It is common for us collectors to look back on our favorite Dinky Toys, as I did elsewhere on this site with my own “top ten” list. Not so happily remembered, though, are the Dinkys that never should have come out of Binns Road.
Over its long history, Meccano Ltd. produced such a wide range of models that not all of them can please everybody. Personally, for example, I don’t really collect airplanes, boats, dolls house furniture, garden implements, the Gerry Anderson space toys, or even military models, since none of these would blend with ordinary cars and trucks on my tabletop layouts (real or imagined).
But all of the above ranges deservedly have their fans, and they all have “play value.” Even Dinky’s Ogle-designed “Convoy” trucks that collectors dislike were a well-meaning effort to produce affordable pocket-money toys for young children.
In contrast, there are Dinky Toys that in my opinion never should have been made. They are low in play value, they mostly represent vehicles that did not exist in real life, or they were pathetic attempts to wring more sales out of existing tooling.
Sadly, it is no coincidence that these models began to appear after the takeover of Meccano Ltd. by Lines Brothers in 1964. They multiplied after the sale to Airfix in 1971.
Ultimately, enough “never shoulda” Dinky Toys appeared that it was difficult to keep this list of stinkers down to a mere ten. When you look at any of these, you’ll ask yourself “what were they thinking?”
In the order of their release, here’s my selection:
1 — 485 Santa Special Model T Ford (1964)
By the standards of what would follow in later years, this model is a masterpiece. But it belongs in the “hall of shame” because it is the first Dinky Toy that was a fantasy model, with no real-world counterpart.
Image: Internet
Dinky’s 475 Model T Ford was a belated attempt to complete with Lesney’s Models of Yesteryear and Corgi’s Classics. Judging by the number of mint-and-boxed samples that survive today (in their horrible VisiPak boxes), it does not seem to have been a good seller.
Poor initial sales of the Model T may have been why Meccano Ltd. quickly enlisted Father Christmas and his plastic bag of toys for a redecorated version. The Meccano Magazine suggested that the model would become “the centerpiece of not a few table decorations.” Perhaps so, but this unfortunate confection certainly never appeared on any self-respecting model highways or railroads!
2 — 617 V.W. K.D.F. with P.A.K. Anti-Tank Gun (1967)
I’ll concede that this Dinky Toy is an acceptable model of a vehicle that actually existed, though it is a Kubelwagen, not a KdF (the latter was actually an early Beetle). But the key to why I despise it can be found engraved on the base: “Battle Lines.”
Image: Vectis Auctions
This model – along with its companion, the 615 U.S. Jeep with 105mm Howitzer – was designed as part of a separate range of 1/32nd scale military models. I’m guessing the Battle Lines toys were originally created at Lines Brothers’ offices in London, then forced on Binns Road to be awkwardly incorporated into the Dinky line.
While the 1/32nd scale had plenty of precedent for military models, it made for oversized, ugly Dinky Toys. In my opinion, Dinky’s latter-day military offerings were spoiled by the confusion of different scales offered, making these Battle Lines models an ugly sign of things to come.
3 — 157 BMW 2000 Tilux (1968)
I wavered over this selection because I think the idea of creating a model car with working indicators was a great idea, with lots of play value. (BMW was an odd marque to choose, though: Real BMWs don’t actually have working indicators, do they?)
Image: Vectis Auctions
Unfortunately, in its haste to make room for a battery and light bulb – these were the years of the ongoing “first again” battle with Corgi – Dinky created a painfully bloated model. (The Mercedes 250 they produced with working stop lights is almost as bad.)
The body’s being cast in two halves is awkward and just adds to the bulk. The two-tone paint merely emphasises the split. I think the model might have looked slightly better in the all-over blue and red colours that were advertised but not issued.
Regardless, they should have gone back to the drawing board on this one. The French Dinky 534 BMW 1500 shows how a model of this same basic car should have looked.
4 — 111 Cinderella’s Coach (1976)
Not to mince words, the Cinderella’s Coach is in my opinion the worst Dinky Toy ever made. Even the Happy Cab (see later) isn’t quite this bad.
Image: Vectis Auctions
This is a model of a “real” vehicle, but its merits end there. The coach appeared in The Slipper and the Rose, a musical version of the Cinderella story that was a Royal Variety Command Performance selection in March 1976.
Apparently the Queen Mother was (per Wikipedia) a particular fan of the film’s music. Meanwhile, Meccano Ltd. had prepared its model in advance and was somehow convinced it would be a big success. (Were there drugs in the Liverpool water?)
The coach was on the cover of the 1976 Dinky catalogue and treated to a full page inside. Further, the back of the model’s special box featured stills from the movie as well as the storyline.
The model itself is almost all plastic, with a few ugly dabs of paint (either green or gold) on the horses. Unlike most models of a coach and horses, the nags stand on a piece of plastic “pavement” that has little supports underneath. It’s a very strange design.
It would be interesting to know what sales figures were achieved for this model!
5 — 674 Coastguard Amphibious Missile Launch (1977)
What goes for the Coastguard Amphibious Missile Launch also goes for its sister model, the 677 Armored Command Vehicle — I simply dislike the boat the most! Both toys were designed in early 1973 as models of vehicles that were supposed to appear in a new Gerry Anderson TV series called The Investigator.
Image: Vectis Auctions
Dinky had a lot of success with other Gerry Anderson vehicles (Thunderbirds, UFO, etc.), so it rushed to create the Investigator Car and Investigator Boat so they could be released as soon as the program aired. Unfortunately, The Investigator, which was about two American children who were miniaturized by an alien in order to fight crime on Earth, was never broadcast.
Left holding the bag, Meccano Ltd. decided to recoup its investment in the tooling by releasing the Investigator models in a generic form. The Armoured Command Vehicle would be released in 1976 and promoted by Dinky as having been designed by Gerry Anderson (it was actually designed by Reg Hill). The Coastguard Missile Launch was released later, without mention of any Anderson connection.
The pilot film for The Investigator — seen only decades later via home video — featured a jet powered boat that featured wheels, but not any obvious weapons. Dinky added a missile launcher to the front of its model anyway, obviously anticipating plot developments that were never to take place.
For its revamped Coastguard Amphibious Missile Launch, Dinky simply changed the colors of the previously planned toy, adding “Coastguard” labels and a driver figure. I guess the end result does have play value, but shorn of any Anderson context, it’s an unrealistic and absurd model.
6 — 354 Pink Panther’s Jet Car (1977)
Dinky’s Pink Panther car is a plastic monstrosity, but that alone wouldn’t have earned it a place in the hall of shame. After all, this was a model of an actual, fully functional car that was used in the opening credits to the Pink Panther TV show (shown on the BBC in the UK). Apart from not having a flywheel protruding from the roof, the car really did look like this.
Image: Vectis Auctions
As Chris Jelley conceded in his Meccano Magazine writeup, the flywheel motor was not calculated to please “a few of the older, serious Dinky collectors.” But, it had plenty of play value and made this the fastest Dinky ever. (It’s fortunate for shins and skirting boards that the model wasn’t made of metal, as originally considered.)
So why then did Meccano Ltd. delete the flywheel in 1977, taking away most of the model’s appeal? The resulting miniature was shaped more like its prototype, but Binns Road ruined it by adding decals with a cartoon figure on the roof and Pink Panther labels on the sides.
Adding insult to injury, packaging for this later version called the toy a Jet Car — confusingly, a trademark used by Norev for its own diecasts at the time — and omitted any mention of Dinky. The Dinky Toys name was also deleted from the base of the model. It would be interesting to know why these branding changes occurred.
7 — 361 Galactic/Zygon/Space/Missile Firing War Chariot (1978/1979)
During its mercifully short life, this vehicle really did have four different names. it was first known as the Galactic War Chariot, then morphed into Zygon, Space and Missile-Firing War Chariot versions.
Image: Vectis Auctions
Meccano Ltd. cobbled this model together from a variety of existing parts, which I am indebted to Kevin O’Neil for detailing. For example, the Galactic War Chariot uses a modified 355 Lunar Rover chassis, repainted astronauts, 102’s Joe’s Car turbines reversed as jet engines, wheels from the 226 Ferrari Racing Car, and the missile firing mechanism of the 363 Shado Mobile!
In 1979, Dinky adopted the name “Zygon” for its space toys, claiming it as a trademark even though it had previously been used as the name of an alien race in Doctor Who episodes. The Galactic War Chariot, now fitted with plastic wheels and a different missile firing mechanism, became the Zygon War Chariot.
According to O’Neil’s Dinkytvspace.com website, there are seven known variants of the Zygon War Chariot, since it can have different colours for the chassis, astronauts, missile launcher, and jet engines. However, in my opinion even one variant is more than enough for any collection!
A rare third version of this model — known as the Space War Chariot, according to O’Neil — was released during the dire last days, after Binns Road had run out of proper boxes for its toys. Supplied in a plain brown box, it has a blue and white chassis, and either two white spacemen, or one white one and one red one.
Finally, the tooling was shipped to Italy, where the model was made in the blue-and-white colour scheme and featured miscellaneous types of spacemen (or sometimes none at all). Mysteriously, this final Missile Firing War Chariot version was supplied on the same type of flimsy blister pack as the Hong Kong-produced Big Cat Jaguar. Both have the same odd “Dinky Toy” logo and no further trademark or manufacturer information.
To say the least, it is an odd business practice to produce toys in Italy, then have them shipped all the way to Hong Kong for packaging. It’s no wonder that Airfix would wind up going into receivership in 1981!
8 — 201 Plymouth Stock Car (1979)
During its last year, Dinky was desperately trying to create “new” models with a minimum of investment. With its range of “customized” toys existing tooling was dressed up with larger wheels, stickers, and plastic add-ons.
Image: DB Collectables
All the customized Dinkys are pretty dire, but at least the Corvette, Ford Transit, Land Rover, and Range Rover could have existed in real life. But this use of the Plymouth Gran Fury casting, which like the others was treated to oversized wheels and tires, is completely unrealistic because no NASCAR stock car ever had four doors.
Either Meccano Ltd. thought (wrongly) that children wouldn’t notice, or they were simply beyond caring at this point. Either way, this model is just embarrassing.
9 — 367 Space Battle Cruiser (1979)
“Space is big, big business,” or so a 1979 trade fair leaflet for Dinky proclaimed. But – maybe partly because of The Investigator debacle – Meccano Ltd. did not see the need to keep paying licensing fees to Gerry Anderson. Instead, the cash-strapped toymaker decided to create its own generic space models.
Image: Vectis Auctions
The first of a series was the Space Battle Cruiser, capable of firing two rather oversize “Trygon” missiles. This bears a strong resemblance to Gerry Anderson designs but is not identical to them.
As noted on DinkyTVSpace.com, a plastic “Starcruiser 1” kit released by Airfix around the same time did credit Anderson. It included an Interceptor model quite reminiscent of the Space Battle Cruiser.
The Space Battle Cruiser’s nicely illustrated box touted as a foe the 362 Trident Starfighter. This black lump of metal had one spring-loaded “Stellar” missile at the front and two more dummy missiles on its wings.
The Trident Starfighter deserves special infamy because a special gold-finished version was produced as a gift for attendees at an Airfix Group dinner dance. This event was held at the London Hilton on 18th September 1979 – mere weeks before Binns Road closed.
During its last year, Dinky would manage to release several other space ships, including two “Cosmic” variants marketed by Marks and Spencer. All were created with a variety of recycled parts, including the chassis from the 729 Panavia Multi Role Combat Aircraft.
10 — 120 Happy Cab (1979)
Also during its final annus horribilis, Dinky produced the 115 U.B. Taxi, a caricature of an old-time cab that featured an overly tall roof. This model was created using the chassis of the 475 Model T Ford and also its wheel tooling, though the spokes have been filled in and the wheels mounted inside out.
Image: Vectis Auctions
The U.B. Taxi reportedly came about after Meccano Ltd. hired a marketing manager who’d worked at United Biscuits, one of its neighbors on Binns Road. The model was designed to promote Taxi biscuits, chocolate-coated wafers that came in blue and yellow wrappers.
In theory, the U.B. Taxi was only available from United Biscuits by sending in biscuit wrappers and a small amount of money. Oddly, however, it was also featured in Dinky catalogues. Large quantities of the model obviously left the factory through alternative channels, since it’s very easy to find in mint-and-boxed form today.
Regardless, the U.B. Taxi’s color scheme gave it a certain elegance. Not so for the alternative version I’m giving my “ten worst” award, the 120 Happy Cab. The decorations on this model are indescribably awful and would insult the intelligence of a three-year-old.
Some samples were released without the roof sticker after the factory ran out of them — an unintentional improvement!