A photograph on page 14 of the August 14 edition of Norwegian newspaper Jærbladet contains a detail that was probably far more interesting to Saab owners than the story’s main subject.
Olinda Håland is pictured inside Olinda sin hobby in Bryne, holding a boxed orange Saab 96. Another green Saab model can be seen at the lower left of the photograph. Both come from the enormous model-car collection of Ketil Solvik-Olsen, Norway’s former Minister of Transport and Communications, parts of which Håland has been selling through her shop.
The newspaper was actually reporting on Håland’s move to much larger premises. For Saab enthusiasts, however, the photograph provided something else: a glimpse into Solvik-Olsen’s collection at the moment some of its cars are finding new owners.
And the orange Saab did not remain unnoticed for long.
A Saab Hunt Starts From One Newspaper Photograph
Børre Mofoss shared the Jærbladet page with members of the Norwegian Gammelsaabens Venner community, pointing out that enthusiasts familiar with Solvik-Olsen’s model collection could now see where some of it was being sold.
More importantly, Mofoss spotted at least two Saabs among the boxed cars. The reaction underneath the post immediately demonstrated how effectively a scale model can connect with the real car parked in somebody’s garage. Jan-Erik Solvang wrote that he has a full-size Saab in the same color currently under restoration, then asked what he would need to do to buy the model Håland was holding.
Mofoss had a simple answer: he did not know whether that particular model was still available and suggested contacting Olinda sin hobby directly. Another member, Jan Inge Jacobsen, then posted a FINN listing for an orange Saab 96 V4 by MCG Models in 1:18 scale. The listing, posted on June 28, describes the model as a 1971 Saab 96 V4 and confirms the manufacturer and scale.
That FINN ad should not be confused with the specific car in Håland’s hands. Nothing in the discussion establishes that the privately advertised model is the same example that came from Solvik-Olsen’s collection. Jacobsen appears to have posted it primarily as a useful lead for Solvang.
What it does help confirm is the identity of the orange car in the newspaper photograph.
The Orange Car Is an MCG Saab 96 V4
The model Håland is holding can be identified with confidence as an MCG Saab 96 V4 in 1:18 scale.
There is one detail worth treating carefully. Current Model Car Group listings identify the orange version as a 1970 Saab 96 V4, MCG18654, while the Norwegian FINN seller describes his orange MCG example as a 1971 model. Model Car World also lists MCG18654 as a 1970 Saab 96 V4 in orange.
The small product label on Solvik-Olsen’s boxed model cannot be read clearly enough in the Jærbladet photograph to settle the model-year question from the image alone.
For that reason, the precise and defensible description of the car Håland is holding is simply: Orange Saab 96 V4, Model Car Group, 1:18 scale.
The model itself is already familiar to long-time SaabPlanet readers. Back in 2016, we followed the development of Model Car Group’s then-new 1:18 Saab 96, before the model reached collectors.
Two years later, the same MCG Saab 96 V4 served as the starting point for Magnus Sandlund’s highly modified miniature Saab project. He stripped away the showroom finish and rebuilt the model with weathering, changed body details and an extensively reworked appearance.
So the orange 96 appearing in this Norwegian newspaper is not an obscure generic miniature. It belongs to a model line that has been circulating among Saab collectors for years.
There Appears to Be a Saab 99 Turbo Beside It
The second Saab is harder to identify because only part of its box appears in the photograph. At the lower left is a metallic-green 1:18 model, again in Model Car Group packaging. Its roofline, rear-quarter shape and color strongly correspond with MCG’s 1977 Saab 99 Turbo in green, catalog number MCG18440.
MCG has produced the 1977 Saab 99 Turbo in several colors, including black, dark red and green, and current model-car catalogs identify the green version specifically as MCG18440.
Because the front and product label are partly outside the newspaper frame, we would stop short of declaring that identification absolute. But it appears to be the green MCG Saab 99 Turbo 1977, which would explain Mofoss’ observation that at least two Saabs are visible in the photograph. The timing is particularly appropriate. Full-size Saab 99 Turbos continue to produce serious collector interest in Scandinavia, including the restored Arlöv-built 1980 Saab 99 Turbo currently heading to Bilweb Auctions with an estimate around $30,000.
The small green car sitting almost unnoticed in the corner of Håland’s photograph therefore represents a model whose real-world equivalent has moved firmly into serious collector territory.
More Than 1,600 Model Cars at Olinda’s Shop
The scale of Solvik-Olsen’s collection explains why individual Saabs can disappear almost anonymously among the boxes.
Posts connected with Olinda sin hobby have advertised more than 1,600 model cars in 1:18 scale, with both new and used examples being sold through the Bryne shop. Håland has explicitly stated that these are cars Ketil Solvik-Olsen has given her to sell. The number should not necessarily be read as a fixed inventory or the final size of Solvik-Olsen’s entire collection. The Jærbladet article provides an amusing explanation why.
According to Håland, while she continues selling cars, Solvik-Olsen continues buying them.
That makes this less like the liquidation of a finished collection and more like an ongoing circulation of models between one prolific collector, a retailer and new owners across Norway.Håland told Jærbladet that customers come from around the country. Some have their purchases shipped, while others make the journey to Bryne themselves. She recalled one customer from Porsgrunn who had spoken so much about the shop at home that he eventually brought his wife along to meet her.
For a specialist model-car operation, that type of customer behavior explains why the collection has had an effect far beyond simply filling a few shelves.
The Model Cars Helped Push Olinda Into a 300-Square-Meter Store
This is where the original Jærbladet story becomes relevant.
Håland’s business started primarily around her own interests: fabrics by the meter, handmade children’s clothing and other hobby products. At the Bryne Torg location she added Solvik-Olsen’s model cars, and according to her, demand “took completely off.” The response has now contributed to a substantial expansion. From September 1, Olinda sin hobby is moving from Bryne Torg to Storgata 15, into premises of roughly 300 square meters.
The model-car part of the new shop is already being organized almost like a miniature dealership complex. According to the newspaper, one former office is becoming the BMW and Mercedes section, another is being assigned to Opel, while a third is planned as a French-car corner. Saab owners may reasonably wonder where Trollhättan will end up. The rest of Håland’s business is not disappearing behind walls of 1:18 cars. Her sewing table will remain central to the new premises, while the expanded store will also include locally produced goods, ranging from regional products to honey and coffee.
Still, it was the influx of model-car customers that changed the scale of the operation.
Håland told Jærbladet that the cars have become enormously popular and that business has improved significantly because of them.
Why Ketil Solvik-Olsen’s Name Fits This Story
For readers outside Norway, Solvik-Olsen’s previous job makes the scale of his automotive hobby particularly interesting. Ketil Solvik-Olsen served as Norway’s Minister of Transport and Communications from October 16, 2013 until August 31, 2018. The Norwegian government’s official record confirms those dates, while his Storting biography also places his political career firmly in Rogaland, the same region as Bryne.
His enthusiasm for cars is therefore not something invented for the current sale. The enormous 1:18 collection has been visible in Norwegian model-car circles for some time, and his own posts have directed collectors toward Olinda’s shop.
What is unusual is the way a private collection of this size has gradually become part of a physical retail business. Instead of several thousand models remaining packed away in a private room, some are now being separated by marque, displayed and passed on to other collectors. Among them are Saabs.
One Orange Saab Already Found Its Intended Audience
The most telling part of the story may still be Jan-Erik Solvang’s comment. He was not looking for an arbitrary Saab miniature. He saw an orange 96 that resembles the real Saab he is restoring, recognized it immediately and wanted that particular model. That is the difference between collecting generic automotive memorabilia and the way Saab owners often approach scale models. The interesting miniature is usually the one connected to a specific car, specification, color or period already familiar from the garage.
For anyone hoping to obtain the exact orange Saab 96 photographed by Jærbladet, the useful advice remains Børre Mofoss’ original answer: ask Olinda sin hobby directly. The FINN listing shared in the comments confirms that similar orange MCG 96 V4 models are in circulation, but there is no evidence that it represents Solvik-Olsen’s photographed example. And anyone visiting the new Storgata premises after September 1 may want to look beyond the orange 96.
If two Saabs can be spotted in a single newspaper photograph of a collection numbering well into four figures, there may be considerably more Trollhättan material waiting inside those boxes.
