Added some resin woodies to the collection

Every once in a while, I'll stumble on some models that seem to be overlooked, often because they're not listed correctly or the photos are particularly difficult to get a good read of what is offered. It's a bit of a gamble until you get them in hand. Such is the case with a bundle I picked up recently that included two assembled resin kits from French makers—a 1946-47 Ford Sportsman by CCC and a 1946 Ford Woodie by Provence Moulage. Both models feature real wood veneers.

1946 Ford Woodie - Provence Moulage

Provence Moulage is one of those cult-favorite French resin makers that collectors love because they chased the interesting stuff. They're crisp 1:43 kits from the early ’80s onward, often Le Mans and prototypes, plus the occasional left-field road car that the big diecast brands never bothered with. So it’s fitting they’d tackle a 1946 Ford Woody, because the real car is basically rolling nostalgia: a postwar Ford wagon with steel up front and real wood framing and panels down the sides, equal parts craftsmanship and maintenance headache. Under the hood you’d typically find Ford’s trusty flathead V8 (with a six available), and the whole package carried that slightly prewar look as America shifted back into civilian life and road trips. It was practical family transport in its day, then later became a symbol of summer, surf culture, and classic Americana, exactly the kind of subject that feels right in a small-run resin kit. The box for the model included instructions to assemble a Ford Tudor.

1946-47 Ford Sportsman - CCC US No. 1

Think of CCC as one of those small, obsessive French cottage model houses, tied to Georges Pont, that loved building the cars bigger brands ignored. In their “US” series (numbered CCCUS or “US #”), they went hunting for pure Americana, and the very first entry, CCC US No. 1, was a perfect statement piece: the 1946–47 Ford Sportsman. And the real Sportsman is just as special as the model choice suggests. It wasn’t a wagon at all, but a postwar Super Deluxe convertible dressed in woody elegance. Ford literally reworked the rear body with a metal framework and then hand-fitted structural hardwood panels so it looked like a rolling Chris-Craft with the top down. Each one started life as a normal convertible before the rear sheetmetal was cut away and replaced with that wood-bodied assembly, which made it expensive, labor-intensive, and instantly “halo car” material, typically backed by Ford’s flathead V8, more about style and prestige than practicality.

The included handwritten assembly sheet, translated from French, says:

"Of rather handcrafted manufacture, this Ford was produced from 1946 to 1949 in 3,392 copies. It cost around $2,000 in 1946, which was $600 less than its competitor, the Chrysler Town and Country. The body panels were painted in dark varnished wood. The trim strips were in light varnished wood. The interior was always in leather. Windshield surround, side windows, trim strips on the hood and fenders were chrome-plated. Wheels painted in the same color as the body with just the hubcap left unpainted."