May 14, 2012

Miniature Cyclists


Out and about roaming the back streets of Paris last year I stumbled across the most fantastic little model shop that specialised in metal figurines. The shop was almost hidden down a laneway and had it not been for the eagle eyes of Mrs Liberte I would have missed it all together.

Walking up to the shop front I almost fell over when I was greeted by a large diorama depicting a miniature peloton of cyclists competing for victory at what I can only imagine was a very tiny stage of the Tour de France.


Despite my limited knowledge of the French language and the shopkeep's inability to speak a word of English, I managed to work out that each metal cyclist figurine would set me back 16 Euro. With limited cash at the end of my trip I picked up 4 of the little metal cyclists for the bookshelf back home.


Back in Australia, I set about trying to obtain more of the teeny weeny metal cyclists. While I kept turning up blanks on the classic metal figures, my internet travels lead me to a chap by the name of Eric Quenderf.


As far as I can tell, Eric is located in Paris (or somewhere in France) and he specialises in custom painting miniature pro cycling figurines. I contacted Eric and set about putting in an order for some of my favourite cyclists of the 2011 season.



My initial order considered of a Cancellara Swiss Champ, Cavendish World Champ, Frank Schleck Luxembourg Champ together with a couple of BMC, Leopard Trek and Farnese Vini riders.


Individual riders will set you back around 7 Euro, with postage around 2.50 Euro. Pretty good postage rates, especially considering mine came all the way from France to Australia.


In addition to the current crop of 2012 World Tour and Continental teams, Eric customs paints cyclists from previous eras including that of Merckx, Hinault and Fignon. Eric's miniature cyclists can be ordered individually or as a team, all the way up to a complete 2012 World Tour Peloton.


You can view Eric's full range at his website here. Alternatively he can be contacted on email at equenderf@msn.com.

In the end I never did find any more of the metal figurines, I guess that will have to be a project for the next visit to Paris.

~VL





Posted by Velo Liberte at 9:12 PM
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13 comments:

  1. GaryFJuly 17, 2012 at 1:06 PM

    Hi,
    Thank you for the story of how you found the cyclists - interesting. Also - thanks for the details on how to order them. I believe the figures are made in France via a company called "Fonderie Roger"

    http://www.fonderieroger.fr/cyclistes.html

    Let me know if you agree or disagree with my conclusion.

    There are also some 'modern' versions - but I'm not sure who makes them - check ebay (UK) and some are for sale. If you find out who makes them, perhaps post on your blog.

    Keep cyclin'!
    g

    ReplyDelete
  2. GaryFJuly 17, 2012 at 1:09 PM

    Here is a link to the ebay (UK) auction (it has ended, so hopefully the picture of the figure is still there for you to view - another person pcchurchill ? is selling the same models (these are not made of diecast metal - but of plastic).

    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trkparms=aid%3D555001%26algo%3DPW.CURRENT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D29%26meid%3D625593616851578553%26pid%3D100009%26prg%3D1013%26rk%3D4%26&_trksid=p4340.l2557&item=330762702776&nma=true&rt=nc&si=jLLcy15K3IF4e3Up5WSDbA%252F5eC0%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

    Good luck,

    G

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousFebruary 17, 2013 at 3:15 AM

    hello I am lloking for metal cyclist figurine , and I am living in France ,
    I buy
    perigoluc@yahoo.fr

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousMarch 13, 2013 at 1:02 AM

    Hello,

    There is a shop in the Palais Royal that has lots of these, or had tons in the window the last time I was in Paris (there were so many I took some photos). I can't remember the name of the shop, but if you use the little entrance nearest the metro the shop is on your right hand side as you go through the entrance. It sells lots of old toys and models etc.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousMarch 16, 2018 at 7:36 AM

      Not sure if this thread is active anymore, but for what it's worth, the shop in Paris is called Les Drapeaux de France (lesdrapeauxdefrance{dot}com)and it's located on the Place Colette. The price of a miniature cyclist ranges from 10-30 Euro.

      Delete
  5. UnknownFebruary 5, 2014 at 6:36 PM

    If you look for some cycling figures unpainted or already painted please our webshop is the place to be visited : http://www.sportgoodies.fr/shop/
    Thank you

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousMay 18, 2014 at 4:49 PM

    I've seen these for sale at www.bicycleage.com. They seem to have a wide selection of colours available.

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousNovember 16, 2014 at 6:53 AM

    Anybody know where is shop with metal cycling figure in Paris?
    I want to know adress

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousJanuary 31, 2015 at 6:47 PM

    Hello you can find many cycling figures on the following page (plastic, metal) and also team cars, sponsor parade cars really a nice place to check:
    http://www.sportgoodies.fr/shop/

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousJuly 8, 2015 at 11:35 PM

    Please what is the price to old metal cycling figure ?
    perigoluc@yahoo.fr

    ReplyDelete
  10. melodiousFebruary 17, 2016 at 10:23 AM

    Is there any where to but these in the UK?
    meanie.burch@yahoo.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
  11. AnonymousJanuary 17, 2017 at 5:13 AM

    Hello,
    for those who fancy this kind of pictures ahve a look at :
    https://www.instagram.com/les_petits_coureurs/

    ReplyDelete
  12. AnonymousMarch 30, 2020 at 1:25 AM

    For the fans of miniature cyclists and classic tours/races look at this collections of miniatures: https://www.etsy.com/listing/781633069/tour-de-france-1975-cycling-classic or https://www.etsy.com/listing/622215672/tour-de-france-1964-cycling-classic

    ReplyDelete

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