Has the golden age of collecting passed?

[FKhanro(2)]

I think Chris echos what I've had on my mind for a few months now. I fit the same "Modus Operandus"..34 years old, first car was a Hornet, used to drool over buggies like the Super Champ but couldn't afford it, grew up, got some money, found ebay, went nuts and bought what I always wanted and stuff that I thought I wanted!

What got out of hand was that I started collecting the full family of cars/buggies based on a particular chassis ie. bought the frog and then went to try to collect the brat and Lancia, 037 re-release,etc. Bought Wild Willy then went to WW2 and WW2 Chrome. I bought some cars because they are very collectable.

What I've decided is that I have the core few cars that I always wanted..Hornet, Hot Shot, Super Champ, Rough Rider, Wild Willy 1, Audi Quattro etc. This is my past. I've decided that anything that doesn't have a personal connection, even if it is 'collectable' to others is going to go. I've been steadily selling off items and the funny thing is, I don't regret it so I know I've done the right thing. My gems are in a glass show case and I pick them up now and then and still drool like a kid looking in the window of the LHS 20 years ago.

Thankfully, although Ebay doens't look as hot as it used to be for selling, there are others like us who share the Tamiya bug but share different passions. What is not part of my history or interest is still of interest to someone in the world market place. I've got 5 kits on sale this weekend on ebay..all nice cars but no real connection for me. I've been able to get rid of many of my kits/cars without loosing too much and that is fine by me as the thrill of aquiring and marveling over them was worth any financial loss so far. The money that I have re-couped is going back into my touring cars or just other hobbies and that is fine with me. It's all for fun. In closing, I'd like to thank Chris for this website as Ebay alone would not have given me the pleasure I've had in re-kindling my Tamiya history over the last 3 years!

Thanks,

Fazal

[Morpheus]

I got back into this stuff about a couple of years ago, I discovered Ebay, and that was it. As a kid I had the holiday buggy and I thought it was the best thing since sliced bread. I was 9 at the time. After that my brother bought me the Ford Ranger XLT, and that was out of this world.

I always wanted the Toyota Hilux. The gearbox was fascinating, but unfortunately my parents split up and the idea of ever getting such a thing went out of the window.

Ebay has a lot to answer for! I found Ebay and they were on there, Hilux's ready for restoration, and that was it. I paid 300 quid for a Hilux that had seen better days, and then it was stripped down, and re built. I bought parts from all over just to have me the truck. The body kit cost me over 300 quid alone.

The entire truck must have cost me about a grand. The net result is if it went up for sale I would be lucky to get 500 quid. I do believe that the bottom has fallen out, as the serious collectors have what they want and the desire or collectability has been diminished somewhat.

I love the truck, it sits on my shelf never to be driven again, I like to look at it, and admire it. To me its priceless. My friends at work, played a gaff on me and pretened to be a buyer who offered me 2,000 quid for it, I turned it down not knowing they were oising around, they were dumbstruck that anyone could not give in !

Even though its value has gone down, it has allowed me to get back into modelling which I thoroughly enjoy, but also back into R/C. I love to build them the trucks and the tanks, so I am glad that I ma back into it. There may not be the value anymore, but the positive is that we can get stuff from Hong Kong at fraction prices, and have a superb time building them.

My last project was the Tamiya Pershing, and I know its sounds dull but it was the best week I have had in ages. My wife loves them too, she thinks there superb, and the tank she thought was out of this world. She made me show her mother !

I must confess I cannot build one unless I have one in a box, mint, and I also like to have a pair of each, but I don't drink or smnoke, its my only vice, and not a bad one. I will collect all the tanks and all the truck, I just hope the credit card holds out !

[karlfrancis]

Hi folks,

Have you noticed how many of us have mentioned the fact that when we were young that the money just wasn't there to buy a car? Same story goes for me. There were many other things that I would have liked as a young boy, air rifle, knives etc, (is it any wonder I joined the Army)?!! Once I had a wage coming in I started buying all the things that were 'missing' from my childhood. The air rifle was sold over ten years ago but last year I bought my first Tamiya from a friend. It's a M03 Mini Cooper. Since then a few more cars have followed but like many other TC members, I'm married, have a child and other financial commitments. The one feeling I get from buying something that wasn't there as a child is the sense of achievement. It sounds a little sad that I'd get such a sense from owning a RC model but I do. Not only that but I know for a fact that I'm not alone. Some of you have mentioned the memories that come flooding back when you look at a paricular model.

Mervyn's post caught me attention in that he hasn't driven any of the models for around two years but yet remains hooked on the hobby. My son in 4yrs old and always wants to help me when I get a car out and start cleaning it, repairing or whatever. Not only do I hope that he can recall these memories when he's older but I also hope that he'll become interested in the hobby too. Collecting or buying to sell, each to there own. Take a moment to think about what the word passion really means and then think about everything else other than actually driving our models, that contributes towards our passion for the hobby. Memories for childhood, bidding on something that we really want or need and the anticipation that goes along with, 'will I win it or not',building a new car, sharing time with younger family members as we run the cars, the nagging from our partners, the solution to a RC problem...............the list goes on.

I like passion, and I know others within TC know what I mean.

Thanks,

Karl.

[Mervyn]

addist again, well I guess "we" should all wish you a great big tamiyaclub "HAPPY BIRTHDAY". I'm about to toast you with a glass of fine wine,and wish you all the best!

[WillyChang]

quote:Originally posted by netsmithUK

I agree there wil always be collectors, and the current 'collectable' will probably change as new people hit 30 and want the car that got them started. I've watched it happen, what I'm getting at though is that it just seems much 'smaller' and more controlled this time around. 3-4 years ago it was just mad - virtually anything that said Tamiya on it fetched a high price, real clapped out bashed machine still regularly went over £100 and there were loads of people talking about collecting the first 100, or all the 4wd, one from each chassis class, etc. Now people seem more like that are at to get 2 - 10 cars, usually less. Maybe its just the economy but people seem a lot more controlled now days.

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Nah, have always been 'controlled' since Day 1 []

(which was 9/9/99 when I found a WW1, conincidentally)

Only ever looked for the models I wanted and today I'm only

about a (nice/complete) Cheetah short of that. And yep, every

one of those are a "project"...

The "big boom" around 2000 is probably in large part due to eBay.

And the Internet & Vintage Tamiya ezyboard to a smaller extent.

There's always been serious collectors in the 1990s, but they were

the first and not so 'organised'. They'd raid the LHSes but there

was only a select few that were part of the underground movement.

Most of us weren't in it for the $$ anyways.

quote:Quincey made a good point, I must have had 70-100 'projects' at one point and it seems that in the past 6 mths or so, me like many other have decided to finally have a bit of clearout, realising that we are never going to get around to finishing them. I think the difference is though I was not alone with that number of projects - in fact I was quite a small collector, but you don't hear those sorts of numbers bounced around so much any more.

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those projects... they can wait till retirement. []

There are still many collectors out there, but most don't advertise.

It'll be stupid to - given security/privacy issues.

Most of these old-school guys don't go on the web either.

Don't blame them, bleeding timewasting surfing... [|)]

[cardesigner]

This is a very interesting topic because I'm in the process of a major clearout and spring cleaning of my collection.

I joined TC around December and had 5 cars listed. Now I have close to 40, and not all of them are even in my showroom. Half of them are projects and I've just realized that I'll never, ever finish all of them! I did get caught up in the whole "buy everything I always wanted" and now I'm realizing that it's just not a good way to go about it. I like the tension, the "I really want this, but I can't, but maybe one day" feeling. That really keeps things interesting. I also love one-off projects, and my mind goes insane especially when I design toys and cars all day at Hot Wheels Design. I'll work on one thing, get inspired, and start something else. It's great being inspired as a designer but not so good when I have 20 cars in pieces, some modded beyond "going back to stock" and then not knowing where to start again so I'll scrap everything and start something else!

What really got me back into Tamiya was, like everyone else, re-kindling my childhood. The Blackfoot does it for me and I'm nearing my buildup soon...the light is near. Somehow in the midst of this I acquired 35+ more cars! I'm realizing that the cars that really do it for me are the ones I grew up with- Blackfoot, Monster Beetle, Lunchbox, Midnight Pumpkin, Frog, Bruiser, etc...I didn't even know about SRB's until I discovered TC and met Toykid at work- yet I built one anyway for the experience. I'm really trying to re-focus my collection as having SO many cars in such as short amount of time is overwhelming. I've begun to sell off many collections, including my RC and Hot Wheels collections as I need space in my garage again and I'd like to just focus on a few projects and execute them really well instead of multiple "so-so" projects. Also I need the money back as I just turned 30, and need to start considering the future, heh~! I'll never stop though, but might need to lay off the spending and focus more on tuning up my collection and runners.

[RETRO R/C]

I fit into the classic mould of age/"always done it" as well. R/C is something that is just an intrinsic part of my life - nothing will change that. Being a rather hopeless notslgic/romantic - I have been collecting only the cars I owned or really wanted as a kid...........

That being said - I only recently began adding to my collection of 400+ cars again after a year or so break from ebay and other sources, (MAN the Lancia Rally original was a tough one to find/buy!). Simple fact of the matter is that I got tired of the ebay grind - and simply put - I have most of what I want. I quite literally only have approx 12 cars left on my list.....................and then that will be it.

I think that most of the seriously passionate collectors have gotten what they want - and are only bidding accordingly. There will always be collectors who want one of everything - and good on them.......not for me - and honestly most of the major collectors I know dont understand this either.

Despite popular "myth" - most major collections are built from love of the cars and the hobby - not greed of having one of everything or investment (NO I AM NOT ENCOURAGING DEBATE - just acknowledging this fact).

Another "Myth" is that all collectors are filthy rich.........absolutely not true. My collection owes me almost no money at all - as I bought, sold,traded and made alot of friends along the way. I was very fortunate to have joined the craze at a time when I had access to a vast network of parts and kits. 1999 to 2003 were certainly VERY VERY intense. I feel quite lucky - and also priveledged to have met so many great people around the world.

So - perhaps the "golden Age" of major collectors fighting over small parts for literally hundreds of dollars are gone - however there are always "late bloomers" who want the cars from their youth as well.

I love this Hobby. []

Cheers

Darryn

[LamboDave]

I am not in it for money either - I buy just the models that interest me and this all started my a Sand Scorcher. I got it farily cheap beacuse it had the 'Monster Beetle' body on it - to me it looked fine and I still run it with this body. I then discovered the 3-speeds and then the real early 934, 935 & Countach's. I simply collect the models that I used to race my SS against back in the 80's. I found the 3-speeds very interesting and then wanted something really old, so I got the 934, 935 & a Countach. All my models are 'soft runners'. I even recently bought a WW2 - for the fun factor. I've bought all these models just because I wanted them, and most reminded me of my past - I never thought about the cost or money invested in them. I did have some NIB, but sold them all because they are no fun.

[grusomkis]

Collecting Tamiya got me back in the RC hobby after 15 years of stand still. At the most i got and sent packages each day from all over the world. I also had about 40 models on the shelf eachj time , totally about 100 the last 2 years.

Now i have sold everything and i only got a TXT-1 left.

What i discoverd was that having them old tamiyas on the shelf gave me nothing anymore. I sold them for lots of cash, and got me some real good pro racing equipment . (losi xxx-4 , xxx-bk2 , corally assassin , all the tools, matched batteries ,charger , power KO Radio equipment etc..)

Racing at the club and around Norwegian tracks is far more fun for me than sitting in a room restoring a Tamiya by myself. It doesent cost more either.

The only reason i should buy a vintage Tamiya nowdays is if i get it dead cheap just to sell it on Ebay to get more racing equipment.

As i did when i bought the corally assassin : I got a Willies Wheeler for 20£ at the local club, it had only been run once and was in mint shape. I sold it for 350$ on Ebay and bought a Corally Assassin.

I think many pepole start this way too. Starting by getting the cars they had when they were young and fetch interest in the RC cars that you can race against others later. Then ley loose interest in the old Tamiyas. In 10 years, i don't think pepole are collecting these cars as much as now or 3-4 years ago. maybee a mint *** TC3 or Losi XXX-4 is more popular because they are the same cars kids get now as we got the SS and those cars many years ago.

[DJTheo]

I think Tamiya collecting will be never as popular as its now, it will decrease due to following reasons:

a) To collect something it must be rare and its value in the past underestimated and that is what had happened in the past with Tamiyas. People were buying them and trashing them without knowing that those great cars will be never made again, as they thought things can only go better.

There was no systematic Tamiya collecting before 2000 which lead to the rarity and disappereance of the cars. Now there are many systematic collectors who buy any Tamiya to collect for the future, I think very very few people did that in the past.

c) There was no internet and ebay in the past, which also lead people not knowing the value of those cars and trashing them.

d) Also internet makes collecting easy, but if something its easy to obtain, it looses its interest to collect.

e) How many youngsters of today are interested in scale RC cars? All they want is action, may it be from an extreme MT or TC or a game console, kids don't dream much anymore of playing in the mud.

I personally believe that the value of our collections will diminish together with us in the future, but who cares if everyone understimates it then, we enjoyed and enjoy it a lot! [8D]

Cheers

[rcracerpete]

Thats actually very true DJTheo,actually brought a tear to my eye...

I collect vintage even though im only 13,but sadly not may other people do,i actually believe it is going to dye outas sadly as it may seem...

Not many 13 year olds have 2 holiday buggys! []

[usapirap(2)]

Like antique furniture or other vintage collectibles, what make something collectible is that they don't make it like that anymore. It's the material used, the way it was put together, quality, etc. It's true that many Tamiya collectors buy/collect those cars they used to own or always wanted to buy (but could not afford to) when they were young. But there are also many people who buy vintage Tamiya simply because of the quality and design that come with these old RC cars.

So I believe the first 100 Tamiya RC cars will always remain in demand for collection purpose simply because they just don't make them like that anymore.

[Dephcon5]

Ok Chris,

I will agree in the trend of collecting you noticed as collections have deceresed in size. Mine has as well, but the total number has remained about the same. I just decided to get rid of a few that I dont run or probably never will. So its SRB's and lambos for the most part with a few others. Instead of having the one of everything collection I instead decided to have the 3 4 or 5 of just 3 or 4 different cars. But yes, prices have leveled off and the madness seems to have subsided for now. But if the economy picks up again, Im willing to bet it will all come back to madness again. Just ask Jay Leno about his collection of 1:1 cars. Its just getting bigger and he says it wont stop any time soon. But thats just my opinion..... I could be wrong.

[Guest Rabid Monty]

I'm like quite a few others, mum was on income support and I was never going to be in a position to own a car back then. can still recall the many hours spent in beatties drooling over the Porsche 959, call me parnoid but I'm sure the staff were thinking I was looking to nick one lol. Haven't got my 959 yet but I did go through a phase where I bought anything Tamiya. will probably sell alot of it and will probably be at a loss, but these things happen. At the moment I seem to have a thing for the Hotshot, have 3 already and looking to add more, not sure why, but have really enjoyed restoring them. also got a couple of Monster beetles and a couple of SRB's that need restoring, as for everything else, they'll get listed on Ebay soon.

One funny thing I did come across, bought a NB Mercedes CLK-GTR and something didnt quite look right on it and couldn't for the life of me work out what it was, 2 months on realised that the decals had been applied on top of the protective film, Did someone do this by mistake or are there members out there who do this hoping to protect the bodyshell from the odd scratch?

[jonny_bravo]

Just interested in what else other members have bought to relive their childhood? ,...for me my first ebay buy was a Big Trak(still need to relive the TV ad and take my Dad an apple in the trailer [])

Second purchase was a mint boxed MB Simon game ,...

I never got either item when I was a kid (batteries were too expensive I was told [])

[addict again]

quote:Originally posted by Mervyn

addist again, well I guess "we" should all wish you a great big tamiyaclub "HAPPY BIRTHDAY". I'm about to toast you with a glass of fine wine,and wish you all the best!

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A little late on my behalf but thanks for the toast!! Although im a little dissapointed ya didnt share[] j/k!!

I was reading a post or two about younger kids not realy likeing scale models... My 10 yr. old LOVES driving the ol bruiser,he probably drives it almost as much as his t3 (or at least wants to,I try to keep the running to a minumum). It's funny watching him cause he is so cautious when he drives it. Although i must say that he probably wouldnt have the same outlook if it wasnt for me. As the saying goes monkey see monkey do!!

[WillyChang]

quote:Originally posted by jonny_bravo

Just interested in what else other members have bought to relive their childhood?

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Wild Willy was the first.

Nintendo Game & Watch Snoopy Tennis was the 2nd.

Those 2 were the main things that I never had as a kid.

Not much else on the list, I'm a pretty contented kid. []

[ukzz4iroc]

Great topic and quite sad to hear the truth about it. It is mainly us older guys clinging on to those carefree days- at least it is with me.

Recently bought a 48k Spectrum with tape deck and about 50 games. Seriously considering Star Wars Figures again. But for now my Kyosho and Tamiya's take pride of place.

I definitely think prices and collections are thinning out. People will hold on to the one's that are special. Personally I really regretted selling most of mine and I'm not going to make the same mistake again! I like the idea of prices coming down though- I anin't in it to make money.

[SonicCJ5]

I agree on not in it to make money. I still have all but 1 car from the 80s(I am a packrat)They all need work becasue as a Kid I was hard on my toys still holds true today when it comes to my Jeep.I was able to get my Wild Willy running with a purchase from E-bay. I have invested about $70.00 and now I could make a profit if I was to sell my Wild Willy but its not about the money it is a bout the memorys.

[c_a_r_t_e_r]

This thread is great, and my story is exactly the same as pretty much everyone has described - parents couldn't afford the Monster Beetle, 959, Bruiser when I was a kid, but I still drooled over the boxes in Beatties.. and had all the A3 posters up on my bedroom wall - still not sure what happened to those though!

Built a Hornet for a friend back in 80-something, and spent a whole summer bashing it around a track in his back garden - and have just recently built a NIB hornet re-release to re-live those memories! Of course this then led to buying another original hornet runner to go with it...[8D]

The first thing I bought on eBay to cling to the carefree days was a Nintendo Mario Bros Game and watch - how that brings back memories of school coach trips! Of course now I realise how irritatingly loud the volume is so can't really play it anywhere - and it eats batteries! haha!

Have also just stopped myself buying a BigTrac too...[:I]

Tim.

[supergreg]

I got hooked into classic videogames and game consoles before the Tamiyas hit my shelves. A couple of them had to go, but I will never part my original ones: Intellivision and Vectrex (+ a few others which I keep for collecting reasons: Colecovision, Atari 2600, Pong, Philips G7000, etc.) Whenever my brother comes to visit my, I have to pull out the Vectrex and give Minestorm a go, just like we did in 1984 []! For those of you who don't know, here's some info about the cutest home videogame machine ever: http://members.tripod.de/vectrexoverlays/ (a website I created years ago. i wonder that it's still online!)

[Mad Zero]

Well it was a little different for me because I got into R/C in the late 70's when 1:8 IC still ruled - electric cars (including Tamiya) were thought of purely as children's toys! When I did eventually get the Tamiya bug (18 months ago?) I have to admit I just followed the herd and started buying the ones everyone seemed to want! Trouble was that I am fundementally a driver, I love the building/restoring/searching for parts etc - but at the end of the day I must enjoy driving them if they are to be given house room! So, getting back to Chris's original posting, I too am currently dumping SRB's etc onto eBay becuase I'd rather have 5 cars I love to drive (regardless of condition, rarity, or value) than 105 cars sitting on the shelf ...kind of a 'been there, done it, didn't like it' type of thing for me. I have to say though - I've never lost money on a Tamiya yet!

[Bigwheels_inc]

well for me the running is the best part of the hobby and i'm also thining my collection down weather its vintage or not i think if it makes you smile [] then its worth keeping as long as its not just because of the rarety factor i started with a grasshopper and so i will buy a reissue even though ive got one i run its the memories it brings back that makes me feel good i feel a couple of shelf queens is fair enough just for that memory factor but otherwise if your not gonna use them whats the use in sitting 50 or more cars on a shelf to get dusty we all have memorys of our first tamiyas and im sure everyone would like to have there first one again even if it is just to show there kids what fun we used to have with these now 20+ yr old cars

personaly though the lunchbox is the car i would have to be berried with just becuase i always wanted one as a kid but coudnt aford it

[mud4fun]

Well, just like Chris said, I started out collecting everything Tamiya a couple of years ago (mid 30's) after selling my last house and finding myself with some spare cash and spare time. Bought up most of the cars I always wanted and many that I'd already previously owned as a kid.

However, I am not really a collector as I like to run the cars and after a while I decided to sell off most of my collection leaving just one base model that I could concentrate on spares for. I now run a fleet of vehicles all based on that one chassis and running/maintenance costs are much reduced. I also started getting into Crawlers and my interest in road/rally and buggies diminished.

Recently I've also been really busy with renovations on an old cottage I bought so I haven't had any time for Tamiya. As my eldest Daughter is now too old to be playing with R/C cars (she has other interests such as horse riding) we have sold off virtually the entire collection for relatively little money.

Just down to the crawlers now which are perfect for any terrain, are really reliable and give looong runtimes off a battery pack making them easy to take anywhere for a play without having to carry tons of spares, chargers and battery packs.

As it happens I still have my first Tamiya R/C car - a Sand Scorcher but even that has been heavily modified into a Crawler/Monster truck - purists beware!

These things go in circles though and my youngest daughter, just 14 months old is already the owner of an R/C car and she has already mastered the twin sticks on my TX. She has been driving Thunderfoot around the garden having great fun [8D][] - start 'em young!!

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BTW It isn't just vintage Tamiya that has been having a surge in value/Collectability over the last 5 years. I recently sold off a load of old Britains farm tractors and Dinky cars, couldn't believe how quick they sold and how much for. It appears that many 30+ year olds are also buying up these toys to relive their childhood. I have a couple of original VGC metal Dinky Eagles from the Sci-Fi series 'Space 1999', they are now selling for £60-£100!

I can't really see this trend continuing with later generations though. They don't seem to play with toys any more, have far greater variety to occupy them as well. Maybe game consoles will become collectors items but having said that they have sold in such large volumes I can't see them being the 'Sand Scorcher' of the future? Most modern toys are cheap, poor quality plastic stuff made in China. They don't have the 'je ne sais quoi' of the 70/80's toys or maybe that is just me?