Telephone Boxes

This article described the types and styles of Telephone Box that may be confused or sold as Dinky Toys.

Introduction

The classic British Telephone Box as modelled by Dinky Toys was designed by the Architect Giles Gilbert Scott. The original 1935 Dinky Toys was cream as was the custom for the K3 Box originally designed in 1929. The red box was introduced in 1936 and was designated the K6. There is an interesting article on Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_telephone_box .

The following image shows a selection of the Telephone Boxes that may be found on sales at Internet Auction Sites, Swap Meets etc. The list is not necessarily exhaustive.

This article covers those metal signs telephone boxes manufactured by the UK Meccano Ltd Company, Dinky Toys and other manufacturer’s production.

Image

The following image shows a selection of Telephone Boxes from major manufactures.

As in all the accessory identification articles the Dinky Toys box is on the left.

Identification

Firstly, Dinky Toys telephone Boxes are clearly marked on the back, “Dinky Toys, Made in England by Meccano Limited”. These were numbered 12c, pre war and early post war or 750 later post war. The pre-war versions are initially cream with silver windows and red glazing bars then red with black glazing bars. The post war ones are red but without the black detail on the glazing bars.

If a Telephone Box is not marked on the back as above, it is NOT a Dinky Toy.