The Dinky Toys 152B Reconnaissance Car was originally designed and produced by Meccano Ltd. in the pre-war years and reintroduced in 1946 for several more years. It was a wonderful casting, full of great detail, and a favorite among young collectors.
One of my first five Dinky Toys I owned as a child included the Reconnaissance Car. Truth be told, it has since been one of my all time favorite models. As a very young boy, I reveled in the style and level of detail of this exquisite model. With its unusual six wheels, simulated canvas top, running boards, hood louvers and numerous exterior storage boxes, there was a lot to like.
And remember, this was originally a pre-war model, introduced way back in 1937 as model 152B. Compared to other models produced by Dinky in that era, the execution and level of detail in this model is — to me — unmatched. And unlike other Dinky Toys trucks of that era, this one was modeled after a real vehicle made by Morris Commercial. The Dinky is amazingly accurate, save for the absence of headlights which they were lacking the diecasting ability to include at that time.
I have a couple of other models of this Dinky, but a while back I had the chance to acquire a somewhat rare and unusual very early post-war version that features smooth non-ridged wheels and the finely treaded white tires used very briefly in pre-war versions. It has the thicker post-war axles, so it’s a kind of interim hybrid model that bridges pre-war elements with post-war.
I hope you enjoy these two examples of the Dinky 152B Reconnaissance Car as much as I do.