No. 701 The Massive Dinky Toys Shetland
Posted: Mon May 09, 2011 1:47 pmThe Dinky Toys choice of a new postwar flying boat casting had some logic in that the British Empire had been serviced by flying boats since the 1930s and Dinky made many toys of these different aircraft. So for a very short time in 1947 a huge toy of the Short Bros. Shetland joined Dinky Toys Empire, Atlantic, Four Engine Flying Boat, and Singapore seaplanes. It was a dismal failure, both the actual aircraft which was never put into production and the Dinky Toys version which was rapidly withdrawn.
The Dinky Shetland was released as catalog number 701 by October 1947 as the first ‘SUPERTOYS’ in a simple cardboard box design with a red and white label illustrating the aircraft. It was marked 'DINKY SUPERTOYS - SHETLAND - MADE IN ENGLAND - MECCANO LTD' without the number. It carried the same registration letters as the Short Bros. prototype, G– AGVD, and was finished in all silver with a blued cockpit area. Some later versions were produced without cockpit bluing. The Shetland lacked any type of a roller hidden in the hull for playability. Because of this or perhaps due to its massive weight of over a half a pound, or the actual aircraft's failure to attract airiine interest and media coverage, the toy was not a success. It is not an easy model to find today. It can even be found in the collections of the most ‘hard core’ prewar Dinky aircraft collectors who have made an exception in their tight prewar focus for this unusual toy.
The Dinky Shetland was released as catalog number 701 by October 1947 as the first ‘SUPERTOYS’ in a simple cardboard box design with a red and white label illustrating the aircraft. It was marked 'DINKY SUPERTOYS - SHETLAND - MADE IN ENGLAND - MECCANO LTD' without the number. It carried the same registration letters as the Short Bros. prototype, G– AGVD, and was finished in all silver with a blued cockpit area. Some later versions were produced without cockpit bluing. The Shetland lacked any type of a roller hidden in the hull for playability. Because of this or perhaps due to its massive weight of over a half a pound, or the actual aircraft's failure to attract airiine interest and media coverage, the toy was not a success. It is not an easy model to find today. It can even be found in the collections of the most ‘hard core’ prewar Dinky aircraft collectors who have made an exception in their tight prewar focus for this unusual toy.
!
