Recovery Mode

Some of my die-cast pick-ups.

The yellow one is a SIKU ADAC car recovery truck.

The Die has been Cast

More of my die-casts past. These departed MoonBase a few weeks back. Great fun to find them in the first place. Toy cars make a superb collection and are relatively easy to come across. Do you collect toy cars?

The Diplomat's Fleet

I've always been drawn to prestigious cars.

As a kid I'd get excited by Rollers, Bentleys and Daimlers.

When I started collecting die cast I was the same. Prestige caught my eye on a few occasions. 

Here are larger Corgis and such. The blue one is even called an Opel Senator. 

My favourite is the slick black Toyota Crown at the end. It's full of bad guys brandishing silencers. It's based on a James Bond movie.

Have you got a favourite prestigious car? 

Do you own a real one?

Heavy Metal

Three of my larger fast cars. The orange one has been repainted. I would have played for hours with these as a kid but looking back smaller Superfast and Hot Wheels were easier to play with.

What do you reckon? Big or little cars?

T Time

My Fire Chief and Hot T.

I love these Rods.

Do you have anything like this? 

The Beatles or Santa?

Painted Love: Terranova's Cars

Hello Woodsy,

Further to Rob's cars of the world, Northern Heights has a few painted samples.

White, blue and green examples crossing a bridge. Maker names can be seen on the boots.

Terranova47

USA

Bandalero and Shovel Nose

To fund my vintage VHS needs I've been selling off my old die-casts.

It's been really great fun to collect old toy cars over the last decade, especially the hugely relaxing pastime of cleaning and re-touching them, but I feel I can let most of them go now, except my Hot Wheels and a few specials I'm keeping hold of.

Here's the first of a series of snaps I took of them this week, posting here by way of a farewell to these things, die-cast beauties all.

Did you have any of these?

Rob's Multiple Toymakers 100 Cars of the World

Woodsy,

Circa 1970, I ordered an item called "100 HO Scale Cars" from America's Hobby Center in New York City. For 99 cents plus shipping!

 Hoping they were discontinued EKO or VIKING automobiles, I was sorely disappointed when I received in the mail a bag filled with one-piece, brightly-colored plastic toy vehicles, labeled "100 Cars of the World", by Multiple Toymakers!

After I got over my initial disappointment, I learned to love these homely little toys, and painted them up to look as "realistic" as possible.

An eclectic mix of sports and utility vehicles, both contemporary and antique, the big downside to these models was the embossing of the vehicle name on the backside or trunk. I tried to file off the names on a couple of the vehicles, with disastrous results, so I left the rest intact.

Here are pix of some of the painted ones I managed to save. Crude, but useful for background settings. The photos of the original bagged item are from eBay.

Rob C

USA

At the Car Squash

 Over the past few years I've amassed tons of die-casts. It was great fun to do - they're just so plentiful and cheap at car boots -  and many I spent hours touching-up with Sharpies and paint pens in my fave armchair, a really relaxing activity I first discovered with a Batmobile.

Alas, my cabinet is bursting with die-casts now, squashed on top of each other and my Hot Wheels and good Superfast stuff are waiting in the wings for shelf space.

I've decided to thin out the herd and heeding my old collector friend Casinelli's advice to "keep your best Woodsy" I've boxed up only those models which I can live without. Quite a few as it turns out.

I'll be sorry to see them all go but I'm looking forward to displaying my other stuff.

I'm sure there'll be a few you recognise. They include mostly Corgi, some Dinky, the odd Majorette, two Yatming, some SIKU and one Lone Star. Oh and a Blue Box.  

Have you a lot of die casts? Have you had to thin out your collection?

Tuk Tuk Tuk

Hello Woodsy

Here is the Tuk Tuk or as called in India CNG AUTO RICKSHAW an all plastic model with Pull Back Action.

Also pictured is a CNG AMBASSADOR with Pull Back Action.

MAHINDRA classic SPORT Jeep

PALIO SPORT Saloon car

All four models are of Indian made vehicles by CENTY TOYS who made all these models in India.

Terranova47

NYC