Are you looking to sell your collection or have an inventory of models you want to get rid of? Please contact us, and our representatives in the US or Russia will contact you. We buy collections, used models, and unsold inventories.

REVIEW: French 1:43 Scale Armor and Military Trucks by CEF/Replex

2010-01-23 REVIEW: French 1:43 Scale Armor and Military Trucks by CEF/Replex

I saw my first 1:43 VAB (Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé) by CEF/Replex some 10 years ago somewhere on the French Internet. When I received the model, I was really surprised how heavy it was: it was the heaviest 1:43 scale models in my collection. Back in the day, Replex was the only manufacturer of 1:43 scale armor I knew of. And definitely - the only mass production manufacturer and the only manufacturer in 1:43 armor in metal. CEF/Replex followed the same pattern as Solido / Verem and other smaller French manufacturers by making models in two scales: 1:43 and 1:50. For obvious reasons (I collect 1:43 scale models only), I will only mention a few of their smaller scale models. The most notisable of them were ACMAT vehicles (a number of different variations) and tracked armore (German on Marder chassis and French tank Leclerc). If you are interested in seeing more models by CEF/Replex in both scales, please look at their section on MilitaryDiecast.com. This catalog is by no means complete, and sometimes not very correct. Please let me know if you have information about other models by that manufacturer or if you spotted any inconsistencies. Please let me know if you have paper or electronic copies of their catalogs. Everything that I have collected so far, came from online sellers. I will greatly appreciate if you are willing to share these catalogs with me in electronic form or prepared to discuss purchase of the paper copies. As I was preparing to write this little article, I took some pictures of my collection. You will be able to see them below. The majority of these models can be found in the encyclopedia, others have yet to be added when I have time. After I took the pictures, I routinely scanned EBay to "1:43 Replex" and found a model that I didn't have yet: VAB 6x6 with 25-mm Gun Turret Desert Camouflage After I started talking to the seller (a really nice fellow in Canada), I also picked up the Chinese 1:43 WS-2 8x8 MLRS launcher (cheaper than it is offered in Hong Kong), as well as several Norev and Solido models. And the most relevant fact about this seller to this particular article is that he has 10 REPLEX MODELS AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW!!! (you may have to go one page to the left or one page to the right). For everybody in North America this is really a great find because of the weight of these models and the high cost of shipping from Europe. The name of the owner is Serge, and you can contact him directly: serge.imagination@videotron.ca. As you will see on the pictures below, my collection, even though limited only to 1:43 scale, is incomplete. Below you can see pictures of two unknown pre-production samples that one of my colleagues from France sent me some 5 years ago. Please let me know if you can identify these models or if you have them available for sale or trade: Unknown 6x6 Armored Car, maybe VBC-90 ??? (click to see more pictures) Unknown 8x8 Armored Car, no idea what it is (click to see more pictures) Please contact me if you have any: Priority 1: Any 1:43 scale Replex models (either for sale or trade or pictures and information) that you don't see on the pictures below. Priority 2: Any 1:43 scale models (a collection or unliquidated inventories) that you can offer me at an attractive price. I am always looking for collections and small batches of 1:43 scale models for further modification and / or for adding to my trade inventory. An finally, pictures from my collection. The most rare ones (as far as I know) are some of the ambulances and vehicles with dozers mounted on the front, as well as the flat bed RVI 2000 (if you follow the link to the Replex section above, these will be identified as Limited Edition models). Please note that there are desert camouflages: one - (older?) sand/black/brown - French and two-color sand/brown with the Coalition Forces markings - Desert Storm vehicles. Let me know if you would like more detailed pictures of some of these vehicles. Best regards, The Webmaster