811 Caravane (1959-63)

As a little teaser some of the 19 pictures illustrating the Caravane article in the April 2020 issue of the Journal: 1. No. 811 Caravane, second state. 2.Back cover illustration of the French Meccano Magazine of July 1959 (detail). 3.Some rude cut-outs were applied to the French baseplates as soon as the Caravane became available (from: Redempt & Wagner, Srie 24 franaise, p. 121). 4. The later smooth finished baseplate succeeded the early mottled one. 5. The later finely ribbed lantern roof succeeded the early smooth one. 6.The auxiliary jockey wheel was derived from the aircraft family. 7. A more or less correct representation of the model in the French 1961 Dinky Toys catalogue. 8. French and British counterparts compared.

Jan, it was a beautiful and interesting article by you in the April Journal. To my delight it also included my contribution about the Studebaker Petrol Tanker, to which you also made an interesting contribution. Almost a Dutch party .What I find so funny about a DT car with a caravan is that Meccano Liverpool and Bobigny came up with a simple solution to tow a caravan. Just a round hole in the baseplate, even right through the sales number of a baseplate. Nothing was unnecessarily thrown away.Kind regards, Jan O.