Wednesday 15 December 2010

DINKY v CORGI - 1960'S


See if I was forced into a darkened room when I was a kid, then tied to a chair and had electrodes clamped to my ears by some assertive market researcher who, while turning the current up higher & higher, asked me if I preferred Dinky or Corgi cars to play with?
I think I'd choose Corgi.
I suppose size-wise you got more car for your money with Dinky but I reckon the quality of finish on a Corgi was just a touch more superior.
Having said that, I sometimes had problems with Corgi's rubber tyres slipping off the wheels when cornering. Dinky, who had a harder rubber compound would tend to stay on when put through similar rigorous tests!
Notice the car from "Joe 90"? Well some of the "celeb" cars I had in my collection in the 60's were - James Bond's (bullet proof screen & ejector seat) - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (which I hung "flying" from the ceiling) - FAB 1 from Thunderbirds - The Green Hornet limo, and a couple of others.
One I always wanted but never got, was the Batmobile. Possibly the best of the 60's cars, but unfortunately for me, proved too elusive!
Top ad is 1966.
Mid ad is 1969.
Bottom ad is 1969.
Click on the ads to read the larger versions.

3 comments:

  1. Dear Mr. Retro, I hope you kept your cars as some of them command good money nowadays. Just take a peek at what some of them get on ebay. If you had an original James Bond Aston Martin in its box (made by Corgi I think) you would be laughing.

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  2. I had the James Bond Aston Martin with the ejector seat (and the doors used to fly open as well). Unfortunately, it was bought as a present for me in the early 1980s when I was a wee nipper, so I'm guessing it was a "remake" (plus, even if it was the original, the box will be long gone). It's still in my parents' house somewhere.

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