How I started collecting diecasts

"edu-petrolhead" (edu-petrolhead)
04/23/2014 at 17:08 • Filed to: diecast

As I told in a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , while I was sorting my stored diecasts I found the first 20 Matchbox I received as my 9th birthday gift, and the 3 Hot Wheels I bought shortly after. This happened 14 years ago, and that was the day I decided to collect diecast cars. And now I share the photos I took with you, my fellow opponauts.

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I needed a photo to open the post, so I Orlove'd my Beetle.

Before the photodump, I must say that I loved those 20 cars so much that I NEVER did what a 9 year old boy usually do with his toy cars. I do played with them, but I only played "parking lot", which was basically lining them up like a shopping mall parking lot and trying to maneuver without colliding. Lucky me I was weird enough to play like this, so now I have 23 near-mint 14 year old diecasts.

Let the photodump commence!

This Beetle was one of my favorites. Not only because I like Beetles and the color combination, but it came with a little trailer hitch. It may look like nothing, but I'd got a trailer too! So those were inseparable, and made the parking lot play very interesting.

Mercedes CLK (if I recall correctly). The color is great, but it is easy to see the time marks on the yellowing grill.

A blue Jeep with a trailer hitch, an octopus and with "10.17 MB" decals. I don't know if MB stands for Matchbox or megabyte, but it is funnier to read it as megabyte anyway.

A boat. A freaking boat. With tiny wheels on the underside. The top used to be very white, but years in a box transformed its color.

A Sand Buggy. I love its radio antenna, and the little painted tools it have.

A Mustang. It wasn't highly detailed as other Matchboxes from 1999/2000, and it have some scratches on the paint, but still a nice model.

But to be fair, I've got a Camaro too. And I always kept it side-by-side with the Mustang. When I was 9 I didn't knew about the Camaro vs. Mustang war (since we didn't got any of them in Brazil), but I used to think they were much similar.

Lamborghini Countach. Remember how almost every kid in the 90's used to have something related with this car? Better than a poster, I had a miniaturized version of it.

But not only a Lambo, I've got two sweeeeeeeeeeeet Ferraris. Those astounding F512 TR and F40. Even now, with more than 1500 models, I still think these two are two of my best looking diecasts.

I've got a pair of huge bro-trucks too. I love the "Keeping lawns beautiful" decal on the blue one.

A plane with foldable wings. Clever idea for packaging!

This Dodge Viper has a sad. One time it fell from the table and it got a little dent on the roof. I don't know if you can see by the photos, but it is there.

Nostalgia is a funny thing. Today I would never buy something like this, but I love this model as much as the others.

And this one too. But this have sweet colors

Plymouth Prowler. Now I know people in USA don't quite like it, but when I was a kid I used to think this car looked like an insect.

Cement truck. I simply love it!

And together with the Ferraris, another of my favorites. This firemen car is so nice its rear bumper lost the chrome paint, due to my constant playing.

Finally, to end, the 3 Hot Wheels I bought shortly after, with some money I received from my grandparents. I like the El Camino so much that for years I boughtevery new paint scheme of this model. And I have no words to describe the purple Le Mans Porsche.

DISCUSSION (29)

Sn210 > edu-petrolhead
04/23/2014 at 17:53

nice collection! I've got the same Prowler. Mind if I share this post to Live and Let Die-cast?

edu-petrolhead > Sn210
04/23/2014 at 17:59

You can share everything you want!! Those models were stored for so much time that now I want everyone to see it!

edu-petrolhead > Sn210
04/23/2014 at 18:00

Of course not!

edu-petrolhead > Sn210
04/23/2014 at 18:01

Sorry for triple replying. I tried to correct the first replay, with a grammar error, it disappeared. So I replied again and both posts appeared.

Kinja being Kinja

Sn210 > edu-petrolhead
04/23/2014 at 18:03

hahaha yeah kinja just had a kinja moment with me too, seems to be ok now. I've shared it to Live and Let Die-cast, it's the perfect type of content for other there!

EL_ULY > edu-petrolhead
04/23/2014 at 18:10

Amazing, you have reached LEGEND status!!!

edu-petrolhead > EL_ULY
04/23/2014 at 18:11

Wow.

Why I'm a legend now?

EL_ULY > edu-petrolhead
04/23/2014 at 18:17

I have a soft spot for peeps that share more personal HW posts. This is physical proof of why you got hooked. Extremely awesome!!!

hethoughtofcars > edu-petrolhead
04/23/2014 at 18:26

Impressive! Pretty good photos too. :)

jkm7680 > edu-petrolhead
04/23/2014 at 18:33

So I'm not the only one who used to play like that, Haha.

PushToStart > edu-petrolhead
04/23/2014 at 18:37

That Beetle with the trailer, in such good shape, is the kind of stuff that is worth a lot years down the road. (not that you'd want to sell it) Also, that F40 is awesome. Pretty jealous, lol but really nice collection.

edu-petrolhead > PushToStart
04/23/2014 at 20:29

Thanks! Well, this is my precious, but they aren't expensive on eBay. I found a Beetle like mine selling for $4, on the blister, but this specific Ferrari is a bit harder to find. If you want to check eBay too, they're from 2000, so if you enter "matchbox beetle 2000" or something alike, you'll find them.

Although they're cheap on eBay, those doesn't come with memories :-)

edu-petrolhead > EL_ULY
04/23/2014 at 20:31

Oh, now I understand. Well, I love taking pics of my cars, and now I have MANY diecasts to photograph, but little time to do it. Stay tuned, because I'll probably post more soon.

edu-petrolhead > jkm7680
04/23/2014 at 20:32

Haha, now I can feel less awkward for sharing that.

jkm7680 > edu-petrolhead
04/23/2014 at 20:33

Haha, I remember as a Kid I used to draw parking lots, and stick the Cars inside of the spaces.

edu-petrolhead > hethoughtofcars
04/23/2014 at 20:38

Thanks! I took them with my phone :-)

I use this beast to photograph:

Kinja'd!!!

You read it right. 41 megafuckingpixels, Carl Zeiss lens, a mechanical filter wheel (when changing ISO), xenon flash and PureView technology. PureView is almost witchcraft. The phone takes a 41MP pic and combine the neighboring pixels to create "superpixels", or something like this. I set up the camera to snap 5MP photos on PureView mode, and those were the result. Also, it runs Symbian^3 (yes, I'm weird, because I love this OS) and it's made of Nokium, the hardest element known to man.

edu-petrolhead > jkm7680
04/23/2014 at 20:39

The same as I!

Are you my secret twin?

jkm7680 > edu-petrolhead
04/23/2014 at 20:40

We might be long lost brothers?

hethoughtofcars > edu-petrolhead
04/23/2014 at 20:41

Wow. 41?!????? Mine is a whooping 8 (which is still better than my DSLR at 6). I could kind of tell it was a camera phone because you can see your reflection in one of the Ferrari pics. :) I've done that in more pics than I would care to admit. :P

PushToStart > edu-petrolhead
04/23/2014 at 20:46

That's right about the memories :P

I wonder if I could find the trailer somewhere too, because that's what makes that set really special

edu-petrolhead > hethoughtofcars
04/24/2014 at 06:57

Hawk eyes, I couldn't find my reflection in any pic...

I appeared in some pics of the shelves, so I took the acrylic doors off to photograph them :-)

edu-petrolhead > PushToStart
04/24/2014 at 06:58

About the trailer, you're welcome!

zeontestpilot > edu-petrolhead
04/24/2014 at 09:01

I want you to know, the Plymouth Prowler is sweet. If not in speed, then looks and design.

I played with all my cars, but i don't lose anything...ever... I used to collect Lego Throwbots (I'm dating myself here), I have every single set ever made. I also have every piece to them. I don't lose things, :)

edu-petrolhead > zeontestpilot
04/24/2014 at 09:47

I do agree the Prowler is good looking, but I didn't knew nothing about its engine or finish until I began reading Jalopnik (and its comments).

I saw a Prowler only one time. There are very few Prowlers in Brazil, and I was lucky to see one of those few cruising the road. It almost made me break my neck!

zeontestpilot > edu-petrolhead
04/24/2014 at 10:26

My parents live in Fort Myers, FL, in a subdivision that splits off a road that eventually becomes a dead end. I've seen a yellow Prowler from time to time. Plus a Delorean as well. Both are gorgeous looking cars.

edu-petrolhead > zeontestpilot
04/24/2014 at 10:39

Oh, my, a Delorean! I love it! The only Delorean I ever saw really close was the Hot Wheels one :-(

zeontestpilot > edu-petrolhead
04/24/2014 at 10:41

I never got close, I should of though. My interest in cars was just starting to "bloom", which put it about 1 or 2 years ago. Yes, I am a newbie to the world of cars :)

edu-petrolhead > zeontestpilot
04/24/2014 at 10:48

Haha, but never mind. Welcome to this fascinating world!

My father is also a gearhead, and he had almost every Quatro Rodas (brazilian car mag with more than 50 years) issued in more than a decade, which I flipped through its pages before learning to read, but to see the nice car photos. I remember watching Formula 1 with my family before Senna died too.

So I grew up with lots of car-related stuff around me. But those glow-in-the-dark stars I had in the ceiling of my room made me an astrophysicist, instead of some car-related professional. However, I never get tired of cars! They're my computer's wallpaper, my collection, my hobby, my passion!

zeontestpilot > edu-petrolhead
04/24/2014 at 10:58

Lol, yeah, my dad is a civil engineer, wasn't too much interested in cars (as far as I now). My grandpa (mom's side) can be defined as a gearhead; worked for GM for a long while, his family owned a tow truck business, and he dragged race when he was younger (i've seen the trophies growing up). He is also an electrician, and fixed computers and such. I'm a Programmer, so I think I got it from him, :)

Anyways, since my dad is a engineer, I learned to appreciate an architectural masterpiece, for what it is. Like the Prowler. But since I'm becoming a gearhead, I've also learned to appreciate cars what what the do and/or what they stand for.