Dublo Diecast

[Robin Brasher]

Dinky made the FX3 taxi in yellow, mid or dark blue, two tone yellow and green and black. I only ever saw them in black which is why I bought that version.

 

A motor cycle combination can form a focal point in a model railway layout.  Dinky Toys made three versions in the 1930s to 1/48 scale . 44b was the AA motorcycle patrol made from 1935 to 1940, back again from 1946 to 1950 and 1959 to 1962. 43b the RAC version appeared from 1935 to 1940. 37b was the police motor cycle patrol with a policeman in the sidecar and Dinky made them from 1937 to 1941 and 1948 to 1951. Accessories included AA, RAC boxes and figures and number 751 Police Hut which, with its association with Doctor Who was the best known Dinky of them all. There was an excellent article about these in the HRCA Magazine issue 552, April 2020 pages 12 to 21.

 

I once had a larger scale AA motorcycle patrol with working steering and an opening tool box.

 

In their 1/76 scale range Oxford make as 76BSA001-3 an AA, RAC and Royal Mail version. If they were in the Dublo Diecast range they could attend a broken down vehicle or appear in a remote rural post office scene. 

[railroadbill]

 

Robin, you had a number of MG sportscars in an earlier post.  This is one I have, I thought it was Dublo Dinky but  it's actually Matchbox, has Lesney England underneath.

I actually saw one of these yesterday, MG TF, its owner taking it out for a spin in the sunshine. Very good condition, red colour.  Driver was dressed to match the car, cloth cap, tweed jacket....

 

cheers Bill

[railroadbill]

 

Dublo porter, only one of the set I've still got. He somehow survived in the bottom of the Hornby Dublo box.

I think these were very well detailed for their day, compared with say Merit figures.  Since then there have been some very good figures produced, like the current Bachmann  ones.  Preiser and Noch have produced a large number of very good figures over the years.  The Dapol trackside workers one  is very useful.

 

However, in terms of  other Dublo diecast models to be produced  a rerun of the original figure sets would be good imho, presumably Hornby would have the copyright to these and could remould them again.

 

The porter has been useful on current layout to place against buildings etc. to check size. If he can get through a doorway then that's big enough! Also width of paths, footbridges and so on.

 

 

 

 

[Robin Brasher]

While Hornby have been inviting pre-orders for their Dublo Diecast range another useful addition would be an Oxford Diecast 76BD022 Bedford OX Flatbed LNER trailer which Oxford also made in British Railways livery.  This was a similar concept  to the Dublo Dinky Toys 066 Bedford Flat Truck and 072 Bedford Articulated Flat Truck based on a later prototype. These models have excellent play value on a model railway as you can unload containers from flat wagons and load them on to the flat bed lorries.

[Robin Brasher]

R7248 VW delivery van Hornby Dublo has not arrived yet but all the other models are available at Hattons and other retailers.  There is a gap in the numbers between R7243 and R7247 so I wonder if Hornby is planning to produce some more Dublo Diecasts next year.

[Robin Brasher]

My R7249 Scammell Mechanical Horse Van Trailer has arrived.  The prototype dates from around 1940 and the Hornby Trains would have been 0 gauge clockwork trains made by Meccano rather than the present company.  I like the box and it is much easier to remove the model from the box than it is to remove from an Oxford Diecast plastic container.  Dinky Toys made a mechanical horse but it was not made to a railway scale.  I hope you like the pictures.

[Robin Brasher]

The Hornby Dublo Diecast mechanical horse blends in well with the Dublo Dinky Flat Truck and Articulated Truck.  Unlike the Dublo Dinky lorries the mechanical horse has got a steering wheel and seats although it is difficult to see them through the small windows.

[Robin Brasher]

I am delighted to have received my Dublo Diecast Volkswagen T1 Hornby Dublo van. This is much better than the old Dublo Dinky van.  It has an illustration on the box. The model has an A suffix which dates it as 1963 and the XXX numberplate locates it in London. The wheel hubs seem to have VW written on them and are much better detailed than the Dinky plain black wheels. The side window pillars are outlined in white and there are windsreen wipers on the front windows. The interior is light grey but the steering wheel is on the left side.  I am sure that the model will grace many vintage Hornby Dublo layouts.

[Robin Brasher]

Another new arrival is R7243 Dublo Diecast Austin 3 Way Van.  Austin made the van from 1947 to 1954 so this covers the Railway Grouping period and the British Railways cycling lion era.  It is called a 3 Way Van because it had double doors both sides and at the rear and it had an Austin 16 engine. please see austinmemories.com. It is an ideal accessory for a Tri-ang Railways layout as Tri-ang's station had a Margate name and Margate posters.  Perhaps the van could take trunks from trains to nearby hotels

[Robin Brasher]

It looks like R7248 Volkswagen T1 Hornby Dublo Van is the most popular Dublo Diecast model as it has sold out at Hattons and Rails which are probably the largest suppliers. It is still available at Hornby, Gaugemaster and the Cheltenham Model Centre. It is my favourite model and has probably sold well because of the nostalgic appeal of a reincarnated Dublo Dinky Toy. 

 

Hattons has still got over 10 left of the other Dublo Diecasts.  Perhaps they are not selling well because they are more expensive than the Oxford Diecast models on which they are based. I wonder if they will turn into Hattons bargains by Christmas.

 

[NCB]

On 15/08/2020 at 11:51, Robin Brasher said:

My R7249 Scammell Mechanical Horse Van Trailer has arrived.  The prototype dates from around 1940 and the Hornby Trains would have been 0 gauge clockwork trains made by Meccano rather than the present company.

 

Think the Scammell Mechanical Horse dates from around 1934, after Scammell bought the design from Napier.

[Robin Brasher]

I enclose some pictures to compare the Dublo Dinky model with the new Dublo Diecast model of the Volkswagen Type 2 (T1) Van.  It looks like Hornby have not copied the Dublo Dinky model as the rear window on the Diecast is larger, the side windows do not slide open and the front protrudes more.  The bottom of the tailgate is quite high to clear the engine which would not have been a problem with a light load like Hornby Dublo trains.  The side doors are only on the right hand side which meant that the van would have to pull up on the wrong side of the road to unload.  A friend has bought a mint boxed Dublo Dinky Volkswagen van so I hope which I hope to show you one day.