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johnnyangel wrote:
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<p>Chris,</p>
<p>Yes, 1972 indeed! That was the year of my first-ever visit to the UK as a 16-year-old, and as ever I was on the lookout for Dinky Toys. I purchased the Mini-Dinky Corvette (and maybe others) from a London newsagents, and was thereafter bemused by claims that Mini Dinkies had never been sold in Britain.</p>
<p>it is sometimes claimed that the “big 6”’ American Dinky Toys from Hong Kong were not sold in Britain either, but we know that is also untrue. It’s just that the outlets were different from the usual stockists.</p>
<p>i am sure your point that this was related to Tri-ang going bust in 1971 is spot-on (no pun intended). Of course as a young collector I had no idea what was going on.</p>
<p>Cheers!</p>
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<p>The Tri-ang crash in 1971 which also included Meccano sent shock waves in the toy industry at the time. Tri-ang had their own retail outlets and these disappeared overnight. Yes, areas were sold off but his spelled the beginning of the end for toy manufacture in the UK. One thing about Tri-ang is they realised that toy production in the Far East AKA Hong Kong was the future to remain profitable and indeed Mattels Hot Wheels line distributed everywhere except the USA were made in Hong Kong.</p>
<p>Regarding the Hong Kong Big 6 two were officially imported into the UK - the Rivieria and the Impala. Although neither were illustrated in the UK catalogues they were both mentioned in the price lists. I remember seeing them in a large Department store in the late 1960’s not in their toy section but in the bargain basement!</p>
<p>Hope this helps</p>
<p>Chris</p>