Dinky Toys Plymouth Plaza

Isn’t it weird how some things stick with you throughout life?

Ask me what model number the Dinky Toys Plymouth Plaza was and I’ll answer immediately – 178, yet I often struggle to remember my own mobile phone number!

The Plymouth Plaza was, to a young child growing up in rural England, the epitome of American pizzazz;  garish colours, big fins, white tyres, and of course, everything American was exciting!

The Dinky Toys Plaza was made between 1959 and 1963 in a variety of colours. It had ‘windows’ – still fairly new in those days, but no suspension, no steering wheels, but it was still ….. exciting! Mine was two shades of blue – at least for the first few weeks of its ownership by me. I couldn’t wait to repaint all my cars, and the Plaza underwent several visits to the Wilson repainting shop over the years.

I wish I could say that it still takes pride of place in my collection but it, like so many others of my beloved Dinky Toys, sat in a damp outdoor shed for many years and ….. rusted beyond repair. Rust in peace.

The car itself, I found in later years, was not the biggest and best of the Plymouth make. The Fury, known for its ‘starring’ role as Christine in the Stephen King film, and the Belvedere, were the stars of the Plymouth range, but to me, the Plymouth Plaza will always live on in my memory!