On Wednesday 6th September Vectis Auctions will offer an outstanding collection of Dinkys. The man behind this magnificent group, Steve Bonney provides the history to the sale -

"My love of Dinky Toys began as young boy of five in the late fifties. I remember being fascinated by the colourful liveries and faithful reproductions of vehicles I could see regularly on the roads. The classic catalogues featuring the Mersey Tunnel, Big Ben and the Statue of Eros were studied endlessly.

At that time, I had limited interest in cars. I had a large collection of military models but my main interest lay in commercial vehicles. Something as simple as a box of dried peas could add significant play value to an Elevator Loader and a Euclid Tipper. I was lucky to have a great uncle who owned a hardware shop which also sold Dinky Toys and Meccano and a friend of my Dad, who had no family of his own, took me under his wing and regularly turned up with an iconic blue and white striped box containing the latest model. Mears Toy Shop in Preston was also an important supplier. In those days, young lads played with model vehicles for longer than they do today and it was only on starting secondary school that my love of Dinkies began to wane as I started to discover football and girls (in no particular order). Twenty years elapsed. In 1985, purely by chance, I came across a toy fair being held in a Liverpool hotel. I realised that with a bit of searching, it was possible to find the Dinky Toys of my childhood, in mint or near mint condition and still in their original boxes. The "collecting gene? kicked in and there was no turning back.

My initial objective was to acquire all the models I had as a boy which were still owned, but in a very play-worn condition. I achieved this quite quickly. The next ambition was to assemble a reference collection, at least one example of every model issued between 1946 and 1963. This, I never managed. At this time I was also buying Corgi and Spot-On but these imposters were soon sold in order to concentrate on more important matters. Local toy fairs were unable to provide models of the quality I wanted so I moved on to the national fairs including Donnington, NEC and Sandown which, for a while offered richer pickings. Auctions, particularly Vectis, were becoming an increasingly important source and I became a regular bidder at the Buckingham auction. All the models in the collection have come from established and reputable dealers and auction houses. Many were acquired from Vectis who will now have the opportunity to sell them again!

I loved the adrenaline rush that came from paddling at a live auction and in April 2003, reached what was probably the high point in my collecting career when I was the winning bidder on a 505 Foden First Cab Chain Lorry in maroon for what was, at the time, a world record price for a post war model. When the hammer went down, I remember there being a brief round of applause. I was slightly shocked to have won and the whole episode felt like an out of body experience. Later in the week, the Daily Mail took great delight in pointing out that the auction price was higher than the showroom price of a Mini Cooper, which at least could be driven away. How little they understood??????..

The models included in this auction are part of our heritage and must be preserved. It would be a tragedy if they passed into the hands of my grandchildren who would not value them and would soon have them in the garden. For the last six or seven years I have been inactive as a collector and right from the beginning, it was always my intention to put the models back on the market eventually so they could pass into the hands of new owners who would love and cherish them in the way I have for the past thirty years. So, good luck to all prospective bidders hoping to acquire a small piece of history".

Steve Bonney, 2017

To view all the lots in the sale click here.

For more information about the sale please contact Andrew Reed on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call +44 (0) 1642 750616.