R.D. Marmande model cars were the creation of Raymond Daffaure of Marmande, France where he made his unique models from 1957 to 1978. In a world of highly detailed accurate models they could be considered to be naive approximations of the original cars, but they are of great interest to model car collectors and enthusiasts of unique and rare pieces of handicraft. Raymond Daffaure carved his models from balsa wood. He used what he had available to finish out the cars often using recycled packaging to make windshields, pantry netting for grilles, needles for wheel axles, etc. The only parts of his cars that were not made by him or from recycled materials were the tires, said to have come from the model manufacturer Norev. He worked by hand, without a machine tool to chisel and sand his sculptures before hand painting and adding the final effects. He was known to make custom orders. In the late 1950’s there were few model makers and miniature manufacturers. It was during this time that he emerged from anonymity by becoming the winner of the HUMBROL competition in 1958. Over multiple decades he would go on to build between 18,000 and 20,000 of his 1:43 scale models. Our current car model sale has a number of these unique handmade model cars.
