Collector's Exchanges - Univers Autojaune

Discover a selection of models that will be on sale this week from tomorrow Monday FEBRUARY 17, 2025 until Thursday FEBRUARY 20 on our site AUTOJAUNE COLLECTION

Tekno - Volvo car spaarbank voor de stad amsterdam-Raphael Lipkin - Coles grue mobile 20t Pickfords- Dinky Toys GB - Camion d'entrepôt semi remorque ridelles - Dinky Toys GB - Camion type 1 plateau

en vente cette semaine: Tekno – Volvo car spaarbank voor de stad amsterdam-Raphael Lipkin – Coles grue mobile 20t Pickfords- Dinky Toys GB – Camion d’entrepôt semi remorque ridelles – Dinky Toys GB – Camion type 1 plateau

I remember...

… of Christian Cathary, a teacher in the Paris region, and his singing accent. He was born in the South-West. Because he knew that we were eagerly looking for the Citroën 1200kgs Brandt from C-I-J, Jean Michel Roulet gave us his contact details at the end of the seventies. He had a duplicate. It was a time when the collector who had a beautiful piece to negotiate, preferred the exchange to money. It was the guarantee of bringing another “beautiful” model into his collection. We often did exchanges with other enthusiasts. Today this practice has completely disappeared and with it a certain way of collecting. Money is king. I remember that Christian Cathary was looking for the GMC set with its trailer from the Pinder circus from Dinky Toys in a box. We found one for him and did the exchange some time later.

Collection personelle AutoJaune – CIJ Citroën 1200 Brandt (variantes) 2

This “Brandt” has a unique history. It was designed on JRD manufacturing cases that C-I-J recovered when the Montreuil firm ceased operations. Some examples even have a JRD engraved chassis. C-I-J will use them until exhaustion before creating a smooth chassis, without inscription.

CIJ Citroën 1200 Brandt (variantes) collection AutoJaune

Collection personelle AutoJaune – CIJ Citroën 1200 Brandt (variantes) 2

The model was designed for promotional use. I had proof of this when I recovered a good hundred copies, new in box and coming from a former salesman at Brandt. This company used a fleet of identical Citroëns for its deliveries. The surplus of the order was sold commercially. There is even a very rare box, without the mentions “Brandt” on the labels affixed to the sides. This van is an aesthetic but also technical success. I appreciate the impeccable realization of the stencils

modèle en vente cette semaine : C.I.J. – Citroën 1200kgs Brandt 3-89B

Much later, I would think about it again when I saw the Volkswagen Kombi Politiken from Tekno and its blue stencil cutting the model in two. The “Brandt” is indeed a legendary piece, which has not aged a day. I still have the same pleasure when I see the two variants in my display case. Its rating has become reasonable following this exhumed lot. That was almost 25 years ago.

Tekno Volkswagen Kombi Politiken Collection personelle AutoJaune

At the same time, the Saviem JL20 civilian Véronique rocket launcher, also on the program, was also already rare. No one thought of or wanted to buy this curious machine. You have to be a child at heart or be called Jacques Prévert to appreciate this product. The sweet name of this French rocket is the result of the abbreviation of the two words “VERnon” (one of the seats of the astronautics research center and “électrONIQUE”. Like me, I hope that you will appreciate the character, dressed all in yellow and especially the perforated accessory placed in front of him, which seems to help him guide the rocket. We are a long way from the launchers for the Soyuz and Apollo rockets. But the charm works. It is the “made in France” rocket made with the means at hand.

modèle en vente cette semaine : C.I.J. – Saviem JL20 tracteur semi remorque lance fusée 3-97

Let’s come back down to earth with these two superb programmed C-I-Js: the Saviem S7 with tarpaulin and the Renault R3040 with its trailer. Finding them in this state of preservation with their box is far from easy. These models are the result of the perfect know-how of the Briare workshops. Nearly fifteen years separate them and yet nothing seems to have changed at C-I-J in the way of designing a toy. I am talking about the alliance of three materials: zamac, folded sheet metal and plastic. Let’s take the tractor. The main element is injected in zamac, the wings and the trailer are in sheet metal and the character in plastic. Few toy manufacturers have mastered these three materials so well.

modèle en vente cette semaine :C.I.J. – Renault R3040 3-38

It is legitimate, however, to question the relevance, in the mid-sixties, the date of the second model, the Saviem S7, of the combination of these three materials. The body and the tarpaulin are made of folded sheet metal. This design was outdated at the time of its production. The miniature, however, has a lot of charm. It is a last C-I-J production. This is also what is touching. The “Saviem blue” and the green tarpaulin form a successful harmony.

modèle en vente cette semaine :C.I.J. – Saviem S7 ridelles bâché 4-76

beautiful norev

I knew Yves Gillereau well, one of the pioneers of the Norev collection. Surely one of the first to have collected this brand voluntarily.

In the mid-seventies, this type of collection raised many questions. You just have to delve back into the not always kind writings of Jacques Greilsamer in the magazine Modelisme. It was not the quality of execution of the Norevs that the latter questioned but rather the material used, Rhodialite, which irremediably placed these miniatures in the department of bazaar toys or worse, beach toys.

Plastic had a bad press for a large part of consumers. The low prices of the models associated them, a quick and false shortcut, with objects of mediocre quality. The deformations, especially of the rims and sometimes also of the bodies, reinforced this approach among many enthusiasts in the eighties, before people realized that a large part of the production escaped these problems and that it was enough to be attentive in its purchases.

It will take time for the Norevs to acquire their letters of nobility. Now, due to a significant demand, they are negotiated largely at the same level, or even higher than the Dinky Toys.

It was Yves Gillereau, in the mid-eighties, who opened my eyes and advised me. I had been receptive to the beauty of these objects and to his advice and I had started looking for my first models. It is a rich collection that can occupy a lifetime. Yves Gillereau finally put an end to his quest. His wife found that he devoted too much time and space to it.

I thought of him when I saw these few copies for sale.

modèle en vente cette semaine : Norev – Citroën 1200kgs Michelin 81

I am not sure that he had the Citroën 1200kgs Michelin offered this week. It is a rare piece. I wonder about the destination of this model. Michelin had links with Norev and several models bear the name of the Clermont firm (1200kgs, Estafette, Saviem bus sc 10…) I also remember another detail. At that time, few enthusiasts demanded the boxes of these models. It will take a long time.

This week we have some beautiful examples in box including a rare orange Morris Mini and a burgundy Peugeot 404.

modèle en vente cette semaine : Norev – Morris Mini 850 75

modèle en vente cette semaine : Norev – Peugeot 404 51

We even have two empty boxes for sale. Something unthinkable forty years ago when no one would have thought of buying empty Norev boxes.

modèle en vente cette semaine : Norev – Renault estafette car 55A

modèle en vente cette semaine : Norev – Lancia Stratos 183

question of experience

When Jean Vital-Rémy entered the Dinky Toys collection, at the end of the eighties, the “box” phenomenon was still in its infancy. The absence of the case was not an obstacle to the acquisition of a model. Jean Vital-Rémy stood out for his ability to unite many sellers around him.

He had set himself the goal of bringing together all French and English Dinky Toys from before and after the war, with the exception of all the utility vehicles.

He had no interest in trucks, military vehicles or public works vehicles.

Everyone knew him.

He succeeded in bringing together an exceptional collection. He did not hesitate to visit collections all over Europe, and when he spotted a Dinky Toy he was missing, he did not hesitate to offer a tempting exchange or a very good price. His desire to move forward commanded respect. Long before Mr. Gougeon, he had endlessly declined all the variants, and in all the ranges that he collected. He mentioned more than once his desire to make a book. Life would decide otherwise.

modèle en vente cette semaine : Dinky Toys France – Peugeot 403 24B

Seeing all these Dinky Toys for sale this week, I would not have failed to warn him of the presence of the rare Dinky Toys Peugeot 403 very pale yellow without windows. Its shade would surely have interested him, as well as that of the Simca Aronde olive green. There are three shades of green with both the smooth or checkered roof, like the one for sale…that makes six in total!

modèle en vente cette semaine : Dinky Toys France – Simca 24U

I would have warned him of the presence in the list of models for sale, of the two models equipped with concave steel rims: the Jaguar Type D and the Cadillac Eldorado. These late variants seem to have fallen a little into oblivion due to the ignorance of enthusiasts.

They are however difficult to obtain.

They are at the end of production and often, they are accompanied by a clear nuance of color.

modèle en vente cette semaine : Dinky Toys GB – Cadillac Eldorado 131

modèle en vente cette semaine : Dinky Toys GB – Jaguar Type D 238

I would have also certainly offered him the 22 lead coupe that marks the beginning of the adventure. Of course, he already had it, but he knew that this kind of product, very rare, is interesting to have in duplicate to make good exchanges.

modèle en vente cette semaine : Dinky Toys GB – Auto coupé 22B

I know something about it. He had his friend Jean-Bernard Sarthe intervene with my father, knowing that we had a good relationship with him, to try to exchange our navy blue pre-production Opel Rekord with grey roof. Jean-Bernard, too eager to demonstrate his skill in getting what he wanted from collectors, had not hesitated to let my father have many C-I-Js including a new Renault 4cv Cinzano, a Berliet GBO fardier from Quiralu… we were very lucky to be able to get it back later.

Some twenty years had passed. But I swore to myself that I would never do it again. I never again gave away a “unique” model from my collection even if the offer was tempting. A question of experience

(Voir blog vingt ans d’absence)

ensemble d’Opel Rekord- collection personnelle AutojauneCollection- extrait du blog 20 AND D’ABSCENCE A LIRE ICI

My favorite of the three Foden trucks on offer.

However, it is not my favorite truck in English Dinky Toys because I prefer the “small” Guy Otter, Leyland Comet or the Bedford series of the same period.

On the other hand, it was my father’s favorite truck.

He liked its imposing appearance. You have to know how to put this “machine” in its context. It is 1947. The war has just ended.

Before the war, children only knew the trucks of the 25 series and here appears this “Monster”: an 8-wheel truck in 1/50.

en vente cette semaine: Dinky Toys GB – Foden MK1 plateau dosseret 503

We are coming out of a long shortage. However, as a snub to this terrible period and to restrictions of all kinds, the Liverpool firm dares to equip it with 9 sculpted rubber tires, of a new format. The rubber, like the zamac that will be used to manufacture it, were limited.

This toy comes out as if nothing had happened before. Imagine the shock for the young clientele! Following the Shetland seaplane, it is also equipped with an individual case. Sumptuous.

Stop for a moment, and compare the contemporary French range. We will already have to wait until 1949 to see the Ford and Studebaker trucks appear, and one more year, 1950, to see them equipped with rubber tires. Our small trucks of the French 25 series will wait for their third version, in 1952, to have an engraving quality equivalent to this Foden.

Observe the grille and the finesse of its engraving. Yes, this model must have been a shock when it appeared.

modèle en vente cette semaine : Dinky Toys GB – Foden Mk 1 camion 8 roues ridelles

I can see why it was the UK’s favourite truck for forty years. I am annoyed when new collectors fail to appreciate it. They have even less excuse as prices have really come down. (Voir blog sur Foden à LIRE ICI)