Matchbox Diecast

Nice Diecast Video – good idea of what to look out for

admin — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 23:22:59 +0000

Hi folks,

I’ve just come back from holidays so thought I would get back into action and post a nice video I found on Youtube. Some nice examples of what you would love to find. Bear in mind that some of them are quite worn and used which is nice in its own way because they have been loved by some kid back in the day. But for the sake of value, much better if you can find models like these in original condition and even better with the original box (like the Opel in the previous post).

Enjoy!

Cheers,

Joe the Collector.

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How to start your collection of Matchbox Diecast Models

admin — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 01:31:59 +0000

Okay. so you have decided that you would like to collect Matchbox Diecast models. The first thing to know is that its a good idea (no actually its essential) to keep the models you buy in their original packaging. If you must open them, do so as carefully as you can so as to keep both the packaging and the models themselves intact. You want to make sure that you keep them away from damaging UV rays so that they keep their original new look – and you want to make sure that you keep them away from dust (a display cabinet is a good way to go here). The key word to look for is “mint” condition which essentially means just what they were when they left the factory.

What kind of Matchbox models do you want to collect. Every Volkswagen Beetle model that Matchbox ever made? Or would you prefer to specialize in a particular year release of Matchbox models or Models of Yesteryear? What scale models do you wish to collect (ie 1/75, 1/43…) Or would you prefer to specifically target models that are sought after and most likely to appreciate in value? You might choose to collect Hot Wheels or Diecast Trucks (like me) or… the list goes on and on.

I recommend collecting Matchbox Diecast models that mean something to you. After all, it’s you that will be doing all the footwork: going to garage sales, carboot sales, estate sales, and scouring the internet for bargains. So you might as well be looking for something you enjoy because if you don’t have any fun doing this you won’t keep at it. And what’s the point anyway? As I said in my first article in this blog, this is a hobby that can pay for itself if you educate yourself in your chosen field of Matchbox Diecast collecting – but you’re probably not going to retire on the proceeds!

If you are in this game to collect a line of cars that you like (Volkswagen Beetles and Kombis for example) or just out to start building a collection that you hope will be worth something one day – websites and ebay are where you want to start looking (before you get into the antiques). Choose something you like but bear in mind that if you are wanting to get a return on your investment in the near to medium term, you want to acquaint yourself with what other collectors out there are wanting and are what they are willing to pay for them. I recommend looking for club websites and forums that have members from your particular area for a start from whom you can learn the best local knowledge which you can then build on. With this knowledge, you can then start to really work out what types of Matchbox Diecast models are sought after, where you can find them and for how much. Start your education with this Wikipedia page: History of Matchbox Models.

Having identified your chosen field, look at investing in field guides and collectors almanacs to help value and identify the rarest models etc (see example top righthand corne of this page).

Let me close with an example of what you would love to find. A 1966 Opel Diplomat now valued at $9000 (probably more than an ACTUAL Opel Diplomat!). As I understand it, when they first came out they were less than 50 cents!

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What Matchbox Diecast collecting is all about

admin — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 11:31:59 +0000

Below is an interesting article reproduced from the Herald Sun newspaper in Melbourne, Australia from April 28, 1996. For those of you interested in the investment side of things, pay particular attention to the bottom paragraph (and bear in mind this article was written 14 odd years ago). I actually found it at www.shabbir.com. It’s worth checking this site to learn about some of the interesting characters who are out there in the Matchbox Diecast collecting world such as Shabbir who is very generous in sharing information about himself and his obsession with Matchbox Diecast collecting.

Here is a quick quiz. One question, one word, easy to answer. Name the world’s biggest car producer. No prize if you went for Toyota, Japan’s most prolific car-maker but ranked third among the world’s car companies. No prize, either, if you picked Ford. And you still did not win if you went for General Motors, though GM is the obvious answer and definitely the world’s biggest builder of life-sized automobiles. This time you only get top points if you said Matchbox. That is right, Matchbox!.

The world’s biggest maker of tiny toys has punched out more than 4.5 billion automobiles since it began business in Britain in 1947. It has built more cars than anybody else for decades and its production peaked at five million miniatures a week in the 1960′s. Matchbox toys have been first choice with car-mad children for generations, from the rough-round-the-edges offerings of the 1950s to today’s high-speed, high-tech and high-style models.

There are not too many Matchbox originals in the company’s history, but it has lured youngsters with Mustang’s, Miuras, Mercedes and many more. Starting with a scale model of the Queen’s coronation coach, through to today’s SuperFast family and the Matchbox Collectibles line-up, the company has matched its models to the times.

But Matchbox was less than a dream when Leslie Smith and Rodney Smith went into business as Lesney Products with their L600 (Pound Sterling) military payout after World War II. They took over an abandoned British pub for a die-cast foundry before making their first miniature car — for an early partner, whose daughter could take a toy to school only if it could fit in a matchbox.

A miniature brass road roller fitted perfectly and, after the company discovered the matchbox design from the Norvic Match Company in Czechoslovakia was ideal for its products, demand took off. Matchbox did best in the early days with its 1:75 scale range, which continues today and is updated every year. It has always included a London bus, but most models are less than a year old and — in recent times — have often been copied from motor show star cars. It takes only 18 months to go from real-life to 1:75 family, so the range is always changing and normally has something for every car-crazy youngster.

In the early days you could get a Matchbox for less than two shillings. Every one of my friends had a matchbox collection, and I remember building roads in the dirt and dreaming of the days when I would be at the wheel — for real.

In the 1960s, the best accessory from a Matchbox fleet was the snap-together two -story plastic service station which cost about L1 (Pound Sterling). It had a forecourt, a small new-car display area and a ramp to rooftop parking. Bliss for a 10-year-old. The emphasis was on British cars because matchbox was a British brand and most of the cars on Australia’s roads started their life — one way or another — in a British factory. But the collectors’ star cars were the American exotics, such as Ford’s Thunderbird and Mustang.

The scale was not always perfect, at least for youngsters who wanted their collections to match, but they were still great things. Matchbox has diversified a lot since then, absorbing its rival Dinky toys and eventually becoming part of Tyco, on of the world’s biggest toy manufacturers. The company still makes model miniatures, but few are ordinary productions cars. The kids of today go for high-performance exotics, Jeeps, racing cars and the high-speed SuperFast miniatures. And the Baby Boomers who collected their first matchbox cars when they were kids are more likely to be big-time hoarders of the limited-edition collectors’ models, including the Yesteryear collection.

“When I first joined Matchbox, I was struck by the deep affection Australians had for our models,” said David Cole, general manager of Matchbox Collectibles. “Matchbox is part of our heritage. I think collecting is a important way of preserving and showing our history. Our collectors do as much research as we do.”

There are many Matchbox enthusiasts with collections valued at more than $50,000 and Mr. Cole knows of some which would bring more then $1 million at auction.

Tom Mathieson is a leading Australian collector with more than 1,000 models, including early rarities now worth more than $10,000 apiece. Even for somebody who played with Matchbox toys as a child, discarding the boxes and scratching the paint in day-to-day running, the prices for some of the rare pieces are a shock.. A basic 1:75 from the 1950s will cost $8 to $25 with rare models fetching closer to $200. My dream, the snap-together service station, is worth $40-$200 today. And the prices jump when you get in the Yesteryear collection, where limited-edition models and rare color combinations can easily take prices into the thousands. Even if you are buying today, a mainstream Yesteryear model can increase in value by five or six times in five years. but most Matchbox toys are still that — toys for children, from three to 103.

“I can’t see a time when Matchbox won’t be an Australian household name,” Mr. Cole said. “It’s quite simple really — as long as there are kids, there will always be Matchbox.”

Welcome to Matchbox Diecast and my blog!

admin — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 10:01:59 +0000

Hi there and thanks for visiting my blog. My name is Joe and I am a fanatical collector (Diecast trucks in particular). It occurred to me that there were others out there like me and I thought what the heck, I might have something to add that will be of interest to you and from you to me so hence here is my blog which of course I hope you will read and comment on. I am also a researcher who has a lot of skills in using the internet to find rare models, useful information, places to meet and chat with other people who suffer the same kind of insanity as myself – and I would like to share my knowledge about how to use the internet to pursue this particular obsession of mine. My hope is that in doing so you can teach me a thing or two as well!

Some people (most people) say why collect Diecast models? Well, if you are a fanatic like me, then the real question is why not?

I grew up playing with all sorts of different toys but the ones that I liked most were the Matchbox Diecast models (I also like Hot Wheels Diecast models, Ertl Diecast, and Maisto Diecast to mention just a few!). There is a Matchbox Diecast model (and a whole lot of other brands out there too) for just about every car, vehicle, craft you can imagine. The first one I got was a Diecast space shuttle model about an inch and half long that had a little switch at the bottom which when flicked lowered wheels from the undercarriage. Gee that was cool! Unfortunately, the kids at school got sick of me flying it (sort of!) around the classroom and the bully threw it out the window. Sigh. If you ever hear of one of those coming up for sale please let me know. Seriously. I know where the bully lives and once I find one I will be back to bother him!

Another reason to enjoy this hobby is that you can get models of the types of car that you own, or would like to own. Imagine if you had a gigantic garage filled with Porsches and Lamborginis for example – you could have a model for each one! In my case, it would be one 1977 model Beige Volvo Sedan 244DL. Woohoo! Get down!

I collect Diecast models for my own enjoyment but I also collect as an investment activity (although somehow I don’t think anyone will be bidding for my Volvo model anytime soon). This is a hobby where we can show our friends and family that our obsession at least pays for itself. No, you probably are not going to retire from the proceeds but, occasionally I find a nice model in a garage sale for $5 or so that turns out to have a value of $50 or more so that’s nothing to sniff at either. But what if you find one that fetches a price in the tens of thousands? Check it out, it does happen.

Anyway, thankyou for visiting my blog, and please feel free to contribute your comments!

Cheers,

Joe the Collector.

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