This beautiful Citroen Acadiane van is a recent pick up for myself. Sitting in a wicker basket of heavily play worn toy cars of various scales and qualities, this little gem cost me all of 50 pence.

A Real Citroen Acadiane in Blue

Although these days I am quite particular with what models I buy (focusing on specific vehicle marques and generations (1970s-1990s)) I am a sucker when it comes to Marjoette models. I love their attention to detail for such regular cars. Not to shame the fantasy models that exist, they have their place, but when I was a lad I would love to play with cars that I would see on the road, or that family members owned.

Rear-Side shot

This little van is an unusual ‘postal van’ variant which sports two blue and white envelope decals on the side of the van box and a strange planet decal on the bonnet/hood; which vaguely resembles the planet Saturn. Unsure what the planet has to do with postal delivery, it may be a poor attempt of showing an arrow moving around the world to indicate the worldwide presence of post?

As with many Majorette models this model has a feature in that the rear doors open. Each door opens freely, although there is no catch system to stop doors opening when the model is in motion. The plastic doors are the same colour as the interior colour (white) and are nicely detailed with door handles, ridges in the panelling, a vehicle registration plate and two cleanly defined windows. There isn’t any detail inside the van compartment but it is a nice wide open space for the scale. Visibility of the cockpit is slightly obscured by the low-slung roof of the cabin and small windows however one can distinguish a bench seat and basic steering wheel mould are present. No other details are present for the interior.

Head-on shot

The model features clear plastic glass for 5 windows: windscreen with wiper and mirror etchings, driver side window, passenger side window, driver side rear window and passenger side rear window. The rear door windows do not contain any plastic ‘glass’.

The car features an all metal body and base, the latter of which is unpainted. Sporting a bright yellow paint job body helps bring out the finer details on this model. Moulded headlights, turn signals, front grille, front emblem, rear taillights, rear turn signals, door handles, ridged panelling for the van box, petrol filler cap, air vent on the bonnet and a metal cast vehicle registration plate on the front of the model really demonstrate how much attention Majorette give to what most would simply consider a toy.

Rear Shot with Feature

The model features four plastic wheels which spin freely and independently on two axles. As with many Majorette models a form of suspension is present, which acts as a deterrent to bent axles from heavy play. The wheel design is lacking and sports a tri-spoke design.

The model is fixed together by one rivet towards the front of the body, with a metal clip to the rear of the van holding the base to the body with the plastic interior and glass being sandwiched in.

Underside shot

The condition of my model is average. There are a few marks across the body where paint has chipped off over the years; however there doesn’t appear to be any serious amounts of corrosion. The decals have held up well during this cars life-span, with the odd planet decal being the worst for wear. All the axles appear straight and the car rolls freely along a surface, however hits some resistance quite soon. I am unsure if I will ‘restore’ this vehicle as I don’t want to lose the decal designs. I may however look to adding some detail to the headlights, taillights and turn signals. I love to collect utility cars, even more so when they are licensed vehicles, as they are great additions to diorama scenes.

Model Status – In Collection 

Model Details