[Moved from Aviation Page 4 on 12 Feb 04]
From the main Aviation page, here are the images of the Armstrong Whitworth Ensign and other models of the WWII era, from old Dinky Meccano catalogs, as supplied by the Dutch correspondent:
(Photos cropped from Dutch images of Dinky catalogs)
[Thumbnail images - click on photos for larger images.]
Hullo! What have we here? That so-called Ensign in the right-hand photos has two-bladed silver props and seems to have much deeper wing tips and completely different horizontal stabilizer (tail) tips:
(Photos cropped from Dutch images of Dinky catalogs)
[Thumbnail images - click on photos for larger images.]
I don't think the right-hand photos depict an Ensign at all! I tracked down our Dutch friend and am checking further; stay tuned! The odd-ball four-engined model may well turn out to be an AW15 Atalanta. Said correspondent was also going to try to identify the other aircraft in the box and photos.
Just for comparison, here's the Dinky Meccano model of the Avro York; quite different, with a rectangular fuselage and a triple vertical stabilizer (tail) empennage:
[Photos cropped from Dutch image of hand-painted Dinky model
in camouflage; and the original in silver/alumin(i)um.]
Here, courtesy of the The British Berlin Airlift Association's Aircraft That Operated on the Airlift page, is the real Avro York:
Oh, hey! The York has in-line engines! A dead give-away (unless she was re-engined).
This is ALL wrong! The model in the box has broad, rounded horizontal planes and the Ensign has high-aspect-ratio trapzoidal planes and a single tail fin! ???
[Dec 99 - Corgi makes an Avro York in a slightly larger scale (1/72? - my old Dinky was probably 1/144) and now has an executive version@.]
@ - from Corgi: "Corgi 47204 - AVRO YORK - RAF Kings Flight - Avro York LV633 "Ascalon" was built for use by King George VI and Winston Churchill. It began service in May 1943 and was mainly used by the Prime Minister. After the war it served in the Far East for three years and was scrapped in 1954. (Available April) - Wingspan 216mm."
The Dutch gentleman kindly sent this cutaway of the Ensign (artistic license makes it look like a civilian British version of our giant Boeing B-15):
(A.W. Ensign Cut-Away Drawing.)
[click on thumbnailed drawing for larger image.]
Sr. Eduardo Carbone of Buenos Aires writes (20 Aug 07 - slightly
edited) that "the model of four motors is actually an Atalanta.
The cardbox with the 6 aircraft was initially sold by Dinky as civil
aircraft (as a kid I got this version). The planes were named
as: Imperial Airways Liner (Atalanta), General Monospar (bimotor), DH
Leopard Moth (high-winged monoplane), Percival Gull (low wing
monoplane), low-wing monoplane ??? (with radial motor), and La Cierva
Autogiro. Afterward I was presented with another similar cardbox
but with all the planes camouflaged as in your photo and titled as
bombers or fighters (the war was the war and business is
business...)!!!"
Motorized Dinky Airplanes? - It's news to me but it
seems there were Dinky airplanes with motors back ca. 1975 or
so. I heard from a gentleman who is searching for replacement
motors for two old dinky die cast toys from his childhood. The
motors in question are Mabuchi RM-01 1.5v and are 20mm in length with
a 28mm diameter and a 14mm shaft. The motors, which were last
made in 1972, are needed to repower a Spitfire 719 and a Messerschmitt
109e and suitable replacements have not been found. Can anyone
out there help?
(21 Mar 08)
Hornby Trains
All I can remember about Hornby Trains is that they were the originator of
"Hornby Double-O", "OO" (1:76.2), which was the direct ancestor of HO
(1:87.1). In addition, it was, or became, part of Meccano. If I remember
correctly, both scales use the same 16.5mm (~271/32") gauge track.
Britain's
Britains, Ltd. (or William Britain) really is unrelated to Dinky/Meccano but I'll add this
little bit here; if more turns up, I'll add it to my Military
Miniatures page.
Other than the olive drab wheels with white rubber t(i)(y)res (noted on the previous
page) from old Britains vehicles, I didn't recall that I had ANY surviving Britains, Ltd.
(or William Britain) pieces (other than late-model RCMP and London Guards figures)
until it dawned on me that there was a modified cannon in my "Fourth of July" box.
Sure enough, there it was (I was sure that I'd just written this up elsewhere - it
turned up on my Military Miniatures page - more there); I
had modified the breech so that, when I fired caps in it, the smoke and flame would
issue from the muzzle, instead of spewing sideways from under the striker.
I assume it is a 24/25-pounder:
(10 Aug 2005 photos by and © S. Berliner, III - all righhts reserved)
Over the many years (50?), the corrosives from the gunpowder have worked their
way along the joint between the two halves of the barrel, leaving a very light deposit
of white corrosion; other than that, she's in rather good shape for a very heavily-used
old timer.
There is no model number on the piece, only the name "BRITAINS" under the trail and
an auctioneer lists it as a "Naval Gun".
{more to follow}
MAJOR REFERENCE LINK!
Keith Harvie's MECCANO DINKY TOYS
& HORNBY TRAINS site, especially his
DINKY TOYS IDENTIFICATION INDEX - MILITARY. Keith also has a
For Sale Index which shows many cars, trucks, planes, and such, but that is
dependent on what he has available at the moment. Harvie also sells
spare tires, tracks, and some parts.
THUMBS UP!
THUMBS UP! - Support your local police, fire, and emergency personnel!
S. Berliner, III
To contact S. Berliner, III, please click here.
© Copyright S. Berliner, III -
2004, 2005, 2007,
2008
- All rights reserved.
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