Dinky Toys

I've mentioned before that I never had Tonka toys when I was growing up. I was not deprived, however. By the time I was seven or eight I had been given several Dinky Toys, and a new era in my life had begun.

Dinky Toys were a British invention, sold by Meccano, Ltd., makers of construction sets akin to the Erector Sets made from 1911 to 1967 by the A.C. Gilbert Company of New Haven, Connecticut. Called "Modelled Miniatures," the first Dinkys appeared in 1934. They were die-cast models of popular cars and trucks in 1/42 scale, and were an immediate hit: by 1935 there were 200 different types.

Production halted during World War II, when metal was diverted to military use. Dinky manufacture resumed in 1945, and the postwar drive to export from Britain brought them to the United States. My first Dinky was an Alvis sports car, a make I'd never heard of. So fascinated was I with my Alvis that when a young truck driver from Memphis hit the charts with "Heartbreak Hotel" in 1956 I thought he'd been named for the car.

Other early arrivals in my Dinky collection were an Austin A40 Devon, of which there were many real examples in our northwest Connecticut neighborhood, an early British taxi and a double decker bus (I don't remember what happened to its tyres). Meccano knew their success depended on export, so American makes were not neglected. I had a '49 Ford, a '48 Hudson Commodore and a '48 Plymouth station wagon. On Saturdays, when I had saved a dollar from my allowance, I'd go to Marshall's Toyland and buy another Dinky.

There was one rather generic "truck" that appeared with a variety of bodies (mine lost an eye), an "articulated lorry" and a "tipper" (dump truck) whose bed could be raised with a crank. My earlier Dinkys saw much hard use; as time went on I played less so wear and tear decreased. My Land Rover shows only muddy tyres, the Studebaker fuel tanker looks almost new.

There were farming Dinkys, like the Massey-Harris with harrow, construction machinery like the road roller, and two- and three-wheel variants like the Royal Automobile Club patrol unit. The breakdown lorry, aka tow truck, had a working crane and winch. Now Quite rare, I'm told, are the petrol pump set and the vintage road signs.

My favorite Dinky is the Jaguar XK120 Fixed Head Coupe, a car I've found attractive from first sight. Even today, I drool when I see a real one. Until quite recently the Dinky Austin A90 Atlantic was the only example of that car that I'd ever seen.

Meccano was taken over by Tri-Ang, another British toymaker, in 1964, and afterwards the brand changed hands again and again. Eventually it was absorbed by Matchbox, now part of the eponymous Mattel empire. Dinky Toys, alas, are not what they used to be, but mine live on in a dusty old shoe box. From time to time I get them out to play.