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My diecast toy car collection.
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Dinky, Crescent, Lesney etc.
On this page of my diary I will be talking about my ever-expanding toy collection. This collection consists of 1930s cars through to the 1980s. Today I will be talking about the older ones in my collection (1930s-1960s).
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This picture (above) consists of my racing-related toy cars. Starting on the right is the 1950s racer series by Dinky Toys. Cars in this series had two different model numbers stamped on the bottom. The earlier cars in this series (roughly 1953-1954) had two numbers and then a letter eg. 23J. The latter models (1954-1964) had just three numbers eg. 235. From right to left; first row- Talbot-Lago, Ferrari, Alfa-Romeo, H.W.M., Cooper Bristol (all of which made by Dinky Toys). The pale blue Talbot Lago was once raced and owned by the 24 Hours of Le-Mans champion Duncan Hamilton. Also, the red 158 Alfa won the first Grand-Prix race at Silverstone on the 13th May, 1950. It was driven by Guiseppe Farina.
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Now we move on to my dark green Crescent Connaught. Crescents are much rarer than Dinkies as the drivers were prone to cracking. I also have a Crescent Ferrari, included later.
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Moving on, there's my post-war Auto-Union by Dinky, in silver. Pre-war examples of this toy didn't have a base, have different tyres and have a driver. Pre-war examples are considerably rarer. Then it is my two "Speed of the Wind" land speed record cars by Dinky Toys. The last car on the row is my Dinky D-Type, sporting new decals.The second row back consists of mainly 1960s Corgis, bar my two tankers.
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Now we have my two tankers, both of which made by Dinky Toys, Great Britain. Both of these items are very limited- tankers are very desirable in the toy-collecting place. First is the Foden (blue) tanker, part of the Dinky Supertoys set. I paid 25 pounds for this as it has a missing ladder, yet apart from that it's in very good condition for its age (1950s). Mine is the earliest version of the item (1958-1952) as it has a "20mph" sticker on its back wing. Recently, I purchased an original box for it. The second tanker, a Shell AEC Monarch is also the first type, also having a "20mph" sticker on the back. The first version (like mine) has "Shell Chemicals Limited" on the side, whereas the later version has just "Shell Chemicals" on each side.
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Onto the next picture - the second shelf in my cabinet - sports an array of buses, Bedford O-Types, smaller toys (Lesney, Great Britain), aircraft and even an "Ovaltine Biscuits" Bedford CA! I bought my first O-Type Bedford (the tipper) when I was just starting my collection, and soon after that I soon got addicted to this type of Bedford. I now have a tipper, articulated truck, transporter and a refuse lorry. At the moment I seek the last one in the set, the tow-truck.
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The three planes in this photo (all of which are made by Dinky Toys, Great Britain) are a Supermarine Swift, a Hawker Hunter, and the biggest, a Gloster Javelin.
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On the small wooden shelves are my smaller models, mostly made by Lesney Toys.
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My Dinky buses consist of a double-decker, two Duple Roadmasters (blue and red) and a half-cab, neighboring my last Dinky tanker (Castrol). Duple was a coach-builder that made bus-bodies. The company dated from 1919 and in 1983 was sold to the Hestair Group. Back to the collection, one of my favourites on this shelf is a Morris J-Type Van, in a Royal Mail scheme, in front of one of my many Dinky trucks. The J-Type is on the top of my transporter.
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On the final level of my cabinet military vehicle collection, the examples shown made by Dinky, Britains and Lone Star. Some more of my Lesneys and Huskies appear on this shelf. My Lesneys in this photograph are two Mk10 Jaguars (one boasting with RAF decals that I put on it once I had repainted it) two refuge lorries, and in the corner, a GMC flatbed and a Dodge flatbed, with a Vauxhall Victor and an American car on the back. My two Huskies are two Mk10 Jaguars, one in a goldy colour and the other in a fire engine scheme. The biggest Jaguar (made by Polistil) is a red XJ6.
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These are the most recent acquisitions. These came to me as Christmas Presents (2019). The first picture shows a diecast Dinky plane. This is a De-Havilland Comet (1st type- with square windows) for any plane lovers out there. The latter picture shows two Crescent toys, one with a repro box. The one boxed is a Ferrari, the same car as the Dinky toy mentioned earlier on. The road-going car is not based on a specific car, but I would say it's based on a car from the 1930s. This, I think, is my only pre-war toy.
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Hopefully, this page will be updated each time I purchase another toy for the collection, and I will try to keep the content as accurate and as easy-to-follow as can be. I also hope that you have enjoyed reading this, and, with luck, maybe inspire you or your children to get off their computer games, and have a hobby far more satisfying.
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Return to the Diary of a Young Classic Car Enthusiast page.
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