Some photos of the Dinky Toys 357, ‘Klingon’ Battle Cruiser, which was released in 1977.
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The die-cast & plastic model is a reasonable representation of the D7 Class Klingon warship seen in the original Star Trek series, although for some reason, possibly so the model sits right when on a flat surface. the long boom connecting the rear main section to the bulbous front slopes down!
I’ve already covered the Dinky Toys, U.S.S. Enterprise, curiously numbered 358, which and released in 1976. It’s play value included using the inside of the saucer section to load and repeatedly fire ‘Photon’ torpedoes.
https://projectswordtoys.blogspot.com/2022/10/boldly-going-look-at-dinky-uss.html
The Battle Cruiser also has firing ‘Photon’ torpedoes, although these are loaded into the top of the bulbous section and fired individually using the port side canard fin which doubles as a trigger.
Like the Dinky U.S.S. Enterprise, the Battle Cruiser was originally released in an enclosed cardboard box, after which at some point this was changed to a window box.
Apart from the Battle Cruiser, the box contained 8 ‘Photon’ torpedoes, and a set of spare waterslide decals.
Early models have sharp rear wing tips, which were rounded off on later models, presumably due to safety reasons, as the plastic Nacelle engines are prone to break off and expose the sharp points.
In 1978, Dinky Toys released a gift pack, numbered 309 containing both the Enterprise and the Battle Cruiser. The back featured a cut-out Star Trek communicator.
Finally some Dinky Toy adverts for the Klingon Battle Cruiser. One from ‘Battle’ comic, and the other from ‘Meccano’ magazine. I find this interesting as it shows the Battle Cruiser in what appears to be an early red & blue mock up stage.
may’Duj
Interesting. It's a good toy actually (and great photos). I only recently found out that amt paid for the Klingon battle cruiser to be made for the original series so that they could sell the kit of it!
ReplyDeleteIt takes an amazing amout of talent to make a toy spaceship look real.
ReplyDeleteWere these released in the US? That was the height of my ST fandom activity. Not only didn't I see ads, I didn't see them at the conventions.
ReplyDeleteYes, they were available in the US. I still have one, purchased at a toy store in Florida. I also saw them in stores in Virginia.
DeleteOh, and how could I forget; the last time I saw them in a store for sale was at the Smithsonian National Air And Space Museum gift shop in the late 1980s!
DeleteInteresting about the front boom sloping downward. When Star Trek TMP was in production, there was a turf war amongst the VFX modelmakers over this very issue! I wonder if someone was using the Dinky toy as reference!
ReplyDeleteThat card Star Trek communicator is rather inaccurate.
ReplyDeleteWhy bother if it's not right ?
For some reason there existed toys that weren't accurate representations of what was in the show. I had Communicator walkie talkies that looked very strange, and more bad Phasers than I can remember.
ReplyDeleteI wonder…
ReplyDeletehttp://fasaststcs.com/index.php/thefleets/klingon-empire/d-30-kteremny-class-viii-ix-destroyer/