I was wandering around the local antiques centre when I came across this Dinky "Empress of Britain" (catalogue no. 51d).
After a bit of negotiation with the stall holder, I bought it for £2:00.

dinky-side by John Mitchell, on Flickr

dinky-right by John Mitchell, on Flickr

I guess it dates from the 1930s? Scale appears to be 1/1800? The zinc rot is fairly advanced.
As far as I know, there isn't any cure and the model will eventually disappear into dust.
The banana bending has started but it looks like the hull has already cracked under the tension.

dinky-name by John Mitchell, on Flickr

This is my first (and probably only) Dinky mini-ship, purchased out of idle curiosity and for academic interest only.

dinky-hull1 by John Mitchell, on Flickr


Follow the Flickr links to view in high definition glory (or horror).



John