How does the new Dinky Toys book differ from earlier ones?

[grwebster]

I was asked how my book is different from others, mainly Mike and Sue Richardson's so I offer the following as an explanation:

When I started collecting Dinky Toys I amassed at least 10 reference works that I tried to use in addition to many websites including DTCA. Lots of good but dated information, lots of errors too, and nothing new in years. It was almost impossible to use and very hard to compile and follow - an altogether frustrating experience that I set out to rectify with this book.

Incidentally, I have met Sue Richardson and have enormous respect for all her work.

In fact I dedicated the book to Sue and her husband, Mike, wrote about her background and also introduced the book. She was very thorough but there were errors made and newer additional information has come to light. These details needed to be corrected and communicated.

The format of the book is all new in that each and every aircraft made by Dinky Toys in France or Great Britain assigned with a reference number is described in a monograph along with photos of it, a description, all casting markings on the undersides, newly confirmed production dates, all references using the same casting. Some of the early toys also have a period photo of the actual airplane Dinky designers used and the coverage includes coverage of the many different variants. There are some toys that have over 30 variants and many of these variants are shown in photographs.

Here is the Table of Contents of the book.
PART ONE
The Dinky Toys Aircraft Collectors Guide
1. A Short History of Dinky Toys
2. Principal Castings and Variations
3. The Gliding Game
4. Catalog Reference Numbers
5. Scales
6. Materials Used and ‘Metal Fatigue’
7. Directors' Models, Prototypes, and Mock Ups
8. Copies, Counterfeits, and Repaints
9. The Dinky Toys ‘Jinx’
10. Gift Sets and Trade Distribution Boxes
11. Souvenir and Individually Boxed Aircraft Toys
12. Two Key Considerations

PART TWO
The British Aircraft Produced at Binns Road Factory, Liverpool
1. The First British Aircraft, 1934-1936
2. Seaplanes and Flying Boats, 1936-1941
3. Civilian and Commercial Aircraft, 1938-1941
4. Dinky Toys Prepare for War, The Military Aircraft 1937-1941
5. Early Postwar Reissued Aircraft, 1946-1948
6. New Postwar Aircraft, 1946-48
7. The 1950s and 1960s Aircraft, 1952-1965
8. The ‘Big Planes’ Range, 1965-1979

PART THREE
The French Aircraft Produced at the Bobigny Factory, France
1. The First French Aircraft, 1935-1936
2. Civilian and Commercial Aircraft, 1937-1940
3. French Dinky Toys Prepare For War, 1938-1940
4. Seaplanes and Flying Boats, 1940
5. Early Postwar Reissued Aircraft, 1946-1948
6. The Last French Aircraft, 1956-1961

PART FOUR
Curiosities and Items of Interest for the Dinky Toys Aircraft Collector
1. Toy Museum Commemorative Models
2. John Alcott’s Dinky Toys Conversions
3. Other Items That Compliment A Dinky Collection
4. India’s Nicky Toys
5. Argentine ‘Dinky Toys’

REFERENCES
AIRCRAFT INDEX {by Dinky Toys reference number}

When you compare this to any other Dinky Toy reference work which may cover aircraft in some fashion, it should be clear that this work is much broader in scope, covers areas that have not been reviewed before in depth, and has a huge selection of never before published photographs of just about everything.

The aircraft are noted in their presumed order of appearance based on ads in Meccano Magazine and other sources, not just by reference numbered order. All aircraft are discussed from each time frame.

So it doesn't duplicate the Richardson's work or Barratt's or Du Jardin's or Jean-Michel Roulet’s, or any other of the early Dinky Toy experts, it improves upon their work and provides a one-source reference in an easy to use format that concentrates and logically presents all the information.

Also three major collections are covered in the book along with collecting guides and information never before published: photos and discussions of some rare never-before published director's models, examples of the differences in boxes, roundels, props, camouflage, finishes, parts modifications, scales used, differences in packaging systems, counterfeit toys, finish variations, gift sets, souvenir issues, trade distribution boxes, etc., and all are explained along with a profusion of photographs.

Additionally, the book covers the India Nicky Toys with photographs of every variant they produced from Dinky tooling. The long-lived rumor of Argentine Dinky Toys is also discussed and a photograph of one example is included.

I spent a year doing this because I found all the prior information lacking and not available in one, coherent reference work just covering aircraft toys. For the collector of Dinky Toys aircraft, this will be the reference to use for a long time or until the second edition with even newer information is published.

I wrote and designed this book for the careful and thorough serious collectors who seek depth and detail about the toys in their collections.

I also made a point to consult with several experts to insure that what was stated was correct and the manuscript has been reviewed by several of them.
To preview the book go to
http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2117254