COBI Volkswagen T2a Kombi Set 24617

COBI's Volkswagen T2a Kombi is a 1:35 set built from 292 blocks under original Volkswagen licence: the van at 15 cm, plus a beach scene with sand, a palm tree and plants, two surfer figures and a cat, a campfire with a sausage roasting on it, a surfboard, luggage, a parasol, a towel and a portable stereo.

What Kombi means

Kombi is short for Kombinationskraftwagen — combination vehicle — and it describes a van with removable seats. Take them out and it carries goods; put them back and it carries people. Volkswagen sold the Transporter in several versions and the Kombi was the one that refused to choose.

That flexibility is exactly what Californian surfers wanted in the 1960s. A board is nine feet long and will not go in a car; it will go in a Kombi, along with the people, the wetsuits and somewhere to sleep if the waves are good the next morning. The van became the standard surf vehicle on the American west coast, and from there the symbol of an entire way of living.

The T2a replaced the T1 in 1967 with a one-piece windscreen, a sliding side door and better suspension.

In the COBI range

Part of the Action Town range at 1:35. Set 24616 is the T2a Camper with a picnic scene, and set 24618 the T2a flatbed.

Specifications

Pieces: 292 · Figures: 2 plus a cat · Scale: 1:35
Model dimensions: 15 × 6 × 6 cm (5.9 × 2.4 × 2.4 in)