Tintin 1/24 Model Car 29929 – Le Taxi Genevois – L’Affaire Tournesol

Author: Hergé & Editions Moulinsart
Manufacturer: Editions Moulinsart / Tintinimaginatio
Format: 1/24 scale model car on display plinth with illustrated diorama and clear acetate case
Condition: Brand new and unopened. The model, display case and explanatory booklet remain in their original presentation packaging.

Description:

From the official Les Voitures de Tintin collection, this substantial 1/24 scale model of Le Taxi Genevois, reference 29929, recreates the distinctive Geneva taxi used by Tintin and Captain Haddock in Hergé’s L’Affaire Tournesol (The Calculus Affair).

The model depicts the green, cream and red taxi with its characteristic three-tone livery, red roof and matching red wheel centres. Tintin, Captain Haddock and the driver are represented inside the vehicle, with Snowy accompanying them. The car is presented on its original display plinth beneath a clear acetate case, against a monochrome urban backdrop derived from Hergé’s artwork.

Produced by Editions Moulinsart as number 29 in the 1/24 scale Tintin vehicle collection, reference 29929, the model represents a 1954 Simca 9 Aronde adapted as a Geneva taxi. The real Aronde was one of the most successful French family cars of the 1950s and is reproduced here with the distinctive details of Hergé’s taxi.

The scene comes from the Swiss section of L’Affaire Tournesol. Tintin and Captain Haddock hire the taxi in Geneva as they pursue the trail of Professor Calculus and attempt to reach the home of Professor Topolino at Nyon. What begins as an ordinary taxi journey rapidly becomes part of one of the album’s most memorable road sequences.

Issued in 2021, the model was produced in resin and plastic and supplied with its illustrated display setting and explanatory booklet in French and English.

This example is brand new and unopened. The model and accompanying booklet remain in their original presentation packaging, making this an especially attractive example for a collector seeking an unused specimen.

Reference: 29929
Scale: 1/24
Date: 2021
Model: Le Taxi Genevois
Album: L’Affaire Tournesol
Vehicle: Simca 9 Aronde
Vehicle date: 1954
Colour: Green, cream and red
Material: Resin and plastic
Presentation: Display plinth with illustrated diorama and clear acetate case
Packaging: Original grey and white outer box
Documentation: Original explanatory booklet in French and English
Condition: Brand new and unopened
EAN: 2992900000007

Le Taxi Genevois: A Brief Account

The Geneva taxi appears during one of the most important sequences in L’Affaire Tournesol, when Tintin and Captain Haddock travel through Switzerland in pursuit of Professor Calculus.

Their investigation has brought them to Geneva, where they hire the taxi in order to continue towards Nyon and the home of Professor Topolino. The vehicle therefore occupies a genuine narrative role, carrying the two principal characters through a section of the story in which the mystery surrounding Calculus is becoming increasingly dangerous.

The taxi driver is depicted in the conventional manner Hergé often used for professional drivers, complete with moustache and cap. Tintin is thoughtful, attempting to connect the increasingly suspicious events, while Haddock remains characteristically irritable.

The journey eventually becomes part of a dramatic road sequence, and the taxi itself is later forced off the road and into Lake Geneva. As with many vehicles in Tintin, an apparently ordinary means of transport becomes an integral part of the action.

The Simca 9 Aronde

The vehicle represented is a 1954 Simca 9 Aronde, one of the defining French family cars of the early 1950s.

The Aronde was introduced in 1951 and became a major commercial success for Simca. Its relatively modern styling, practical four-door body and accessible price made it popular throughout France and neighbouring European markets.

Hergé’s Geneva taxi is particularly distinctive because of its three-tone paint scheme. The combination of muted green bodywork, cream band and red roof gives the car a striking visual identity and makes it instantly recognisable within the album.

The details of the taxi were carefully observed. Its livery and regional registration help ground the action firmly in Switzerland and demonstrate the documentary precision that became increasingly characteristic of Hergé’s mature work.

At 1/24 scale, the Moulinsart model reproduces these features particularly effectively. The large glazing area, rounded post-war body, chrome detailing and coloured wheel centres are all clearly visible.

L’Affaire Tournesol: A Brief Account

First published in album form in 1956, L’Affaire Tournesol is one of Hergé’s most sophisticated and tightly constructed adventures.

The story begins at Marlinspike Hall with a succession of unexplained incidents involving shattered glass. These disturbances are eventually connected with Professor Calculus and his experiments with ultrasonic sound.

The situation becomes increasingly serious when foreign intelligence services discover the military potential of Calculus’s invention. The professor is abducted and Tintin and Captain Haddock begin an urgent pursuit.

The Swiss section of the story is particularly important because Hergé grounds the adventure in recognisable real locations. Geneva, Nyon and their surrounding landscape are rendered with careful attention to detail, giving the espionage narrative an unusually convincing geographical setting.

The Geneva taxi belongs directly to this documentary realism. It is not a generic comic-strip car but a recognisable contemporary European vehicle placed accurately within a specific city and region.

Switzerland and Hergé’s Research

The Swiss episodes of L’Affaire Tournesol demonstrate Hergé’s mature commitment to visual research.

Buildings, road layouts, hotels and automobiles were studied carefully before being incorporated into the finished artwork. Even minor details such as vehicle registration plates were treated with precision.

The Geneva taxi is a good example. Its appearance is specific to the setting rather than generic, helping to reinforce the sense that Tintin’s adventures unfold in a coherent world connected closely to reality.

This observational accuracy is one of the defining strengths of Hergé’s mature ligne claire style.

Hergé and the Motor Car

Cars play a particularly important role in L’Affaire Tournesol.

The album contains an impressive succession of recognisable vehicles, from taxis and police cars to large American saloons and high-speed pursuit cars. Hergé uses them not simply as transport but as tools of pacing and suspense.

The Geneva taxi is among the most memorable because its relatively ordinary appearance contrasts with the extraordinary events that surround it.

A routine cab journey rapidly becomes part of an international espionage story. That transformation of the everyday into the adventurous is fundamental to Tintin’s appeal.

The 1/24 Moulinsart Model

Le Taxi Genevois was issued as number 29 in the large-format Les Voitures de Tintin collection.

Released in 2021, the model was supplied with its illustrated backdrop, display plinth, clear presentation case, grey and white outer cardboard packaging and explanatory booklet in French and English.

The 1/24 scale is particularly effective for the Simca Aronde because it allows the three-colour bodywork, glazing, chrome trim, taxi detailing and passenger figures to be appreciated clearly.

The inclusion of Tintin, Captain Haddock, Snowy and the driver makes this a particularly complete narrative model, closely tied to one of the most atmospheric sections of The Calculus Affair.

Why Buy from Us?

At Hornseys, we are committed to offering collectible Tintin models, books and related objects that meet high standards of authenticity, condition and presentation. Every item is handled, inspected and authenticated in-house at our Ripon gallery.

Our Tintin collection is personally curated by Daniel Hornsey, whose interest in Hergé and The Adventures of Tintin extends back to childhood. Individual models are examined for condition, correct accessories, packaging and documentation before being offered for sale.

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Cataloguer: Daniel Hornsey

Daniel Hornsey has specialised in fine and rare books, maps, ephemera, artworks and collectors’ items for over thirty years. Hornseys was established in 1976 and, in its fiftieth year, continues to research and catalogue every item individually from its gallery and bookshop in Ripon, North Yorkshire.