Dinky Toys 100; Lady Penelope's FAB1; Lipstick Pink In Pictorial Card Box

This is one of the most iconic die-casts from the 60s. The Lady Penelope Rolls-Royce is Dinky's equivalent of the Corgi James Bond car or Batmobile.

The car is lipstick pink (sometimes fluorescent - worth more) and fires missiles fore and aft. The front rocket fires when the radiator is tilted forward and the four harpoons at the back fire from where the tail lights should be. Inside we have a nicely detailed Lady P in the back with Parker at the controls.

In terms of rarity and value the fluorescent pink cars are the most sought after. Of the lipstick pink cars look for the pictorial box which is valued more highly than the bubble pack box. Early releases have pink stripes on the Perspex roof although this does not seem to affect value.

In the original Supermarionation TV series Thunderbirds (1965-1966), as well as the films Thunderbirds Are GO (1966) and Thunderbird 6 (1967), FAB1 is a modified Rolls-Royce. Owned by Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, the car is usually driven by her chauffeur Parker. The driver sits in a central position at the front of the passenger compartment, which is covered by a bulletproof bubble canopy. The car has been modified by Brains, inventor of the Thunderbirds machines, with gadgets and gizmos, including heavy artillery concealed behind the radiator grille and front and rear headlights, though in 'Perils of Penelope' grappling hooks are shot out of the rear headlight space. It is also equipped with smokescreen- and oil-dispensers, extendable tyre-studs for increased traction, and hydrofoils or outriggers for travel on water or snow respectively. Rolls-Royce supplied a radiator grille complete with Spirit of Ecstasy for close-up shots of the car.

This model was acquired in April 2012 from a private collection