How to Start A Diecast Car Collection

Obviously, you love cars.  Over the years, in your mind’s eye, you have assembled and carefully inventoried your dream garage.  An impossibly beautiful 300SL Gullwing.  A blocky, Bloc-ky GAZ-14 Chaika.  Your first car, that plucky RX-3.

Unless you run a hedge fund or invented Post-it notes, chances are you won’t be able to afford that 3-, 10-, or 50-car collection.  That’s where diecast cars come in.  They are much more affordable, and nearly every real-life car ever made, no matter how obscure, has already been replicated and miniaturized.

A stack of 1/43s.

1. Scale.  Quality, detailed cars come in 1/18 and 1/43 scales.  The choice comes down to two factors, cost and acreage.  New 1/18 scale models cost $70 and up.  That’s a lot of dough.  There are cheaper models available, but you get what you pay for in terms of attention to detail.  New 1/43 scale cars start at a more reasonable $30.

Acreage is another issue.  If shelf/desk space is limited, you’ll only be able to display two or three large models.  But with the same amount of space, you can display many more 1/43 scale cars.

2. Brands.  Minichamps and IXO have the largest and most diverse stocks.  Spark focuses on sports cars and British cars, though not exclusively.  Kyosho and AutoArt are also excellent.  Ebbro has many rare, older Japanese cars.  And for the Cold War buff, IST, which is affiliated with IXO, has dozens of Eastern European cars, trucks, and vans.  Finally, CMC makes some incredibly detailed 1/18 scale cars, for a price.  That Mercedes Renntransporter shown in the lede will set you back 300 bucks, plus shipping.

From top center (clockwise): Rosso, rosso, rouge, rosso, rot.

3. Vendors.  There are three places to buy diecast cars– brick-and-mortar stores, diecast model store websites, and eBay.

Brick-and-mortar stores that sell diescast cars are far and few between.  They have been battered hard by the recession.  Though higher overhead means higher prices, if you want to support local businesses, this is a good way to go.

Most sales are made via store websites or eBay.  A lot of the hard-to-find models are only available from overseas vendors.  As always, caveat emptor.  Check the vendor’s reputation and customer feedback before plunking down your hard-earned money.

For the bargain hunter, look for used models on eBay.  Collectors often get rid of their entire fleet at once in fire sales, due to financial problems or fed-up spouses.  A bargain can often be had for that discontinued, sold-out model you’ve been coveting.  Ex.: I recently bought a 1/43 VW Phaeton from a guy culling his herd for just $15.50.  Talk about depreciation!

Nick Heidfeld F1 collection, including Nico Rosberg’s Merc (Heidfeld was reserve driver) and Trulli’s Toyota (Heidfeld used it to test Pirellis).

Renntransporter image source: [modelcar.de]

Diecast collection images source: Jim Yu [Editor's note – Hot Damn!]

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