Dinky Toys

Real world article
(written from a production point of view)
Dinky Toys logo
Dinky Toys logo

Dinky Toys began in 1934 as a line of "Modelled Miniatures" and were originally produced by the British company Meccano Ltd under the Meccano Dinky Toys Ltd. brand.

Long preceding similar lines from Corgi, Matchbox and Hot Wheels, later products were marketed as Dinky Die Cast Toys and primarily consisted of small-scaled automobile and truck miniatures.

The runaway success of Mattel's Hot Wheels line in the late 1960s precipitated the company's eventual demise as Dinky continued to lose market share. Over a long decline, its parent company was owned by a succession of other companies but finally succumbed to bankruptcy and was folded in 1979. Somewhat ironically, Dinky's assets are presently owned by Mattel.

Star Trek releases

Dinky Star Trek 1980 trade catalogue

Unreleased USS Enterprise refit (top) from 1980 catalogue

During the 1967-1979 period, Dinky released twenty-four licensed die-cast vehicle castings from television series including The New Avengers, Space: 1999, Thunderbirds, The Prisoner, and Star Trek.

In 1976, Dinky first manufactured the USS Enterprise and the Klingon D7 class battle cruiser and slated them for release during the following year. With many "play features" found on toys, they were, nonetheless, the first Star Trek model releases that were manufactured from die-cast metal.

Eleven centimeter-long die-cast versions of both starships were released in 1979 but saw limited distribution outside of the US, due to the closure of the company.

A USS Enterprise refit model, a modification of the 234 mm-long USS Enterprise model (No. 358), was scheduled for a 1980 release but did not reach production.

Item Item No. Notes Box art
1977 releases
Klingon Battle Cruiser 357 Boxed and windowboxed versions; fires plastic discs; 228 mm
USS Enterprise 358 Boxed and windowboxed versions; fires plastic discs; plastic shuttlecraft included; 234 mm; see above for unreleased refit version
Space Gift Set 306 Unreleased triple-pack with USS Enterprise, Klingon Battle Cruiser and "Galactic War Chariot" (unrelated casting) in windowbox
USS Enterprise and Klingon Battle Cruiser 309 Double-pack in windowbox
1980 releases
USS Enterprise (refit) 801 Fires projectiles; not formally released due to bankruptcy - rare item; 11 cm
803 Non-firing version with rectangular blister
803 US non-firing version
Klingon Cruiser 802 Fires projectiles; not formally released due to bankruptcy - rare item; 11 cm
804 Non-firing version with rectangular blister
804 US non-firing version

See also

External links

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