bigindoortrains.com

Just like figures, you need some vehicles around the display to add some life. There are many choices, from very realistic 1/43-scale diecast, to stamped or cast toy cars, or even plastic.

Here's a Tootsietoy ambulance (manufactured in 1950) I picked up at at local fleamarket for a buck. It was missing most of its original paint, so I decided to clean it up and give it a respray using a can of Rustoleum in a closely matching color:





Even after touching up the original red details, it still looked a bit drab, so I pulled out a sheet of I94Enterprises 1/100-scale ambulance markings I have and added a few:



Looks a bit better.

Fun project...

Paul II

This is truly an excellent restoration.

Found this Dinky VW (#181) at a local flea market, caked with dirt and sans tires. I thought this might be a candidate for refurbishment, but a bit of elbow grease and it cleaned up nicely:



This variation is from the late-1950s or early-1960s. According to an online resource, the VW was one of the longest running "models" in the Dinky range, some fourteen years. Anyway, I recently found a size of rubber tap-washers that work well as replacement tires, and fitted a new set here. Hopefully good for another 30-40,000 miles...

Genius!...rubber washer wheels!...gotta remember that!...

Howard

I just saw this. and yes! Genius!

When I was a kid I had a bushel basket full of Dinky/Corgi die-cast models...somehow they all disappeared, except for this Rolls Royce Silver Wraith:



I recently found a guy in Germany that's making repro boxes, had to get one. Figured the old girl deserves a box.

Paul II

Junk cars...often seen along the right-of-way. Here's a couple of pieces completed recently - a 1/48-scale hobo by Arttista, and an old Model A in a casting by Rusty Rail:



As a long-time wargame figure painter, painting this stuff is fairly straightforward. There's a big difference between painting toy figures and painting realistic figures, centering around detailing and scale colors.

Paul II

Oh I love that idea!

Another Dinky has surfaced from my ill-spent youth, this one a Triumph 1800 from 1956-1959: This one was on my father's train layout when I was really young. At some point he gave it to me, which explains the paint loss. Manufactured between 1956 and 1959, it's a good example of toys made in the UK and exported during the austerity years following the Second World War.

Paul

Edit :: I did a bit more research on this little car. It was originally #40 in the catalog, first added in 1948 or so. At some point the line was renumbered and it received #151. It's a bit smaller than the European 1/43-scale common for diecast vehicle toys. At the time, my father's model railroad featured HO-scale trains, so this would have been a bit bigger than the 1/87-scale that is HO. This might be the reason he took it off the layout and handed it over.

The early Dinkys were a simple casting, a stamped metal chassis, with axles, wooden or hard-plastic wheels, and rubber tires. The Corgi line introduced full interiors, clear plastic windows and windshield, and other features such as opening doors, steering, etc. The later Dinkys incorporated these features as well, forced to compete with the Corgi line. I had many of both.

I've seen a number of recent reproductions of the Dinky toys and they look pretty sharp. I might try to run down one or two and see how they compare to the original versions. Matchbox had a line of Dinky repros back in the 1990s or early 2000s, and I have a few of those, but they are upgraded and don't have the charm of the more primitive originals.

So a French outfit, NOREV S.A.S., has started manufacturing Dinky reproductions (primarily of the Meccano models manufactured and sold for the French market back in the day). The models are being produced in China (of course), distributed by a British company DeAgostini Ltd., and DeAgostinin Publishing Italia S.p.A. of Italy. Both have a relationship with, or possibly are owned by, Mattel Inc. Regardless, they are producing models which are faithful to the originals. Here's their version of Dinky No. 159, the Morris Oxford Saloon:It arrived with a set of oversized white rubber tires, which I replaced with a black set from my bit-box. It also came with a repro box which is very nice. The one disappointment is that the trim is not painted, as it would have been on the original. I may remedy that myself with a bottle of Testors Flat Steel enamel.

Paul II