Police Boxes

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

Introduction

The classic British Police Box as modelled by Dinky Toys was designed by Gilbert MacKenzie Trench in 1929. The police box was superseded by mobile communications. There is an article on the on Wikipedia at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_box .

This police box was made famous as the Tardis in The BBC Doctor Who Sci-fi series recently revived.

The following image shows a selection of the Police 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 Police Boxes manufactured by the UK Meccano Ltd Company, Dinky Toys and other manufacturer’s production.

Image

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

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

Identification

Firstly, Dinky Toys Police Boxes are clearly marked inside under the roof, “Dinky Toys, Made in England by Meccano Limited”. These were numbered 42a, pre war and early post war or 751 later post war. They are all dark blue; post war examples have a slightly darker blue. The beacon is red in early examples and was left off in the last production post war.

If a Police Box is not marked on inside as above, it is NOT a Dinky Toy.