Club News

 

User login

New Comments

DTCAwebsite upgrade 2023

3 days 2 hours ago

DTCAwebsite upgrade 2023

3 days 4 hours ago

DTCAwebsite upgrade 2023

3 days 6 hours ago

DTCAwebsite upgrade 2023

3 days 7 hours ago

DTCAwebsite upgrade 2023

4 days 2 hours ago

DTCAwebsite upgrade 2023

4 days 8 hours ago

-508 DAF

4 days 9 hours ago

--14c and 401Coventry Climax Fork Lift Truck (1949-64)

4 days 9 hours ago

FRENCH DINKY TALBOT LAGO

4 days 9 hours ago

-Boxes General Discussions including end flaps, both British and French

4 days 9 hours ago

--14c and 401Coventry Climax Fork Lift Truck (1949-64)

2 weeks 5 days ago

--14c and 401Coventry Climax Fork Lift Truck (1949-64)

2 weeks 6 days ago

-508 DAF

1 month 1 week ago

DTCAwebsite upgrade 2023

1 month 1 week ago

DTCAwebsite upgrade 2023

1 month 2 weeks ago

DTCAwebsite upgrade 2023

1 month 2 weeks ago

DTCAwebsite upgrade 2023

1 month 2 weeks ago

DTCAwebsite upgrade 2023

1 month 2 weeks ago

-508 DAF

1 month 3 weeks ago

-508 DAF

1 month 3 weeks ago

-508 DAF

1 month 3 weeks ago

New arrivals

1 month 3 weeks ago

New arrivals

1 month 3 weeks ago

DTCAwebsite upgrade 2023

1 month 3 weeks ago

DTCAwebsite upgrade 2023

1 month 3 weeks ago

ORIGINAL MECCANO DINKY TOYS FACTORY BOX ART 175 HILLMAN MINX SALOON + DRAWING

1 month 3 weeks ago

--29c and 290 Double Decker Bus (1938-63)

1 month 3 weeks ago

DTCAwebsite upgrade 2023

1 month 3 weeks ago

DTCAwebsite upgrade 2023

1 month 3 weeks ago

DTCAwebsite upgrade 2023

1 month 3 weeks ago

DTCAwebsite upgrade 2023

1 month 3 weeks ago

DTCAwebsite upgrade 2023

1 month 3 weeks ago

--29c and 290 Double Decker Bus (1938-63)

1 month 3 weeks ago

--29c and 290 Double Decker Bus (1938-63)

1 month 3 weeks ago

DTCAwebsite upgrade 2023

1 month 3 weeks ago

Visitors

  • Total Visitors: 1640722
  • Registered Users: 388
  • Published Nodes: 1681
  • Since: 03/21/2024 - 21:56
12 posts / 0 new
Last post

dinkyfan's picture
dinkyfan
Offline
DTCA MemberUSA

--29e Autocar Isobloc (1950-1955)

This week I had another wonderful addition to my collection, this time the French Dinky Toys 29e Autocar Isobloc.  I had bought one previously, many years ago, but this new one is in much nicer condition, so when the opportunity came, I jumped at it.  A brief history of this model is:  introduced in 1951, along with the 29d Autobus Parisien, and made until early 1955.  There were three main versions produced, with the first one featuring flat, not raised, areas along the wings, and with a smooth ceiling and floor of luggage area.  The second version added the raised wing areas, otherwise the same.  The third and last one added a ridged floor in the luggage area and also a checkered interior ceiling.  Mine is the third type, and appears to have never been played with, showing just some very light rub wear in a few places, likely caused by sitting in a trade box.  The axles are bright and gleaming and show no signs of corrosion.  This bus joins the 24q Ford Vedette and the first version of the Standard Vanguard Saloon, as the only models to feature what was apparently an experiment to fasten one of the axles to the baseplate via a tinplate clip.  I have never heard any more of an explanation of this clip, and it is shown in one of the photos below.  Also shown are some pages of the 1952, and 1953/54 French Dinky Toys catalog, which show this bus.  Even though it was apparently available for some time in 1955, it was not shown in that catalog.  Another very nicely detailed French model from the early 1950's, that so many of us love.

        Best regards,  Terry

 

dinkycollect's picture
dinkycollect
Offline
DTCA MemberFrance

Hi Terry,

Congratulations for this superb late Isobloc.

I do not know where you got the dates from but the September 1950 blue Meccano leaflet shows a very poor drawing of the Isobloc below which is printed : "available early in 1951".

In fact, there are four variations as the cross hatched ceiling came later than the ribs on the roof rack.

The Isobloc was the first coach build in Europe not using a very heavy truck châssis. The builder Joseph Besset a car coach builder launched the revolutionary Isobloc build under licence with a welded tubular frame, and a rear engine. The factory is still running today after having changed hands four times. It is now owned by Iveco and is the last bus manufacturer in France under the marque Irisbus.

Frame of the chassis less Isobloc.

janwerner's picture
janwerner
Offline
DTCA MemberNetherlands

Nice to see, what you wrote me about a few days ago, Terry. Indeed a wonderful example. If I only had one!

I dug up this tiny, single leaf catalogue-page-size leaflet, distributed by Hudson Dobson for the USA market. I presume it is meant to be a kind of French Dinky Toys supplement of ca. 1954. These models were definitely included in the b/w 1955 US catalogue. As you can see the Isobloc is (of course) included in the leaflet, but it is gone in the 1955 US catalogue. I enlarged the images to almost 200% (original size approx. 11x15 cm). Kind regards, Jan

Richard's picture
Richard
Offline
DTCA MemberFrance

Hello all.

My contribution.

The "Air France" one is a copy for the french Dinky Club.

Friendly yours

Richard

dinkycollect's picture
dinkycollect
Offline
DTCA MemberFrance

And this is the only original one. Collection Robert Goirand.

Richard's picture
Richard
Offline
DTCA MemberFrance

Here under the Isobloc Type 2 I received this morning with the type 3 already shown in the above photo.

janwerner's picture
janwerner
Offline
DTCA MemberNetherlands

'If I only had one!' I exclaimed in post #3. Well, here it is, a type 3 with a ridged roof and a smooth interior ceiling still. Whereas the model is virtually perfect, the critical flood light photos show the coarse surface of the casting of an original, compared with an Atlas replica (far below).Kind regards, Jan  

dinkyfan's picture
dinkyfan
Offline
DTCA MemberUSA

Jan—Nice find, and one of my favorite French Dinky Toys. The overall design is just so different and interesting, and I think they made a very nice model of it too. I’m not sure why yours appears to be a bit rougher casting than mine. Since mine has the checkered inside roof, it was made a bit later. I am also glad you are now experiencing more of the French Dinky Toys models. I was entranced with them, even as a young boy, and I noticed how different they were from their English cousins. Very nice!
Best regards, Terry

janwerner's picture
janwerner
Offline
DTCA MemberNetherlands

Hello Terry, your comment confirmed my not 100% good feel about the model's casting condition and paint finish. So I re-checked and compared other examples in books and on the internet, and concluded that I should not accept this one, knowing that nasty imperfectnesses like this tend to grow bigger and bigger in one's imagination in the course of time. So I contacted the vendor and he smoothly accepted return of the model and refunding. So the model left this afternoon. And now I will be patiently waiting for another fine and affordable example to come along. That may take some time, unless someone will help me looking out for a nice and reasonably priced replacement .... Thanks and kind regards, Jan 

alkeeling's picture
alkeeling
Offline
AdministratorAeroplanesPostwarPrewarUK

Atlas also produced an Air France copy for their Christmas 2014 range.  So only the green blue and cream scheme was overlooked.  Now that Atlas have wound up their Dinky subscriptions, far east clearance stocks have started to appear on ebay including a few Air France spares.

dinkycollect's picture
dinkycollect
Offline
DTCA MemberFrance

I think that there are four Isobloc coaches still runing. This is one of them in a small bus museum in Vanosc very near to where it has been build.

I am not sure about what the photographer wanted to have in his picture.

 

janwerner's picture
janwerner
Offline
DTCA MemberNetherlands

It took merely c. 1.5 year this time to find a better one, replacing the returned previous example mentioned in comments #7 and #9. The casting is much smoother, the paint finish better, but, admittedly, with very slightly more chipping - still, at half the price of the previous one. It features the ribbed luggage roof but still a smooth (except for the crossing beams) inside roof. The third of four variants mentioned by Roulet. Happy after all! Kind regards, Jan