COBI
COBI Citroen Type H La Petite Boulangerie Set 24633
COBI's CitroΓ«n Type H La Petite Boulangerie is a 1:35 set built from 397 blocks under original CitroΓ«n licence: the van as a mobile bakery at 13.5 cm, plus a diorama of a French house with flowers and shutters, a barrel table, a cyclist figure and a cat.
The body came from an aeroplane
The corrugated skin is the Type H's signature and it was borrowed, openly, from the Junkers Ju 52 airliner. Corrugating sheet metal makes it far stiffer along the ribs, which meant CitroΓ«n could build the body from steel thin enough to be cheap and light and still have it hold its shape.
The rest of the van was equally unsentimental. Front-wheel drive meant no propshaft, no transmission tunnel and therefore a completely flat floor sitting low to the ground β you could walk into the back rather than climb. For anyone loading and unloading all day, that single feature was worth more than any amount of refinement.
It stayed in production from 1947 to 1981, close to half a million built, and served as delivery van, bus, camper, fire engine, post van, hearse and mobile laboratory. The food trucks you see today are using it for exactly the reason bakers did: you can stand up inside and the counter is at the right height.
In the COBI range
Part of the Action Town range at 1:35.
Specifications
Pieces: 397 Β· Figures: 1 plus a cat Β· Scale: 1:35 Β· Age: 7+
Model dimensions: 13.5 Γ 6 Γ 6.5 cm (5.3 Γ 2.4 Γ 2.6 in)
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