Toy, Model & Collectible Replica Cars

boomchek

I bought my son a bus set that came with two W210's, one a taxi cab, the other a normal version. Both plastic and about 1:43 scale, maybe a tad bigger. I think I play with my son's car toys as much as he does.

fintail

Those are odd to be in production today, I wonder who makes those, maybe New Bright or Welly or something

boomchek

They're actually made by FastLane, a cheap toy company that makes products for Toys R Us. Some of their 1:64 scale cars almost look like knockoffs of older Matchbox. They also make car playsets and are quite reasonably priced.

My son also has this parking garage that I regularly play with, made by same company.

link title

fintail

Hmm...Matchbox made a ~1:64 W210 back in the day too, I wonder if this new version is kind of a "scaled up" copy.



When it comes to diecast, there seem to be no design rights - Matchbox was being copied almost from day one.

lemko

No, this is a diecast. The odd lighting does make it look porcelain. I tried taking several shots, but this was the one that came out best.

Here's a website with much better pictures of the model:

Danbury Mint 1959 Pontiac

lemko

Shoot, I still have that Matchbox E-Class and still in the original package no less!

boomchek

I have a couple of those too, a silver one, and a darker one. Silver one is like this:

fintail

I have the CLK cabrio variant, but not in package. Moderns will never be very collectible, so might as well get some play time in :shades:

Oh yeah, speaking of collectible, I got another Matchbox 59 Impala - but I am selling it:

fintail

Here's an odd new casting - a Johnny Lightning Citation. I can't imagine this being a brisk seller:

boomchek

Haha, I've been seeing the oddest scale toy cars lately, like 82 Accords, Tempos, Gremlins, Pintos. and other shitboxes from the 70's and 80s.

I'm tempted to buy them but just don't have the room. They're all made by "Fresh Cherries" and I usually see them in Walmert at about $3/pop.

lemko

Oh man, I gotta find that diecast car and get it for my friend! He had a 1980 Citation that took him through high school, college, graduate school, and into the first year of his marriage!

fintail

Sounds like he had the most durable 1980 Citation ever

I have seen those "Cherries" models too, who wants a toy Tempo?

roadburner

I'm still buying every E36/5 variant that I can find; usually 1:87 Wikings or 1:43 Schucos- I think I have all of the Dragon 1:24 plastic kits(although I may yet buy another 318ti kit as well as an E36 M3 kit and create a replica of my Club Sport).

Mr_Shiftright

Okay men, help me out here in a project I wish to undertake.

I've decided that I'd like to collect models of every car I've ever owned (at least the ones i can remember) :P .

This represents a LOT of cars (quite a few were "flippers" that I only had for weeks, but I drove all of them). I don't really want models of *every* car but most of 'em.

Now then, my considerations are:

1. Space--I need a scale that is plausible for a collection of what I think will hit close to 100

2. Availability-- most of these cars will be 1955 on up, American and foreign

3. Cost -- I really don't want to be spending $69 a model here, as you can well imagine.

Any ideas on scale, which model maker or makers might cover most of my needs?

"Accuracy" or quality are not so important, but of course, I don't want trash.

fintail

Tough question. It will all depend on the cars themselves. Although the diecast market has never been larger, there are still model cars that more or less don't exist yet. Still can't get a diecast of a W210 E55 AMG, for example.

Of course, smaller scale takes up less space. Many space-limited collectors don't go bigger than 1:43 - I have few models larger than that, myself. You can fit an awful lot of 1:64-ish models in a small place.

Cost is random. Many 1:43 models are much more expensive than 1:18 models. Some vintage 1:64 models, if a rare variety, can be worth as much as the real cars themselves, or even more.

Really, it will all come down to what car you want to have in miniature, and how availability is from there. There are affordable models available of most iconic cars, but some things (say you want a model of a Chevy Celebrity or a 96 Cougar) will be next to impossible.

Mr_Shiftright

Okay, let's presume 1:43. Here are some typical cars from my past

Jaguar XK140
MGA
MGB
Morgan
Jaguar 3.8 MK II
'63 Riviera
'66 Old Toronado
'55 Studebaker President 2D HT
47 Chevy Fleetmaster coupe
'48 Packard convertible
Triumph TR 250
Triumph TR6
Porsche 356B
'64 GTO hardtop
'63 Studebaker GT Hawk
'56 Packard Golden Hawk
61 Mercedes 220Sb
'52 Mercedes 220b Cabriolet
'63 checker marathon
Mercedes 280SL
'69 Pontiac Bonneville
Duster 340 (??)
'59 Chevy convertible
'56 Chevy wagon

I got lots more but you get the idea :P

fintail

For all of the sportscars you list, you'll have no problem finding many current and vintage models in many scales and price ranges. A google or ebay search will reveal a lot. I am sure most of the American cars exist in diecast form too.

A few small details will be difficult - what if you can get a 49 Packard instead of a 48? Or a 48 Chevy instead of a 47? Or any Marathon? Of all those you list, I only see a real difficulty in the 55 Studebaker and the 69 Bonneville - but they might exist too.

If you want them all in the same scale, that could be problematic.

Mr_Shiftright

yeah I would want them in the same scale. I don't care if it's a '48 or 49--I'm not even sure on some of the cars I've owned what the year was anymore (loss of oxygen to the brain I suspect).

What's the best keywords for searching for 1:43 on eBay?

fintail

Scale might be tough on a few, especially the muscle cars which seem more common in 1:18. But 1:43 seems to the most popular these days - so you'll get the vast majority of those. Most will be attainable for under $50, as well.

I'd go into the diecast section, enter the name of the car, and just search - sometimes sellers don't list things properly.

Mr_Shiftright

What's a typical price for a somewhat less then perfect example of a common car? I'm thinking I'm going to need about 150 models to re-create my chaotic and incoherent past.

fintail

Here's a link to the basic ebay diecast section, searches can be made from here

Most items you find will be new in box, 1:43 there will probably average $15-35 apiece. So, it will not be the cheapest collection, but will be insane when you are finished.

Mr_Shiftright

What's the approx length of a 1;43?

fintail

A 1:43 560SEL I have is roughly 4.5" long

roadburner

What fintail said; go with 1:43. I'd be extremely surprised if you couldn't find virtually all of your cars in that scale- although prices will vary wildly.
In my opinion 1:43 scale is the "sweet spot" for collectors- small enough to keep a large collection manageable but still large enough to include a remarkable amount of detail(although I have a 1:87 Herpa BMW 7er with an opening hood and a remarkably detailed engine).

Mr_Shiftright

Hmmm....but 150 of those is going to take up a LOT of space :surprise: I was hoping that 1:43 would be about 2.5 inches long. That would be the ideal length for my small-ish house.

We're talkin' 56 feet of cars here!

fintail

You should park them at an angle, not sideways bumper to bumper. That way each car should only take about that 2.5".

150 cars is a considerable collection, and will require some good shelving too. Open up the wallet

Mr_Shiftright

Okay I have a shelf space 70" long by 12" deep...so you're good at this...how many 1:43 models do you think I could display (2 deep of course).

fintail

Should be easy - cars 2 deep, each car gets say around 2.75" - you could get about 50 cars on that shelf. 3 of those shelves would do the collection.

Mr_Shiftright

don't forget, I need room to open the doors :P

Well 50 cars would be a good start--I don't have to build anything right away then. I know I've owned more than 50 cars but it might take me a while to remember them all---and there are a few that I might never wish to gaze upon again, even at 1:43...even a 43rd of the rage would be too much.

fintail

I'd think 50 cars would be a good start. A cabinet or shelf with sliding glass doors would probably be most efficient.

Here's a nice reliable :shades: Saab 900 Turbo in 1:43 to get you started, you had one of these, right?