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J'aime ton hélicoptère, mais je préfère celui du chef.

J'aime ton hélicoptère, mais je préfère celui du chef.
I like your helicopter, but I prefer the boss's.
From Lesson 103:Demonstrative pronouns (celui, celle...)·French

Questions & Answers about J'aime ton hélicoptère, mais je préfère celui du chef.

Why do we use celui here instead of just repeating the noun?
Celui is a demonstrative pronoun that means "the one" or "that one". It replaces a noun you have already mentioned so you do not sound repetitive. Here, it replaces the masculine singular noun hélicoptère to mean "the boss's [helicopter]".
The lesson mentioned adding -ci or -là to celui. Why aren't they used here?
You attach -ci or -là when you want to say "this one" or "that one" directly, like je préfère celui-là. However, when the pronoun is immediately followed by a phrase explaining who it belongs to (using words like de or du), you must drop the suffix.
How does the French sentence say "the boss's" without an apostrophe-'s'?
French does not use an apostrophe-'s' to show possession. Instead, you have to use the structure "the one of the boss". The word du is the mandatory contraction of de (of) + le (the). Therefore, celui du chef literally translates to "the one of the boss".
Does the word ton prove that hélicoptère is a masculine noun?
Not on its own! In French, you must use the masculine ton before any singular noun starting with a vowel sound, even feminine ones (like ton amie). The real proof that hélicoptère is masculine is the pronoun celui. If the noun had been feminine, the sentence would have ended with celle du chef.

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