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Discover a selection of models that will be on sale this week, starting tomorrow, Monday, August 3rd, and continuing until Thursday, August 6th, 2026, on our website. AUTOJAUNE COLLECTION
New feature updates will be suspended between August 10th and 29th.
Next newsletter: Sunday, August 30th – New feature updates resume Monday, August 31st.
Have a great summer!
en vente cette semaine: Tekno – Volvo N88 semi citerne Dansk Andels Kulforretning 434 – Dinky Toys GB – Austin Seven countryman 199 – JRD – Citroën 2cv’51 fourgonnette EDF 108 Tekno – Volvo N88 semi remorque citerne Esso 434
I remember...
Very well… a few blogs co-written with my wife. I’ve forgotten some, but others remain etched in my memory.
Initially, the idea was to share my passion for miniatures and to introduce them in an original, different way, but also to present the world of collecting. All of this for free and without advertising.
There are thousands of articles about miniatures online and in magazines. So, I had to stand out, do something different. I proceeded in two ways.
Sometimes, the collection my father and I had assembled was the source of my inspiration.
Other times, a cultural, social, or political event served as my entry point. In that case, it was up to me to find miniatures related to the subject. I often think back to my father, my first reader. He was afraid that one day I would run out of ideas.
I remember telling him that with the diversity of our collection, I had a large pool of ideas. My wife and I have designed over 600 models, not counting the 10 Pipelette magazines.
Then came the newsletter. The approach is different. The blog was driven purely by passion, with no commercial aim.
The newsletter is structured around the models that will be put up for sale.
I thought of this because this week we have two superb and rare Edil Toys. The first is a family sedan, the Fiat 1500.
modèle en vente cette semaine : Edil toys – Fiat 1500 ref.6
I have a deep affection for Fiat sedans, the popular kind.
They appeal to me far more than sports cars. In fact, I remembered two blog posts that were related, created more than a year apart: “A Love for Fiat” in September 2019 and “Already 10 Years” in November 2020.
I had blended personal memories with fictional moments to first introduce the Fiat 1400 and its cousin, the Seat 1400.
It was a postcard I found in Milan that served as the starting point for the story. It inspired me, sparked my imagination. I’ve often reread that blog post.
Mercury Fiat 1400 made in Italy – collection Auto Jaune extrait du blog Un Amour de Fiat
Later, I took advantage of buying José Andrade’s Seat Dalias to present the continuation of the story, ten years later.
The opportunity was too good to pass up to reuse the protagonists and place them in a Fiat 1500.
I think that if I hadn’t enjoyed those cars, I wouldn’t have come up with so many ideas to draw the reader into these two adventures.
Ensemble de Fiat 1800 – collection Auto Jaune – extrait du blog déjà dix ans
However, I hadn’t yet featured the Edil Toys version of the Fiat 1500 on this blog.
Sometimes, I prefer to keep certain models in reserve for future blog posts. It’s important to conserve your resources…
So, the Turkish version from Edil Toys appears on the blog “Moving to the…”. This Edil Toys Fiat 1500 is a gem.
Like all the sedans from this Milanese manufacturer, it has all opening parts. I appreciate its realistic anthracite color.
Edil Toys Fiat 1500 et déclinaison Turque Meboto extrait du blog déménagement sur le Bosphore – collection AutoJaune
We also have a Fiat 850 coupé from Edil Toys.
It’s perhaps even rarer than the Fiat 1500. I really like this car, the Fiat 850, which in reality was available in three versions: sedan, coupé, and convertible. Mercury produced a rare set that includes all three models.
This 850 has the same features as the 1500 described above.
A charming, popular Italian car that made its mark in the late sixties.
The blog “A Love of Fiat” also holds a special place for me. My father passed away a few days before it was published.
modèle en vente cette semaine : Edil toys – Fiat 850 coupé ref.8
Everything for 2 euros!
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I love toys designed to be sold cheaply.
Recently, my grandson was upset because he’d broken a small beach toy.
Looking to replace it, I went into a shop where the sign said it all: everything for 2 euros! Inflation has taken its toll, because I remember a shop where everything must have cost 1 franc.
In the toy aisle, I had the pleasure of meeting children amazed by the selection. There were so many things that it seemed difficult to decide and make the most of your money.
I remembered that I, too, used to try to save money. I knew how to be content and appreciate a purchase that matched my savings.
In 2026, seeing the sparkle in a child’s eyes is a pleasure that should be cherished.
I thought about this when I saw the racing cars from Politoys Export. I can already imagine the questioning looks from many enthusiasts.
Let me explain. These miniatures were also intended to be sold cheaply. For a modest price, a child could own a simplified racing car. The miniature was painted in a bright color, equipped with fast wheels, in keeping with the fashion of the time. The coupes even had simple but functional translucent plastic doors. These models weren’t trying to compete with Solido or the Bobigny-made cars. You could call them entry-level products.
Until very recently, collectors shunned them. Wrongly so, in my opinion. As is often the case, you just have to put them in their economic and competitive context.
They form a group of often unique cars, which, of course, haven’t necessarily made their mark on the history of motorsport. But Solido also offers cars that didn’t exactly shine in competition, like the March 707, the Alpine 3-liter, and the Ferrari 312P Berlinetta…
Admit it, the Mirage barchetta and the Lola T70 Aston Martin offered this week are quite appealing.
modèle en vente cette semaine : Politoys – Mirage Ford barquette E-15
modèle en vente cette semaine: Politoys – Lola T70 Aston Martin 565
No other manufacturer offered them, and Claude Thivilliers had even proposed the coupé version to Dinky Toys management.
It wasn’t accepted. I’ve kept this Politoys Exports series in my collection, boxes and all. They’re really important to me because their Italian gas station scenes transport us back to a bygone era.
For example, I appreciate the beautiful color of the Lotus Europa on sale this week. It must have often been the deciding factor for the young customer. And then there’s the final advantage: they’re nearly sixty years old and still affordable. Take advantage of that.
modèle en vente cette semaine : Politoys – Lotus Europa 563
beautiful family sedans
If there’s one model car manufacturer that has truly mastered the art of crafting beautiful family sedans, it’s Tekno.
In a display case dedicated to the Danish brand’s creations, the few convertibles and sports cars seem somewhat lost amidst all the sedans and station wagons.
One thought immediately springs to mind: that a Scandinavian manufacturer would offer convertibles seems incongruous. Indeed, the period when one could drive a convertible on Danish or Swedish roads was, after all, quite short. I’m referring, of course, to before climate change.
Having traveled for nearly 35 years in these Nordic countries, I’ve witnessed a real climate shift. I remember that during my first trip to Scandinavia with my father in the mid-1980s, we were stuck at Copenhagen airport for 24 hours in December due to heavy snowfall.
So, these convertible replicas seem to have been designed primarily for export, mainly to the United States, just like the real cars.
This week we have a superb selection of three Volvo PV544s. The red one is featured on the cover of the first book dedicated to the brand, a book published around the time of our first trip to Copenhagen.
modèle en vente cette semaine : Tekno – Volvo PV544 822 rouge
I remember asking the authors about the choice of this model, in red.
They told me that this version was rare in Denmark. That was true.
However, this color is quite common here.
It was primarily intended for export. Over time, and thanks to my many travels, I realized that some colors could be common in one country and much rarer elsewhere.
I also observed this phenomenon with the Solido 100 series and the Mercury cars.
Now, all of this is swept away by the internet. Exchanges happen at lightning speed, objects travel to the four corners of the earth, and it’s now impossible to make this kind of observation. This should be documented before it’s too late.
modèle en vente cette semaine : Tekno – Volvo PV544v 822 Ivoire
modèle en vente cette semaine : Tekno – Volvo PV544 822 Grise
Finally, still from Tekno, we have a rare Volkswagen Kombi E Road Sorensen.
If you’re interested, I invite you to read the blog post “Perched on the Roof of a Danish Kombi.”
This model actually existed. It was owned by a dealership located in the suburbs of Copenhagen. Bent Danielsen, a collector friend, remembers it well.
One day, it went under a bridge that was too low, and the mannequin attached to the roof didn’t survive.
If I could only keep one Tekno Kombi in my display case, it would be this one. It perfectly encapsulates Tekno’s ingenuity and originality.
I don’t know what constraint the design team could have imposed. The figure on the roof was originally a military figurine: a crawling soldier. Tekno commissioned the Danish company Reisler to create figurines tinted blue, without the machine gun.
Then the design office devised an effective system for attaching the figure to the pavilion. It made such an impression on me that I still remember the date we bought ours, May 10, 1981 at Toymania.
modèle en vente cette semaine : Tekno – Volkswagen Kombi E.Roed Sorensen 405
My favorite of these three other sedans on the program
which have in common the fact of having been designed in France.
Jep reminds me of Gégé or ICIS, an Italian manufacturer.
What these companies have in common is that they have offered high quality plastic objects, but which are far too expensive compared to the competition.
These products were sold at the price of Dinky Toys, injected with zamac. THE reference of the time. Jep thought he could use his name and his reputation as a quality toy. This firm has a long history.
It appeared in 1909 under the name SIF (industrial tinsmith company) then took the name in 1920 of Cadeau de Paris then JEP. It was famous for its trains and also for its beautiful tin cars.
By creating a series of 1/43 miniatures, she attempted to diversify her activities and take a place in the important “small car” market. She made a bold choice, combining two materials, zamac for the chassis and plastic for the bodywork.
At the end of the 1960s, plastic was still associated with the idea of poor quality and cheap toys for many customers. In addition, Norev managers, as wise industrialists, were able to offer high quality models while driving prices down.
This may have further accentuated the idea of a low-end toy, in the eyes of part of the public, for whom price is synonymous with quality. It was on this last idea that Jep proposed his series of automobile miniatures.
This week we have a Peugeot 403. It was a commercial failure.
modèle en vente cette semaine : JEP – Peugeot 403 1612
The two other sedans in the “made in France” lineup are JRD models. Their scale is close to 1/42.
With this choice, JRD surely sought to differentiate itself from the competition, which opted for the 1/43 scale.
The choice of the Simca 1000’s color, orange (!), can also be considered unusual. It’s doubtful the color was popular at the time. Moreover, its rarity suggests that few examples were sold in this shade.
The other model in the lineup, a Peugeot 404, is finished in an elegant off-white, a color much less common than the blue version. The inclusion of the original boxes is a real bonus.
modèle en vente cette semaine : JRD – Simca 1000 155
modèle en vente cette semaine : JRD – Peugeot 404 151
also on sale this week
