DINKY 352 ED STRAKER’S CAR (1971-1975):
Another TV tie in from the U.F.O. series was Ed Straker’s Car. It featured a ‘keyless clockwork motor’ and was produced for four years. The most common colour was a gold chrome finish.
The car was named after Col. Edward “Ed” Straker, played in the TV series by Ed Bishop, who set up SHADO following a series of UFO attacks in 1970. Straker masquerades as the head of Harlington-Straker Film Studios.
The other models from the U.F.O. programmes were the 353 SHADO 2 Mobile and the 351 SHADO Interceptor which had eight year production runs.
The car featured a ‘keyless clockwork motor’, activated by reversing car whilst pressing the rear down to wind up the spring and then letting the car go. Many versions have bumps and dings to the front bumper paintwork as a result. This motor was the same as used in 108 Sam’s Car.
TV SERIES:
The car most prominently featured in the U.F.O. TV series was the brown coupe which SHADO’s Commander Straker used as his runabout. The car was based on a vehicle used in the 1969 movie, Doppelgänger, also known as Journey to the Far Side of the Sun which Gerry and Sylvia Anderson wrote and produced.
The car was described as turbine powered with power-operated gull wing doors and a built-in mobile phone. But actually beneath the aluminium bodywork was a modified Zephyr-Zodiac Mk IV chassis fitted with an Escort engine and gearbox, the phone was a prop and the doors had to be manually hauled up! See the picture below to see a rod holding the door open.
PROP v ACTUAL:
The model is a little squatter than the actual prop used which was dark brown in colour. The shiny gold and later yellow livery of the Dinky version were presumably thought to be more attractive colours.
VARIANTS:
A later version of Ed Straker’s car was also widely produced in yellow but is still rarer than the gold chrome version.
The interiors for both the Gold and the Yellow versions could be white, light or mid blue or the rarer black.
The Gold version could have a painted/polished or bare metal base. The Yellow version had a black painted base.
There were two different cast wheel types, concentric rings and spoked. The gold chrome version had both types but I’ve only seen the concentric rings wheel on the yellow version.
CHROME VERSION:
This is a chrome version of the 352, recently obtained. I am 99% sure its genuine as it had aged tell-tale overspray marks. I’ve done my best photographically to show the car but it looks far more play worn than it is in reality! If a collector has better pictures or can corroborate the production of this version, it would be much appreciated.
According to the Dinky Toys Encyclopedia there are other chrome Dinkys : 39eu Chrysler Royal, 149 Citroën Dyane, 965 Euclid rear dump truck and the 925 Leyland dump truck.
PROTOTYPES:
As with the 101 Thunderbird 2 and 103 Spectrum Patrol Car, experimental models with a plastic body with a metal base were made. They were a cost saving experiment which never went into full production and only a handful of these were ever made. They were not prototypes for the original model.
Ed Straker’s car was produced in red plastic and sported the later speed wheels.
ODDITIES AND RARITIES:
A red Ed Straker’s car has appeared in one reference source possibly referring to the red plastic version above but recently a couple of listings on an auction site may suggest that there was a short production run of a red metal variant.
Note the different shades of red plus the silver detailing on the back of the model is in different places.
Claimed as genuine but this is only blue version seen on an auction site.
BOXES:
A bubble box was produced for a short while. Only the Yellow variant was available in this box type.
The tall bubble version below has been seen once on a reputable auction site. One expert has commented that the bubble top looks too high for the model. Are there any other examples out there?
CATALOGUES:
The first appearance of Ed Straker’s car was in the 1972 Dinky catalogue and its last appearance in the 1975 version.
MISCELLANEOUS:
After filming finished, the ex BBC Radio 1 DJ Dave Lee Travis (DLT) owned Ed Straker’s car for a while and then sold it. This car was discovered in 2011 and a fibreglass mould of the original body was taken with the intention of recreating Ed’s car.
Dinky Toys: TV Shows, Space and Specials 
Excellent site, most impressed. One small correction: Doppleganger was directed by Robert Parrish not Gerry Anderson.
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How do i recreate the gold finish as a restoration please,
Thankyou
Darren
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You can but the what I call the gaudy bright paint in Gold or Silver in a rattle can, a godsend for Dinky restorations I may add, and its great stuff to apply, I recently purchased two large cans of each colour for around £8.00 ! from Aldi!.
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Hi John, You’re absolutely right, Gerry and Sylvia produced the movie and wrote the script whilst Robert Parrish directed. Text corrected. Thank you Kevin
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You noted that the original prop car had Power doors. In reality it did not, every time you see the door(s) auto open, one side of the door will be out of shot. That is so you don’t see the hand of one of the crew, pulling the door up! Not really relevant for your site, but I have always found it fun trivia.
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Hi Richard, You are right, the actual prop looked far better than its construction implied and the doors were manually operated. From Wikipedia: “Both Ed Bishop and Michael Billington commented that the futuristic cars were “impossible to drive”, partly because the steering wheel was designed for looks rather than functionality. Also, the gull-wing doors did not open automatically. Every shot in which the car door was seen to open automatically had to be arranged so that a prop man could run up to the car, just outside the frame, open the door, and hold it open while Ed Bishop stepped out. In certain episodes (most notably “Court Martial”) the prop man can be seen.” I’ve modified the text slightly to clarify the fact from the fiction. Thank you for calling this out. Cheers Kevin
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These cars should be found and restored to show Generations what our parents thought the future Vehicles would look like The Innovation that went into these vehicles was astounding for its time most of the things that you see in the futuristic vehicles are in today’s automobiles
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Totally agree Douglas, apart from the rear facing driving position on the SPV! Cheers Kevin
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I bought a 352 ed strakers car silver chrome because the person who sold it to me lives in liverpool he told me that it is really the factory paint and the interior is black
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I suspect the blue mettallic version is not genuine, simply because the silver trim is painted to well!!…
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Hi Alan, Fair comment! And so far have not seen another one like this. Cheers Kevin
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I have a gold variant that has aged /bleached so much that the car appears to be chrome. It’s only on one or two areas that finish has a gold tinge.
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Does anyone have any information regards to the Shado 2. AEC Articulated truck transporter?
There is someone selling one, with a repro box on an auction site, along with the Shadow 2. and I am curious if this is genuine?
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i cant find the item you mention, so It sounds like a code 3 model. But some of them are stunning peices of work, and collectable in their own right.
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Hi Dave, I couldn’t find the listing you were referring to but I am sure there was never a Shado 2 AEC branded transporter, if I read your question correctly. Could it be a one off from the factory made by an employee for a friend or family member – possibly but more likely a Code 3 creation. Cheers Kevin
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Thanks for your quick response Gary. I did take a couple of screenshots of the advert showing the AEC Articulated truck next to the box. The box clearly shows a Shado 2 driving down the ramps of the trailer.
The cab of the truck also has Shado across the doors.
Like you say, collectable in their own right and very well done
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Hi Kevi, thanks for your quick response.
Yes the pictures clearly show a box with an AEC olive green transporter Articulated truck with Shado on the doors and a Shado 2 driving off the ramps of the trailer.
I did screenshot a couple of pictures but I don’t think they can be posted on here.
If its a code 3 then someone has gone to alot of trouble because it looks superb.
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Hi Dave, can you advise which auction site?
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Yes it’s ebay. Search gerry Anderson ufo models.
Dave
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Having done a little research…….Wikipedia UFO (British TV series) there is a mention of a ‘Prime mover of a transport truck (Lorry and trailer) used to secretly transport the SHADO mobile vehicles to their operation sites.
There is also a mention of a SHADO Ambulance, which I never knew existed.
Regards,
Dave.
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Hej
Jeg har arvet Ed STRAKERS car i gul farve
DINKY Toys.
Vil sælge den.
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There was recently a listing for various Gerry Anderson Dinky Toys on eBay (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/276042027482) that included what appeared to be a legit Ed Strakers car body in red, which I don’t see mentioned above. I am unsure how to post photos here so perhaps someone else can grab and post them before the listing is removed if interested.
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won my gold one in a competition in tv21 comic
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