If you need a big heavy duty tow truck then look no further than Scammell Recovery Tractor.
Indicated only as Recovery Tractor #661, Dinky issued this under their Dinky Supertoys which was introduced in 1947 by Meccano LTD. Supertoys were commonly packaged in white boxes with thin blue horizontal lines and were marketed all on their own.
You may noticed that the box indicated (with windows). That’s because Dinky offerings although at that time were striking, there were no interior nor clear plastic windows in their model. Then in July 1956, Mettoy, a rival company introduced a line of models under the Corgi brand name with the most obvious difference was the addition of clear plastic window glazing. Corgi Toys called their vehicles, “The Ones With Windows”. So Dinky decided to re-released some of their models with clear plastic windows to compete with Corgi.
Of course besides the Dinky toy originating in England, Scammell Lorries Limited was a British manufacturer of trucks from 1921 to 1988 so this is as British as you can get.
There are no opening parts on this vehicle but it does have some play value.
The winding instrument located besides the truck is a mechanism used to raise and lower the tow hook at the back which is tied to a string.
As you can see on both pictures above there is a metal lever that locks the gear where the string is wound so the tow hook can remain in its place when an object such as another vehicle is hooked on it.
Unlike the SHADO mobiles also made by Dinky which has a rocket firing mechanism which makes it more exciting for kids, this one only has the towing mechanism which still merits a 4.5 out of 5 for play value.
Here is the real deal.
