I was recently able to find and purchase a very nice example of this iconic French Dinky, and since no one else has posted on it, here is my contribution.  This model is based on the Citroen HY 1200 kg van, introduced in the early 1950's, using some parts from both the 2cv and 11BL model, in an effort to keep cost down.  One of the striking and different design features is the use of corrugated metal for most of the body sheet metal.  I read that this was done to conserve metal, as it is stronger in a lighter gauge than the normal flat metal, and in the early 1950's, metal was still a scarce and expensive commodity.

     Dinky brought out their first version in 1954, in a plain version, with no advertising.  This was replaced in 1957 by the "C.H. Gervais" model, which was made until late 1959, when this "Cibie" version was introduced.  The Cibie model lasted until 1963, when it was in turn replaced by the "Glaces Gervais" model.

     This Cibie model was first and briefly made with the older style convex wheels, but in 1960 those were replaced with the newer concave style, as well as going to a treaded type of tire.  Jacques encyclopedia mentions that there are numerous variations of the decals, but I am not aware of them and not going to discuss them here.

     My example must be an early 1960 model, when they first switched over to the concave wheels, but were still using the original style smooth tires.  The box always seems to show the earlier style, plain van, with no advertising shown, and they appeared to use older boxes, with a simple sticker applied to one of the end flaps stating the model number and the name "Cibie".  There are rumors of a box showing the Cibie livery, but I have not seen an actual image, so tend to doubt it.  I also wonder if this model was ever available as a 25cg.  It was first shown in the 1960 catalog, and is listed then as 561.  Perhaps very early on there were some released as 25cg, but again, have not seen a box showing this.

     The model itself is very well done, appears to be very accurate in detail, and has a very nice finish and beautiful decals with the Cibie livery, and is the first Dinky Toy to use a sliding door. The scale for this is listed as 1:48, but it appears to be larger than that, and alongside the other vans of the era, is considerably larger. 

     These models are not real easy to find, nor inexpensive...........mint ones fetch considerable amounts of money, and I have to wonder why, as they were made for several years, and apparently were quite popular at the time.

                               Best regards,  Terry