Potpourri Blog

There is quite a long history of craftsmen building detailed miniature models of transport vehicles and machinery, but it wasn’t until nineteen thirty-four that die-cast model cars and lorries arrived on the scene in any great numbers.

At that time model cars and lorries weren’t looked on as collectable items in their own right - they were produced to lend added realism to model railways.

Ever since the early 1920s Frank Hornby had been making ever more complicated model railways. One of the sets, Meccano Set No 21, came complete with six diecast models, consisting of a sports coupe, a motor truck, a sports car, a delivery van, an army tank and a farm tractor. These were the first Dinky models, issued under the “Meccano Modelled Miniatures” label, as Set No. 22.

These early die-cast models were pretty simplistic by modern standards, as they were cast from an alloy containing high lead content which didn’t lend itself to a high degree of detail. What is more they did not attempt to depict real cars, although the sports car bore a resemblance to the S.S.1, a popular make of the period and a precursor of the Jaguar.

In terms of scale, they were not well suited to the railway sets which they were intended to adorn.

It soon became apparent, however, that there was a healthy market for such models, and it wasn’t long before individual die cast replicas based on real cars and trucks were produced and sold separately. Dinky Set 30 was based on the famous Rolls-Royce, Set 36A on the Armstrong Siddely, 36B a Bentley, and 36F was a Salmon sports car.

With the passing of time the quality of detail and reproduction hugely improved. The Dinky sets came with die-cast alloy bodies and tin-plate radiators and rubber tyres. The later replicas also had drivers and passengers. The Armstrong Siddely had a footman and chauffeur. Just before the Second World War some excellent military models were produced, including tanks with catterpillar tracks and rotating turrets.

Few replicas from that era have survived in acceptable condition, and examples in acceptable condition are extremely collectable - pre war Dinkies can fetch prices up to $1000 at auction.

In the nineteen fifties, new production techniques introduced a new era in the history of die cast model cars. Lesney, renowned for their splendid Coronation Coach, and Corgi, (”the ones with the windows”), joined the market to provide competition to Dinky.

This new generation of die-cast vehicles, with better detail, better running gear, and better colour finish, leads up to the present day, where millions of precision diecast replica models are produced, at very reasonable prices for the collector. For example, just take a look at this beautiful model of the original 1907 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost. Or this chevy diecast 1946 suburban ambulance. The diecast model car industry has come a long way since the 1930s.

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