Gift packs are usual in the die-cast world. Majorette had several types of them, being all of them very rare to find nowadays. Maybe it was the size that prevented most people to keep these boxes unopened or conserve the packaging.
Today I am talking about the 960 series, which came out for the first time in 1992 and consists in boxes containing a strange mixture of vehicles, as the few boxes made included each a big trailer from the 600 series, a car with trailer from the 300 series and a single car from the 200 series.
There were ony 4 references ever made, but these varied from year to year. These were:
- 961 Coffrett Espace – Rocket Space Set (also Rocket Radar Space Set)
- 962 Coffrett Miami – Jet Setters
- 963 Coffret Secours Pompier – Fire Rescue Set
- 964 Coffret Ferme – Farm Set
Catalogues from 1994 (left) and 1995 (right)
Later there were other boxes made, that did not carry any specific reference number or name, and they were simply referred as 960. I have at least spotted a construction set and, probably, there were not many more available. The four above (or variations of them) were also available without the name on the front part.
Despite the size of the set, it was probably not very expensive, as the series 600 (the big truck) is mostly made of plastic and was probably sold in a range of prices that was not so high, mostly considering its size.
The Farm Set I am presenting is probably the least attractive, but this box still has some interesting facts to comment. Note the illustration on the back that shows a drawing of the vehicles, including an El Camino SS, which was the car used in the first versions of the box. I think the original release came with a white version, but the 1994 box comes with a green version “New Decoration” which is exclusive to the box.
Even later, the El Camino SS was replaced by the car you can see here, a Mustang GT Convertible. The blue version was a new decoration from 1993, but could be found in the ordinary 200 series as well. A second box I own includes the same car, but in its new decoration fom 1994. None of these cars show any relation to a farm, or do they? Therefore these boxes were probably released in 1995.
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| Mustang GT Convertible, model from 1993 |
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| Mustang GT Convertible, model from 1994 |
The tractor and the truck are just as the standard issues. The tractor comes with it rather simple and almost completely made of plastic trailer, and the big truck includes two horses in each color, four in total, that are easily lost. The horse box is a classic model in the die-cast world, nice, but, compared to other 600 series’ references, it is maybe not the most attractive one.
FACTS AND FIGURES:
- Name: COFFRET FERME / FARM SET (964) (MAJORETTE TRANSPORTS, SERIES 960)
- Scale: 1:64
- Year: 1995
- Company: Majorette (France)
- Size: car is approx. 3 cm long
