BOLDLY GOING: A LOOK AT THE DINKY U.S.S. ENTERPRISE

 Here's a few photos of my Dinky U.S.S. Enterprise, the first licenced Star Trek die cast from Dinky,  which first appeared in 1976.

It's an impressive looking toy, even though the purists will no doubt complain its a tad disproportionate. 

The rear engine nacelles could certainly have been a little longer, but as the support struts are made of a relatively thin plastic that might have have proved problematic for the Dinky designers, as the metal nacelles set on the plastic struts are relatively heavy and struggle to stay at the correct angle. 

The saucer section is reasonably robust. However, the top section is plastic, and has a tendency to yellow in time. The large 'NCC -1701' clear sticker can also peel at the ends in time which to me gives an unsightly grimy look, plus the lettering fades. I decided to replace mine with a water slide decal.

The lower section is die-cast, and contains the simple firing mechanism for the 'photon' torpedoes. (my Enterprise has just 5 yellow torpedoes left in the weapons locker, however I believe it would have originally come with 8)

All the 'photon' torpedoes can be loaded together in the top, and rapidly fired by turning the metal 'bridge' trigger.

The main hull has a large orange sensor dish, and set of spring-loaded 'hangar' doors at the base, which when opened act as a stand for the model.

The 'hangar' houses a tiny detachable shuttlecraft in orange plastic. 

The original box which has a cardboard inner liner to protect the model, has the same painted illustration on front and back with written details in English on one side, and French on the other. The model also came with additional water slide decals which you applied to the underside of the saucer section and each side of the main hull. 

The packaging was later altered to a window box version.

A comic strip advert for the Dinky U.S.S. Enterprise from UK comic, Valiant.

The Dinky U.S.S. Enterprise was soon followed  by the release of a Klingon D7-class Battle Cruiser in 1977. This was later released as a double pack with the Enterprise, with cut-out features on the box. (A triple pack featuring the addition of a blue 'Galactic War Chariot' was advertised but was ultimately never released.)

Following that Dinky released a small Enterprise based on the updated  'Motion Picture' film version, and a small version of the Klingon Battle Cruiser. 

A small missile -firing updated Enterprise and Klingon battle cruiser, plus a  large version of the updated Enterprise was scheduled for release in 1980, but shelved, presumably due to the company's closure.

In 1982, Corgi released their own Corgi Junior versions of the updated Enterprise and Klingon Battle Cruiser to coincide with the Star Trek movie, The Wrath of Khan.