B is for Bonux

Which I believe means 'bonus' but there was also an actual Bonus kicking around which may be the same product in other countries, those without the love of 'ux' we find in France, but whatever the truth, in France (and near neighbours?) Bonux washing powder also included premiums for many years, among which were some Old Fashioned Cars.

Like the previous Huilor, Bonux are still going, but also like the cooking-oil brand, no longer include collectable premiums with their product or in their marketing strategy, although if the 'cost of living crises' becomes entrenched as an extended recession, we might see a return to premium use?

I bought this at the 2018 Plastic Warrior show in West London, and it probably kicked-off this series of posts? And it's the 'how they come' shot! A small, loose bag with a printed instruction sheet and all the kit-components off the runners, with two steel axles cut to size.

Described simply as race-car 1906, it's a largish 1:48/50th scale, probably best directed toward 28/30mm gaming, where it could be a natty staff-car for a French officer in WWI. To be honest I'm hopeless at judging the scale of vehicles (there's small medium and large . . . beach, mini and micro!), and didn't measure any of these, so all sizes will be approximate! But you can judge this one from the driver who is about 30-32mm!

The whole thing is clip/plug-together; no glue needed and I didn't even trim the flash as it was going back in it's bag, but if you treated it like a kit, trimmed, sanded, test-fit, then glued, it would make a very robust model, as it's all quite heavy polystyrene, except the tyres.

My French - as you know - is not good, but up to instruction 1, I think it reads;

"Car, Race, 1906, France. Place all the deviant pieces on a very table and respect the orders exactly or die a fool."

 . . . probably . . . ?

I had another four in storage, sadly all the same model, but in two colours, and two colourways - black/white and red/white. Labeling of the insert cards has evolved over the years, and I couldn't work out why two were in one bag, but it turned-out they are both complete and unopened?

A bit cruder than the Huilor's, or even the previous example above, but this may be a later one (hence it's apparent commonness?), with all the white parts being polyethylene. Indeed; the lack of a driver and two-colour/two-plastic types nature of the kit is probably pointing to a separate line a while apart from the orange one?

How they come, the instruction sheets are smaller too, another pointer to a separate issue at another time? More of an intro' than an overview, I don't even know who's believed to have made them for Bonux? A few more French Tacots next.