Like many of you on CC, I have a thing for unusual cars. Camrys, Impalas and Fusions are all well and good, but I would rather look at and drive eclectic stuff. One thing that has always bothered me is that so many cool foreign cars–Seat, Citroen, Renault, Peugeot, JDM Toyotas and Nissans, etc.–are not available on our shores. Even the marques that do make it have a limited lineup, because apparently too many people want dumbed-down SUVs and vanilla appliances instead of real cars. Witness the departure of BMW and Volvo wagons from the U.S., for instance–replaced with larded-up crossovers. Curses! But I can still collect cool model cars. Like these two.
I know I’ll probably take some flak for saying so, but I kind of like the Juke. Despite it being somewhat reminiscent of the awkward Datsun F-10, I think they look rather interesting, and pretty good in black with the larger factory alloys. At any rate, I like them well enough to buy Tomica’s scale version.
Yes, Tomica models (sold under the Pocket Cars name in the U.S. from the mid-’70s to the late ’80s) are back in stores. Unfortunately, only Toys “R” Us sells them, and for some reason, they are not stocked with the other model cars. I was able to find them at the Davenport store, but never saw them at the Moline store. I just assumed the one didn’t stock them, but recently I decided to walk through the entire Moline store, just to be sure. To my surprise, I found them way on the other side of the store. At least I had a great selection, apparently because no one else could find them either. But now I know where they are, and this store is a lot closer to home!
I had to get the little red Juke, along with a Mitsubishi fire truck, a white Prius (MikePDX, better check out your local store!), silver Subaru Legacy sedan and a few others. If you like JDM cars, I strongly suggest checking these Tomicas out. I had a bunch of Pocket Cars as a kid, and still have most of them today. So, to say I have a soft spot for them is an understatement. They are just as detailed and quality-built as the earlier units, though I was a little disappointed that the Juke didn’t have an opening hatch like many of the other new Tomicas.
Ah, but I bet many of you, particularly KiwiBryce, are more interested in the vintage toy, a Citroen CX. I had, and still have, a light metallic blue Matchbox CX wagon from the late ’70s (it and my green Matchbox Cougar Villager were two of my most prized toy cars as a kid) but I never knew Playart made a CX sedan. It is a very accurate casting and even has opening doors. I like the wheels too–they remind me of the classic Porsche Fuchs wheels.
The CX was introduced in late ’74 and was the 1975 European COTY. Meant to replace the lovely, long-lived DS, the CX and CX estate were built almost as long as its predecessor, as the last ones came off the line in 1991. And like the DS, these retained a modern appearance all the way to the end. They still look good today. My favorite one would be an early model in orange with the matching orange interior.
Playart was a minor contender to Matchbox and Hot Wheels in the ’70s. They were pretty well detailed but I never had any as a child. My cousin, however, had a Playart Volvo 164E that I really, really wanted. I still don’t have one. Darn, now I’m going to have to start checking ebay for one!
I accompanied my folks to the annual antique show downtown last Saturday. Though I didn’t think I would buy anything, it’s always fun to look at old stuff. But to my surprise, one booth had all sorts of model cars and dealer promotionals. I didn’t want to spend mega-bucks, but I did look through a couple of boxes of 1/64 scale cars marked “your choice–50 cents.”
It was mostly well-worn 10- to 15-year old Hot Wheels, but this little yellow Citroen was in there with them, so I had to rescue it! Money well spent; I can’t recall any other time in my life where a fifty-cent purchase made my day!
Here’s my favorite Playart, a Volvo 343 that I picked up at the Flohmarkt along the Elbe in Dresden:
Be careful Tom. There are folks out there who have expressed hatred for the Juke and other Nissan designs. They are probably especially vulnerable at that size. When will I see a cube?
Like this?
Just beautiful
If I see one of those at the store, I’m buying it!
“Be careful Tom. There are folks out there who have expressed hatred for the Juke and other Nissan designs. ”
Like Junqueboi, for example?
Naah. Junkboi just doesn’t like them. There is another guy that promised violence for a juke (I think) with a shovel. I’m not driving by his neck of the woods.
Yeah I like the CX they are a rare sighting in the metal these days, one of the cars that prompted galvanising of European cars the rust monster ate the lot.
Cool! Online they just list this Prius / MiEV set. My best friend drives an MiEV (which he still loves after a year of daily use). Looks like I’ll have to order that!
I wonder how hard they are to take apart and paint…my Prius is red, his MiEV is black.
Not too hard. Drill out the rivets enough to pop the base off and you’re in!
I had a couple of the Playart cars growing up. I actually still have the blue 69 or 70 (can’t recall which) Mustang and I vaguely remember a 69 or 70 Javelin or AMX in green.
I’m glad someone else is making this connection. I have been saying for years that there is more than a passing resemblance between the Citroen DS-21 and the Infiniti FX-35 (adjusts foil hat).
Ever since Nissan and Renault became allied, we’ve seen cars from Japan that seem a bit French.
Santa brought my son one of those Jukes for Christmas! Since we live in Japan though, we can find Tomica cars wherever we want. In big cities, there are plenty of Tomica stores, too (conveniently located next to the PlaRail stores, owned by the same company). While he has a WHOLE BUNCH of Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars handed down to him from me (almost none with paint left), the proportion of his collection that is Tomica is steadily growing. They make some cool stuff. My favorite is the WRX Santa brought him. I’d like to find a second generation Impreza so he can have a car just like the one Daddy drives.
Wow Thank you for writing this!!!
You really hit a nerve down memory lane when you wrote this. A flood of good memories. Like you, I had always desired and succeeded in varying my die cast car collection as a child. The ecclectic and older the model—-the better for me.
I was lucky to have grown up near a Woolworth’s since PlayArt models were exclusively. sold there and you had to ask a store person to get one because the cars were locked up in a display case. I cannot tell you how many of the Citroen CXs I went through and harassed family members to get for me. 🙂 Best guess was three or four:the very first one was actually a rare maroon colored car that I inadvertently broke off the doors, a familiar yellow car which the doors broke off again and crushed by someone I lent it to and threw it in the street which put me in tears, another yellow car that got lost only to reappear months later after I had my own $1 and cents to buy another yellow car this time featuring the doors permanently-soldered!!!
Out of all the matchbox,corgi, etc. I mainly collected, the Playart Citroen CXs were the cream of my collection.
I still have my light blue Matchbox Citroen CX wagon too! It was always a favourite.
I’ve got what I assumed was a Play Art Citroen CX in gold. Truthfully, I never really lookt to see what the brand was till now.
Turns out it’s a “Pofi-Toys”. Must be on the rare side at least in the US as I’ve never heard of the brand ever!
It’s a little on the crude side however.
Also have the light blue MB wagon. One of the precious few realistic post-’71 Lesneys.
Very good casting.
That would be Politoys. They were made in Italy and did some very cool models; later on, the name was changed to Polistil. I have an ’80s 1/24-scale light blue Polistil Volvo 760GLE sedan my folks got me for Christmas when I was a kid. I’ll have to figure out what box it’s in and do a writeup 🙂
I miss-spelled it. I meant Polfi not Pofi. So it was Polfi-Toys originally? Now I know!
Tom, if you dig out the 760, I’ll dig out my matching 1/24 light blue Polistil 740GL wagon!
I have the wagon too, plus a maroon sedan I got on ebay about a dozen years ago 🙂
Tom, sometimes I think you are me in other continent. I too had (and still have and love) the blue Citroen break and green Mercury Cougar Villager. Never had a Playart model.
Ah, the Cougar Villager, one of my favorite Matchbox. I have two, the one from my childhood (missing most of its paint, a well-loved car) and the mint one I bought on eBay.
Tom, that Playart looks a LOT like the CX I had a s a child, but I don’t recall the “Playart” name. I wonder if they licensed the design? There is an off chance it’s still at my parents’ house in a box o’ cars–I’ll probably run across said box as they want me to help Dad clean the attic when I visit in August. I’ll have to investigate and see if the CX is present.
Speaking of 1/24, anyone remember the 1/24 Majorette models from the 80’s? I know I had a Countach, a 959, and a 944 turbo.
I remember Majorettes, but they entered the oz market just as I was leaving it so to speak. Tomica seemed to pop up here around the same time and missed those too. Always on the lookout for a good non-flared Countach. The first Matchbox one didn’t quite do it justice.
The earlier Mercury Commuter was the bomb. Both in 1-75 and Speedking.