I fell in love with the 1991 Chevrolet Caprice when it first came out. Unfortunately, it wasn’t sold in the Philippines. But the Nissan Cefiro A31 (produced from 1988 to 1993) was sold in the Philippines, and it looked quite similar to the 1991 Chevrolet Caprice.
Majorette Nissan Cefiro A31 (front view)
This Majorette Nissan Cefiro A31 is the first scale model of a Cefiro that I have seen. This model number 233A-2 is colored black and was the only Cefiro available at the time at the store I bought it from. (233A-1 is red; 233A-3 is silver; and 233A-4 is white.) At around PhP 250, it is quite expensive, but it has an opening hood, and its front headlights are made of clear plastic, so the price seems fair.
Majorette Nissan Cefiro A31 (back)
The base is black plastic and states that the model is made in Thailand.
I have removed my third Majorette Transporter from its packaging. (I mentioned that I might in a previous blog post). It has a scale of 1:87, and I only have very few models with that scale. I decided to nevertheless take some pictures of some of my “free” models (those that have been removed from their packaging) regardless of their scales.
MAN, Lamborghini, Speed Racer, Toyota
The picture above (“white”) shows three Tomicas: a Lamborghini Countach LP400 (1:61), a Speed Racer Mach 5 (1:??), and a Toyota Vitz (1:57).
MAN, Nissan, Nissan, Nissan
The picture above (“Skylines”) shows three Tomicas: a silver Nissan Skyline HT 2000GT-R Racing (1:62), a dark gray Nissan Skyline GT-R (BNR32) (1:62), and a red Nissan Skyline HT 2000 Turbo RS (1:63).
MAN, Subaru, VW-Porsche, Nissan, Nissan, Nissan
The picture above (“performance cars”) shows a Tomica Subaru Impreza WRX STI (1:67), a Matchbox ’71 VW-Porsche 914-6 (1:60), and the three Skylines from the previous picture.
MAN, Dodge, Dodge
The picture above (“transporters”) shows the MAN (1:87) next to an M2 Machines 1957 Dodge COE (1:64) and 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona HEMI (1:64).
Suzuki, Toyota, Isuzu, Daihatsu
I decided to include a few pictures of some of my “free” models without the transporter. The one above (“food”) shows four Tomicas: a Suzuki Carry (1:55), a Toyota Town Ace Hamburger Car (1:64), an Isuzu Giga Fried Potato Car (1:???), and a Daihatsu Midget (1:50) in Coca-Cola livery.
The picture above (“construction,” but the combine harvester is “agriculture”) shows a Siku Truck with Trailer and Compact Excavator (1:87), a Tomica Yanmar Combine AJ218 (1:47), a Tomica Sakai Pneumatic Tire Type Milling Machine (1:91), a Tomica Furukawa Wheel Loader FL140 (1:79), a Tomica Hanta Asphalt Paver F1741WZ (1:77), and a Tomica Maeda Seisakusho Mini Crawler Crane (1:???).
I have a few more “free” models, but I didn’t have time to take pictures of them.
When I was a child, I was slightly uncomfortable playing with models having different scales. It was difficult to create reasons why, for example, a motorcycle would be bigger than a truck. I said to myself that when I grew up, I would buy models that have the same scale. Now that I’m an adult, I find out that the only models that have the same scale are the expensive ones that are not being sold in the stores I usually visit. Maybe when I retire, I’ll create my own models that have the same scale.
Around four years ago, I blogged about my Majorette Transporter. Some time after that (I don’t know when), I bought another Majorette Transporter with the intent of removing one from the package. (My memory is getting bad. I thought I had blogged about the second Majorette Transporter before, but it seems that I haven’t.) When I got home, I was a little disappointed to find out that my second Majorette Transporter was not exactly the same as the first one. This meant that I couldn’t open either of them. Before reading further, look at the images below and see if you can spot the differences.
Majorette Transporters (front of card)
The one at the bottom is the second one I bought. For some reason, it’s more expensive (around 450 pesos instead of around 400 pesos). The front of the card is different (showing two trucks instead of a bus and a truck). The side of the truck cab has black trim but is otherwise plain (instead of having no trim but having white text and decorative lines).
Majorette Transporters (back of card)
The backs of the cards are slightly different. (The one at the bottom is the second one I bought.) Perhaps the most noticeable difference is the presence of car company logos near the bottom.
Majorette Transporters (front of models)
The front of the models are also slightly different. (The one on the right is the second one I bought.) The logo’s lion is above the word “MAN” (instead of below it). Other than these, there appear to be no other major differences between the two models.
If you are quite observant, you will notice that the other model in the photographs above is not the first one I bought. (For example, in the first model that I bought, the price sticker covers the image of the headlights. In the first photograph above, the price sticker doesn’t cover the image of the headlights.) The photographs above are actually of the second and third models I bought. I’m thinking of opening the package of the third model soon.
In my hurry to buy the Majorette Tuk-tuks I saw last October 22, 2017, I didn’t realize that there were four color variants for that series. I went to the store a week later and was able to buy the fourth one.
Note that the blue one I blogged about earlier has silver wheels and a red windshield frame; the one above has yellow wheels and a yellow windshield frame.
I was also able to buy the two color variants of the Majorette Auto Rickshaw. According to the Majorette Diecast Database, it seems that the four Tuk-tuks are intended for sale only in Thailand, while the two Auto Rickshaws are intended for sale only in India.
The weird models that I mentioned in an earlier blog post were tuk-tuks. I’ve never seen scale models of these before, and the fact that these were priced a little high (around 180 pesos; an ordinary Majorette costs around 110 pesos) implies that there were probably a lower number of them produced (because their quality seems to be similar to that of ordinary models).
The quality is pretty good for the price. The main body (colored red, green, or blue) is made of metal; the rest are made of plastic. The models are made in Thailand and have a scale of 1:47 (which is a problem since most of my models have a scale of around 1:64).
I found models in three different colors; I don’t know if there are models in other colors. At the top of the roof is a sign labeled “TAXI,” the rear of the vehicle has a sign labeled “THAILAND,” the right side has a sign labeled “มจ 1964” (possibly “MC 1964”), and the front has a sign labeled “มจ 1964” plus a few more Thai characters that I couldn’t read.
Earlier today, when I arrived at the toy shop I usually visit, I saw lots of new Majorettes. There were a few long models and there were two copies of this car carrier trailer. I immediately got one, then saw some weird models that caught my interest. Another guy (who was probably the same age as I was) was also going through the Majorettes. I showed him the weird models, but he said he wasn’t interested in them. Later I see that he had taken the other car carrier trailer that was being sold. It seems that he was also looking for these.
I have always wanted a car carrier trailer scale model ever since I saw one in a Matchbox catalog when I was a child. I bought my first one last year (with a scale of 1:64), and this is my second one. This is my first Majorette and it is made in Thailand. The windows, the base, the wheels, the ramp, and the top level are made of plastic and the rest are made of metal. The price of around 400 pesos was reasonable. The card says the truck is a MAN TGA XXL, but the text at the bottom of the model states that it is a MAN TGX. The latter also states that the scale is 1:87, the same as my Siku truck with trailer and compact excavator. Unfortunately, most of my scale models have a scale of around 1:64, and I don’t know if any of my cars will fit on the truck. I might open the package in the future to find out. (When I mentioned this to my wife and my daughter, they were a little shocked.)
Joel Reyes Noche 