I remember well Christmas morning of 1956. I was 11. One of my cherished gifts was from my grandfather, a Dinky Toys Euclid Rear Dump Truck. These toys of that era were virtually indestructible. This truck had hard use under me then under my sons and finally ended up in a box that somehow escaped being thrown out. Some years ago I found it. The tires were rotted, the front axle was bent and the paint was badly chipped. I wish now I’d taken pictures. Several years ago I restored it. I was able to buy a set of tires from s Dinky enthusiast who lived here in Richmond, I found an enamel in virtually a perfect match allowing me to touch up the truck, and I simply straightened the front axle. This 65 year old truck now leads an easy life on display. I can’t remember last Tuesday but I remember that Christmas some 65 years ago hearing my grandfather’s voice saying, “David, I hope you like it.” I sure did, and still do. It’s a treasure today!
Here it is with two pictures of actual Euclid trucks that are as close as I could find to the the Dinky Toys model.
What a great story from your childhood David. This prompted a similar Christmas flashback for me as well. It was 1959 (I was 7) and a couple (who had moved to Canada from Birmingham, England) who were friends of my parents knew I was crazy about Matchbox and Dinky Toys. They gave me a Dinky green Foden chain lorry for Christmas; I thought I had died and gone to heaven. It was the first Dinky Supertoy I ever had. I played with that truck for years and of course it eventually went the way of most kids toys. I replaced it around 2000 with a MB one but sadly it was one of the many items stolen from me in 2017. I still have a maroon Foden chain lorry in MB condition though and love it; but one day I will get another green one just for nostalgia sake. They are rather pricey now though, as I'm sure you know.
The spare parts fellow in Virginia was probably Ken Mick. Is he still doing parts, tyres, decals, etc for Dinkys and Corgis? I've done more than a few restorations with his items. Here's one, a Bristol Britannia aircraft. Sorry not 43rd scale but 200th scale.
What a beautiful restoration of that Bristol Britannia aircraft. There is something very satisfying about bringing a model back to life. Yes, it was Ken Mick from whom I got the tires for my Euclid Dinky. We met over lunch here in Richmond back in 2017 I think it was. Hard to believe it was five years ago now.
The Euclid (later in Terex decoration) is one that has escaped me. But I have the Matchbox version.
Way back in elementary school at our annual carnival someone's parent arranged to have a Euclid show up. The dump body was full of straw and kids could climb up in it for a brief ride.
What a beautiful restoration of that Bristol Britannia aircraft. There is something very satisfying about bringing a model back to life. Yes, it was Ken Mick from whom I got the tires for my Euclid Dinky. We met over lunch here in Richmond back in 2017 I think it was. Hard to believe it was five years ago now.
Thanks, Has anyone had contact with Ken Mick recently? Is he still in the parts business?
The Bristol Britannia was also built by Canadair as the CL-44. Flying Tiger air freight bought a number to replace their aging Lockheed Super Constellations and because they were loosing these in crashes.
