The Dinky Toys Studebaker Tanker was extremely popular, and made for a very long time, in a variety of liveries. This model was based on the newly introduced Studebaker truck line in 1949, and Meccano brought out the first Dinky Toys version in 1950. The first edition 30p was only labeled Petrol, followed by the very popular Mobilgas in 1952.
Subsequent liveries were Castrol, Esso, and National Benzole, which followed the later numbering system of 440/441/442/443. The last one made was the modernized Mobilgas livery, which was made through 1961 or 62, so another very long run of production.
This was an extremely well done model, and due to its small size, very easy for young boys to carry around in their pocket. Due to its very long life, lots of these were made, and should be somewhat available even today. Here are all the various versions made.
Not seen very often is the first version, released in 1950 as 30p, in the plain Petrol livery. Made until 1952, it was available in both red and green colors. I happen to prefer this nice red version.
Starting in 1952 the Castrol and Mobilgas versions appeared. These little trucks were very popular, and remained until 1960, using the later Mobilgas decal. One of the earlier ones, in Castrol livery, is resplendent here in a nice shade of green.
The early Mobilgas version was my first one, and still a favorite. Dinky did a very nice job replicating this one, from around 1955.
Shown below is the later version of the tanker Mobilgas. In many ways, Dinky tried to stay current and made changes over time. Thus, Dinky chose to update the graphics. This was quietly put into the marketplace and was never shown in a catalog, nor was the illustration changed on the box. Probably made from 1958–1960, when it was finally discontinued. These later models also came with treaded tires instead of the original smooth type.
Here is the Esso livery with light blue “robin’s egg blue” color on the logo surround. Its companion version has the darker blue logo surround.
It proved quite a challenge trying to find a photograph of a real Studebaker 2R Tanker, but I did manage to acquire a brochure of their truck line, which has a nice illustration of the tanker. You will notice that the tank area on the rear is a little different: the tank on the Dinky doesn’t appear to be as tall as the real one.
One of the last versions was the National Benzole Mixture tanker, finished in bright yellow. Like all yellow painted Dinky Toys, the yellow paint is subject to easy chipping and clearly shows those too, so finding a real nice one is great. Most of the yellow paint seems applied heavier, so it will cover the casting. Heavy coats of paint, when dry, seem more vulnerable to chipping.
Meccano experimented with using aluminum in the 1950’s, and they did make some of the Studebaker tankers out of it. In 1951 after this tanker came out, Dinky switched over to aluminum for some of the Castrol and Esso versions (David Busfield, Model Collector, February 2018). Aluminum did not work out and they switched back to diecast zamak (mazac).
Model Collector, Feb 2018
Aluminum was also used on other Dinky Toys: for the trailer of the Pullmore Transporter and also the Horse Box, plus the well known Avro Vulcan jet. I seem to remember reading using aluminum was hard on the dies, due to the higher melting point.
Some time ago fellow collector, Steven Ira Goodstein, lamented the lack of more recognizable liveries with the Studebaker Tanker. Well, some time ago I had a friend who did restorations take a spare model (it had quite a bit of wear) and used his imagination to create a Shell version. So here it is, a Code 3 Dinky that never was.
