Karl AKA Stroget is an active curator at HobbyDB of many of the 1/43 model car brands. He has been adding model cars to the DB since 2014; some of his favorites are Alfa Romeo and obsolete Tekno from Denmark!
Photographs copyright of the Author unless otherwise stated.
By Fedor Eliseev
This article continues our review of the forgotten names in white metal history, and we hope that you will find many interesting and exciting information reading it. We are still looking for older Model Collector and Diecast Collector white metal reviews, old issues of Model Auto Review 1982-90 and 2000- 2013, ModeleX brochures, photos of your models, catalogs and other information. I’m sure that the readers of this blog would like to solve the mysteries of white metal history. Let’s do it.
Among all names of the white metal companies, True Dimensions (TDM) is rarely mentioned. Most collectors of 1:43 American cars know Brooklin, Western Models, Motor City USA, etc. Perhaps this is true because the company operated for a very short time, and only a few of each model were ever produced. It’s time to fill this knowledge gap and to tell readers about Tom Dirnberger and his company’s history.
Tom was attracted to model cars starting in 1953 when he was a boy. During that time some companies offered 1:25 scale promotional models so Tom managed to acquire a few items. By 1983 he was a serious collector and was very impressed by 1:43 white metal models. This scale and material became a favourite of his and became the main direction of his collection.
Tom has always been a fan of the post- war “dream cars” from Detroit. Many of them had not been made back then, so he decided to try to fill this gap. In 1989 Tom Dirnberger established True Dimensions in Minnesota, and work began on creating 1:43rd model cars. Their business card back then was unique, because they had a 1:43 ruler printed on it!
The 1954 Kaiser Darrin Sports Convertible – one of the most extraordinary and unusual cars of the 50s – was chosen as his first model. Designed by Howard Darrin, it had a fiberglass body and doors that were hidden inside the front wings. Prototypes were finished in 1952, but Henry Kaiser did not start up full production for another two years. If he had started it earlier, the Darrin Sports Convertible could have been the first car with a fiberglass body ahead of the Corvette. However, sales of the new car were not good and production ceased in 1955.
True Dimensions introduced its white metal replica in 1990. A pattern was created by Tom’s nephew Joel. All white metal parts were cast by a local company, and painting and assembly were accomplished by Tom and other members of his team.
The 1954 Kaiser Darrin by TDM was a highly detailed and sophisticated replica for that time. It had separate door handles and windscreen wipers and many chrome parts. The model name on the luggage door was made in photo etch. Another very interesting feature of the model was the detachable top. Tom designed his model with spectacular wheels which had superb modelled wires, a central part and whitewalls.
The models were painted in a choice of four colors – red, white, yellow and green which replicate the real cars. 12 copies were finished in Cerulean Blue and 2 in Dunes Tan. Tom decided to produce 435 models of each color (435 real cars were made in 1954-55), but in fact no single color has ever been produced in that many copies.
As a packaging used cardboard box where you were able to see the company’s logo, black and white photo of the prototype and number of the item in series- traditional type for handbuilt white metal models.
Unfortunately True Dimensions had difficulty with the white metal castings that were provided by an outside partner. The next model, the 1955 Kaiser Darrin Phaeton, was released in 1991 and had a resin body and metal baseplate. Only door handles, bumpers and interior parts (seats, interior shell, and dash) were made in white metal.
This was a real dream car and based on the illustrations in the book, Kaiser-Frazer, the Last Onslaught on Detroit (1975). Tom planned to make 50 miniatures but less than 40 were sold. The Phaeton is shown in a previous blog article.
Nowadays these Phaetons are very scarce and real treasures for the collector. Most of them were finished in Cerulean Blue, but one was painted into Gunmetal Gray with a red interior.
After the success of the Kaiser Darrin models, Tom was full of optimism and planned to expand the True Dimensions range with new models in white metal and resin. He acquired the brass master of the 1956 Imperial 2 Door Hardtop from a former owner of Precision Miniatures. Alas, its proportions weren’t good enough, and the company did not pursue this model.
At the same time Tom’s nephew Joel created a very nice and neat prototype of the 1950 Pontiac Sedan Delivery, a superb model. Further plans included introduction of the 1950 Pontiac Catalina Hardtop, 1962 Corvette, 1962 Chevrolet Bel Air, and 1957 Pontiac Bonneville. True Dimensions was going to focus on GM replicas. Unfortunately, these projects were never realized.
Despite difficulties with creating new models in the mid 90s, True Dimensions went on refinishing Brooklin Models. The first model was the 1954 Dodge Indy 500 convertible in the correct yellow color. Removing the top and creating windshield frame and the top in white metal, the company created an excellent miniature. Only 100 pieces were built.
Another modified model was the 1953 Kaiser Manhattan painted in correct colors. They were refinished by Dave Ronken. These two Brooklins are shown in the previous blog article as well. TDM also made the 1941 Chevrolet convertible, based on the Durham Classics model before the factory models of it appeared.
In addition to white metal models, Tom turned his attention to ERTL, the American diecast manufacturer that produced its models in China. They were very unexpensive, well detailed, and accurate enough to serve as a good base for upgrading.
Among ERTL refinished by TDM are the 1960 Chevrolet truck converted into a rollback in different colors, 1950 Chevrolet Cabover converted to Wrecker, and Ford Mustang made into a convertible after the roof was removed. Also planned but never completed was the 1957 Chevrolet EL Morocco based on the standard ERTL 1957 Chevy.
In the second half of 90s, TDM was also active in 1:25 scale designing original resin models. This range consisted of the Corvette Stingray 3, Chevy Nomad concept car in 2 colors, Chevrolet and Ford pickups for Lund Industries, and 1951 / 52 Chevrolets based on Product Miniature models.
A new chapter in Tom’s business started when he combined his efforts with Dale Dannefer. Looking at other model companies, they found an absence of 1:43 replicas of the 1956 Imperial and decided to fill this gap. In 2019 Tom and Dale found a manufacturing partner for production at GLM ( Great Lighting Models). Some time later the first model from this collaboration, the 1956 Imperial Southampton 2 door, was released. 270 units were produced with colors unique to TDM – 100 in Desert Rose with West Point Gray roof, 100 in Mediterranean Blue with Satin Gray roof, and 70 in Mint Green with Surf Green roof.
Customers appreciated the new model, and so the partnership with GLM still continues today. Over the last several years, regular GLM models (in special colors only for TDM) and exclusive models (models spec’ed out by TDM and only for TDM) have been issued. Their exclusive 1954 Chrysler La Contesse won 2023 Model of the Year from the Model Car Hall of Fame. See the full lists below.
Models made with GLM (special colors):
Exclusive models only made for TDM by GLM:
Photos of most of the GLM cars (underlined above) can be seen on hobbyDB. All GLM models are high quality resin and are very detailed. Tom and Dale regularly take part in the Chicago 1/43rd & Automobilia Shows where they release new products. We hope that GLM will make a plethora of magnificent models according to Tom and Dale’s orders in the future.
Many thanks to Tom Dirnberger for answering all our questions. We wish him all the best and future success in collecting and in the 1:43 model business.
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