[REVIEW] Majorette Citroen CX

Lesney Matchbox time is here aga...ah, fooled ya. In this second installment of mixing it up a little, today we take a look at another non-Matchbox. This is Majorette 265, the Citroen CX. This casting entered the range in 1979, remaining until 1984, and is as Gallic as they come:

One may remember this from a long time ago, my first review. I pulled it out of the hoard again to take pressure off the shrinking number of unreviewed loose Lesneys, and because it is simply an excellent model.

The CX, a futuristic car at introduction, created to replace the amazing but aging DS. By the early 70s, the newness of the DS had faded, and after nearly 20 years, an update was needed. The DS was a hard act to follow, and nothing could really fill those shoes, but this did as good as anyone could have hoped, and this car was in production in various forms for 17 years, not a bad run. This model captures the 1:1 car brilliantly, with ample fine line casting detail and excellent proportion. Scale is claimed to be 1:60, likely accurate. The yellow glazing, typical of Majorette of this era, works on this car and coordinates well with the period correct gold/brown paint. The three spoke wheels look great on this model - with this color and these wheels, it was apparently made in 1979-81, and the suspension has some spring to it. From all angles, it is an excellent casting:

Doors open (note the cut line goes into the rocker area similar to the real car) to reveal a detailed interior with nicely contrasting dash and accurate single spoke steering wheel:

Front and rear have similar quality detail, with the realistic French plates, front and rear light detail (rear lenses!), and heating elements in the rear windsceeen adding realism, and the tow hook adding play value:

The base is metal, typical of vintage Majorette, and adds heft while containing identifying data. Note the realistic different front and rear track width:

I am definitely happy to have this model in my collection. The real car is a cool piece of design, and this diecast version is of amazing quality. There aren’t many small scale models of this car, and I can’t imagine another being nicer than this:

A few 1:1s from autoviva.com, car-from-uk.com, and wheelsage.org: