#1080 MAJORETTE SUPER CRISTAL - NISSAN TERRANO, VW COMBI CARAVELLE and HONDA NSX (107, 113 and 117) (1994)

I had interesting conversations with other collectors and miniature car enthusiasts regarding Novacar and the portuguese Majorettes since I started this blog, so I am happy to publish again something related to this particular topic.

I bought these three Majorette Super Crystal blisterpacks from eBay in October 2019, together with other boxed Majorettes and Zylmex, but this is the pace of this blog, it takes years to find a gap to be published!

The Super Crystal models from Majorette have a die-cast base and a plastic body, which allowed to make them transparent and include (or not) glitter in the plastic component. The cars look very different to any other die-cast model or subline and are commonly misregarded by most serious collectors. Still, they are nice toys, and also rare. The interior can be seen from the outside better than in die-cast models, and they remind a little bit of Micro Machines X-Rays, which are slightly older than these. Maybe was it an inspiration for Majorette?

There are not many models available (less than in the original Novacar reference list), but each of them could be found in different colours, so if you are a completists, I have bad news for you: One single cast can appear in up to 10 different „clear“ colours plus the same 10 colours plus „glitter“. I´ll try to list the colours first:

• Green, dark green, lime green
• Red, dark red, purple, pink
• Transparent
• Blue, turquoise

Now, let´s list the models. They use the same reference numbers as the original Novacar (as they share the chassis), but you´ll notice that there are some numbers missing in between. For example, number 101, which was a Ferrari 348 GTB is not available as a Super Crystal. Why? Nobady knows, but most probably it is because it would have been so similar to the 104 Ferrari Testarossa, that they would have been difficult to differentiate. Note that the details are more difficult to perceive in this shiny transparent body.  

Number 106 Peugeot 605 is also missing from the list (was it also too generic in its shape?), and there is also no trace of the two Formula ones  (these were probably not feasible with the glittery plastic compound or the spoilers couldn´t be made in glittery plastic, so they may have looked strange as prototypes.

So the complete list of Super Crystals is this one:

Serie 280 “Super Crystal”

• 102 – Nissan 300 ZX
• 103 – Chevrolet Corvette (’83)
• 104 – Ferrari Testarossa
• 105 – Mercedes 500 SL (Cabrio)
• 107 – Nissan Terrano (here presented in glittery green)
• 108 – Kenworth (T600)
• 109 – (Chevrolet) Impala Police
• 110 – Renault Espace
• 111 – Sport Proto (Porsche 962 Group C Racer)
• 113 – Combi VW Caravelle (here presented in glittery purple)
• 116 – Pick Up Chevrolet
• 117 – Honda NSX (here presented in clear transparent)

The cars could be purchased in single blisterpacks, like the ones I have, but also in double blisterpacks, but I have no notice of bigger boxes or gift sets. Of course, they were cheaper to produce than the standard die-cast series, but the shiny looking made them special so the gain per unit sold was probably great. Unfortunately, the sales were not good, and the line was discontinued after two years. They appear in the Majorette catalogues between 1994 and 1996, year in which the portuguese factory of  Paredes was closed (together with some other in France) and a big part of the prodcution moved to Thailand.

1996 Catalogue

FACTS AND FIGURES: 

• Name:  NISSAN TERRANO, VW COMBI CARAVELLE and HONDA NSX (107, 113 and 117)
• Scale: 1:64
• Year: 1994
• Company: Majorette (France/Portugal)
• Size: approx. 7 cm

#1067 MATCHBOX vs. MAJORETTE – BMW 3.0 CSi/CSL (1973 and 1976)

These two miniatures are based on almost the same car. The BMW 3.0 CSi was the street version while the CSL was lighter and prepared for competition (the „L“ means „Leichtbau“ or „light construction“, both of them had 200 HP and were really fast.

 

Majorette´s reproduction is really fine, and it even came with opening doors. It was available between 1973 and 1979 in so many colours that I will skip a list of variants. They came also with different types of wheels. I have currently two in my collection. One in metallic red, the other one in blue. Both are in good shape, although with some chips in the paint. The construction of the roof is a bit fragile, note that the blue model has a little displacement, it was probably stepped on sometime in the past. This blue model carriese the oldest type of wheel. 

Matchbox version was copyrighted in 1976 and was sold between that year and 1981. The reproduction is slightly broader, specially in the arches over the wheels, what makes it look more like a sports car. The orange version is, by far, the most common, as it was sold during the whole lifespan of the cast.

There were other versions available, like the rarer white and green Polizei version made for Germany only, or the white and red version with 123 stickers (kind of emergency vehicle) produced between 1978 and 1979, or the even rarer S. Manhalter version, made for Austria only as a promotional item. This model is made in white and has a sticker on the back with a signature. The front sticker is the same as in the orange model. It is very rare, and, if mint in its box is being traded in 2025 for around 400-500 euro on the internet. Of course, this model is not mint, but I am sure I didn´t pay more than 1 euro for it (wherever I bought it), so I am happy to discover another rarity in my collection.

FACTS AND FIGURES: 

• Name: BMW 3.0 CSi and BMW 3.0 CSL
• Scale: Around 1:64
• Year: 1973 and 1976
• Company: Majorette (France) and Matchbox (United Kingdom)
• Size: approx. 7 cm

#1029 SOLIDO – LOLA T 280 (Nr. 15) (1973)

I have had chances to buy many Solido models over the years, but most of the times, I refused. Models by Solido are mostly in 1:43 scale, which was not very interesting for me until quite late in my collector´s life. Recently I found this excellent model of a Lola Sport Prototype with Swiss Cheese decorations (funny!) and in perfect shape. I couldn´t let this go. It is beautifully made and it comes with practicable motor cover.

As usual in this brand, the car is only decorated on the side that can be seen through the box window. A sheet of stickers is available in the box, that the buyer has to apply himself or herself. In this case, the owner didn't do that.

The real car was used in the year 1972 to run Le Mans. This decoration corresponds to two different teams. RN7 belonged to the Team Ecurie Bonnet Switzerland and the drivers were Hughes de Fierlant (from Belgium), Jorge de Bagration (from Spain) and Mário de Araújo Cabral (from Portugal). The team abandoned after only 26 laps. RN8 did a bit better, completing a total of 213 laps after abandoning. The drivers in this case were Joakim Bonnier (from Sweden), Gérard Larrouse (from France) and Gijs van Lennep (from the Netherlands). This last driver made the fastest lap in the race that year.

Seen at: www.conradantiquario.info/content/katalog/solido-export-1973.html

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name:  LOLA T 280 (Nr. 15)
• Scale: 1:43
• Year: 1973
• Company: Solido (France)
• Size: approx. 9 cm

#1022 NOREV – RENAULT VAN (Around 1995)

This time I want to show only one die-cast van marked Norev, which is, to my knowledge, very rare. I haven´t seen any Norev like this before. The quality is not very good, the base is plastic and the paintwork is also not the best possible. It is also a "Made in China" model. The wheel design is, to my knowledge, unknown to this brand.

Other Norev from these years are much better casted, have metallic base, practicable parts, detailed interiors and other nice features. This van could be part of a bigger set/playset and maybe they required a cheaper model. It is known to me, that it is based on a Corgi Juniors cast, but for some reason, it was labelled Norev afterwards.

That is why I think it has some interest to be shown here. Do you have any of these Norevs in your collection? Do you know where does it come from? Any information is welcome.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: RENAULT VAN
• Scale: Approx 1:64
• Year: 1995
• Company: Norev (France)
• Size: 7 cms

#1014 VEREM – PEUGEOT 504 COUPÉ V6 (Nr. 1055) (1980)

I had never heard of Verem until I found this car in a flea market several years ago, together with other models in the same scale (Schuco, Gama, Solido and others). I bought it, because if the brand was unknown to me, it had to be a rare model, and I always enjoy adding one more brand to my collection. I also like the car represented very much.

There is very few information on the web about them. On hobbydb, I could read that it was founded under another name as a division of Solido. As a matter of fact, the company was based in Rouves, just a few kilometers aways from the Solido factory. The name Verem was first used in 1984, four years after Majorette purchased Solido. The name comes from Majorette founder EMile VERon.

Other sources are not sure if Verem was a subsidiary or an independent licensee, although the geographical closeness to Solido and the ownership of Majorette, seems to point out in the subsidiary direction.

What we know for sure is that Verem offered re-editions of Solido references from the 70s and 80s, including military vehicles, and also resin models in 1994.

The toy car is a Peugeot 504 Coupé V6 based on a Solido cast, and done with high quality. It has lots of practicable parts and also the paintwork is great. I like very much the model! The car was also great back in the 70s and the 80s, but very rare to spot, as it was the top of the 504 series, and a very expensive car at the time.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: PEUGEOT 504 COUPÉ V6 (Nr. 1055)
• Scale: 1:43 (approx.)
• Year: 1980
• Company: Verem (France)
• Size: approx 9 cm

#975 NOVACAR – NISSAN 300 ZX, FERRARI TESTAROSSA, MERCEDES 500 SL (CABRIO), KENWORTH (T600) (1994)

This is a set of four vehicles I exchanged with a friend around 2 years ago. I think my first Novacar entry is quite complete, and has been quite successful, being even translated in message boards as well as referenced many times, so I won’t make any more references to the history of the brand or the series they produced.

We can take a look at the packaging, as this time, all four models are mint on package. Unfortunately, all cards are the same. They are not very elaborated, colourful and rather small. The card shows a three-lane road with two Lamborghini Countachs. The only difference among all four lies in the bubbles, which are different sizes to fit different models. The back part shows the safety instructions in many languages: Portuguese, English, French, Dutch, German, Spanish, Italian, Danish, Swedish and Greek, so we can figure out it was exported to all these countries and more.

The cars are all from 1994, and, therefore, the first decoration of the two available:

• 102 – Nissan 300 ZX in light blue
• 104 – Ferrari Testarossa in red
• 105 – Mercedes 500 SL (Cabrio) in grey
• 108 – Kenworth (T600) in blue

 

 

 

 

The cars have nice colours and/or tampographies, especially the Nissan and the Kenworth. The Ferrari Testarossa might be confused with the 348 GTB, which is reference 101. Both models are very similar, and exchanged their colours in their first and second decoration. The 348 was yellow in 1994 and red in 1995, and the Testarossa was red (this one in the pictures) in 1994 and yellow in 1995.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: NISSAN 300 ZX, FERRARI TESTAROSSA, MERCEDES 500 SL (CABRIO), KENWORTH (T600) (Ref. 102, 104, 105 and 108)
• Scale: 1:64 (approx.)
• Year: 1994
• Company: Novacar (Portugal) / Majorette (France)
• Size: Around 7 cm