Craig,

Yes it is a Michelin man, which has been the tire company mascot since the beginning. It is nicknamed "Bibendum" ("fat man") here and in the past, lots of Michelin customers were offered that "little fat man" figure, which ended often on the cab roof of their vehicle.
Link to the Michelin shop: https://collectors.michelin.com/catalogue and to the Wikipedia article on Bibendum: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibendum

Regards.
Guy

Regards.
Guy

Love the Pizza truck Guy. Food trucks are very popular now in the US. On a side note, what was the scale of the Dinky toys of the '50s and '60s? I still have a black Austin taxi in the older style. They came in yellow, yellow/green, and black. The #254 version, I always thought was 1/43 scale. Seems small though. Craig

Thanks Guy: I was a Dinky Toys fanatic as a young boy. I didn't collect Matchbox. My favorites were the Army Dinkys. They were of course British and I had probably 40 to 50 of them. I kept all the boxes. I lost interest in them Junior High school when I discovered girls. About 25 years ago, I discovered Britains. The pre-war versions are killer. My favorite was the Underslung Lorry with spotlight, or the antiaircraft gun. Loved the toy soldiers too. Back to Dinky taxis, about 20 years ago, an Austin black taxi in mint condition w/box could sell for as much as $400.00 on Ebay. But now they are out of favor. Remember the Dinkys Citroen autos? CAW

Regards.
Guy

2 Fire Dept Citroen ambulances built with a HY van (Altaya) and a DS19 station wagon (Rio):









Regards.
Guy

The four 1/43 French cars transported are from Norev (light blue Peugeot 204), Altaya (purple-red Peugeot 404), Universal Hobbies (light blue-grey Renault R4L) and Hachette (grey SIMCA 1500):









Regards.
Guy

Berliet GDR 7W (Hachette Editions):







The vehicle, beautifully restored in the colors of F. Richaud Transports from Montfavet, here in 2016 in Avignon (Vaucluse - France):



Regards.
Guy

I agree. Guy, do you or your friends go to these trucks shows? Did you take the pictures? Seeing the real thing makes the models even more interesting. CAW

Gents,

There are very few motor shows in South-East of France, where I live: I took the Berliet picture in 2016, the last year vintage trucks were on display at the Avignon Motor Show, held yearly. The following year, as there was a need to get extra space for vintage cars, old trucks have gone from the expo.

The only remaining live show I know is held every year by the ASPTA ("Association de Sauvetage du Patrimoine Technique Automobile", which could be translated by "Automobile Technical Heritage Protection Association"): restored vintage trucks rally for 3 days around the Var region in May. If you want to know more about the ASPTA (in French, sorry): http://aspta.e-monsite.com
Some of the members restored trucks can be found under the heading "Album Photo des Adherents ASPTA".

I hope it helps.
Guy