Dinky Toys Spotlight- U.S.S. Enterprise (358)

Item Name: U.S.S. Enterprise
Manufacturer: Dinky Toys



Dinky Toys released this fun little ship in the box seen above, a window box, and in a 2 pack with the Klingon Battle Cruiser.



The Rundown: Hey, new background paper! Anyways... Back in the mid 70's, this Dinky Enterprise reigned supreme as THE Enterprise toy to own. Sure, it's not the most accurate Enterprise ever, but it just may be the most fun...



So the scale may be a bit off in spots, but the basic shape and design of the Enterprise is here. The ship isn't insanely detailed or anything (since the emphasis was on being a toy, not a replica), but there's enough here that the ship doesn't look cheap. Funny that Dinky made such detailed grid lines on the ship...30 years before the "Remastered" versions would emphasis this so strongly.



Here's a look at the back side of the ship. Notice the detail on the nacelles and the shuttlebay doors. Pretty nice for a kid's toy. (More on the shuttlebay a bit later.)



To add a little bit more of an authentic look, Dinky included water decals to spruce up your ship. Mine were already applied when I bought it, but there's the instructions from the box flaps if you need tips on how to apply yours. ;)



Like I said, this may be the most 'fun' Enterprise ever made. It comes loaded heavy with play value. I would have had a hard time putting this guy down as a kid...



The main feature is the firing disks (I mean "torpedoes"). The ship comes with a bunch of little yellow disks that can be loaded into the saucer section. Turn the metal dial on top, and the disks fly out from an opening in front. These sucker come out FAST too! A great, fun feature that I'm sure would be deemed too dangerous for kid's today. Funny- I had tons of toys like this as a kid and I still managed to keep both my eyes. Guess I got lucky.



Remember those shuttlebay doors in back? Yeah, those don't do anything. At only around 8" long, there really wasn't a feasible way to make those work back then. Instead, Dinky put the shuttlebay on the bottom of the ship:



Flip open the bay doors on the bottom, and the ship has it's own built in stand! But that's not the real treat- there's a little tiny shuttlecraft inside!



Sure, it's not that detailed...and yeah, it's orange... but who cares! What an insanely cool item to pack in! Imagine having this as a kid and deploying the shuttlecraft for an away mission; or having the shuttle get lost in a nebula and having the enterprise warp to her rescue. At this size though, I'll bet quite a few were lost to the vacuum or the bath tub drain.



Accessories: The enterprise included the aforementioned shuttle, yellow disks, and a label sheet (not pictured).



The Dinky Enterprise is a GREAT toy. It's a reminder of a time when toys were made to be fun, something sadly missing from most toys nowadays. The prices can range pretty widely on this, depending on condition and which box you go after. Oh, and finding a mint complete loose sample can be a chore too, since the toy was just too fun not to play with.

-James