#692 MAJORETTE – SAVIEM CITERNE (1975)

I have three different Majorette Saviem Tankers, which I want to show today. This particular model was manufactured between 1975 and 1983 in many different decorations.

I took a look at the catalogues and found this:

• 1975 to 1978 – 245 Cîterne – Red and Yellow “Shell”
• 1979:

• 1980:

• 1981 – 245 Citerne - Red and Yellow “Shell” and Red “Texaco”, this last one curiously marked “Gulf Tanker”.
• 1982 – 245 Citerne - Red and Yellow “Shell” and Blue and White “Gulf”, this time correctly marked.
• 1983 - 245 Citerne - Red and White “Shell” or Red and White “Esso”.

In 1984 it is replaced by a different tanker model (a Ford truck) with a more modern design.

During all those years, and although the catalogue images depicted four or five versions only, there were several colour variations available, like the Gulf version in red and white (instead of blue and white) or the Texaco version in red and white (intead of red only) among others. These variations are understandable because the Saviem truck was probably assembled on the go with one truck and then the tank. So if sometimes the colours did not match, this would not mean a big problem. Apart from that, the same casting was also available with a container box, a prefab house or some other load. The one with the house was first released in 1975 as well, and often comes with an older type of wheels. Both the tanker version and the house transport are “updates” of an older truck (a Bernard) which was available before in the same colour and with the same names (Citerne).

This six wheel model should not be mistaken with a very similar one with only four wheels.

The military version I am showing here is quite rare. It is the only one I have ever seen with those military symbols. There is another one with the text “US Army” and a white star over blue circle, but this decal is clearly different.

Other variations include a brown base or a black base (the brown one seems to be more common in older models). Most Saviem tankes have the classic mid to late 70s wheels (like the Texaco model), but some have the 3 spoke wheels too. Note that the Shell model have both types of wheels: 3-spoke front, the other on the rear. The mixing of wheel types is not rare, there are other examples on the internet.

The plastic base has two small tanks casted on both sides of the cabin. These are very fragile and often missing. Note that my only complete model is actually the Texaco model. The other two are “incomplete”.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: SAVIEM CITERNE “SHELL”, “TEXACO” and “U.S. AIRFORCE”
• Scale: 1:100
• Year: 1975
• Company: Majorette (France)
• Size: approx. 7 cm