Description: Before the Routemaster, London buses were half-cab models: the AEC Regent III and the Leyland Titan, with front-mounted engines and an open rear platform where the conductor stood. Dinky reproduced this design very early on, starting in 1938 under reference 29c – one of its most enduring molds – renumbered 290 in 1954. To boost the appeal of such a common subject, Meccano came up with the idea of making it an advertising medium and printing the Dunlop "The World's Master Tyre" advertisement on its sides: a charming detail, and also a dating marker. The mold even existed with two grilles, one AEC type, the other Leyland type. On this particular model, the green-painted zamac "moumée" rims and their separate black rubber tyres indicate an early production, prior to the green plastic wheels that appeared around 1962. The mold's career ended around 1963; it was the brand new Routemaster, reference 289, that then took over as the London bus in the Dinky catalog. The offered model is appealing due to its complete Dunlop livery and its uniformity: everything is original, from the axles to the radiator, and it is precisely the "zamac wheels" version that is most sought after by collectors.