At last, I have finally finished building my own Panhard Dynavia 1/43 scale model (just in time for Christmas!) It's from a kit made by CCC Models in France, which comprises a resin body plus white metal seats and wheels and bling, plus rubber tyres and acetate windows.
The colours aren't exactly correct, as they have been mixed
by me, using humble Humbrol enamel modelling paints.
That bodywork is meant to be pale green metallic.
The kit went together well. The problem areas were the
one-piece acetate window moulding, which took hours of
whittling and filing to make it fit. And the metal rear
bench seat and rear window bench unit fouled the rear
wheels, so more filing was needed there.
As regular readers of this blog know, I collect diecast cars
mostly, but 1/43 scale models of the Panhard Dyna are so
rare that the only one I have seen sold on eBay in the last
three years went for almost 500 Australian dollars.
This Dynavia kit cost 60 Euros, which was still very
expensive for me, as I am semi-retired and don't have
a full-time job anymore.
I love Panhard cars. They are real engineer's cars, with
lots of great engineering in them. It was a shame they cost
so much to build, and the company didn't make enough
profits to continue in business, but they left a great legacy
behind. One of my favorite car companies, Panhard!
Yes, it is extremely unusual, and no, it never went into
production. But at least one survives, in the French National
Car Museum in Mulhouse, France.
I have never bought myself a Christmas present before, and
I have never made myself a Christmas present, either, so
I will let this Panhard be the only Christmas gift I have ever
given to myself, and it's a great one!
