SCALE MODEL NEWS

DIECAST SCALE MODELS are traditionally a collector's market, rather than one for builders. But there are plenty of times when ready-built models make perfectly good sense. SMN report: Using diecasts as part of the scenery for model rail layouts is one important use, though most are too shiny when fresh from the box, and require at least one coat of satin varnish on the paintwork. Collections of related vehicles can make interesting conversation pieces too. This group ( header, below ) forms a miniature history of the owner's motoring years. This old Dinky Toys Observation Coach was bought cheaply at a recent toy fair, to replace a brand-new one lost on a beach, when the owner was just six years old. Despite the worn paintwork, it still has an appeal, and the tyres seem nearly good as new. And ( below ) is an excellent vid that relates the history of Dinky Toys, a leading manufacturer in the 1950s and 1960s. Antique stores can reveal interesting finds ( below ) where an old tin...

THERE AREN'T MANY OF US WHO didn't have a few diecast vehicles as children. Dinky Toys were one of the premier brands, so it's fascinating to see how they were made, as the video clip shows. SMN report : When I was eight years old, the Observation Coach ( header pic ) briefly became my pride and joy. One summer vacation, I dug out a splendidly complex set of beach sand-roads for my brand-new 'Obbo' Coach', excavations that came to a sudden end when I realised I had buried that shiny Dinky Toy. I never found it, but ever since have had a soft spot for this particular model. Apart from the Dinky Toys in the video ( below ) it offers an interesting observation on hair styles of the 'Swinging Sixties.' Dinky Supertoys ( below ) came in sharply designed blue-striped boxes. For many collectors, the Mighty Antar tank transporter was high on the wanted list, and came with fold-down rear ramps. The matching Dinky Centurion tank could be driven up these, as it ...

Dinky Toys are an ever-popular diecast collector's choice, whether you are a serious collector or would simply like a few to decorate your shelves as a reminder of childhood days. Bright colours and the markings of a popular processed food company marked out this Dinky Toys Bedford delivery van. It's one of the bigger models that Dinky sold as 'Supertoys', and came in the instantly recognisable blue-and-white striped cardboard box. Here's a Dinky Toys brochure (below) which we uploaded to Issuu, the online-magazine site. We guarantee a good read! The Centurion tank (below) was a must-have in any British boy's Dinky Toys collection, albeit the casting was rather basic - note here that the suspension wheels were moulded with the tank side-skirts, rather than being freely-rotating components. Even so, the Centurion did have a rotating turret, and looked very impressive when mounted on the Mighty Antar (below) tank transporter, which came complete with a pair of fol...

David Jefferis reports: International finances are such that 2012 could be a difficult year if you’re the investing type. However, a relevant question for the scale model fan is: “Does the model and miniature world offer any money-making opportunities?” Perhaps surprisingly, the answer is a guarded yes, as old plastic kits continue to be valued buys for connoisseurs, assuming they are mint and boxed, in unbuilt condition, and with all parts present and correct. Three kits are best It may seem slightly weird that a kit drops in value the moment it starts to be assembled, yet the situation is comparable to a fine wine, which gains value until it’s opened - then you have to glug it down, pronto. So for the kit collector, there can be just one logical strategy. As model guru and collector Mat Irvine points out: “Three kits is the optimum - one to build, one to kitbash, and one to lay down for the future.” Well, Mat’s the one to know! Bell UH-1 kit There are some marvellous old-stagers out ...

SMN report We’ll be joining the two billion or so TV viewers later today, but there’s just time for a quick look at some of the aircraft flown by British royalty - who knows, there might be a model there somewhere, perhaps a Westland Sea King like the above. Prince William is a serving Royal Air Force officer, flying Sea King Search and Rescue helicopters. To the best of SMN’s knowledge, there are no special ‘royal’ markings, but the helicopter makes an attractive model in any scale, though here’s a request to manufacturers out there - how about a really BIG Sea King? The largest we know of is the Bravo Delta 406 mm (16 in) long mahogany display model, though it’s not cheap, and made to the somewhat odd 1:42 scale. The Sea King is a popular machine that’s been around for more than three decades, and that’s without mentioning the original Sikorsky S-61, from which the Westland version was developed. Plenty of scope there then! King’s Flight Airspeed Envoy III in Dinky Toy model form. Ki...

SMN Report If you enjoy hunting for a bargain, then auctions can be the way to go - though for rare items, prices can sail through the roof to ‘infinity and beyond’. But nearer terra firma, there are all sorts of interesting items coming up this coming weekend, with guide prices that should suit most buyers’ pockets. Dinky Toys for sale For diecast collectors, there are some very handsome articles with Special Auction Services (SAS), including the attractive group of Dinky Toys shown here. Just think, I owned no less than five of these six items when they were new, my pocket money was not a lot, and I looked forward to birthday presents with a 'Dinky' on the box. Sad to say, all those toys of mine bit the dust in some shape or form maaany years ago! But for new owners this time around, the Dinkys pictured, plus a number of other items, have the very reasonable lot estimate of just £70-£90 GBP ($113-145 USD). Car kits on offer For kit fans, Astons Auctioneers and Valuers offer t...

SMN report We’re on something of a Dinky Toys hunt at the moment, helped by the discovery of the trio of childhood sweethearts seen in the pix above. They’re in a bit of a state and need more than a hint of TLC to bring them back to life, which will be a nice indoor project for those long winter evenings to come – and they’ll be even longer in the UK when the clocks change to the deep, dark dungeon of Winter Time** at the end of the month. Familiar Dinky So far as the vehicles are concerned, the Austin Van was a familiar sight in my childhood home town. One that belonged to the Daltons electrical dealer spent much of its time trundling around delivering black-and-white TVs, with cases big enough to denude half the South American forests. Actually I’m not kidding - restrictions on mahogany were imposed in the 1990s. Note the aspiring-signwriter daub on the van side! The Commer Breakdown Truck was a favourite in the Dinky Toys range for many years, as was the Dinky Caravan, though this r...

SMN report It’s one thing to enjoy a beautiful collector’s item dating back 70 years or more, but you have a tale of doom and gloom if it starts falling apart before your very eyes. And it can happen, thanks to the curse of ‘zinc pest’, a form of corrosion that can affect diecast toys manufactured anytime from the 1930s to early 1950s. Zinc pest explained Zinc corrosion is caused when the metal has been mixed with impure lead, and it may be accelerated by damp, and big changes in temperature. Once the pest hits, it’s unstoppable, and over time the affected item cracks, buckles, and eventually falls to pieces. There’s no cure as such, because the fault lies in the zinc-lead mixture itself. The only real answer is to steer clear of any model that shows the slightest sign of it. Dinky Toys Empire boat The 1930s-era Dinky Toy shown above, a Short Empire flying boat, displays the sad destruction wrought by the pest - as you can see, it’s nasty stuff! Luckily, modern manufacturing processes,...

SMN report There’s little doubt that in these difficult financial times, it pays to have some form of savings scheme beyond a bank account and a pension company. And for model fans that can be a pleasure, combining financial commonsense with a hobby, for unbuilt kits and diecasts represent pretty decent items to have in your portfolio. Rare Dinky Toys Of the two, diecasts show the most spectacular prices, with auctions regularly achieving astonishing levels - even in a recession, or perhaps especially in a recession, prices hold firm and there have been bidding wars between individuals and fund managers at some salerooms. Dinky Toys in particular are a high achiever where values are concerned, with models from small production runs being very highly prized. Examples include the Avro Vulcan jet V-bomber, of which only 500 or so were released, or virtually anything from the mid-1930s to 1943, when Dinky production stopped for three years until after the end of World War II. Dinky prices ...