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Sinclair Petroleum Company got its start from the humblest of beginnings. When young druggist, Harry Sinclair lost the drug store he inherited from his father in a speculation at age twenty, it freed him of the inheritance that confined him. Young Harry headed for the oil fields and started on a career that quickly became a standout in the oil business. On May 1, 1916, Harry Sinclair formed Sinclair Oil from the assets of eleven small petroleum companies. In a mere month, the new Sinclair Company shared the rarefied air only nine other American petroleum companies occupied, as the seventh largest oil company in the United States. The company symbol of the apatosaurus (brontosaurus) was adopted in 1930 and remains as one of the most recognizable corporate logos in the world. With its headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah, Sinclair Oil Corporation includes such diverse companies as Snowbasin Resort in Ogden, Utah, Sun Valley Resort in Idaho, Little America – a beautiful hotel, travel center and restaurant located on I-80 in western Wyoming (another hotel by this name is located in Salt Lake City), and The Grand America – Salt Lake City's first 775 room luxury hotel. Today, Sinclair markets oil in 21 states through over 2,600 company and distributor operated service stations.
As we’ve come to expect from Danbury, this 1950s diorama has a wealth of detail. The station building is attached to its base. The tall sign is separate and mounts via a socket in the base. The roof removes to provide access to, and viewing of, the interior. The details look so realistic, one of the pictures that accompany this review, seems to have been taken through the windows of an actual station! Two cars can be displayed with the diorama—one in the service bay (sticking part of the way out, due to its limited depth) and one at the pump—tight but possible. The paint and finish are exquisitely done with attention to the smallest detail evident throughout. My only quibble is—where are the restrooms?
I’ve always been a fan of dioramas, for they give collectors an opportunity to display our “little cars” in a real-world environment. Kudos to DM for coming out with a much-needed diorama in 1:24 scale. It also serves the purpose of providing two 1:24 scale ‘50s style pumps that, for some reason, were omitted from the 12-pump collection they did a while back.
The dimensions are 16" long x 12 1/2" wide x 6 1/2" high. The issue price is $139.
(10/18/2004)
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