

Minic Ships – Accuracy

Models

Most of the items that I showcase are models, which, according to one encyclopaedia, are “a three-dimensional representation of a person or thing or of a proposed structure, typically on a smaller scale than the original.”. In other words, they are meant to represent a real thing. And given this, the question of accuracy naturally arises. Is the model a true likeness or does it just have a vague resemblance to the subject it portrays?

Dinky Military – France

Bobigny

Most of the vehicles produced by Dinky originated from the factory located in Binns Road, Liverpool. In fact, ‘Binns Road’ has become a label that itself describes Dinky to many collectors. However, it should be remembered that throughout the history of Dinky there was also a factory in Bobigny, a north-eastern suburb of Paris, that produced a range of models primarily for the French market.