Launched in December 1933 by Frank Hornby as accessories to Hornby Trains they were called Modelled Miniatures until April 1934 when The Dinky Toys name was adopted.
There were factories in Liverpool and Bobigny, France where similar but not identical models were made. By the late 1930's a lot of models had been produced until the war brought production to a halt. The factories resumed production in 1946, and 1947 saw the first Dinky Supertoys.
In 1956 Corgi toys came on the market so Dinky range started to add windscreens, suspension and more details to compete. In 1957 the first Dinky Dublo models were made to complement the Hornby Dublo Trains. Since 1933 most models were made in 1:43 - 1:48 scale similar to O gauge trains.
In 1963 the British branch of Dinky Toys was bought by the Tri-Ang firm. During the sixties both Corgi and Dinky began to make their models to a larger scale about 1:35. Because of the influence of Hot Wheels in late 1967, Speedwheels started to be fitted to some models from 1969 on. This to some is a shame as wheel hubs were getting to be cast very authentically by then.
Unfortunately the French branch closed in 1972 and the English in 1980, the name passing through various hands until it was bought in 1987 by Universal International of Hong Kong who also had the Matchbox name.

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