After World War II ended in 1945, Britain’s toy industry was anxious to get back to the business of making models. Most production had ceased in 1941, and available stocks quickly disappeared. Meccano Ltd was quick to re-issue several of their pre-war models, with a few changes, including many new colors. But they quickly had something else is mind: to expand their range of offerings, and to explore a new opportunity.
Foden DG truck (source: talkmodeltoys.com)
Thus was born the vision of creating Dinky Supertoys. There are no surviving factory records or accounts of how this progressed, so we know little other than dates, catalogs, mentions in the Meccano Magazine, and of course, the models themselves. What we do know is that in the August 1947 issue of Meccano Magazine, two models of Foden trucks were introduced and shown, alongside a Guy Truck.
In the past, Meccano made commercial Dinky Toys to a much smaller scale than the automobiles, which were nominally 1:48. This kept them to a similar overall size, but not very realistic when they were paired together. Since they were similar in size, it also kept the price points about the same. So by deciding to introduce Supertoys, Dinky Toys trucks were now going to be much larger… and more expensive, but also very impressive. And they would now also look proper when posed alongside the cars.
Over the years, Meccano would make two versions of Foden trucks, but for this discussion, we shall focus only on the first one, modeled after the very successful Foden DG design, which was introduced in the late 1930’s and made through the late 1940’s.
Dinky Toys 1950 catalog cover and 1951 catalog page
Early on Meccano decided to make a range of these trucks, instead of just one version, so when they were introduced in August of 1947 there were three versions offered: the 501 Foden Diesel 8 Wheel Wagon, the 502 Foden Flat Truck, and the 503 Foden Flat Truck with Tailboard. In December of 1948 the 504 Foden 14-ton Tanker model was brought out, followed by the last one: the 505 Foden Flat Truck with Chains in early 1952.
All of these were offered in at least two color schemes, with the chassis and fenders usually being one color, and the cab and rear load area another. But the Flat Truck with Chains was always one solid color, and the tanker used one color for chassis and cab, but a different color for the tank.
Not only were these new Supertoys larger, but they were also more rugged, probably due to assuming how they would be used by young boys. The axles were much thicker than the car models, and the castings themselves were quite heavy and reinforced at key points.
Meccano also had to develop a new set of wheels and tires to be used, and these early versions used a ridged wheel, larger, but quite similar in design to that used on the cars. The early tires were the larger Supertoys size and were a black herringbone style. In a few years these herringbone tires were replaced by black tires with a radial tread.
The list prices for these new models were quite a bit higher than for the normal Dinky Toys, which in the mid-1950’s averaged about $0.75 each in the US. The Foden’s would list for $2.00 – $3.00 each, which meant these were a special treat to receive as a young boy. But overall, introducing Supertoys was a success, and Meccano quickly added many more models to the range.
Early boxes were plain card stock with simple labels and exposed staples. These quickly gave way to a series of new boxes which were much more attractive, culminating in the familiar blue and white striped box of the mid-1950’s.
As a young boy, I coveted Supertoys, and routinely asked for one as a Christmas or birthday gift. They were and still are very desirable and very well made models. By 1951, Dinky Toys knew that this older model Foden truck was now obsolete, and that a brand new truck, the Foden FG, would need to be modeled. Meccano quickly decided that they would have to use an all new cab and chassis, but the rear load areas could be retained... but that is for the next story, which begins in 1952.