Dinky Toys


Dinky Toys was the brand name for a range of die-cast zamak zinc alloy scale model vehicles, traffic lights, and road signs produced by British toy company Meccano Ltd. They were made in England from 1934 to 1979, at a factory in Binns Road in Liverpool.
Toy vehicles commercialised under the "Dinky" name include cars, trucks, aircraft, military vehicles, and ships.

Pre-war history

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 Hornby Trains model railway sets. The accessories were first called "Hornby Modelled Miniatures", but in 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.
There are some stories about the origin of the "Dinky" name. One story says it derived from a nickname that a friend gave to Frank Hornby's daughter. Another story 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, 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 was introduced, which included a generic ambulance, a grand sports open four-seater, a grand sports two-seater, a coupé 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
  • 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. Meanwhile, models in series 36 included a Rover Saloon, a Bentley 2 seat sports coupé, an Armstrong-Siddeley limousine, a British Salmson 4 seater convertible, a British Salmson 2 seat convertible, and a Humber Vogue coupé. Chassis were cast with open holes, saving expense and metal. Provision was made on some models for the 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, incorrectly, 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.

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 a limber and 18-pounder gun. There were also several detailed trailers, including an ammunition trailer, a cooker trailer, and a water tank trailer. The military toys were produced until 1941, though a few select models – the anti-aircraft gun, the 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. axles, whereas the post-war axles were 2.032 mm.. 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 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 degrees² 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 the jeep-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 and Two Seater Fighter. 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:
File:Clipper III flying boat.jpg|thumb|No. 60w Sikorsky S-42, suffering from zinc pest
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.