DINKY-TOYS GB #27D/340 LAND ROVER (Part 1)

Some (!) LAND ROVER ready to the variants checking...

The LAND ROVER was issued to provide the British people with an equivalent of the JEEP. Launched just after WW2, this vehicle quickly gained a reputation of strength and all-purpose. In 2018, this car is now 70 years old ! Unlike the JEEP, that disappeared in its original form for a long time, the LAND ROVER was produced until a very recent period as the DEFENDER.

The LAND ROVER has been reproduced in miniature as toys and models by numerous makers, and amongst them DINKY TOYS, CORGI TOYS, MATCHBOX, NOREV and in the recent years SOLIDO, BBURAGO, CARRARAMA and its almost impossible not to forgive the most part of them !

The DINKY TOYS LAND ROVER first appeared in the april 1950 MECCANO MAGAZINE, priced 3s 9d. This price placed the model between the MASSEY HARRIS TRACTOR (3s 6d) and the MANURE SPREADER (3s 11d) or the MOTO-CART (4s 6d). It belongs to the 27 series : agricutural models. It is a very good model of the short wheelbase (89") version of the LAND ROVER. At first issued as model 27D, the LAND ROVER was renumbered 340 in 1954. Produced until 1971, this model was one of the longest lasting ones, with 21 years in catalog.

This model has three factory drawings known :

13232 - LAND ROVER BODY, big format drawing of the main casting, dated 6/1/49

13233 – LAND ROVER WINDSCREEN small format drawing, dated 12/1/49

13234 – LAND ROVER BASE small format drawing, dated 13/1/49

I was lucky to buy in January 2016 two of these three drawings, and the information they provide are highly precious to know the models evolution during its production. I don't know why the seller has removed from the lot of drawings the windscreen, which belonged to the lot originally, and therefore I have only a very poor picture of this drawing.

The assembly drawing is not officially registered as far as I know, but it has probably the number 13231, as this reference appears on the 13233 and 13234 drawings.

The scale used for the LAND ROVER is 5/16" for 1', that means 1/38, as stated on the 17157 memo, a document of the Liverpool MECCANO Factory listing the scale of most of the models produced.

The prototype

The prototype of the DINKY LAND ROVER was auctioned on September 27th 1996 by Christies. Final price was £1610. It's a wooden model, painted light green with maroon interior, yellow painted ridged hubs with black big smooth tyres. The mazac driver is painted tan (it is the driver of the tractors, as on the production models). Large driving wheel of the tractors, painted in black. The front headlamps are not pictured on the grille. It must be noticed that the front bumper is missing on the prototype. You will (easily or not) find a picture of this prototype on the web...

Composition of the model

The bodyshell is one single casting, including the seats. The windscreen is a piece of stamped tin, painted black, inserted through a slot situated at the top of the dashboard. The tin is given a round profile and is finished at the bottom with a fork fixed to the central pillar with the baseplate. A tinplate tow hook at the rear of the car allows to tow the trailer (subject of a future post), a model specially designed for the LAND ROVER. The spare wheel is inserted on the back of the front seats and secured by a pin. This model has always been fitted with a driver, made of mazac at the beginning and then in plastic. The driver is the same as the one of the 27 series tractors, as well as the driving wheel. But the LAND ROVER driver in mazac has its feet cut off, in order to make the assembly easier I suppose. This detail is difficult to see when the driver sits in place. The mazac ridged wheels were replaced by plastic ones at the beginning of the 60s. You must notice that the mazac hubs are always fitted with little brass rings between them and the bodyshell (as pictured here). It seems these rings were added to prevent the tyres from rubbing the bodyshell. This choice is very bizarre, as a little lug could have been added to the bodyshell near the axles, as you can see on the BEDFORD rear wheels for example.

Added feb 2020 : According to the remark of a reader, the reason for using rings is very evident. Lugs under the wings would have been cast on the whole vertical surface under the wings, this part being formed by the bottom part of the die, causing rubbing between the top of the tyre and the lug. This is not the case on the BEDFORD chassis, because its height is around the size of the hubs.

Although the 27D wordings were added on the 13232 factory design under the passenger seat in June 1952, I never saw any reference engraved on this model. The only wordings under the main casting are : LAND ROVER in two lignes between the two front seats (that can be read with the front of the car to the left side), and MADE IN ENGLAND in small characters, DINKY TOYS in italic characters and finally MECCANO LTD ENGLAND in small characters, these three lines on the flat area near the rear axle (can be read with the front of the car up). No difference of the lettering has been noticed during all the production of the model.

The underside of the LAND ROVER : no 27D wordings !

Review of the factory drawings

List of the casting changes quoted on the drawings :

Drawing 13232 – LAND ROVER – BODY - Table of the changes

ISSUE	DESCRIPTION OF CHANGE	CO. N°	DATE
1			6/1/49
2	RIB, 3/64”x1/16” HIGH ADDED IN UNDERSIDE VIEW	2770	12/10/49
3	SPRAYING BOSS ADDED. POSITION OF LETTERING ALTERED	2817	28/11/49
4	FRONT BUMPER PIECE & WEBS WITH DIMS ADDED .0935” HOLE ADDED	2863	19/1/50 24/1/50
5	SLOT FOR WINDSCREEN. DIM .042 WAS .034	2870	3/2/50
6	1/8 RAD ON REAR AXLE LUGS WAS 3/32, ALSO 60° ANGLE ON FRONT LUG WAS 45°, .080 ON SPIGOT WAS .069	2898	3/3/50
7	SALES N°27D ADDED	3414	11/6/52
8	4 RIBS 1/4x.015 RAISED ON AXLE	6747	38/8/62
9	.046 DIA STEERING WHEEL HOLE WAS .067 DIA. SEC BB	7214	29/10/63
10	.081” DIA WAS .046” DIA	9288	11/5/65

Drawing 13233 – WINDSCREEN FOR LAND ROVER - Table of the changes

ISSUE	DESCRIPTION OF CHANGE	CO. N°	DATE
1			13/1/49
2	MATERIAL WIDTH ADDED	2778	27/10/49
3	FINISH DELETED	2857	16/1/50
4	MATERIAL THICKNESS WAS .024”	2863	?/1/50
5	OUTSIDE & CENTRE STRUTS OF FRAME WERE ??? ADDED	3087	?
6	RAISED PORTIONS WERE RADIUSED AT TOP	3158	?
7	FINISH ADDED	7196	8/10/63 ?
8	MATL.THICKNESS WAS .032”	8196 ?	19/3/63 ?
9	FINISH WAS BRUNOFIX & LACQUER	8202	?
10	.145 DIA WAS .135/.130 DIA

Drawing 13234 – BASE FOR LAND ROVER - Table of the changes

ISSUE	DESCRIPTION OF CHANGE	CO. N°	DATE
1			13/1/49
2	.140 DIA HOLE WAS .133” .130” DIA & ELONGATED 1/32”	2770	12/10/49
3	MATERIAL WIDTH ADDED. CLEARANCE AT ”A” WAS .010”	2778	27/10/49
4	MARKED CIRCLE ADDED	4335	2/6/55
5	FINISH DELETED. GLOSSY BLACK BOTH SIDES ADDED	5185	2/7/58
6	.150” DIA. HOLE WAS .140” DIA	9211	20/3/65

Notes on the changes mentioned on the drawings

The spraying boss (change 3 of the main drawing) was added before the start of the production. Unlike some older models (pre-war trucks and trailer of the 25 series, loudspeaker van) no model was produced without this feature.

The 5th change of the main drawing and the 4th change of the windscreen drawing are bound together. The refer to the increase of the thickness of the windscreen. This change is hard to notice, unless having two different models in sight. You can see that the thickness of the windscreen was then reduced in 1963 (8th change of the windscreen drawing) unless the slot of the main drawing being reduced.

And now, some views of the main drawing...

As the main drawing 13232 is quite large (around A2 format), it is difficult to have a good picture of the whole drawing. However, here are some parts of the very nice views of the model included in this drawing. Now in the digital drawing era, these ink drawings on waxed paper have an obsolete touch which gives them a mysterious charm.  

Underside view (note the 27D wordings under the passenger seat)

Upside view

Left side view

Right side view

Longitudinal cut

Dashboard and front seats cut

Front view

Rear view

Details of the rear pulley

Publications in the Meccano Magazine

(Please have a look on the excellent New Zealand site on the Meccano Magazine in the friends blogs links if you wish to read the articles)

April 1950 : First appearance in the MECCANO MAGAZINE (page 2 cover)

July 1950 : Article launching the new DINKY models including the LAND ROVER (page 316)

January 1966 : A very interesting articled called OPERATION COVER UP published in the MECCANO MAGAZINE (p.16) gave plans to create a very realistic canopy for the model.

To be continued...

In the following part, we will study the chronology of the casting variants of this model during its 21 years production.

Post initially published : mar 22nd, 2018

Version française ici.​

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