Anatomy of a discovery
Dated: Feb 24, 2003.
A contribution from Arlin Tawzer of USA.
We were recently alerted to this picture of 1st issue Airfix boxes from a French e-bay auction by Mr. Tawzer.
Airfix afficionadoes will immediately note the strange box that is out of place, and the first question that comes to mind is "Who is Thierry La Fronde?"
A search of the Internet led us to several websites, all of which were in French, but the question was really answered by a French nobleman, Philippe, Comte du Rollet de Chaillac, who is also a collector:
"Thierry La Fronde is a fictitious TV character whose story is set during the 100 years war. Thierry is a French version of Robin Hood. The storyline is quite simple, it is all about how the French deceived the English who occupied France at that time. This program dates back to the 60s, when it was screened to all kids in France who had a TV."
Apparently then, the Thierry box was simply a reboxing of either the Robin Hood set or the Sheriff of Nottingham set or a combination and we looked through the front window til our eyes were sore to determine which set it was.
Apparently though, it was neither. According to another French source, the figures inside were completely different and the company that made them had Airfix's permission to use their style of box. Some of the figures from the box are shown below.
Now, if you look at the pictures of the boxes again carefully, you'll see that the Thierry box lacks the Airfix logo under the window, and merely mimics the Airfix box, it's not actually one. If someone can e-mail us some pictures of this heretofore unknown Thierry La Fronde box and other information, it would be much appreciated.