BLASTS FROM THE PAST - BOOST YOUR SAVINGS WITH COLLECTIBLE DIECASTS

SMN report
There’s little doubt that in these difficult financial times, it pays to have some form of savings scheme beyond a bank account and a pension company. And for model fans that can be a pleasure, combining financial commonsense with a hobby, for unbuilt kits and diecasts represent pretty decent items to have in your portfolio.

Rare Dinky Toys
Of the two, diecasts show the most spectacular prices, with auctions regularly achieving astonishing levels - even in a recession, or perhaps especially in a recession, prices hold firm and there have been bidding wars between individuals and fund managers at some salerooms. Dinky Toys in particular are a high achiever where values are concerned, with models from small production runs being very highly prized. Examples include the Avro Vulcan jet V-bomber, of which only 500 or so were released, or virtually anything from the mid-1930s to 1943, when Dinky production stopped for three years until after the end of World War II.

Dinky prices at auction
There’s no real price peak in sight, as ‘they aren’t making them any more’, and in March 2008 a Type 22 Delivery Van fetched £19,975GBP ($31,080USD) which was a record for a single Dinky Toy, though boxed sets achieve much more. For many present-day collectors, the 1950s and 1960s are a happy hunting ground, for there are more Dinkys available in this period and generally in fair to good condition, too. The brochure cover we show above represents a nostalgic boyhood piece for many collectors, and is reckoned as the company’s golden age, before the onslaught of competition from Corgi Toys, a range that was launched with the catchy phrase: ‘The Ones with Windows’.

Dinky Toys - our take
However, collectible as Dinky Toys are, it’s still best to buy them because you like them. Prices can go down as well as up, so if you enjoy them just as items of miniature model art, then you get pleasure whatever the current value - but if prices are on the up, and your collection also boosts your savings, so much the better!

Have a look at a nice book on Dinky Toy collectibles here.

The pictures show, top to bottom:
1  Dinky brochure from 1954.
2  Lineup of Dinkys from the same period.
3  Record breaking van in the markings of W.E. Boyce.

BOAC VC-10 from Corgi: Due May 4

The VC-10 was a British jetliner that was good to fly, and quiet for passengers. Despite these plus points, it was not a huge commercial success, partly due to somewhat higher fuel consumption than its main rival, the Boeing 707, and partly due to political strains that were part and parcel of the UK industrial scene in the 1960s.

Corgi’s 1:144 model shows the first VC-10 to enter service with BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation) in 1964. Sad to say, the aircraft crashed five years later, after it had been sold to Nigeria Airways.

The pictures show (top) the prototype VC-10 landing at an air show display in the early 1960s, and Corgi’s diecast model, priced at £68.50 GBP ($99.68 USD). You can see the VC-10 and other fine Corgi models here.

Scale models: are you a modeller or a collector?

The scale model passion divides pretty neatly into two worlds – the craft-driven hobby of scale modelling, and the collector-driven desire for a ready-built collection. The two camps are both quite well served today, and there is certainly some crossover between the two.

There are pros and cons for the two sides. Building a scale model from a kit is likely to be deeply satisfying and indeed much more personal – after all, every iteration of an F-4 Phantom (for example) is effectively a one-off, depending on skill level, amount of added super-detailing and the particular colour scheme chosen.

On the other hand, ready-built models give the satisfaction of ownership and the chance to buy into a limited-edition run, without needing a high skill level or have the time required to produce a top-class replica.

Expense is also an issue. An Airfix 1:72 Lancaster typically costs in the region of £20.00 GBP ($29.60 USD), whereas a Corgi diecast replica may cost more than four times that, around the £88.00 GBP ($130.26 USD) mark. However, if you factor in the time taken to construct and finish a decent kit, especially to show level, then the kit will almost certainly end up costing far more!

I don’t know if I’m typical, but work and family pressures don’t allow much in the way of spare time, so I’m a prime target for a third type of model: easy-build. This is a form that has been perfected by Revell especially, with its well-made selection of cars, aircraft and sci-fi subjects.

Which camp are you in? Or do you do a bit of all three?

Corgi Toys: classic Batmobile and Batboat gift set

Taking out licenses for TV and movie characters has long been an important part of the scale model business – and for collectors too, many of whom zero in on this part of the hobby.

Vectis Auctions currently has a good looking Corgi Toys Batmobile and Batboat boxed gift set for sale at £395 GBP ($579 USD), which seems a fair price for such a tasty item, even if the Batboat’s windshield is not quite complete.

Rowland Emett: homage to genius

Rowland Emett was the master behind one of the most famous movie cars, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, which starred in the movie of the same name. It's just over 40 years ago that the movie was released (in December 1968) and the extending-wing automobile has been a star ever since.

Of course, Emett (1906-1990) had been creating stuff long before Chitty. He did cartoons for magazines like Punch, dreamt up cartoon-like trains (see pictures above) and worked for US companies, such as Honeywell Computers.

The various Corgi versions have achieved collectible status. There's a 1991 25th Anniversary edition on eBay at an asking price of £125.00GBP ($182.00USD), though you could make an offer on that price.

There's a nice blogsite detailing Chitty and other models from the movies here

The eBay auction for the Chitty shown above is here.