Passion according to Dinky or the Way of the Cross of the Dinky Toys Simca Cargo collector.

For an entire generation in France, the term Dinky Toys was used to describe a small metal car reproduced at a scale of 1:43. It has become a generic term, like "Bic" for a ballpoint pen or "Frigidaire" for a refrigerator. It is therefore quite logical that in France the brand is cherished by collectors. This does not mean that there are no fans of other brands.

So, personally, as I have many other interests, I don't consider myself a Dinky Toys collector.

The Dinky Toys brand has a long history. Meccano has been warning customers in its catalogs about the discontinuation of certain items and encouraging them to complete their collections as quickly as possible. Dinky Toys has always been a benchmark.

So for children born between the 1930s and the 1960s, there was a dividing line between those who had Dinky Toys and those who, often due to lack of means, had not.

In the 1980s, prices began to reach new heights. This was due to the arrival of speculators. This was a category of collectors who sought to make investments, with returns taking precedence over the object's interest. The process was reversed: it was its price that made the object interesting. This led to significant excesses.

Conversely, over the years, the Dinky Toys collection has brought together fine connoisseurs, people who go very far in the variations, to a point totally unimaginable even 20 years ago.

Jean-Michel Roulet's work was already very comprehensive. Some have gone even further. For example, Mr. Claude Wagner devoted a book to pre-war Dinky Toys molds and their post-war derivatives. It is an ambitious project and a complex subject that the author has admirably managed, thanks to patient and meticulous research. This led him to develop color plates representing all the possible variations of the productions of this era. His work has been rewarded with great success in terms of sales.

Other enthusiasts have an approach I would call philatelic. They track down the slightest variation, seeking to understand, analyze, and classify it. Mr. Gougeon belongs to this category of collectors whose quest is almost scientific.

Take, for example, the reference 25 D, the Citroën 2CV fire truck. Did you know that the rear door, once opened, can have three variations? It can be smooth, bear the number one, or bear the number two.

This variant will need to be combined with rim variants, particularly concave rims, and then tire variants. For example, the nylon tires engraved with "Dunlop" that equip aluminum rims can have a smooth or notched tread pattern.

For my part, I stop well before these variants. I am content with the variations in colors, and the type of rims and molds. This is why I do not consider myself a Dinky Toys collector.

When consulting Le Robert, the first definition of "passion" is that of the passion of Christ, of suffering, of the Way of the Cross. Passion is also a strong inclination toward an object that one pursues.

Finally, passion can also be used in an extreme sense, that of fanaticism: "Violent affectivity that harms judgment, unleashes passions." With this little word, I believe we have identified the links that unite collectors with Dinky Toys!