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Some Mini Dinky Preproductions up for auction
Topic Started: Jan 23 2015, 03:03 PM (3,587 Views)
250 TR
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This seller has a bunch of Mini Dinky preproduction cars up for bid. Mostly they are incomplete, but there are a few nice looking ones like this blue Chevy:
Posted Image

or this pink Cadillac:
Posted Image

Love this blue Ferrari 250 LM:
Posted Image

But the one I am most tempted by is this Ferrari Superfast shell. There's a picture of a complete one in the Mini Dinky database here, and I tried to do some research and it seems only a handful were actually made, so it's exceedingly rare.
Posted Image

His prices seem overly optimistic but they have already been dropped by more than half on some, so maybe they will keep going down. Here the full list of auctions:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/ziggeystardust/m.html?item=361190061942&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&rt=nc&LH_PrefLoc=2
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clem24
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Station Wagon
250 TR
Jan 23 2015, 03:03 PM
This seller has a bunch of Mini Dinky preproduction cars up for bid. Mostly they are incomplete, but there are a few nice looking ones like this blue Chevy:
[img]But the one I am most tempted by is this Ferrari Superfast shell. There's a picture of a complete one in the Mini Dinky database here, and I tried to do some research and it seems only a handful were actually made, so it's exceedingly rare.
Posted Image

His prices seem overly optimistic but they have already been dropped by more than half on some, so maybe they will keep going down. Here the full list of auctions:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/ziggeystardust/m.html?item=361190061942&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&rt=nc&LH_PrefLoc=2
I am going to buy this and then double the price and sell it back to you... :lol: J/K

Some nice pieces but how you can you be sure those are pre-pros?
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Dean-o-mite
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That Cadillac is nice, but not $700+ nice!
I strongly believe I could achieve a similar result, with a silver production version, and a pack of RIT dye. Now, to find a decently priced silver one to play with!!
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250 TR
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Clem, I'm not familiar enough with the brand to know every casting that was released and in what colors, but I do know the Ferrari 250 LM was never offered in blue, so that is clearly a prepro and the 400 Superfast was never offered at all, so all of the examples out there of that one are prepros. Looks like someone bought the Superfast already. If it had the doors, hood and trunk lid I might have thought harder about it, but being so incomplete I don't think I need it that bad. Anyone here buy it?

Dean, yeah the prices are a little out there, but you should have seen them a few days ago. The blue Ferrari 250 I think was originally listed at $3000! If he's dropped that much in just a few days, maybe they will come down enough to generate some interest. The preproduction factor doesn't mean a lot to me in this case, as like you, I'd just assume buy a regular issue and repaint it. But I know a lot of collectors love things like that so I hope they can find good homes for whoever might be willing.
Edited by 250 TR, Jan 24 2015, 02:28 AM.
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69ch
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General 01
Thanks for posting this Ben. I like to follow Mini Dinky and for some reason these auctions did not show up in my searches.

Very interesting to say the least. Now only if my wallet would agree and submit lol.

From here everything seems to line up and appears legit.

I saved this picture for my own personal use and when the auctions are long gone it will still be here.

Posted Image

Eric
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juantoo3
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Does the seller have any provenance to offer? Is s/he a former employee, family or heir of an employee, is there a letter of reference from original owner?...something, anything, to substantiate the "prepro" claim? If not I would be suspicious seeing that many models. Yes, the SF America is an unreleased model, but the odd color paints are not indicative all by themselves...as pointed out an unscrupulous seller can easily recolor a model. I would need to see provenance before shelling out that kind of money...presuming I had that kind of money to shell out.

One thing in their favor that seems to indicate prepro...they aren't crumbling!
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pjedsel
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My two crumbled Chevy's were both yellow. Interesting to see that these have all held together over the years.
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69ch
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Quote:
 
Does the seller have any provenance to offer?


I see what you are saying Wes.

The blue interior on the Ferrari 250 is a big indicator though thats its prepro and would be very difficult to fake.

I suppose for this kind of money it could be worth somebody to go to a lot of trouble trying to fool us. The seller has a good feedback record and Im not sure they would toss that out the window. And yes if I were serious about buying anything here I certainly would be asking many questions.

Eric
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Mikey 1/64
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juantoo3
Jan 24 2015, 09:56 AM

One thing in their favor that seems to indicate prepro...they aren't crumbling!
I agree with Juantoo that the lack of metal fatigue indicates that these probably are genuine prepro's (not to mention the presence of TWO Aston Martin DB6's, a Jag Mk.X and a GT40 in Eric's image!!).

The prepro models would likely have been produced at the home factory in England, using Dinky's usual high quality alloy. It's the sub-contracted Hong Kong factory's inferior metal that causes some of the production models to crumble.
Edited by Mikey 1/64, Jan 25 2015, 06:02 PM.
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69ch
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The plug has been pulled on all the auctions ... The things that make you go hmmmmm ...

Eric
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69ch
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And relisted for pennies!
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Dean-o-mite
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I sense a very well-orchestrated advertising campaign.
"ziggeystardust" joined here as a member recently and asked if we knew anything about some specific pre-pro Mini Dinky models. That plants Mini Dinky in our minds to cause one or more of us to search eBay.
That inevitable search leads to the buy it now 'auctions' with huge price tags, from a seller with the same name. We all have a discussion about them and lots of us add them to our watch lists. And I bet we are not the only board talking about them!! Now that there is a large audience paying close attention, they go up for actual auction, with a pool of interested bidders already amassed and ready to go to battle against one another.
Very clever marketing, indeed!
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69ch
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Small world ... Come join the talks Ziggey!

Eric
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jedimario
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Dean, you might just be right!
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juantoo3
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shrewd and clever!
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69ch
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juantoo3
Jan 26 2015, 10:27 AM
Shrewd and clever!
Could it backfire ... The relisted auctions have been posted for over 24 hours and little interest shown thus far. Yes its
still early although if a car is chronic then normally it piles on several token bids right away.

Words posted here from the seller, since they inquired, would be most helpful.

Eric
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Dean-o-mite
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His only words were posted in the shoutbox, and they're old enough now that they can no longer be accessed. He asked about Mini Dinky Ferrari, Jaguar and another. I posted in the shoutbox afterwards, welcoming him and referencing the Mini Dinky Database we have here, but he hasn't been back to visit the site since, so it is possible that unless someone alerts him through ebay that we have questions for him, he may never see this discussion.
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250 TR
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I suspect most interested parties are biding their time until the auctions get closer to ending. I'd love if that's not the case though and the interest isn't there, as I do plan on bidding on both Ferrari 250 LM's, although I suspect I'll get outbid.

Was the 250 LM ever produced in that color red? I know most were dark red and I know I've seen the plain red before I'm not sure if it was a production model or not.
Edited by 250 TR, Jan 26 2015, 07:40 PM.
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69ch
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Good eye on the shout box.

Lets bring light to the subject ... Time will tell ... :D

Eric
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jedimario
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RAWR
A boxed Osaka Castle set was auctioned recently. It sat with no bids (at $2000 though) until after it had less than 2 days left and still fetched $3600, plus another 150 for shipping.
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Dean-o-mite
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Me thinks there are a few hardcore collectors around the world who are plugging these into their sniper bidding sites, so final prices could be substantially greater at auction end, versus with 5 seconds remaining on the clock.
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69ch
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I contacted the seller with this message.

"Hello,

Just a quick message. There is a lot of chatter about the Mini Dinky prepro auctions and solid additional information on your part will bring the light. Serious collectors are interested and if disclosure is presented the numbers will rise.

Here is a link to a discussion.

http://swiftysgarage.net/topic/7327433/1/#new

Looking forward to future communication.

Cheers
Eric "

No reply would equal zero in my book.

Eric

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ziggeystardust
Microcar
Hi everyone, Sorry I am new to this site and actually find it quite hard to navigate to threads / discussions etc. Anyway someone messaged me on ebay with a useful link...thanks. Well then, I am 'ziggeystardust', presently selling the pre-pro mini-dinky cars on ebay which seem to have got some of you quite hot under the collar. First of all let me reassure you that they are all pre-production cars designed by Line Bros approximately between 1966 & 1968.
To answer a few questions in a bit more detail.
1. Provenance - I purchased these as a set with some original Mini-Dinky technical drawings from Line Bros and a few others from Lesney of the same era, they all came from a Line Bros draughtsman/designer.
2. As suggested the alloy is indeed in very good condition, no signs of rot at all, so it is almost certainly correct that the castings were completed in the UK using higher grade materials prior to actual production in Hong Kong (1967-68)
3. None of the colours have been tampered with in any way what so ever - I take this particular comment to heart, to do such a thing would be a criminal offence, show a complete lack of integrity and at the very least lead to a straight chargeback via PayPal for item not as described - so what would be the point? If you have any suspicion then let me just tell you right now that it is completely not warranted.
4. Selling price - well then, I had nothing to compare these items with to determine value...pre-pro mini-dink cars are not exactly common. I initially pitched them in line with matchbox prepro's but soon realised that the market for mini-dinky was quite niche. I started items on a buy-it-now in the region of £500 to £700 depending on the model which seemed reasonable to me at the time. However, after a week, I started dropping prices due to the lack of 'watchers' and apparent lack of interest. This trend continued so I reverted to what I would call my normal ebay position of having a 50p start, in the event that a product will find it's correct price in open competition. In the past I have sold thousands of items in this way...my philosophy is this.... I win on some and lose on some...isn't that just life!
5. So what other Pre-Pro Mini-Dinky do I have??? -
A) Yes... a pristine #17 Aston Martin - to my limited knowledge, and without prejudice, only 1 has ever come to market having belonged to the MD of Dinky?
B) Yes.... a #29 Ford GT40 - missing the doors with a transparent square block set of seats - I can't find an example of this anywhere...and I have some of the plans for it - might be the only example of it's kind.
C) Yes.... a #29 Mk Ten Jag on a resin base - two interiors but no doors or glass - To my knowledge this might be the only example of it's kind.
D) WHAT ELSE....Well I have three previously completely unknown Mini-Dinky examples...they are not in any book, catalogue, forum or website that I can find so I deem them to be unknown...... I have a #35 Mini-Dinky Rambler Ambassador but it is not complete...... I have a complete set of technical drawings for #36 Mini-DinkyFord Thunderbird...... I have a No 37 Chevrolet Camaro with two different bonnets - no interior or glass but essentially complete.
I uploaded approx 4 pictures of each of these to Vectis, but they didn't bother to reply with any hint of valuation so I have no real idea of what they are worth...Do you?
So anyway, I wanted to find out more about these cars so I tried calling someone called 'Rick' at Die Cast Collector magazine, I left a few messages, and he left one, but we haven't spoken in person yet. I was under the impression though that he was very interested and wanted more information and to run a magazine article / story. I also contacted BBC Scene SouthEast as I thought to find unknown Dinky cars might be of some interest...but nothing, no response.
So finally, i've posted loads of pictures on ebay which you are all free to save for your own reference, If I can help to answer any more of your questions then I will do so, suggest trying to contact me either here or through ebay. If I can figure out how to do so, then, I will upload some pictures to this forum of the cars for your enjoyment, future reference and records.
I thought about putting my phone number on here but then thought again, probably against the rules.
Best regards
Ziggeystardust
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juantoo3
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for the response.

I am sorry if you mistook my caution for an accusation, but I am a naturally suspicious person, been burned too many times by others.

Mini Dinks do have a strong if small following, I expect your auctions to do well. Seeing a bit of provenance offered here goes a long way towards validating these. They are certainly interesting pieces!

With your permission I would like to save copies of your images to our database here at Swiftys, please?
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69ch
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Ask nicely and receive!

Welcome to Swifty's Garage and have fun Ziggey!

Eric
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