68 http://www.modelcollector.com | august 2019| Dinky Toys police vehicles
Plymouth Police Car
The No. 244 Plymouth Police
Car was reviewed in the Janu-
ary issue of the 1978 quarterly
Meccano Magazine. It used the
casting of the No. 278 Plym-
outh Yellow Cab. This police
version had black sides and a
white bonnet, roof and boot.
‘Police’ labels were affixed to
the front doors and on the boot,
while the roof featured a clip on
plastic siren and red lights. Pro-
truding from the nearside rear
window was a simulated speed
camera, while an aerial was
included on the near side rear
wing. The plastic interior came
in red and the car was fitted
with Speedwheels. The model
was packaged in a hanging
window box. It also featured in
the Crash Squad Gift Set before
its deletion in 1980.
Police Accident Unit 3rd Version]
Once again, this Unit was
changed to reflect the latest
Ford Transit Van. The No. 269
Police Accident Unit replaced
the aforementioned No. 272
and appeared in the Dinky
Toys catalogue of 1978 as a
‘New’ model. This New Transit
utilised the casting of the
No. 416 Motorway Services
Ford Transit with the revised
grille, and to this was added
a new ‘Police’ roof box.
Included with the model were
the usual warning signs and
cones, but there was now a
policeman in charge! The
larger hanging window box
has an insert which displays
all the sets components.
The set was deleted in 1980.Dinky Way Set
Incorporating the No. 255
Police Mini Clubman, the
No. 240 Dinky Way Set featured
in a 1978 Meccano Magazine re-
view, which stated: “Dinky Way
is a brand new fun packed prod-
uct which teaches budding young
motorists the rudiments of road
sense while they are still playing
on the living room carpet!”An export version of the set
[No. 237] replaced the Police
Mini Clubman with the
standard No. 178 Mini Clubman.
The sets were deleted in 1980.Police Land Rover
The last Dinky Toys catalogue
of 1978 illustrated a number
of new models. One was the
No. 277 Police Land Rover
marked as ‘New’, which
adapted the No. 344 Land
Rover. This was finished in
dark blue. A white plastic rear
cover section was fitted to the
casting, sporting ‘Police’ labels
on each side and on the front
head board and sported a blue
light on the roof. The interiorwas moulded in white plastic
and the model was fitted with
Speedwheels. The hanging
window box in which the
model was packaged featured
a card insert piece that se-
cured the Land Rover and the
Policeman figure. This model
remained in production until
the factory closure.Volvo Police Car
Converted from the No. 122
Volvo 265 Estate Car, theDinky Toys No. 269 Police Accident Unit – the final version
with a policeman in charge of the new-style Ford Transit van.
The No. 240 Dinky Way Set – with its
card road layout, plastic road signs,
other vehicles and a Police Mini
Clubman (shown here placed on the
box lid).Dinky Toys No. 277
Police Land Rover, with accompanying
Police officer.Dinky Toys No. 244 Plymouth Police Car, with speed camera protruding from the
rear window.Dinky Toys No. 243 Volvo Police Car
came complete with a policeman and
his dog, plus signs and cones.