We don’t cover a great many diecasts at SMN, as this is primarily a model making site, rather than one designed for collectors. But there are justifiable exceptions, and the Moulinsart Tintin collection from France is one of them.
If you’ve ever read a Tintin graphic novel, or admired the crisp line drawings of the character’s Belgian creator, Hergé, then you’ll love these nicely engineered miniatures.
Remember the blue taxi in
Tintin in America? The Citroen 2CV in
The Castafiore Emerald? These two and many others have been engineered to 1:43 scale, by Moulinsart.
What defines these miniatures is the stylish look - unlike the ultra-realistic aim of most diecast engineers, Tintin models are made to echo the appearance of drawings as they were printed in the books. So there’s often a subtle simplification of detail, but more importantly, there has been the addition of truly excellent scale figurines, to create a micro-diorama effect with each release. Most subjects can be traced to a single frame in a Tintin book, and the hard work put in by the diecast creators really shows in the finished models.
Those in the engineering team have taken technical drawings from the Hergé archives, studied frames from the books, and taken great care to make the miniatures actually look like three-dimensional versions of the original illustrations.
We’ve had a look at one of these before (below), the delightful Triumph Herald and Caravan set,
which we featured here.
But now the vehicles are more widely available, and many online retailers have them available to buy.
Features of the Tintin collectibles:
* Scale: 1/43
* Faithful reproduction
* Figurines included
* Same colours and style as the books
* Presented on display base.
World map (below), as drawn by Hergé way back in 1932.
French market advert (below) for the Tintin Jeep. When launched, this was sold at a deep discount price to hook buyers in for more. Actually, little to no hook would be required for this Tintin fan, as they are all excellent models.
For retro lovers, there's a 1950s-era Euro-bus and trailer
available from Editions Atlas, here. It's a brilliant bit of modelling, as not only is a driver included, but there's also a full set of passengers, making it a very busy miniature coach, and a rare treasure among diecast models.
For more Moulinsart Tintin, click the Amazon links below.
