1949 saw the introduction of two Dinky Toys that not only proved very popular, but were also both made for a very long time. Most importantly, they provided a lot of wonderful play value for young boys. I’m talking about the Dinky 14C/401 Coventry Climax Fork Lift Truck and the Dinky 571 Coles Mobile Crane.
I will focus first on the 14C/401 Coventry Climax Fork Lift Truck. In the early years of its production, it was available in orange, dark red, and brown, and in an orange card box. In 1954, it was renumbered to 401 and appeared in the well known striped box. Later versions came in yellow boxes. The forks were always green, and the driver was mostly commonly tan. There was also a French produced version of this model.
For me, as a young lad in the mid-1950’s, this along with the Coles Mobile Crane saw lots of use and serious play time. I loved how you could turn that neat handle, and raise or lower the fork. It was always fun to come up with some sort of load to use. And when the winding string eventually broke, it was pretty easy to replace.
The Coventry Climax Fork Lift Truck was one of my very first Dinky Toys, and the date code on the box bottom shows it was made in 1953, and I think it was given to me in 1954. I have lots of pristine Dinky Toys, but I also have many that I played with over 65 years ago, and all of them occupy a special place in my heart. They have been lifelong friends.
After a very long run, the production life of the Coventry Climax Fork Lift Truck ended in 1964.
The other Dinky Supertoys released in 1949 was also sure to delight young boys with lots of play value. This was the Dinky 571/971 Coles Mobile Crane, produced in a wonderful yellow with black carriage. I remember getting this one as a boy and delighting in setting it on a table, then lowering the boom and then the hook to pick up something off the floor. Over the years, many have had to finally replace the winding string, which is somewhat easy to do as the cab is hinged to allow easy access.
The Coles Mobile Crane was made for a very long time, not being discontinued until 1966. The last issues had a silver colored crane and plastic wheels and driver.
Here are the two early, smaller cranes that Dinky Toys made in the 1950’s. On the left is the French produced Dinky 50/595 Grue Salev crane, and on the right its English made cousin, the Coles Mobile Crane. The French Grue is also a nice model: they even put dual tires & wheels on the front, even though you can hardly see them. Very well made and detailed!
