Dinky Tractor 22e

Dinky in size, not value: Rare toy collection sells for £60k

One of the largest collections in the country of small cars raised £ 60 000 after he went under the hammer.

Hoggarth Don has spent a lifetime amassing almost 1000 Dinky Toy cars and trucks before his death last year.

The unique collection, which included cars from the 1930s, was the largest collection Bamford Auctioneers in Derby, which hosted the sale, had seen.

Auctioneer Steven Airdale said: "This is one of the largest collections of model cars to come to this country for decades, and certainly the largest we have done.

"We had a collection of 160 coming up in May that we thought it was important, but it was something else."

The collection included rare Dinky Toys of the interwar period and the 1950s and 60s. It also included a number of models of French Dinky cars.

Most of the articles were framed, and some had never even been out of their packaging, including a set of six articulated trucks Bedford who were still in original plastic packaging, they were in when they were delivered to the toy store five decades ago.

These rare items were the biggest sellers in the day and raised £ 620 alone.

Mr. Airdale said: "We believe that Mr. Hoggarth used to go round the toy stores that were closing and buy their shares.

"This meant that some items were still in the box details. People know that the items are more valuable if they are still in their original packaging, but the collection Mr Hoggarth went further as he had the box of the boxes came as well.

"There was enormous interest in the sale.

"The room was packed and there were many people on phones and online auctions as well."

In all, 500 lots were sold at auction auctioneers Bamford, raising £ 60,000.

The collection included models of tractors, trucks and race cars Dinky Toys.

Mr Hoggarth, who lived in Rochdale, who died last year.

His collection of Dinky toys were sold at auction Friday, July 22.

Ado's Blog: Those Dinky Days! (Part One)

In 1931 Meccano issued a series of railway and trackside accessories to complement their O scale Hornby Model train sets. Six model cars were produced alongside model track workers, passengers, station staff and other trackside accessories. The cars were basic representations rather that identifiable marques and had die-cast metal bodies, tin plate bases and wheels with rubber tyres. By 1934 Frank Hornby, who owned Meccano Ltd, had expanded the range to include die-cast model ships and aeroplanes, and the range was christened 'Meccano Dinky Toys'. It has been said that the name came from a friend of one of Frank Hornby's daughters, and was likely derived from the Scottish word "dink".

The first set of 'Dinky Cars' being released in 1934. The set of vehicles was designated No. 22, comprising six 1:43 scale models (i.e. O scale) and retailed at 4 shillings:

Some pre-war Dinky Toys were cast from an impure alloy and today suffer from Zinc pest, making good condition survivors rare today. Some early castings have survived in numbers, whilst it is difficult to find others such as the 28 Series vans that do not have some form of damage. It is believed that lead from Hornby Train production, as well as lead ties from sacks in the factory found their way into the metal, and corrupted it. The first model car available individually was numbered 23a which was a sports car based on an early MG, and by December 1935 there were around 200 different products in the Dinky range even including dolls house furniture. The first model cars were generic representations of vehicle types and were available individually from trade packs of 6. Models would not be available in individual boxes until 1952. In 1935 a new series was introduced which featured accurate likenesses of specific vehicles.

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