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Discover a selection of models that will be on sale this week from tomorrow Monday, July 21, 2025 until Thursday, July 24 on our website AUTOJAUNE COLLECTION
en vente cette semaine: Dinky Toys GB – Auto Lady Penelope Fab1 100 – Dinky Toys GB – Boîte 6 cabines de téléphone 750 – Dinky Toys GB – Boîte 11 Belisha beacon Dinky Toys GB – Auto Ed.Straker’s car 352
I remember...
…from a New York salesman at the Allentown Stock Exchange in New Jersey. He specialized in die-casting.
On the other side of the Atlantic, this term generally refers to zamak products…made in Europe: Corgi Toys, Matchbox, and of course Dinky Toys!
Tootsietoys, American, although they too are generally injected with zamak, are… “Tootsietoys”!
Spotting me from a distance, the salesman gestured broadly, inviting me to join him quickly. I knew him from the Chicago Stock Exchange, and I also remember that he had made the trip to Great Britain once or twice.
Once the usual pleasantries had been exchanged, he pointed to his large, flat display case and to one model in particular: an “ordinary” Studebaker Castrol tanker.
I immediately understood that it was the aluminum version, which was very rare.
He wouldn’t have shown such enthusiasm for the classic die-cast zamac version. Externally, the model is virtually identical. Its shade is slightly paler.
modèle en vente cette semaine :Dinky Toys GB – Studebaker camion citerne Mobilgas 440
He took it out of the display case and gave it to me. I had seen this product a long time ago in poor condition, and I remembered it was very light.
Turning the item around, I saw the price displayed.
The seller had set the bar very high. I returned the item, telling him I would come back later to discuss it.
In this kind of situation, either the price is right, and you buy, or it seems too high, and you take the risk of coming back later with an offer, hoping that another, more motivated and more wealthy buyer hasn’t come first.
With experience and a solid understanding of the market, you can often pull off a successful bid and take some risks.
I chose the second option. The event lasted two days, so I came back the next day and we made a deal.
In English-speaking countries, the price can sometimes be halved; this is quite common.
Often, sellers take a chance. As the hours pass, potential buyers stream in, and the rules of the game change. It’s often out of the question for the seller to leave with their merchandise. A firm handshake, the deal is done, and they move on.
modèle en vente cette semaine : Dinky Toys GB – Studebaker camion citerne National Benzol 443
I thought about this again when I saw the three “classic” Studebaker tanker models for sale.
To my knowledge, these variants can only be die-cast in zamak. They are beautiful and form a harmonious series that enthusiasts no longer seem to appreciate.
Yet, in their display cases, they form a beautiful, colorful ensemble, and their moderate selling price is a significant asset.
A sales site that regularly offers quality equipment cannot afford the kind of excesses described above. This is another system that also has its drawbacks, such as causing frustration. There is only one model for sale… and very often a dozen or more potential buyers.
If my New York seller had charged a reasonable price from the start, he would have sold it immediately.
The models offered for sale come with their individual cases, which are quite difficult to obtain. This is a real plus. They were long sold in six-piece boxes under the reference number 25.
Models sold in individual boxes bear the reference number 400. The Mobilgas and Esso models bear the double reference on the tabs of their individual boxes, as if to emphasize their origin.
modèle en vente cette semaine :Dinky Toys GB – Studebaker camion citerne Esso 442
the case of the Mebetoys school
The Mebetoys are a textbook case.
They have enjoyed a rare surge in popularity in recent years. Prices have skyrocketed, often reaching unreasonable heights.
The market dictates its law.
We are the opposite of the Studebaker trucks described above. However, the prices of classic models have fallen back into line.
Many enthusiasts, seeing prices soar, have decided to part with them, and dealers with high demand have bought, sometimes at excessive prices, these products in high demand.
But there comes a point when supply exceeds demand. This phenomenon is inevitable.
This week we have several models that illustrate this phenomenon quite well.
modèle en vente cette semaine : Mebetoys – Fiat 1100 R A9
The Fiat 1100R on offer is very interesting.
Collector demand has evolved significantly over the past thirty years.
Now the peaceful sedans of the Mebetoys range, the Fiat 124, 1500, Lancia Flavia, or Alfa Romeo 2600 or Giulia, are the flagship models of the collection, the ones that enthusiasts fight over.
Like the Simca 1000, Renault 4L, or Peugeot 404 in France, the model for sale is rare in this metallic yellow color.
modèle en vente cette semaine : Mebetoys – Fiat Dino A14
The Fiat Dino is available in this ochre color, fashionable in Italy in the late 1960s.
It suits the model very well, as does the beautiful metallic blue paint job of the Duetto. The price of this model has dropped considerably. For a long time, it was one of the most expensive Mebetoys in France. All the more reason to take advantage of it now that the storm has calmed down, and to explore the many variations.
modèle en vente cette semaine : Mebetoys – Alfa Romeo Duetto Spider A18
guaranteed effect!
Everyone has noticed that Dinky Toys prices have dropped significantly.
This has worried some fans of the brand. I understand this concern. It’s justified. But no one can stem this phenomenon, for the simple reason that it’s linked to economic factors, such as declining purchasing power and uncertainties about the future.
As a Dinky Toys collector, I’m not immune. However, I didn’t collect as an investment, but for the pleasure I get from collecting these objects. This factor alone justifies devoting time and money to it. On the contrary, I see this decline as a great opportunity to broaden our fields of investigation.
modèle en vente cette semaine : Dinky Toys France – Mercedes car 18 places orange 541
I’m thinking, for example, of the utility vehicles in Bobigny, whose prices are now affordable.
This week we have a rare orange Mercedes van. Prices had skyrocketed. It’s now affordable, and its display is guaranteed to make an impact. There’s also a very interesting late-production Unic multi-purpose truck equipped with concave rims and its rare renumbered gearbox.
modèle en vente cette semaine : Dinky Toys France – Unic Multibenne Marrel 895
The late-production Peugeot 404 police car has also always been difficult to obtain. And finding one with the bag still sealed, containing the antenna and road sign, is a real plus. I think this model is very well done.
modèle en vente cette semaine : Dinky Toys France – Unic Multibenne Marrel 895
My favorite Corgi Toys Chipperfields Circus vehicles
My favorite are these two vehicles from the Chipperfields Circus by Corgi Toys. Thirty years ago, this theme was a hit, just like fire engines.
It’s somewhat outdated.
These models are now mainly of interest to Corgi Toys fans. The Swansea-based company is always talking about its TV series models, and it seems to me that fans have somewhat forgotten the great commercial success the Chipperfields Circus series enjoyed upon its release.
Long before it became interested in the Saint’s Volvo, marking the beginning of models derived from TV series, Corgi Toys divided its catalog into sections: auto, agricultural, military, and circus.
en vente cette semaine : Corgi Toys – Bedford TK semi remorque chevaux cirque Chipperfields 1130
Corgi Toys fut la première marque de miniatures à s’intéresser à cette thématique.
La firme de Swansea a compris que la présence d’animaux attirait les enfants et que cela faisait vendre ! Le succès ne s’est jamais démenti. Quand la marque adoptera une autre échelle de reproduction, le 1/38, elle se souviendra de son histoire et sortira une nouvelle série Pinder Jean Richard, mais moins étoffée que celle aux couleurs Chipperfields.
en vente cette semaine : Corgi Toys – Remorque cage Chipperfields 1123
Vincent Espinasse
also on sale this week
