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Collecting diecast vehicles consists of acquiring specific items based on
your particular interests, such as airplanes, cars, trains, ship models,
etc. Although some people just accumulate them, this is a passionate hobby
for most folks, in which the genuine collector organizes carefully those
items to catalog them and proudly display them. The depth and breadth of
every collection is as unique as every collector is, and they are the ones
that determine if a collection will focus on a specific subtopic within
their area of general interests or if they only want to accumulate
determined items. As an example, a collector may collect diecast vehicles
trying to accumulate any or all of them, while another individual could
prefer collecting only a model, brand or marquee.
Diecast vehicles and toys are an example of a collection that is
never-ending. When you start collecting these vehicles it is like traveling
back in time until the early decades of the 20th century when manufacturers
such as Tootsie Toys in the United States, or Dinky Toys in the United
Kingdom first produced the first diecast toys. Because the term "diecast"
refers to any product produced using the casting method, the first models on
the market were small cars or vans without plastic windows.
Over time, the vehicles were made of plastic and metal, more commonly an
alloy of zinc and aluminum, including not only cars but also scale models of
airplanes and trains, although automobiles are still the favorites among all
of them. With more than 50 popular brands including Altaya, Bandai, Brooklin,
CMC, Dragon Wings, Exoto, Guisval, Ixo, Jada, Johnny Ligntning, Kyosho,
Lledo, Matchbox, Minichamps, Norev, Plasticos Argentinos, Racing Champions,
RCCA, Revell, Tekno, Tomica, UT Models, Vitesse, and the popular Hot Wheels
introduced by Mattel, among others.
Like with other popular collecting fields, diecast collecting has
specialized commercial dealers that trade vehicles and related accessories.
In fact, many individuals start collecting cars as a hobby to become dealers
at a later date, either turning this hobby into a profession, or as a means
to get extremely rare vehicles for their own collections, while they help
other collectors in their pursuit of showcase-model cars. In the United
Kingdom, there are teams specialized in visiting small and larger toy fairs
to acquire incredible cars, in good conditions from Dinky Toys and Corgi,
the main British collectibles companies. Dinky Toys was first introduced in
early 1934 by Meccano Ltd of Liverpool, England, presenting a new line of
modeled miniatures, as diecast vehicles were first known.
Corgi Toys began producing scale model cars until July 1956 under the
supervision of Mettoy Playcraft Ltd. in Swansea, Wales, along with Dinky
Toys, and the American Tootsie Toys, which is one of the most wanted brands
of collectors worldwide. However, there are many other popular manufacturers
from the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, etc.
Rarely a diecast collector completes a collection because new models of
cars are always available, and collecting never stops, you can always expand
or start an entirely new collection in a subtopic, such as cars, then sport
cars, vans, etc. From Hot Wheels to Matchbox and from Bandai to Tomica,
including all the other brands, diecasts models include popular automobile
marques. Packard, MG, Morris, Hillman, Austin, Alfa Romeo, Bentley, Citroen,
Opel, Triumph, Talbot, Gwynne, Vauxhall, Reliant, Singer, Bristol, Wolseley,
Innocenti, Healey, Siddeley, BSA, Darracq, Crossley, Jowett, Frazer Nash,
Northern, Renault, Ford, Chrysler, and the classics Jaguar, Mercedes Benz
and Rolls Royce, just to name a few.
Broadening a collection is not that hard, even when focusing on a single
marquee, because there are different models from the twenties, thirties,
forties, fifties, sixties, seventies, etc. Hence, every diecast Collector
has a world of possibilities when gathering diecast models from almost any
period of time as early as models from 1885, when the first automobile
driven by internal combustion was introduced by German inventor Karl
Friedrich Benz, to actual models in modern car showcases.
Diecast vehicles come in various scales, the most popular ranging from
1:28 to 1:64 scale, although many collectors prefer focusing their
collections on the 1:43 and 1:50 scales. Diecast toys were originally
designed for children, but the collecting boom started during the 1950's
when grown children stated to keep their cars instead of throwing them away
and adults discovered them as valuable collectible items.
There is computer software that is made just for collecting diecast
vehicles. Anyone who has a small or large diecast vehicle collection can
easily keep track of what vehicle they have, the color, condition, cost,
value, scale and lots of other info for each record (vehicle). This is the
most easiest to use software of it's kind, and it is made 100% for diecast
collecting. The software is described in detail and you can download a free
demo version of it at this website address:
http://www.rb59.com/diecast
Copyright © 2006 Robert W. Benjamin |
