C’est génial: Majorette Citroen HY

(Find the Majorette Citroen HY on Ebay and at the brand shop)

Sixty years is a long time for any brand to last, let alone a diecast brand. Since Emile Véron created the Majorette line in 1964 Europe has undergone vast changes: politically, socially, and economically. And 60 years ago the miniature world looked a bit different too: Matchbox were still made in Britain. Hot Wheels didn’t even exist. Most European countries had their own domestic brands such as Mercury in Italy, Metosul of Portugal and Guisval of Spain. Across the 3 year old Berlin Wall the Soviet Union too had it’s own diecast.

Roll forward to 2024 and Hot Wheels is now in global domination mode and owns Matchbox. Metosul and Mercury disappeared long ago. As did Lone Star and Dinky of England, AK Stelco and Gama of Germany, Eidai of Japan, Marx of the US and many, many more. For the remaining brands the availability of cheap labour overseas has understandably pushed manufacturing bases out of their home countries and led to mergers with giant conglomerates. In this environment it’s easy to lose touch with your roots and that probably goes some way to explaining Majorette’s sudden drive to turn the clock back. Say “bonjour” to the beautifully utilitarian Citroën HY van.

The Citroën H Type van was introduced in 1947 and became the world’s first mass produced van to use monocoque construction. It featured pioneering technology for the time (certainly when compared to contemporaries like Britain’s Morris J) coming equipped with rack and pinion steering, front wheel drive and torsion bar suspension which are all features we take for granted these days, but at the time were unheard of for a commercial vehicle. Construction was kept as simple as possible utilising corrugate sheets for the outer body panels that not only kept tooling and construction costs low, but also ensured structural strength and ease of repair. The “H” became the “HY” in 1958 with an increased load capacity and it was this variant that made up the vast majority of the over 470,000 sold before production ended in 1981.

The HY is one of the most recognised French classics and it’s a surprise to me that Majorette has taken so long to bring one into their line up. But now the wait is over and it’s been entirely worth it. This is one of my top diecasts of 2024 and I can already say that with some confidence in March! It’s tres bien.

There are two body variants of the casting: a food truck with an opening side hatch and a delivery van with an opening rear. This food truck is part of Majorette’s 60th Anniversary line-up and looks the bomb.

The detailing is solid, extending to the interior where there’s a pleasantly detailed food counter and kitchen fitted and the corrugate body has been captured perfectly. The retro colour scheme is gorgeous minus the 60th Anniversary decal it looks like something you’d expect to be parked up in a French back street circa 1965.

Decals are a Majorette strong point and here it’s no different. Everything is sharp, brightly coloured, and exactly where it should be. And the same can be said for the second variant with rear opening, this one resplendent in a very cool Citroën Service livery.

And then there’s the wheels. So often in the past the Majorette wheel choice has let a casting down badly. There’s the dated, anachronistic wheels on castings like the Renault 5 Turbo and then there’s the horrid locomotive style wheels that blight the Jaguar E-Type and Citroën 2CV amongst others. But Majorette have listened and are starting to change things. These new skinny steels look incredible.

This is a seriously cool diecast in either variant and with premium versions arriving soon the HY is sure to be a casting that keeps providing.

Stay tuned for more Majorette content from me on Lamley in the coming weeks. There’s a lot to get through!

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