Hello,


My 3 year old son has recently become attached to this car he found whilst at his grandma's house. It looks like it's had a bit of wear and tear and the rear wheels are very worn.


I'd be grateful if somebody has more information about the car.


 

Hello! Your son has excellent taste. This is a Dinky 23D Auto-Union Racing Car and this example is in excellent condition, with a bit of metal fatigue to the wheels, and I believe it is also a pre-war issue as it has a driver, which would make it quite rare (I'm sure some of our early Dinky experts can confirm that). 


I also wouldn't advise playing with it too heavily, as based on some recent online sales, it's probably worth around £100 to £150.

Great find. As the smooth hubs as evidence, it IS pre war. In fact 1936 - 38. To be more accurate a picture of the base plate is necessary.


I agree with Baskingshark, put it away and buy your son what ever other car he wants.

Has the gran mother many other Dinky Toys like this ?

Wow. Thanks for the replies. Think I better accidentally hide it from him and take him into town then.


Unsure if the mother in law to be has anymore hidden away. Will have to ask next time we're round there.


Here is a picture of the underneath of the car. As you can see the rear wheels have worn so they are flat in places.

You're welcome - I should also probably add that as a pre-war toy, this probably has about multiple times the amount of lead in the paint that modern toy safety regulations allow! I'd definitely recommend accidentally hiding it and buying him some Hot Wheels instead!


The tyres are the original ones, I think, and frequently go soft and develop flat spots over time. Also, take care with the front wheels, as the hubs look to have metal fatigue (visible as the fine network of cracks all over them). This is common in pre-war Dinkies, and is due to impurities in the metal used. Over time, this cracks and crumbles, so the wheels are quite fragile. This should not affect the value, however, as pre-war Dinkies are so rare, and this one really is in amazing condition body and paint-wise.

Hello thecraftymagpire and welcome to TC and it is sometimes surprising what is hiding around grandma's house as there maybe more.

Welcome to Toy Collector. This is the way to introduce yourself, fine model you have there and quite rare as others have already said. In very good condtion and work quite a bit of cash to the right person. Thanks for showing this. Got to love Grandma and her saving things.

the Auto Union usually comes in a racing set... maybe some more racers hidden in the broom cupboard???

worth a look.

Hi, One of my favourite models:


I've noticed from your base plate picture that no rivets are present, it is crimped in place instead.  This dates your example to pre 1938 so rarer still!  Please have a look at the previous article (page 8 at time of posting) Dinky Auto Union 23d, which contains a lot of information on this model.

I think your refering to this post?
www.planetdiecast.com/index.php?option=c...6&Itemid=0#54106

Although also covered in this post, there is an earlier article on Page 8 called "Dinky Auto Union 23d" How do you add a link to another article, is it the full URL?


Thanks

thecraftymagpie


You have won the loterie. This is a very first 1936 issue with crimped base plate and no rivets. As the base plates fell out the next lot was provided with riveted base plate. The same applies to the Mercedes and Speed of the Wind.


At that time Meccano was still looking for the best way to make model cars and these three were the first of a long line of Dinky Toys.


This car called "Rekord Limousine" has been developed in 1934 and raced on february 15, 1935 on the Florence - Lucca autostrada. Driven by Hans Stuck, the recorded speed was 320.2 km/h (198.88 m.p.h.) over a mile.

Wow - then it really has survived amazingly well, and is likely worth even more than I suggested it might be.

 


 


 


Yep, just copy paste the URL.

This is the link:


www.planetdiecast.com/index.php?option=c...9108&Itemid=2455


(Firefox does not seem to like pasting within these pages, but ctrl+V works instead)


 


There are also pictures in this article of a 23d the same in the same colour scheme as thecraftymagpie's but not in the same condition!