Foreign fare favoured over here

Diecast models from abroad are comparatively fewer compared to the homegrown on these shores, which may account for their generally firm values. This appeared to be the case at the Vectis Specialist sale in July, which included a French Dinky No 881 Pinder GMC Truck with an animal cage trailer in yellow and red. It wasn’t quite complete, although it contained a bear, but the model was almost mint. The box however, lacked its interior plinth and packing insert. Despite a healthy estimate of £300-360, this circus vehicle roared away to £816.

French Quiralu toys are seldom sighted in the UK and a large scale Berliet covered wagon in beige and red with a brown cloth canopy was a good example of the marque, especially since it was in a superb box. This sped away from the estimate of £160-220 to achieve an amazing £900.

Equally unusual are JRD products. A No127 Truck with Articulated Trailer marked "Transports Internationaux" was attractively finished in orange and white and had suffered only a few roof chips. Despite a poor box, it was rare enough to command attention and the hammer closed on £504, four times its estimate.

Danish company Tekno is very popular with British collectors and the No448 Scania Vabis Articulated Truck and Trailer with Scania-Vabis lettering was a mint example. This orange coloured combination quadrupled its estimate, settling down to a final bid of £456. A companion piece, the No447 Articulated Tanker (marked Ora) in green, red and white also outperformed expectation and closed on £552. Good prices were also realised for a Tekno Esso tanker in red (£480) and a Volvo chain lorry, finished in red and black (£576).

Finally, an oddity in the shape of a vehicle from Israeli company Gamda: a coach in green, blue and grey, described as good plus to excellent and with its box, had a tentative £120-140 estimate. This was comfortably passed, the coach travelling off to a new home for £624.