Discover a selection of models that will be on sale this week from tomorrow Monday March 24, 2025 until Thursday March 27 on our site AUTOJAUNE COLLECTION
en vente cette semaine: Dinky Toys France – coffret Nr 5 personnages (plomb)- Dinky Toys France – coffret Nr1 personnel de gare 1 – Mebetoys – Land Rover 109 Promotionelle PROGRESS A40 – Tekno – Volkswagen 1200 Herbie love bug 819H
I remember...
…of the astonishment caused by the auction of the black Triumph at Christies in South Kensington on 19 May 1992 at the Ashley sale: £4,500 plus fees, or nearly £5,500. A bolt from the blue. I was in the room, and for a few moments time stood still, eyes met between enthusiasts.
catalogue Christies de la vente du 19 mai 1992
As a rule, high bids were reserved for pre-war models, even in average condition, or for Foden trucks, Leyland Octopus; to a lesser extent, for early Guy trucks. Even in rare colours, the Series 40 cars only attracted modest bids. I had noted this inconsistency when I was buying. At the same time, I remember having acquired superb examples like these green or burgundy Standard Vanguards, like the red Rover 75 or the blue or caramel Morris Oxford, for amounts less than half those asked for a new in box Foden Type 1.
Collection personnelle AutoJaune couleurs rares de la série 40
When I now see the prices of these Fodens, I wonder about the effects of fashion. I often want to tell enthusiasts, “open your eyes”, they are magnificent, affordable, know how to appreciate their moderate prices. The arrival of Jean Vital Rémy and another Anglo-American collector on the market, with their substantial purchasing power, was going to shake things up. The result of this auction made us understand that we were going to enter a new era. It also had the effect of bringing together these two enthusiasts who, after the sale, were going to bury the hatchet and agree on the following auctions. It was also a different time. I directly benefited from this rapprochement. The next day, Vectis sold a very beautiful collection, because the English had the intelligence to group together major events. The same buyers therefore met the next day and I was able to recover, with their knighthood, the blue Morris Oxford. What memories.
modèle en vente cette semaine : Dinky Toys GB – Triumph 1800 40B
We have a copy of this famous black Triumph. It should not be confused with another pre-series copy, equipped with silver rims, which belonged to Jean Vital Rémy and which was also sold at Christies, but much later, during the dispersal of his collection.
This black Triumph is the “piece” of the series 40. The one that classifies a collection. There are other series 40s that are just as rare, but for this story, this one holds a special place in the Dinky Toys history.
BP made by C-I-J
Looking at the three versions of the BP-coloured tanker semi-trailer trucks produced by C-I-J on the programme this week, I think that in comparison, the contemporary Panhard Movic in Esso colours, produced by Dinky Toys France, pales in comparison. The reproduction scale of the latter is closer to 1/60, while the C-I-J is 1/50.
On this type of product, this has a strong visual impact. I am also thinking of the superb Foden trucks, 8-wheel tanker carriers produced in Liverpool at the same time… and at 1/50 scale. C-I-J has handled its subject particularly well.
modèle en vente cette semaine : C.I.J. – Somua LRS tracteur semi remorque citerneBP 4-71
She did not just take the tanker semi-trailer that she had created some time before for her Renault 120hp.
She designed a new mold. It is an aesthetic success.
The tricolor version, dear to BP in the years 55-65 is splendid.
The paint demarcations made with stencils are mastered, the color harmonies superb. The Birare firm will keep this truck in the colors of the English oil company until the end of its history (1966-1967).
She will bring her tractor up to date by updating it over the existence of the real truck. Born Somua, this firm will fall into the fold of Renault, like Latil, another French heavy goods vehicle manufacturer. The models of the new entity will take the prefix “LRS” (Latil-Renault-Somua) in the catalogs.
The Billancourt firm then created the Saviem. These three different cabins marked the beginning of the Saviem story. The first cabin, all rounded, was aesthetic and marked a very important break in style in the mid-fifties. The curves of the grille, the wheel arches and the roof echoed each other. On the first model offered for sale, the logo in the centre of the grille still bore the word Somua.
modèle en vente cette semaine :C.I.J. – Saviem LRS tracteur semi remorque citerneBP 4-71
When Saviem took over, logically, this engraving evolved and bore the name of the buyer.
The tractor wings were reinforced by a right angle at the rear of the cabin, without altering the harmony of the whole.
We can make the same comment, when passing the third version, also proposed, and its square-shaped grille, equipped with three bars. It is the famous JL20.
Know that you can find the first two versions, decorated with a small or large BP decal. The three models are superb. It is high time to rediscover them. The copies made in China have sown doubt among enthusiasts. We cannot put the copy on the same level as the original. The latter was not designed with the aim of being displayed in a window. It is a toy and that is what makes it charming and interesting. As stated above, with prices becoming much more reasonable, collectors need to open their eyes, analyze and understand what they are buying and collecting.
modèle en vente cette semaine : C.I.J. – Saviem JL20 tracteur semi citerne BP 4-71
sets
It is instructive to cross-reference the productions of Dinky Toys and Corgi Toys in order to analyze the battle that these two entities have waged.
Corgi Toys has forced the Liverpool firm to question itself and to re-examine itself.
Since I have been interested in Corgi Toys, I have better understood certain orientations of Liverpool. This week we have two boxes revealing this situation. The first contains a Chevrolet El Camino and two trailers. The set is very original. It is an unusual box. The first box, rectangular in shape, consisting of a base and a lid in strong cardboard is superb.
Later two boxes, one illustrated and of the display type, both long in shape, will succeed it. They are rarer but much less pretty. We will appreciate the illustration of the proposed box which contributes to the pleasure of the acquisition. The originality of this set lies in the two trailers attached one behind the other, of different shapes. Liverpool had learned Swansea’s lesson well: deliver boxes with trailers and original accessories. It was a success.
modèle en vente cette semaine : Dinky Toys GB – Chevrolet El camino avec remorques 448
We can also draw a parallel with another product from the same period, sharing the same color harmony, white and turquoise, also on sale this week, the Wayne “Continental tour” bus. It is the idealized America. These two products immediately transport us to the other side of the Atlantic. Another detail, they share the same type of box decoration: yellow background and illustration.
modèle en vente cette semaine : Dinky Toys GB – Wayne car continental tour 953
The second box is very original. I immediately wondered how Corgi Toys, a competing and imaginative firm, had not thought of it before! The idea of this long, transparent trailer carrying a glider is excellent. We come across this type of trailer on the motorway during the holidays and the effect is always guaranteed. The glider fascinates, it symbolises the oldest dream of man since Icarus, that of flying. This box offers the child the possibility of having several toys in one. The glider and its launcher are a great classic of beach games.
For the occasion Dinky Toys created a superb diorama box. Fifteen years later, as a nod to the past and to this missed opportunity, Corgi Toys will finally offer a box of substantial size at 1/32 scale, containing a Honda Prelude and a trailer carrying a glider. Proof that the idea was good and the lesson learned.
modèle en vente cette semaine : Dinky Toys GB – Triumph 2000 avec remorque et planeur 118
My favorite of the week : two Bedford TK trucks from Dinky Toys Liverpool
My favorite of the week for these two Bedford TK trucks from Dinky Toys Liverpool, the Coca Cola brewer and the tow truck.
I like this series. Released in 1964, they are slightly later than the Berliet Gak from Meccano France (1961) and seem to be inspired by them. They share the tonnage, medium category, and the design, forward cabin. Liverpool will decline a superb series, more inspired in my opinion than that of the Berliet.
This Bedford will have a great career throughout Europe. We often saw them throughout France during the 70s. Their medium tonnage gave Dinky Toys the opportunity to decline many body versions, all successful. The brewer version in Coca Cola colors is balanced and very representative of English brewer trucks. We find this type of body on the Bentam Karrier from Lesney, also in the colors of the soda manufacturer. That says it all. At the time, the choice of this advertisement was far from trivial. The famous soda brand from Atlanta had found an ideal medium with these two giants of miniatures. It will also have many contacts with German manufacturers: Tipp Co and Gama. The Gak brewer from Dinky Toys is a little bland in comparison.
modèle en vente cette semaine : Dinky Toys GB – Bedford TK brasseur Coca Cola 402
What can we say then about the breakdown version of the Gak, which borrows its entire rear part from the Bedford? If the hoist and the body are perfectly suited to the Bedford, for which they were designed, they seem incongruous on the Berliet. In France, we have never had this type of breakdown truck.
Liverpool must have imposed its vision of things on Bobigny. The economy of a mold and the low-cost version of this Berliet breakdown truck undoubtedly imposed the choice.
modèle en vente cette semaine : Dinky Toys GB – Bedford TK camion dépanneuse 434
Vincent Espinasse
also on sale this week
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