Unusual models : the collaboration between Solido and Paul Bracq

I remember… when I was a child, Matchox and Norev were abundantly present in tobacconists. My father and aunt being heavy smokers, I often accompanied them to get their Gauloises bleues.

I have kept in mind the characteristic smell of these places. I remember the displays that stood on the counter and that I turned with the secret hope that the gesture would trigger in the adult I was accompanying the purchase of a small miniature.

From my height as a child, the low-angle view of this large display fascinated me. Its size, compared to the size of the miniatures it contained impressed me. The rotation was easy, similar to that of a merry-go-round, we were encouraged to make it turn, convinced that the most beautiful models were on the other side.

I recreated at home two stocked displays, like those of my childhood. These two brands had understood that tobacconists were ideal places to distribute this type of product, at a modest selling price, which was bought like a packet of cigarettes. The more expensive models were sold exclusively in toy stores. This does not mean that Norev and Matchox were absent. 

This week, King Size Matchboxes are on sale. They revive a very distant memory, that of the tobacconist in Romans-sur-Isère where my aunt bought me a number of them! Some of our collector’s choices originate from our childhood. This is particularly true for these Matchboxes from the King Size series. The series is composed mainly of vehicles dedicated to public works. The two Scammels on offer, the one equipped with a lattice boom and the one as a heavy tow truck, are successes. The illustrated boxes are little masterpieces that stimulated my childhood imagination. They are surely at the origin of this passion that has lasted for more than fifty years.

 

models on sale this week :Matchbox Scammel dépanneuse lourde esso K-2

 

 

 

 

As a child, I would leaf through miniature catalogues with an innocent eye. They were often the triggers for purchases.

I read them more assiduously than my school books. I now know where that led me, a life dedicated to small cars.

I had not yet perceived the tricks of manufacturers who multiplied versions on the same base in order to amortize the cost of tools.

This week, some models thus declined and which marked my childhood are offered for sale.

At the end of the sixties, I had been charmed by the Ford escort police produced by Liverpool. It was its colour, turquoise blue, its two-tone finish with white doors, and its police sign that had seduced me. I remain charmed even today. The English police had adopted these colours for a time. 

models on sale this week : Dinky Toys Ford Escort Police Panda 270

At the time, the Citroën DS19 police, also on the menu this week, had intrigued me.

Shortly after its release, Citroën equipped its DS with four-headlight optics. With its single headlights, the Dinky Toys seemed to me to embody a car from the past.

Here again, the need to amortize the tooling, which is more of a second reproduction of this DS (there had already been the 24 C and 24CP, also on the weekly program) explains this variation.

Water has flowed under the bridge, and I now enjoy looking at this beautiful, realistic miniature. Photos prove that the car really existed in this “piebald” livery. 

The Ford Mustang police, also finished in this color combination, comes from the imagination of the Tekno design office. It is probably the American importer who is at the origin of this creation. A specific box with the word police was even printed. It is an unusual and original part. 

collection personelle : Prototypes Solido signés Paul Bracq pour Solido et le catalogue 1970. LIRE LE BLOG ICI 

There is nothing extraordinary in the fact that the Italian miniature manufacturers have specialised in living room prototypes: all the major coachbuilders were of Italian origin! This week a surprising Matra 530 with bodywork by Vignale and a timeless Ferrari Dino Pininfarina are scheduled. The latter will see many reproductions.

models on sale this week: :Mebetoys Matra Vignale 530 bleu A38 – Mebetoys Matra Vignale 530 argent A38- Mercury Ferrari Dino Pininfarina 48

But that is nothing compared to the Mercedes C111. The original is the work of Bruno Sacco. It is easier to find the toy manufacturers who have not reproduced it. This week, a less common Mercury is in the spotlight. It reproduces the first version. For information, the Solido will offer the second version which differs, in addition to the mechanics, by the treatment of the front hood.

 

My favorite for the two Siku on the program this week. I have traveled a lot over my forty years of professional activity. Thanks to these trips, I was able to discover and appreciate miniature brands that I would surely not have approached in the same way without these trips. There were often purchasing opportunities that had to be realized quickly. The Siku brand is forever associated with my first scholarship in Gothenburg, Sweden and with Mr. Odvik from Stockholm. It was our first meeting. The latter had acquired a superb collection in…Belgium. 

models on sale this week: Siku Volkswagen 1300 V311

 

 

 

During a medical conference, Mr. Odvik realized while talking with his table neighbor that they shared the same passion for miniature cars. Twenty years later, Mr. Odvik had bought his colleague’s collection. Superb collection made up of miniatures from all horizons.

models on sale this week : Siku Ford Capri 1700 GT V310

 

 

In the fifties, people took advantage of their holidays to visit a new country every year, an excuse to bring back all the local miniature productions! I imagine that this made their wife happy! Mr. Odvik collecting “only” Dinky Toys, he put all the rest up for sale… thousands of miniatures including a superb set of Siku.

collection personelle : Vitrine Siku

I often started a new branch of my collection by taking advantage of the opportunity to buy a lot. It served as a base that I completed over the years. Forty years later, my eyes still shine for these Siku. I was able to display the plastic ones in a display case. The zamac ones are carefully stored in bins, waiting for the day when… I don’t have much hope, they will probably never be exhibited, due to lack of space. The reproduction scale, 1/60, seems to me to be an excellent compromise. I am sensitive to the high of manufacture of the Siku. Engraving, finish, it’s perfect. I like the bright colours, orange, bright yellow, like an era, the 70s. They breathe the joy of living. What a joy to take out these bins and open these Siku boxes. The joy is perhaps stronger than if they were displayed in a window because there is the pleasure of rediscovery.