“The simplest toy - one which even the youngest child can operate is called a grandparent”.
I started serious collection in the early nineties when scale models such as Bburago & Maisto models (to be precise) were being made available in India. But the seeds of this hobby were sown fifty-eight years earlier, 1961 to be precise.
I was just four at that point in time! My late father had returned from the Liberation of Goa campaign (Goa was then a Portuguese colony) and brought me and my late elder brother Rajiv some Dinky/Lesney (Matchbox) toys from Panjim. These included a Humber, Nash Rambler from DINKY and a Lesney 1 ton Trojan van in Brooke Bond Tea livery.
The joy it gave us playing with them knew no bounds! Even though these were our earliest DINKY possessions, they have, surprisingly survived our playing days and are still my possession. From then on it became a passion for me to acquire DINKY’s and know more about them and their collection.
Modelled Miniatures was the actual name of the first DINKY products that were released in December 1933. This brand was brought out to make replicas of railroad signals, mailboxes, animals, etc. to complement the existing Hornby brand that was already well-known for making miniature trains and other railroad products. All the brands and products belong to a firm called MECCANO that was owned by Frank Hornby.
This brand name was later changed to MECCANO DINKY TOYS so as to give it a different identity covering a vast spectrum of products such as cars, buses, ships, etc. After a passage of few months, it was shortened to DINKY TOYS.
Exactly how the catchy name DINKY came about is also an interesting story – it was the nickname given to Frank Hornby’s daughter by a friend of his who had come to visit them in their house.
As technology in the 1930s improved, so were material compositions that allowed greater flexibility to mould the product. Therefore the first real diecast was made by DINKY TOYS that made use of new zinc-based alloy called ZAMAK which had the following composition of Zinc 92-96%, Aluminium 3-4%, Antimony 1% with a small 1-2% addition of Copper.
Production soon began in the UK followed up by another production unit in France. In the beginning, models that came out were the same from both the factories, but as the French automobile industry began maturing producing more cars and buses, DINKY France started producing the models independently. From cars, trucks, buses, military vehicles, aircraft, ships, guns etc. and accessories of various kinds, both factories made them all independently.
When DINKY TOYS started facing severe competition from Matchbox and Corgi who provided much better-finished products, the tide had already turned for DINKY TOYS who were slow to react to the market realities with the customer asking for opening doors, figurines, glass windows, etc. Production figures started going down and in the process exchanged management hands.
It was somewhere in the 1970s when DINKY was about to bleed more, did they sell their machines, tools & dies to a Calcutta (now Kolkata) based firm called S. Kumar & Co. (this firm were earlier importing their products). But the firm, unfortunately, rolled out products that were so badly finished that they could not use the brand DINKY TOYS. They eventually re-named it as NICKY TOYS.
Fast forward to 1967 - Dad was posted to Delhi and we were given a government flat behind Khan Market (a very upscale joint even then), a place that was patronized by the diplomatic corps.
For me, the attraction was a toy shop tucked away in the middle of the market. The shop window always had a collection of Dinkys and an Indian brand called Milton. The cost of Rs. 16/- each was way beyond the pocket money of a ten-year-old! The only way to buy them was to grease my mom and get her to buy me one every now and then from her housekeeping money! I remember acquiring a Dinky Sunbeam Rapier and a few Milton models, among them a Jaguar Mark II Saloon car, an Austin Healey and a Commer van carrying two giraffes at the back!
By this time I had joined a boarding school in Ooty. Going back home from school meant a four-day train journey. We had to break journey in Madras (Chennai) to catch the Grand Trunk Express to Delhi. Since we had almost the whole day to while away, we boys would walk over to Moore Market, a very iconic place in Madras that was just a stone’s throw from the Madras Central station. There again I had a tryst with the DINKY brand. There was this tiny toy shop located in one corner of the market which had a decent collection of Indian made Dinky’s (NICKY TOYS) and Milton models. I remember picking up a Fin-tail Mercedes, a Volkswagen Valiant (both Dinkys) and a Ford Mustang Fastback (Milton). Sadly, none of them survived my playing days!
Another Indian made Dinky (I call them Dinky, not NICKY) has an interesting story. It is a 7.2 Howitzer gun in Olive Green. After the 1971 war with Pakistan, an army officer colleague of dad bought a dozen pieces and distributed it among the senior commanders. The one which dad got is still with me.
Recently, as a Senior Citizen, I was pleasantly surprised to find DINKY TOYS models on the Scale Model Cart website. I managed to pick up a few of them which include a Bedford van in Kodak livery and a Ford Thunderbird with a figure in the driver’s seat. Looks like life has come to a full circle and back to playing with Dinkys!
And as the saying goes “The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys” and I fully believe this.
Varun Nayar – veteran Collector