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Did Dinky France have their own factory in France?

The reason i ask is that some of the models shown are the same as in the English range ,while there are others that were unique to Dinky France.

That catalogue is after Meccano went bust and had been taken over by Lines Bros/Triang,

Now triang did have a factory in Calais (which was kinda Margate's "twin") which is why there are Frog models included on the catalogue.

 

 

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2 hours ago, MarvinsMom said:

Did Dinky France have their own factory in France?

The reason i ask is that some of the models shown are the same as in the English range ,while there are others that were unique to Dinky France.

That catalogue is after Meccano went bust and had been taken over by Lines Bros/Triang,

Now triang did have a factory in Calais (which was kinda Margate's "twin") which is why there are Frog models included on the catalogue.

Yes at Bobigny, just outside Paris.

When Lines went bust,  it didn't take the French Meccano concern with it.  The French business that was established by Frank Hornby in 1912 survives even today. 

Airfix Industries purchased the Meccano business in the UK, while General Mills USA purchased the French business and with it the factory at Calais, transferring all French production.  The Dinky (Fr) line was later subcontracted to Auto Pilen at Alicante, Spain 1974-82

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We might think of the last Dinky models being the Polistil (Italy) produced Volvo 245 and War Chariot for 1980, but in reality the last two 'Dinky' were these two in 1981.  The castings were joint Pilen / Dinky branded models and produced at the same Alicante factory.  Their Dinky brand was for distribution solely in France.

fd1542al4.jpg.ce5c0543c698c1164e3dd59448b467dc.jpgfd1541al4.jpg.91d760aba45d451aff7326d9fbc614c7.jpgfd1542al1.jpg.1f8abeaf444e20cdf9cdecc4d97479e1.jpg

That is, until Universal Holdings (Hong Kong) released their own 'Dinky Collection' range for 1986.

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15 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

I've been looking for Majorette catalogues to scan. Can't see a lot in those two that I need to track down which is a shame, I really rate their 70s stuff.

Anyone know much about the company?

Still very much on the go but manufactured in Thailand for last 20 years or so. There’s not a wealth of info like there is on the old Lesney factories. Maybe the French aren’t hopeless sentimentalists like us!

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1 hour ago, sierraman said:

Still very much on the go but manufactured in Thailand for last 20 years or so. There’s not a wealth of info like there is on the old Lesney factories. Maybe the French aren’t hopeless sentimentalists like us!

There's actually a pretty decent Wiki write up

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majorette_(toy_manufacturer)

Although there's a note at the top of the page which made me chuckle

This article may contain an excessive amount of intricate detail that may interest only a particular audience.

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10 hours ago, flat4alfa said:

We might think of the last Dinky models being the Polistil (Italy) produced Volvo 245 and War Chariot for 1980, but in reality the last two 'Dinky' were these two in 1981.  The castings were joint Pilen / Dinky branded models and produced at the same Alicante factory.  Their Dinky brand was for distribution solely in France.

fd1542al4.jpg.ce5c0543c698c1164e3dd59448b467dc.jpgfd1541al4.jpg.91d760aba45d451aff7326d9fbc614c7.jpgfd1542al1.jpg.1f8abeaf444e20cdf9cdecc4d97479e1.jpg

That is, until Universal Holdings (Hong Kong) released their own 'Dinky Collection' range for 1986.

That Fiesta looks good!

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3 hours ago, sierraman said:

There’s not a wealth of info like there is on the old Lesney factories. Maybe the French aren’t hopeless sentimentalists like us!

http://www.faase.nl/model/majorette/index.htm

https://majorette-cars.fandom.com/wiki/Majorette_Cars_Wiki

https://www.hobbydb.com/marketplaces/hobbydb/subjects/majorette-brand

Worth a wander

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14 hours ago, Amishtat said:

Is it Tat Friday? 

Well, it is and it isn't...

12 hours ago, junkyarddog said:

As much as I enjoy tat Friday's, I hope Mr Datsuncog stays at home and keeps safe!

Hey, thank you for your concern!

I did dither somewhat this morning about what to do; I'd heard through the Instagram grapevine last night that Belfast City Council was moving to close market venues, even open-air ones. So I wasn't even sure St George's would be open today.

But curiosity got the better of me (a heading that could appear on innumerable tombstones, no doubt)  so I headed up to Belfast a little later than usual. Right now, South Antrim and Belfast are registering nowhere near the same number of COVID-19 cases as Derry and the north west, so I felt that the risk was no greater than previous weeks. 

I could see the usual string of rotten Mercedes Sprinters lining Oxford St, so it seemed the market was indeed ON...

...but, on entering (masked and sanitised, as ever), there was a remarkable lack of punters.

1408420494_IMG_20201016_0836462.thumb.jpg.0f9604516129970b05bfa9039d756922.jpg

Well, it was certainly looking low-risk, anyway.

Unfortunately, not only had nearly all the customers stayed away - so had Market Blokey.

1005438204_IMG_20201016_0835142.thumb.jpg.816402d8a5f652dd349f24ae2bb03def.jpg

Today, his customary stall had been taken over as an additional overflow table by the General Tatmonger from the stall behind - that's the fella with the carrier bags of stuff from last week. On enquiring about Millar's whereabouts, I was met with a vague "Erm, he's not here this week, no..." Hmm. Hope all's ok with him.

The dregs from last week's carrier bags were, however, carefully* displayed...

156755311_IMG_20201016_0835282.thumb.jpg.c481f435242635e50b9d49dc973a0cbb.jpg

...but there wasn't much of any real interest to me there. At least they were keeping the stall warm, so to speak.

Sweeping further down the same aisle, Paddy's Antiques Shitshow was suffering a severe lack of diecast today:

1564625608_IMG_20201016_0835052.thumb.jpg.7d70ca0c42c9ed94f7f661ee098c0fba.jpg

Maybe he reckons they're a busted flush, since for some unfathomable reason no-one wants to pay a fiver for a scratched Superfast with wonky axles. Maybe someone asked about the price on that Corgi Ford Transporter and died laughing, and he was warned off. Either way, there were just some old comics and copies of The War Illustrated on his table this week.

Alan's Emporium was back, however, although not really much of interest today. I've had one or two interesting items off him in the past - if this mostly-plastic Transit camper (branded as Teamz, I think) hadn't been missing its headlights, I might have grabbed it, since it was only 50p... actually, I should have grabbed it, shouldn't I?

1921375982_IMG_20201016_0837442.thumb.jpg.68e3457c320e08ca3dc1e3dcbd9de679.jpg

Ah well.

So it fell to the Charity Stall to make the trek in from Carrick worthwhile... no pressure.

1439352404_IMG_20201016_0823402.thumb.jpg.1d60490a7f469eb693f9a584ccad2924.jpg

1287840397_IMG_20201016_0823362.thumb.jpg.e5cbff452a5d7df95814180922ec9ab8.jpg

...and, in fairness, although there wasn't much new, Charity Bloke does win the Tat Prize this week for at least showing up.

Tonka, Buddy L, smattering of Corgi, some ratty Matchbox, those weird Lone Star trucks, scraped MoYs, and yet more filthy and scratched EFE and OOC buses (thought we'd seen the last of them)... but we've been here before.

There were a few new items though... Can you guess what I scuttled off with, from the pics above?

Guess I'm a bit obvious...

1660956624_IMG_20201016_1021532.thumb.jpg.a2c481262c773a53c46823fadd5c85e1.jpg

But yeah, with the traders around me muttering darkly about the market's future under the current situation, I made a few other non-diecast purchases before emerging back out to golden October sunlight on the Victorian brickwork, and crunchy banks of leaves along East Bridge St.

Believe it or not, there's been a Friday market taking place on this very spot since 1604, so I'd like to think that it'll survive, despite everything... ah now.

Odd times, kids. Odd times.

Better pics of Yet Another Bloody Dinky Transit (YABDT) and Chitty to come...

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31 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

Mebetoys catalogue, 1975-6

mebetoys-catalogue-france-a-post.png.2ad30b044117f029e72aa6b3192674ed.pngmebetoys-catalogue-france-b-post.png.8a360482176c1699773c7f0af0635abf.pngmebetoys-catalogue-france-b1-post.png.f20674e1989b9aa614099e94c40b24c1.pngmebetoys-catalogue-france-c-post.png.7897eef2bffe3a153490882f290a7958.pngmebetoys-catalogue-france-c1-post.png.403f3cba82d50f75b7c3319883344950.pngmebetoys-catalogue-france-d-post.png.e485c7ac7bab3ad9016fc9e438771e93.pngmebetoys-catalogue-france-d1-post.png.300c3e3e2ee23418fed850dbf41c735b.pngmebetoys-catalogue-france-a1-post.png.339754b2a2f28a9f754c15530dcef156.png

Crikey those 1/25s are a nice bit of kit, right up my street. What's the craic with those then, are some of those Politoys/Polistil castings? The Fiesta looks familiar and I'm sure the Fiat 131 looks like a Bburago. Fairly sure that Mebetoys became Bburago around that time.

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37 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

Well, it is and it isn't...

Hey, thank you for your concern!

I did dither somewhat this morning about what to do; I'd heard through the Instagram grapevine last night that Belfast City Council was moving to close market venues, even open-air ones. So I wasn't even sure St George's would be open today.

But curiosity got the better of me (a heading that could appear on innumerable tombstones, no doubt)  so I headed up to Belfast a little later than usual. Right now, South Antrim and Belfast are registering nowhere near the same number of COVID-19 cases as the north west, so I felt that the risk was no greater than previous weeks. 

I could see the usual string of rotten Mercedes Sprinters lining Oxford St, so it seemed the market was indeed ON...

...but, on entering (masked and sanitised, as ever), there was a remarkable lack of punters.

1408420494_IMG_20201016_0836462.thumb.jpg.0f9604516129970b05bfa9039d756922.jpg

Well, it was certainly looking low-risk, anyway.

Unfortunately, not only had nearly all the customers stayed away, so had Market Blokey.

1005438204_IMG_20201016_0835142.thumb.jpg.816402d8a5f652dd349f24ae2bb03def.jpg

Today, his customary stall had been taken over as an additional overflow table by the General Tatmonger from the stall behind, that's the fella with the carrier bags of stuff from last week. On enquiring about Millar's whereabouts, I was met with a vague "Erm, he's not here this week, no..." Hmm. Hope all's ok with him.

The dregs of last week's carrier bags were, however, carefully* displayed...

156755311_IMG_20201016_0835282.thumb.jpg.c481f435242635e50b9d49dc973a0cbb.jpg

...but there wasn't much of any real interest to me there. At least they were keeping the stall warm, so to speak.

Sweeping further down the same aisle, Paddy's Antiques Shitshow was suffering a severe lack of diecast today:

1564625608_IMG_20201016_0835052.thumb.jpg.7d70ca0c42c9ed94f7f661ee098c0fba.jpg

Maybe he reckons they're a busted flush, since for some unfathomable reason no-one wants to pay a fiver for a scratched Superfast with wonky axles. Maybe someone asked about the price on that Corgi Ford Transporter and died laughing, and he was warned off. Either way, there were just some old comics and copies of The War Illustrated on his table this week.

Alan's Emporium was back, however, although not really much of interest today. If this mostly-plastic Transit camper (by Teamz, I think) hadn't been missing its headlights, I might have grabbed it, since it was only 50p... actually, I should have grabbed it, shouldn't I?

1921375982_IMG_20201016_0837442.thumb.jpg.68e3457c320e08ca3dc1e3dcbd9de679.jpg

So it fell to the Charity Stall to make the trek worthwhile...

1439352404_IMG_20201016_0823402.thumb.jpg.1d60490a7f469eb693f9a584ccad2924.jpg

1287840397_IMG_20201016_0823362.thumb.jpg.e5cbff452a5d7df95814180922ec9ab8.jpg

...and, in fairness, although there wasn't much new, Charity Bloke does win the Tat Prize this week for at least showing up.

Tonka, Buddy L, smattering of Corgi, some ratty Matchbox, those weird Lone Star trucks, scraped MoYs, and yet more filthy and scratched EFE and OOC buses (thought we'd seen the last of them)... but we've been here before.

There were a few new items though... Can you guess what I scuttled off with, from the pics above?

Guess I'm a bit obvious...

1660956624_IMG_20201016_1021532.thumb.jpg.a2c481262c773a53c46823fadd5c85e1.jpg

But yeah, with the traders around me muttering darkly about the market's future under the current situation, I made a few other non-diecast purchases before emerging back out to golden October sunlight on the Victorian brickwork, and crunchy banks of leaves along East Bridge St.

Believe it or not, there's been a Friday market on this spot since 1604, so I'd like to think that it'll survive, despite everything... ah now.

Odd times, kids. Odd times.

Better pics of Yet Another Bloody Dinky Transit (YABDT) and Chitty to come...

Tat Fridays are now the only reason I log on here, nice to see the market went ahead despite the tightened restrictions.

Good find on the Dinky Transit, speak of the Devil!

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So then, three weeks - and three police Transits, all from the Charity Stall.

Crikey.

1536219873_IMG_20201016_1024182.thumb.jpg.02b34f7311251a3369dc2ca90da1c74b.jpg

I'd swear he's making them.

So, this week's find is another late-example of the first casting:

1917025697_IMG_20201016_1022142.thumb.jpg.353daaeb7e51b273922e75d4f2e047fd.jpg

624582637_IMG_20201016_1022212.thumb.jpg.4121477a104edce36bffcc1a922060f8.jpg

It's had a bit of bad luck, with a cracked screen, broken back door and wonky radar gun, but seems mostly complete and salvageable.

1499409533_IMG_20201016_1023342.thumb.jpg.75ee5cbab000528029bc422ad9d63bec.jpg

Police driver has stumped off to pastures new, mind.

1224393623_IMG_20201016_1024032.thumb.jpg.fb9ede78e60ddd7985f3b9a46e13ba7c.jpg

For some reason, it also has one tiny tyre on the front nearside. Most peculiar. Note also that this one has cast, detailed wheels like the later versions, rather than the spun aluminium hubs that the other Mk1 has. But on the narrower axles, to fit the narrow base.

2114188739_IMG_20201016_1022392.thumb.jpg.7fdf1cb5117ba8c7b50fae79c00eacb4.jpg

I'll assume that Dinky were playing a similar game here as with their Mk1 Escorts, by putting the latest-suffix number plates on these Transits so their young customers could brag about having the new N-reg model. It's handy though, as this probably dates the one on the left to 1971-72, and today's find as 1974-75, and therefore the final year this casting appeared in the lineup.

There's a few other differences, too:

17667322_IMG_20201016_1023092.thumb.jpg.2725695dc6c9d2b6cac65058e9cf0bb8.jpg

The earlier version has a mounting point for a whip aerial behind the police sign; that seems to have been deleted on the later version (possibly to save a penny or two). Plus there seems to be YET ANOTHER casting variation of that blasted side door - this one has a tab high up on the inside, but it doesn't look the same as the axe storage tab shown on the fire tender version, as shown upthread by @antony denmandenman

(Interesting glitch there - can't delete it either, will try to fix it after... EDIT: nope)

Different coloured radar gun, and sign holder in the back, plus the interior is a darker grey than the earlier one. Also, this new arrival has a black painted base, rather than the unpainted type on the other one.

This one will require a bit of TLC, I reckon, in terms of needing some spares - plus the driver's door doesn't glide all that smoothly either, so some fettling will be needed.

Still, I imagine someone will be interested at £4?

And moving over to Corgi, then...

143237129_IMG_20201016_1024382.thumb.jpg.51ae12bba7a87ed475be5c325671f880.jpg

833083650_IMG_20201016_1024432.thumb.jpg.d0d87145821fff0f96228d67243b3987.jpg

Yup, it's the Most Fantasmagorical Car In The History Of Everything...

2031687860_IMG_20201016_1024502.thumb.jpg.7c296e4ab87b6b4df948bd79c00d6176.jpg

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Ian Fleming's other well known creation, beyond Jimmy Bond.

Overall, this one doesn't look too bad - some damage to plastic parts, and missing quite a few of the accessories, but I reckon it's displayable as-is, if you're not too fussy.

428693848_IMG_20201016_1025012.thumb.jpg.d0e6dba80f2293e4111625b89beb2951.jpg

Obviously, Steve Flowers and the like can probably supply replacement Dick van Dykes etc.

1009136473_IMG_20201016_1025502.thumb.jpg.5e419eb538889c880d3c8693202df815.jpg

Wee bit of a kink to the rear wing seems the extent of any casting damage.

1750548466_IMG_20201016_1025582.thumb.jpg.266aba99f068ed67b32c8a370b14e738.jpg

Windscreen surround has a break in it, but may glue ok.

1840316286_IMG_20201016_1025342.thumb.jpg.5959606a9a6cb43a6f3589658e45b35f.jpg

Pop-out wings still functional, mind. Took me ages to work out how they operated.

Years ago, I can remember being asked by a family friend to keep an eye out for a Corgi Chitty at the model fairs and swapmeets I was attending at that time, as he'd lost his childhood version and missed it... It didn't have to be mint, I was told. And how pleased I was to rock up with an example rather less good than this, missing its windscreen and wings.

"Oh, that's, um, great... how much do I owe you?"

"Twenty pounds!"

I can still remember how he went slightly pop-eyed upon hearing that, and the sickly grin as he handed me the note.

Yet I'm sure that was about the going rate for a ropey one of these in 1996 - my teenage self sure spent enough hours poring over Model Collector's annual price guides to know the guideline prices inside out. Thinking back, though, £20 doesn't represent great value for a below-average example of a widely-sold toy (Corgi made around a million of them between 1968 and 1972, so they're not actively rare, though are certainly sought-after) ...

I'll not tell him I only paid £4 for this one.

Also available at that price.

So! A somewhat truncated market report today, I'm afraid - and sadly no promises can be made about next week. Lap of the gods, kids! But be assured that if it's safe and possible, I'll do my best.

Til next time (whenever that may be)!

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3 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

I am indeed... Can do you today's one for £4, though see the latest post for its assorted defects!

Yeah why not, sure a door will appear, and they go nose-out in the display cabinet anyway. I do love seeing variations and trying to fathom why they were made.

I can also now admit to owning this

 

20200326_18291320200326_182924

 

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