Discover a selection of models that will be on sale this week from tomorrow Monday, May 12, 2025 until Thursday, May 15 on our website AUTOJAUNE COLLECTION

Norev - Alpine Renault A 110 Gendarmerie -Dinky Toys GB - Leyland chassis 8 roues avec lests 936 - Norev - Alpine Renault A220 - Dinky Toys GB - Leyland Tilt Cab benne de chantier

en vente cette semaine: Norev – Alpine Renault A 110 Gendarmerie -Dinky Toys GB – Leyland chassis 8 roues avec lests 936 – Norev – Alpine Renault A220 – Dinky Toys GB – Leyland Tilt Cab benne de chantier

I remember...

…reflections heard at the Rétromobile shows.

I’ve attended 24 of them as an exhibitor. During the 10 days the show was open to the public, visitors only talked to me about the cars they came to see, or revisit. Sometimes they knew them well, sometimes they were discovering them for the first time. They also told me about their cars, their strengths and weaknesses, the good and bad memories they held.

This gave us a glimpse into their personal history. Cars are often a pretext for recounting part of one’s life. Years go by, the cars are no longer there, and what remains is the memory, a few photos, and sometimes a small accessory that we’ve kept. Recently in Reims, I acquired a Réné Bonnet keychain. Its price was prohibitive, but I really wanted to display it along with my many RD Marmande models from the Champigny-sur-Marne brand.

The seller confided in me that it was the key ring for his DB Bonnet Missile, which he regretted selling. He had kept the key ring as a souvenir.

Sometimes, in passing, these enthusiasts, still inspired by cars, admit that they no longer know how to identify all the “new models” on the street.

Today’s models no longer have much personality and often look more like utility vehicles or armored vehicles than touring cars.

I’ve heard this comment countless times. I realized that I, too, was affected by this phenomenon. I remembered this when looking at the images of the planned miniatures.

modèle en vente cette semaine : Marklin – NSU RO80 1811

The first thought one might have is that cars, even popular ones, even well into the 1990s, all had a personality.

This helped us remember them, recognize them, love them, or hate them. Take the few Marklin cars scheduled for the week. Without being a great automotive expert, everyone recognized the three models at first glance.

These three cars are of German origin.

All three have distinctive logos that make them easily recognizable.

The first observation that comes to mind concerns the silhouettes of these cars. We can see a focus on the drag coefficient.

The NSU RO80, a peaceful sedan, technologically advanced with its rotary engine, prefigures the Audis that appeared in the 1980s. It is sleek and stylish.

modèle en vente cette semaine : Marklin – Audi 100 coupé 1834

The Mercedes 350 is the worthy successor to the 230sl lineage.

Mercedes has always had this type of sporty and elegant coupe in its catalog. Every ten years or so, the Stuttgart-based company convincingly updated its model, retaining the spirit of the car, intended for a targeted clientele, but offering a new body style. Customers were never disoriented and felt a sense of novelty.

I particularly like the Audi’s orange color, very much in keeping with the times, which takes us back to the design of the late sixties.

We knew how to create colors that lifted our spirits at the time. Here too, we can compare the color range of current cars, where black, white, and silver clearly dominate.

modèle en vente cette semaine : Marklin – Mercedes 350sl 1839

Italian colors

Car manufacturers are no longer seeking to expand their color ranges. They’re even reducing them to the bare minimum, under the pretext that today’s customers don’t want to stand out or take risks.

I doubt the relevance of this remark, especially when I see the range Fiat offers for its current flagship model, the “Fiat 500.” It’s a pleasure to see and often brings a bit of cheer to Parisian streets that are in dire need. Powder pink, fluorescent yellow, burgundy, sea green, and so on.

This week, we have a collection of Fiat 500s from Mebetoys, the ones produced in the mid-1960s.

modèle en vente cette semaine : Mebetoys – Fiat 500 Nuova A36 Rouge métal

The Milanese manufacturer, like Fiat, had a wide range of colors that it applied to its entire range. A bit like Solido. Thus, the superb Iso S4, also offered, shares its beautiful metallic blue color with a large number of other Mebetoys, including the Fiat 500.

modèle en vente cette semaine : Mebetoys – Fiat 500 Nuova bleu métal

modèle en vente cette semaine : Mebetoys – Fiat 500 Nuova A36 Jaune Métal

Fans of the Mebetoys brand can organize their collection by color in a display case. A guaranteed impact.

This week, to encourage you to consider this approach to your collection, we have a variety of colors, including three silver models. Some colors have been used extensively.

The Opel Kadett is often seen in a silver finish; this is not the case for the Autobianchi Primula, which is equipped with its first wheels.

The Lancia Fulvia is rarely seen in this color, as is its hard plastic display case. These boxes coincide with the later, and therefore less common, color variations. We’ve had a lot of Mebetoys in recent years. I didn’t collect them before. But I gave in to the adventure.

My goal, for the illustrated boxes, was to match the color of the model photographed on the back of the box. A way to limit the search while still creating a challenge.

modèle en vente cette semaine : Mebetoys – Opel Kadett coupé A13

modèle en vente cette semaine : Mebetoys – Lancia Fulvia A11

modèle en vente cette semaine : Mebetoys – Autobianchi Primula A5

modernism

This is a truck whose identification gave me a lot of trouble.

As with the cars described above, trucks were also easily identifiable until the 1980s. Each brand offered vehicles with distinct personalities. How could you confuse a Lautaret-type Unic with a long hood and a Berliet GLR? Impossible. Each had its own distinctive appearance.

Look at the car-carrying semi-trailer version offered this week. You recognized a Unic cab at first glance. Bobigny seems to have made things more complicated by creating this “Boilot” car-carrying trailer, original but with a “baroque” design!

modèle en vente cette semaine : Dinky Toys France – Unic tracteur semi porte autos Boilot 894

The color must not have helped its spread (see the blog on the blue Boilot). We can also see in this silver shade an idea of modernism. It is perhaps its association with the orange-painted wings that has been confusing.

Collection AutoJaune extrait du blog “Le rêve bleu” disponible ICI

The other version, also for sale with its trailer and pipelines, is original.

Bobigny made the effort to create a roof rack attached behind the cab. This accessory lends credibility to its Saharan function. It is typical of this type of vehicle. The toy immerses us in the conquest of Saharan oil.

It’s a vehicle that must be placed in its historical context. Dinky Toys enthusiasts can “have fun” searching for the numerous variations, ranging from the shapes and colors of the rims, to the beam trailer, openwork or not, and the colors of the spare wheels… plenty to keep them busy for a reasonable price.

modèle en vente cette semaine : Dinky Toys France – Unic Tracteur Saharien Porte-Tubes Pipe Line 893

This week we also have a Berliet Gak tow truck.

You’ve easily recognized its cab. In fact, through this week’s new products, we can compare the cab-forward options between the Berliet Gak and the Unic Esterel. Let’s return to the Berliet Gak tow truck.

While its cab is superb, the combination of the rear end, taken from the Bedford TK from Liverpool, still baffles some enthusiasts in 2025!

Especially since Bobigny left the English inscription engraved under this additional part.

I like this “motorway” version for personal reasons.

modèle en vente cette semaine : Dinky Toys France – Berliet Gak dépanneuse autoroutes 589A

The orange color is no stranger to this. It’s also this color that largely dominates the truck that had caused me a problem identifying and which I mentioned at the beginning of the paragraph: the Berliet T6 tractor-trailer transformer carrier.

It was thanks to a series of articles devoted to the genesis of the Berliet artillery tractor in the magazine Charges Utile that I was able to identify this cab, which I had never seen in real life. This truck is therefore a Berliet T6 and its origins are Rochet Schneider.

I’ll let you discover the “démagogie” blog. This splendid transformer carrier version, derived from the military tank carrier version, is a success. It’s, let’s say, a beautiful toy. As a child, I appreciated the design of the bumper painted in yellow with black hatching. It’s simple but effective. The color is bright and pleasing to the eye. Paired with the splendid “Supertoys” box, it’s a must-have.

I remember seeing it in the window of a tobacconist in Saint-Etienne one rainy day in the middle of summer. I still remember its image. My father bought it for me, and it brightened up my vacation.

modèle en vente cette semaine : Dinky Toys France – Berliet T6 tracteur semi remorque porte transformateur 898

My favorite for these Solido racing models

The manufacturer Spark has just programmed a series of single-seaters that have competed in several South African GPs, driving them with local drivers John Love, Peter de Klerk, and Eddie Kkeizan.

These were, in a way, “their” Grand Prix. These drivers rarely left their country. They rented Lotus 49s, Brabham BT26s, and Tyrrell 004s, which often had one or two seasons under their belts. Suffice it to say, they rarely topped the starting grid.

For the occasion, local sponsors (often cigarette brands) such as “Gunston” or “Embassy” financed the operation, and these single-seaters sported beautiful color schemes, much to the delight of modelers! The Brabham BT26, for example, swapped its teal and yellow livery from the previous year for a striking orange and brown livery that was a real eye-catcher. Despite this change in color, the enthusiast could immediately identify the car. The same goes for the Lotus 72 “Gunston” or the Tyrrell 004 “Embassy.”

Despite already restrictive regulations, the racing cars retained their personality, and the Grand Prix spectator didn’t need the program to know which car they had just seen! They recognized it, just like the driver’s helmet.

In 2025, we are a long way from all that. It’s neither worse nor better; it’s different. But for my part, I no longer recognize myself at all in these competitions and I can no longer identify the twisted shapes of the racing cars. The same goes for the drivers who regularly change the color of their helmets.

So, I immerse myself in history, and in my Solidos.

modèle en vente cette semaine : Solido – Alpine Renault 1600S rallye de Monte Carlo 1971 181

modèle en vente cette semaine : Solido – Alpine Renault 3L Le Mans1968 168

modèle en vente cette semaine : Solido – Ferrari 312 V12 GP France 1968 167bis

modèle en vente cette semaine : Solido – Ford Mk IV 1470

This is my favorite of the week. These Solidos reproduce cars from another era, from my era. A Chaparral 2F looked like a Chaparral 2F. Same for the Ford MkIV. At Le Mans in 1967, spectators could tell the difference when they passed under their noses. Look at all these cars on the program: Ferrari 512M, Ford Mk IV, Alpine 1600S… they had different liveries and yet without thinking you recognize them at first glance.