DINKY-TOYS GB #27B/320 HALESOWEN FARM TRAILER

Post updated on Sept.17th, 2023 with a 6th version discovered !

DINKY-TOYS GB #27B/320 TRAILERS : side by side the earliest and the penultimate versions

Yet another trailer ! When receiving for a short time the n-plus-one example of this trailer in a lot, I decided to study the variants of the model. And you know what ? There are several variants! 

Looking a bit around, I noticed that I have four different variants, and there are two other variants I don't have yet in my collection...

The production

This trailer appeared for the first time in the June 1949 issue of MECCANO MAGAZINE and remained in the DINKY catalogs until 1970. Quite a long life for this model !

One can notice that the wordings under the trailer show "HALESOWEN FARM TRAILER" despite the commercial 3-models boxes of the beginning and then the individual boxes have the printing "HARVEST TRAILER".

The différent versions

The very first version is all made with zamac, including the wheels and the little wheel under the tow bar (this one being the same as the wheel mounted on #190 CARAVAN TRAILER or the wheels of the #107A SACK TRUCK). Color is light brown and bright red. No reference number cast under the body or paint support. No rear beam. The steel blade under the towing eye is fixed with rivet that goes through the casting.

The second version the same as above, but the circular support for painting has been added under the casting near the wheels axle.

The third version has the #27B reference number cast on the left upper part, before the DINKY TOYS wording.

The fourth version has the new #320 catalog number written on a partially squared block cast over the #27B, following the 1954 renumbering. A beam is added at the rear of the trailer, around the hook between the both longitudinal beams.

The fifth version is fitted with yellow plastic SUPERTOYS hubs and sooth tyres. The little front wheel is now in grey plastic (same as the wheels of the trailer of #796 HEALEY SPORTS BOAT). The rivet holding the steel blade under the towing ring is no more visible from the upperside.

I discovered a sixth and probably last version of this trailer ! Identical to the fifth version, but the front wheel has been deleted. Note that this is not a fifth version with missing wheel ! The holes for the axle have been filled. The rear hook is riveted on a square block added under the beam, with the positioning tabs for the rear hook on each side instead of on the front.

The following pictures show the towing rings on the trailers. On the left one the rivet holding the steel blade is visible, on the right one the rivet is no more visible.

Original post published on December 31st, 2016

Version en français ici. 

DINKY-TOYS GB #25X-430 COMMER BREAKDOWN - Casting and color variants

I had for a couple of years the idea to write this post on the COMMER BREAKDOWN... I searched all casting variants and color schemes I had in my own collection, and here they are... (All the models shown here are in original condition, none having been dismantled or repainted).

Clockview of my COMMER variants... 

With a model composed of two distinct parts, instead of the french CITROEN U23 counterpart composed of a single casting, the Liverpool factory could have produced a far more important diversity of this truck than they did, with a couple of interesting color variants, although creating finally a nice articulated truck at the very end of the production.

This interesting truck was one of the first models studied years and years ago in the very early issues of MODEL COLLECTOR. An article was published in winter 1987 (Vol.1 Issue 3) followed by some add-ons in the next issues. But who but me has kept these magazines ?

THE REAL TRUCK

This picture of an articulated truck of the time seen on a sales brochure shows how accurate the model was. You will see a real breakdown truck here. Amazing !

Another interesting detail to point : the cab of the COMMER was later modified to look more modern and the new bodyshell closely looks like the french #35A DINKY-TOYS CITROEN U23 ! Isn't it ?

THE CASTING VARIANTS

The main casting variant on this model is the withdrawing of the side hole which could have nested the crank if the casting had been used to produce another truck than the breakdown (i.e. tipping wagon or refuse wagon). Only the side hole was filled, and the rest of the underside of the casting was not modified to delete the rest of the supports, as shown here. The explanation of this oddity can be very simple : to fill the side hole, they only had to remove a part of the die. To remove the other part, they should have to add a new filling part on the die...

By the same time (or at the same time) the name COMMER was added under the bonnet of the cab. So far, I didn't find any model having only one the both modifications...

The casting has also been modified around 1960 (I suppose at the same time as the BEDFORD) to add a spigot in the roof in order to secure the glazing.

No modification has been noted to the tin baseplate, but this one has been painted with a very shiny black paint for a long time, and with a matte black paint near end of the production.

I have not noticed any casting modification on the back of the truck or on the jib itself. It had been planned to add a rear tinplate hook under this part, but this one was never added. The picture above shows the underside of the rear body.

All my models don't have their original hooks. But for the lucky ones, the older ones have a metal hook with a wire insert, the most recent ones were fitted with an all-plastic hook.

ABOUT THE COLOR SCHEMES

The most common color scheme is of course light brown cab-chassis and light green back with black lettering and red ridged hubs. But there are numerous other color schemes, that appeared before or after this one. Here are the ones of my own collection...

The first color scheme to appear is dark grey cab with dark blue back. There are several shades of grey as well as two very distinct dark blue colors. In both cases the hubs are red.

At this time also, an uncommon color scheme was produced : its cab is painted in a brown-grey color which was also seen on the #40E STANDARD VANGUARD of the time (open rear wheel arches version, see my post here), with mid-blue back lettered in white and red hubs. 

Then we have a dark brown cab with a dark green back, lettered in white. Red hubs.

The truck was then produced with the same cab-chassis in dark brown, the back being now the well known light green with white lettering. Red hubs.

After that, the common color scheme light brown/light green appeared. On the early ones the lettering was white instead of the more usual black. Few examples were fitted with light green hubs instead of red ones, as it also happened on the BEDFORD REFUSE WAGON. One can notice several shades of the light brown color of the cab (darker on early issues, lighter on later ones), the back having instead a constant color. The deletion of the side hole and the fitting of the windows and treaded tires took place during the life of this color scheme.

White wording - lateral hole

Black wording - lateral hole

Black wording - no lateral hole

Black wording - no lateral hole - windows - treaded tires

Between the deletion of lateral hole and the addition of glazing, another uncommon color version was produced with a cream cab and a bright blue back lettered in black and red hubs.

The first red cabs and light grey back with blue lettering models appeared then, fitted with red or blue ridged hubs, always with windows, treaded tires and closed side hole.

Then with the same color scheme, the breakdown was then fitted with blue plastic hubs and treaded tires. Some examples received red plastic hubs.

By the end of the production, some cabs of the #428 COMMER ARTICULATED TRUCK were fitted to the breakdown, hence a light yellow cab with blue plastic hubs and grey back with blue lettering, but this scheme is very hard to find and seems to have been sold only in north America. Treaded tires.

One must notice that during all the production the DINKY SERVICE lettering was applied with stamped paint (white or black) or ink (blue), as were the PETROL (or POOL) letterings on the #25D tankers and PETROL too on the early STUDEBAKER tankers. The breakdown never received any sort of decals. If you have one with decals, this is a repaint !

WHAT ABOUT THE FRENCH DINKY-TOYS ?

I had several remarks from french readers who were happy if I wrote more articles on the french DINKY-TOYS made in the Bobigny factory... No problem, but as I stated previous, I don't want to produce a worse remake of good previous publications. I must admit that Jean-Michel Roulet's book on french DINKY-TOYS published by Atlas is THE book every serious collector should have, and this book is and remains the reference on the subject.

Therefore I will only write in that blog on variants an oddities that I could find and that aren't in this book (or in Mr Roulet's previous books, but I think that this one contains every detail published in all the previous ones). For example you can see here the #210 PEUGEOT 204 in metallic red and red interior pre-serial (without wordings "BTÉ S.G.D.G" on the base) mentioned by Mr Roulet on page 173... 

Having spoken with him, I know that Mr Roulet has also written a book on british DINKY-TOYS, which is bigger than the Atlas book on french production, but this book will certainly not be published for financial reasons. This is very sad, and I am always dreaming for it... Don't you ?

Post initially published on mar 18th, 2018.

Version française ici.

DINKY-TOYS GB #30V NCB ELECTRIC VAN unusual color variation

Here is an unusual color variation of this very common model. I purchased it several months ago on eBay, only seen 3 times in this color. Grey versions have usually blue chassis and hubs.

RARE DINKY-TOYS GB #25M ALL-CREAM BEDFORDS - Beware of the fakes !

Updated october 20th, 2020 after seeing another one on eBay...

Having recently seen some repainted cream BEDFORD TIPPER #25M on sale as "rare items in very good condition", I post this article to help potential buyers to spot one easy difference between a real one and a repainted one.

The ring at the bottom of the lifting mechanism is of the first type as on green or orange items with black wheels, i.e. thin diameter without chamfer (see my previous post on the parts shared by the BEDFORDS), as seen on pictures above.

Again a picture of the 3 different models of the ring (the all-cream model has the left one)

Another point to be aware of is the size of the supports of the tailboard : on the first models produced, the supports are have a small size, they have been later reinforced, but only some years later. On following picture you can spot the difference, the right one being an all-cream model.

You should also notice (as stated in a previous post on BEDFORD factory drawings) that none of the tippers had a 20 decal on back. And of course the tipper doesn't have any 410 number cast on the underside !

​Post initially published : Sep 26th, 2020

Version française ici.