Description

In General

Wonderful iconic English Dinky Toys / Meccano Ltd designed and produced – Lady Penelope’s boxed 100 FAB1 diecast Meccano model in pale pink. A modified 6 wheel drive Rolls Royce that featured in the hit Gerry Anderson cult TV series “Thunderbirds”. Owned in the series by International Rescue agent Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, the car is usually driven by her butler, Aloysius Parker. The driver sits in a central position at the front of the passenger compartment which is covered by a bulletproof bubble canopy. This was Dinky’s first TV character toy and was hugely successful in 1966 and beyond.

Dinky had beaten Corgi to the rights from Lew Grade’s ITC, to produce the model and it was shortly followed by the 101Thunderbird 2. FAB1 may never have been made as Doug McHard the marketing manager at Dinky said that getting a character into merchandising was seen as a huge gamble! The model remained in production for 11 years as so popular.

In Thunderbirds, FAB1 was modified by Brains, the inventor of Thunderbird machines. The FAB1 machine gun was replaced by a missile for the Dinky model such as this one. FAB1 was fitted with a front rocket launcher behind the front radiator grill that has to be tipped forward manually and is activated by pressing the front wheels down. Unfortunately the rocket launcher and spring are missing from this model. Four harpoons were also provided to be fired out of the back of the car by pressing the rear wheels down or two could be fired by pressing down on on the left wheel and the other two by pressing on the right.This model has two out of the four harpoons and the firing mechanism is still working perfectly. Underneath the moveable roof canopy are the figures of the chauffeur Parker and Lady Penelope! The bubble tray box has a warning sticker to urge caution when firing the missiles! The first version and the most common seat colour was gold as per this model.

Key Features: Totally original and unrestored, comes in original bubble tray box and bubble top, rare pale pink coachwork, well shaped tyres, six jewelled headlights all intact, well functioning suspension, FAB1 number plate present front and back, clear sliding canopy with the chauffeur Parker and Lady Penelope sitting beneath on clean gold seats and interior. Flying Lady mascot is missing from the radiator. All box flaps are present. Two of the four harpoons are present and fire out of the back of the car. The rocket launcher and rocket are missing.

Dinky Toys was the brand name for a range of die-cast zamak zinc alloy scale model vehicles produced by British Toy Company Meccano Ltd. They were made in England from 1934 to 1979 at a factory in Binns Road in Liverpool.

Year of Manufacture

1973

Material

Die cast metal.

Designer, Producer and Marks

Dinky Toys brand – designed and produced by Meccano Ltd.

Marked: “Dinky Toys Meccano Ltd Made in England” – as marked on the underside of Fab1. “Lady Penelope’s FAB1 Thunderbirds” also marked on the underside.

Marks on the top of the box tray include “UK Prov Pat No 8138/71 C1973 Meccano Ltd” “Based on Gerry Anderson’s TV series THUNDERBIRDS Licensed by Century 21 Merchandising Ltd., London, England. C1966 A.P. Films Ltd.”

Condition

This piece is in excellent vintage condition with its original tray box and bubble cover. Fab1 is structurally sound with no cracks or restoration.

There is minimal paint loss on the car itself. There is some paint loss on the chrome and underneath on the base plate. The wear is consistent with its age and use. The radiator grill has a tendency to tip forward but can be pushed back into position where it stays. The cardboard tray is in excellent condition with some surface loss due to sellotape use/ being removed. There is a split in the cardboard tray on the underside which is not visible as underneath. The bubble top is discoloured due to its age. There are six short side splits in the bubble tray and a small triangular area of loss – this piece is in the box.

Dimensions ( L x W x H )

Fab1 – 14.5 cm x 5.5 cm x 4 cm or 5.70 inches x 2.16 inches x 1.57 inches

Bubble Tray Box and Bubble Top – 19.5 cm x 8 cm x 7 cm or 7.67 inches x 3.14 inches x 2.75 inches

Weight

279 grams or 0.615 pounds

Shipping

We use trusted couriers in the UK and across the World. We tend to use Royal Mail Special Delivery and Parcelforce 48 in the UK and Royal Mail, Transglobal, DHL and Fedex Worldwide. Purchases are very carefully wrapped and packed using high quality packing materials and extra strong boxes. All parcels are comprehensively insured and sent at the risk of Chapman Pugh Ltd.

Please be aware that there maybe customs and/or tax payments due on the parcels arrival in the buyers country. This varies from country to country. Any additional customs and/or tax payments are the responsibility of the buyer.

ALL SHIPPING COSTS ARE REFUNDED IF LESS THAN STATED BELOW:

Shipping Costs: 

United Kingdom £8.95

Europe £25.24

United States and Canada £48.07

Rest of the World £45.20

Please message us for a precise shipping quote for Europe and the Rest of the World. It may be possible to obtain lower prices than those stated depending on the shipping address.