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Locations from The Calculus Affair:

Marlinspike[]

ChevernySchloss

Château de Cheverny

Marlinspike Hall is based on Château de Cheverny, a palace in France, but with the large 'wings' (building extensions) on either side removed.






Thompsons' car[]

Citroen 2cv 1949 060117

The Thompsons' 2CV

Thompson and Thomson turn up at Marlinspike in a Citroën 2CV.






Cutts the Butcher's van[]

Volkswagen transporter 060117

Cutts' Volkswagen Transporter van

Mr Cutts the Butcher stops to offer Calculus a lift in his Volkswagen Transporter van (1950 model).

This allows Calculus to escape the Bordurians lurking nearby, in a black Mercedes-Benz Type 300d.

MHV MB W189 300d 1959 02

1959 model MB 300d









Geneva taxi[]

Simca aronde 1954 06011702

Simca Aronde taxi

Tintin and Haddock catch a Simca Aronde taxi to Nyon.






Bordurian agents' black car[]

Citroen 15-6 1952 06011701

Citroën 15

While they are travelling in the taxi to Nyon, Bordurian agents in a black Citroën 15 shove their taxi into the lake, then attempt to run them down in Route de Sait-Cergue, near Topolino's house. The same car is seen later, leaving the scene as the house explodes. Much later in the story, when they are in France, the Captain sees a similar car and jumps in to a puddle to escape.






Professor Topolino's house[]

Herge made no attempt to disguise the house in Nyon he used as Alfredo Topolino's house at 57A, Route de Saint-Cergue. The street name is the same, although the house number is different.

Certified Diplodocusus![]

MHV MB W186 300 1952 02

Mercedes-Benz 300; note the 'D' plate (for Germany) instead of a 'CD' plate (for diplomatic staff)

After recovering at hospital from the explosion at Topolino's house, Haddock and Tintin are strolling along a lakeside road in Nyon, when a Bordurian embassy Mercedes-Benz Type 300 drives past and an occupant throws a cigarette out.

Haddock verbally abuses them with a pun on the car's CD plate ("CD" means Corps Diplomatique, French for "diplomatic staff;" cars with these plates are exempt from some traffic laws). The Captain says "CD" means "certified diplodocuses."

The location is Quai des Alpes, Nyon (on the next page, the Captain says "we'd better go back to Nyon" to look up the embassy address, although they are actually already in Nyon but some distance from the town centre). Note that the CD car is driving from the embassy at Rolle towards Geneva.

Bordurian embassy[]

Herge used this hotel building (now a school for the hotel business) in Geneva as a model for the Bordurian embassy. He gave the building a better location on the shore of Lake Geneva.

Bordurians' helicopter[]

The Bordurians' helicopter is a type of Bell 47, the famous "M*A*S*H helicopter" but with enclosed engine and tail boom.

France[]

The Syldavian kidnappers head by boat across Lake Geneva to the Haut-Savoie region of France, chased by Tintin and Haddock. There is a scene where the kidnappers' Chrysler overtakes the helicopter by crashing through fence. A kilometre stone makrks this place as 5.2 km from Cervens on the road D25.

There is a D25 road in Haut-Savoie, but it doesn't lead to Cervens, rather only along the lake shore. It may have extended to Cervens in former times.

See also[]

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