Dinky Toys Thunderbird 2

[dr_gn]

Guys,

I decided to dig out some of my favourite old Dinky toys yesterday. I found the Eagle Transporter and Thunderbird 2, both of which are in surprisingly good condition. The main issue is that the engines are missing from Thunderbird 2, and one of the doors has been lost from the transporter.



I'll try Ebay and maybe go to Doncaster toy fair to try to get some spares (and stickers), but in the meantime, could anyone who has one take measurements and detail images of a T2 engine please? I might try 3D printing some replacements. In the meantime, Lego cone pieces are a perfect fit, but a bit too conical...



Now to source an Eagle Freighter to go with the Transporter. BTW for Space 1999 fans, MPC have released a 1:48 kit version which looks incredible...

[Alex]

That's a later model Thunderbird 2, with thicker legs. I had the earlier (correctly coloured!) version.

[Yertis]

Alex said:

That's a later model Thunderbird 2, with thicker legs. I had the earlier (correctly coloured!) version.

Me too (showing our age here). The nozzles were red cylinders IIRC, which broke off almost immediately to disappear along with T4. Having a younger brother didn't help in this regard

[dr_gn]

Yertis said:

Alex said:

That's a later model Thunderbird 2, with thicker legs. I had the earlier (correctly coloured!) version.

Me too (showing our age here). The nozzles were red cylinders IIRC, which broke off almost immediately to disappear along with T4. Having a younger brother didn't help in this regard

The engines are different on the green and blue versions. In fact I think the entire main body castings are slightly different too.

[Yertis]

dr_gn said:

The engines are different on the green and blue versions. In fact I think the entire main body castings are slightly different too.

So they are!

[generationx]

This place could be useful

https://www.modelcarparts.com/

[dr_gn]

generationx said:

This place could be useful

https://www.modelcarparts.com/

Thanks very much - I've sent an email to them. Can't find images of the parts they sell, so not sure of the quality. Looks legit though.

[dr_gn]

Yertis said:

So they are!

Hmmm quite a bit different in fact - the green version is smaller.

Apparently they changed from the correct green, to blue because kids don't like green toys, plus when it was changed, the TV series had stopped, so they assumed kids wouldn't know what was right anyway.

[Yertis]

dr_gn said:

kids don't like green toys

That was a bad call for Dinky, when you consider how much of their output was military vehicles. However, I think the only near–MiB Dinky I haven't been able to flog is a Foden Army truck. It's a super model but no one wants it.

Also strange that the UFO Interceptor was launched in green (and I think later released in blue) but was white 'in real life'. Ditto the Eagle Transporter.

[Red Firecracker]

Modelcarparts' stuff is good, but postage can be a pain.

There is also;

http://www.model-supplies.co.uk/dinky_parts_range....


If you need a magnet for the Eagle Freighter winch when you get one, let me know, I have one here you can have.

[dr_gn]

Thanks all. I ordered the parts fro modelcar parts, £15 including delivery.

RedFirecracker - thanks very much for the offer of the magnet. I’m going to Donny toy fair at the end of the month to look for a Freighter resto project, so I might be in touch.

A colleague told me today that Dinky had to remove the nuclear waste symbols from the original canisters, because of the confusion it might have caused if they got lost and found years later by someone who was unaware they were from a toy. Nice story.

[dr_gn]

Got the spares from Modelcarparts yesterday. Pretty poor quality unfortunately. The Eagle transporter door has an unsightly mould line right down the middle, and despite an email confirming original specs, the Thunderbird 2 engines don’t fit - the spigots are much too small. Probably ok for the earlier version, but they are listed as two types.

Plenty of comms before purchasing, but nothing in response to my complaint.



Ended up applying heat shrink tubing to make them fit, and glueing the silver inserts in place otherwise they fall out.



Par for the course with reproduction stuff in my experience, but still disappointing.

[tight5]

There is another way -

link

[Red Firecracker]

They're good for Dinky/Corgi/Spot-On etc repro parts. At least the two halves are in register.....

(I'm being harsh, a lot of the repro parts are very good, but boy, are there some stinkers out there)

[dr_gn]

Red Firecracker said:

They're good for Dinky/Corgi/Spot-On etc repro parts. At least the two halves are in register.....

(I'm being harsh, a lot of the repro parts are very good, but boy, are there some stinkers out there)

The Transporter doors have a raised line down the middle, and one of the two retaining bumps is missing, so the door won't stay shut.

[Red Firecracker]

It just makes you appreciate modern injection moulded kits even more ;-)

Repro glazing units can be the worst, requiring a lot of fettling to make them even fit inside the casting, let alone fit well. I almost miss it........

[dr_gn]

Red Firecracker said:

It just makes you appreciate modern injection moulded kits even more ;-)

Repro glazing units can be the worst, requiring a lot of fettling to make them even fit inside the casting, let alone fit well. I almost miss it........

I've got a few of the large Dinky aircraft, without glazing - IIRC Harrier, Spitfire, Phantom, Zero, Stuka. Where do you recommend to get spares for these? Thanks.

[Red Firecracker]

Your choices are;

• modelcarparts in Holland
• model-supplies.co.uk in the UK (and their agents/resellers such as diecastrecoveries.org.uk)
• eBay, either new parts or donor original parts.

I tended to mostly use modelcarparts back when I was buying a lot of parts. However, you do have to remember that these are not going to be original quality parts, no matter who you buy them from.

[dr_gn]

Red Firecracker said:

Your choices are;

• modelcarparts in Holland
• model-supplies.co.uk in the UK (and their agents/resellers such as diecastrecoveries.org.uk)
• eBay, either new parts or donor original parts.

I tended to mostly use modelcarparts back when I was buying a lot of parts. However, you do have to remember that these are not going to be original quality parts, no matter who you buy them from.

Thanks. The TB2 and Eagle parts were from modelcarparts. I specifically asked by email “is the quality of reproduction parts as good as the originals” and the reply was “they’re reproductions and just as original”. They actually aren’t as original, and I think the lack of a response to my complaint says they’re not too bothered about misrepresenting their products. It’s a shame because if he’d have said the engines might need glue and a bit of sleeving, no problem. Anyway, a few more places to try, so thanks again for the links.

[dr_gn]

A work colleague gave me this Dinky Eagle Freighter (no pod):





Immediately decided to restore it, despite it being more expensive than buying a complete one (no idea why, just seems right).

Stripped all the paint in brake fluid and re-sprayed with Halfords white:



Masked and sprayed the nose satin black:



I’ve replaced the rivets with screws. Test assembled, looks ok, but still needs the vernier thrusters and main engines:





Now to find a freighter pod.