Friday 7 September 2018

Renault Station Wagon

When I ordered the Chenard & Walcker van I also bought a 1:18 Renault Juvaquatre model 1951 station wagon. The station wagon was only introduced in 1950 a considerable time after the sedan Juvaquatre was launched in 1937! The model is made by French company Norev. As a metal diecast model it is quite heavy and makes a very sturdy impression. In this large scale diecast models can be made quite detailed and while small scale diecast models often have unrealistically soft details I don't think it is too obvious in 1:18. The car has interior detail, three opening doors and the bonnet opens too, revealing a detailed engine. 
A French model of a French car: the Renault Juvaquatre station wagon.

The car has good ground clearance and with the ability to carry some extra cargo in the rear compartement I thought the car would fit in as the local veterinary's vehicle. Being located in a rural area a veterinary would have enough work to do in Nystrup. 
Open driver's side front door showing interior detail.
 As opposed to the Chenard & Walcker van the Renault has no French features to be removed to fit in around Nystrup. Only the license plate will have to be exchanged with Danish ones. A slight toning down of chrome parts, and a light weathering of underside and lower sides as well as a few bags in the cargo area and the car should be ready for service.

As part of my testing if 16 mm scale is a viable scale for me to work in I have ordered a figure. In my view figures are a weak point of the scale, and the majority of the figures in the scale would never make into my ownership. I'm looking forward to see the figure as it may be a deciding factor if 16 mm scale is going to be a future scale for me.

4 comments:

  1. This car could definitely belong to a veterinarian surgeon. As a young vet. in the 1960’s my dad drove several types of station wagons: First a Ford Taunus, then a Volvo and later a Saab. I can easily see the Renault packed with all sorts of vet-stuff. The equipment would essentially have been the same in the 50’s and 60’s. Metal and wooden boxes with all kinds of bandages, medicin and knives - strictly no-no for kids!

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  2. Thanks for the info about your dad's vet cars. The Renault is currently dismantled for weathering and I hope to build a few boxes to be added before I close up the model. It's a pleasure to see that you have had energy to resume your blog. I'm a keen follower.

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  3. Likewise! Don’t forget that veterinarian surgeons in those days had a special additional number plate. A black square plate with a Rod of Asclepius on a “V” - both in white. Doctors had a similar additional numberplate, but without the “V”. I’ve read somewhere that Midwives also had a special additional numberplate, but I don’t know what that looked like.

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  4. More useful info! Thanks. I have still to find a picture of the plate you describe. On arkiv.dk I have only managed to find black? vet-plates with a white cross. nrpl.dk has no info on vet-plates. Do you have a picture or a link to one?

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