Model Collector – August 2019

| Dinky Toys police vehicles

66 http://www.modelcollector.com | august 2019

PART 2

Policing the playroom

Michael Driver concludes

his investigation into

the police response

by Dinky Toys

I

n Part 1 I looked at how,

during the 1930s through

to the 1960s, Dinky Toys

brought some much needed

law and order to playroom

games. As the ‘Swinging 60s’

progressed, however, the way

Britain was policed was

rapidly evolving and Dinky

Toys was just as quick to

capture and incorporate the

changes being seen.

Police Patrol Range Rover

Joining the service in October

1971 was Dinky Toys No. 254

Police Range Rover, which

made its debut in an

advertisement in that month’s

Meccano Magazine. Based on

the existing casting for the

No. 192 Range Rover, with its

jewelled headlights, the police

version was finished i n wh ite

and had fluorescent orange

paper stripes applied to each

of its sides and its lower tail-

gate. Its roof box with ‘Police’

signage and blue light box

included an aerial. The

interior was moulded in light

blue plastic, with the front

seats having tipping backs.

This came in a yellow

illustrated card end flap box.

The model was later revised,

however; changes including

blue and orange fluorescent

stripes to the sides and tailgate,

silver cast headlights and

Speedwheels. The car also

lost the roof aerial. This version

was presented in blister

packs and then later, until

production ceased following

factory closure, in hanging

window boxes.

Ford Escort Police Car

Dinky Action Kit

Introduced in May 1971,

the Dinky Action Kits were

promoted in Meccano

Magazine ads as the “Die-cast

models you make yourself”.

Joining the range in October

that same year was the

No. 1004 Ford Escort Police Car.

This kit clearly proved popu-

lar, as it remained in

production until 1977.

Police Vehicles Gift Set

The No. 294 Police Vehicles

Gift Set, introduced in 1973,

as a replacement for the

Gift Set No. 297. The No. 250

Mini-Cooper Police Car was

retained, as was the No. 287

Police Accident Unit, but

the No. 255 Ford Zodiac was

The Dinky Toys No. 254 Police

Range Rover: the later model (left)

sits alongside the first issue with

aerial (right).

Dinky Toys No. 294 Police Vehicles Gift Set included

the Mini-Cooper and Police Accident Unit that had

featured in Gift Set No. 297; a Police Range Rover,

however, replaced the Ford Zodiac.

The Dinky Action Kit No. 1004 Ford

Escort Police Car, introduced in October 1971,

allowed enthusiasts to get hands on.

Image courtesy of Vectis Auctions.