august 2019 | http://www.modelcollector.com 69No. 243 Volvo Police Car
appeared as a ‘New’ model in
the 1978 Dinky Toys catalogue
and was reviewed in the July
issue of the quarterly Meccano
Magazine of that same year.
Finished in white, with blue
and fl uorescent orange stripes
down its sides, the model
sported a ‘Police’ roof box.
On opening the tail gate, a
police dog and a warning sign
could be found within the
moulded brown plastic interior.
A policeman and another
warning sign were also
included, secured on the card
insert of the hanging window
box. This model could be found
in shops for some time after
the factory's closure.
Rover 3500 Police Car
Another Police car was
illustrated in the 1978 Dinky
Toys Catalogue as a ‘New’
model. This was the No. 264
Rover 3500 Police Car, which
used the existing casting of the
No. 180 Rover 3500. Since this
was white, all it needed was
the addition of blue and yellow
stripes on the lower sides of the
body and ‘Police’ script on each
of the rear wings. A separate
‘Police’ roof box in plastic was
clipped to the roof above the
front doors. The plastic interior
was moulded in black plastic
and the opening boot could
be lifted to access a ‘Police’
warning sign. Strangely,
the car was fi tted with a
tinplate tow hook – what
did Dinky intend it to pull,
I wonder. A policeman andanother warning sign were
displayed on the card insert
contained in the hanging
window box.
This model remained in
production until factory closure.Police Crash Squad Gift Set
One of the last gift sets
produced by Dinky Toys
was the No. 299 Police Crash
Squad, which came in 1978
and was mentioned in the
October Meccano Magazine
(quarterly) of that year.
The set brought together
the No. 244 Plymouth
Police Car and the No.
732 Bell Police Helicopter,
complete with two ‘Police’
warning signs and two cones.
The hanging window box
was printed with cut-outs of
crashed articulated vehicles,
warning signs, hazard lamps
and barriers, which, once the
models were removed, could
be cut out to create an accident
scene (well, it was only a box!)The final police models
Right up to the factory closure
at the end of 1979 there were
plans in place for the release
of new Dinky Toys in 1980.
These were outlined in the
‘Into/the/80s’ trade catalogue.
Amongst them was a New
Volvo Police Car (European) asNo. 243. This was basically
the same as the previous
Volvo but had a dark blue
bonnet and doors, which
had ‘Politi’ spelt out in white
lettering. There was also a
New Plymouth Sheriff ’s Car,
as No. 244, fi nished in white
with light blue front and rear
wings and boot. This sported
crests on the bonnet and
doors and Police’ script in
black. On the roof was the
identifi cation ‘ 980 ’, along
with the roof box from the
No. 264 Rover 3500 Police Car.
A conversion of the
No. 123 Princess 2200 HL
Saloon to police guise was
also produced, fi nished in
white, or white with a black
roof, with ‘Police’ decals
adorning the bonnet, doors
and boot, and fi tted with the
roof box from the No. 264
Rover 3500 Police Car.
Had we not seen the
demise of Dinky Toys,
it’s anyone’s guess which
further police vehicles might
have beenmade or adapted
from existing models in the
range. Suffi ce to say, though,
that these toys that patrolled
toy land for so many years are
today viewed with much
aff ection by today’s adult
collectors, as they evoke not
only memories of hours of
playtime fun but also of the
police comic strips and radio
and television programs we
grew up with!MCDinky Toys No. 264 Rover 3500
Police Car also came with a police-
man. For reasons unexplained, Dinky
decided to included a tow hook on
this model.Dinky Toys No. 299 Police
Crash Squad Gift Set,
ready for American-style
accident scenarios.The box for the No.
299 Police Crash Squad
Gift Set could be cut up to create an
accident diorama for Dinky Toys.A prototype for Dinky Toys
No. 243 New Volvo Police Car
outlined in the ‘Into/the/80s’
trade catalogue. Image courtesy
of the Dinky Toys Encyclopaedia.The Dinky Toys No. 244
New Plymouth Sheriff s Car prototype.
Image courtesy of the Dinky Toys
Encyclopaedia.Dinky Toys Austin Princess
Police Car prototype; this was based
on the standard Dinky Toys Austin
Princess casting but fi nished in its
new police livery and with a
police roof box added.