Miniatures News, December 1968
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In real life the Ford Transit is known to be an extremely successful commercial vehicle, and Meccano Limited have obviously appreciated this, for they have introduced Dinky Toy Transit miniatures in the livery of a Kenwood van and later as a Police Accident Unit. Now they have a Dinky Transit in the role of fire appliance, with opening doors revealing gleaming machinery, a hose which can be extended to a length of nearly 12 in., with automatic retraction, two removable axes, and removable ladder. The finish is in lead-free enamel and this Ford fire fighter is No. 286 in the Dinky series, and is priced at 16s. 11d. It should sell well this Christmas.
Corgi have recently concluded a Mettoy Playcraft “Win a Car for Dad” competition, based on children up to the age of 14 deciding in order of importance seven major safety factors in a modern sports car and writing a short slogan about Corgi miniatures. The judges were Paddy Hopkirk, the B.M.C. rally driver, Bill Boddy, Editor of Motor Sport, and D. O. Baxter, Secretary of the Corgi Model Club. The winner was a 9-year-old boy from Preston, Lancs., whose slogan said that Corgi Toys are the Rolls-Royce of the Model Market. He won for his father a real M.G.-B GT. Most of the entrants were impressed by the realism of Corgi miniatures. The three major safety factors were regarded as good brakes, radial-ply tyres and safety belts.
The arrival each month of the Meccano Magazine brings back memories of long-ago Christmas holidays, with all the magic of new Meccano outfits and electric motors, toy bazaars at the leading London stores, not to mention clockwork Citroëns and those expensive but very covetable P2 racing Alfa Romeo models. So it is appropriate that the November issue of the Meccano Magazine included a free Meccano booklet which includes an article about the origins of Frank Hornby’s system, introduced in 1901 and re-named Meccano in 1907, and made in colour from 1926. Similarly, the December issue of Model Cars and Miniature Auto has a give-away book of scrutineers dimensions for slot racing. These cover the length, wheelbase, width, height and track of all manner of cars and could no doubt be scaled up to cover larger models. A pity, however, that the cover picture on this issue of Model Cars, showing a very detailed constructional model of a Monza Alfa Romeo, one of which the Hon. Patrick Lindsay has apparently ordered, is wrongly captioned as a 1907 G.P. Fiat—W. B.