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Model collectors are not a dying breed!


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#1 SueL

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Posted 09 December 2012 - 12:48

For those who think that model collectors are all over 40 or are pensioners you really need to read the article in the latest Model Collector magazine "The Future Looks Bright".

Daniel White is now 12 and has an astounding collection which he started when he was only 7. I am biased as I know young Daniel very well and he is a real enthusiast . He s a mine of information on the models and the real cars they represent.. His ambition is to be a motorsport commentator - now that is something else! :clap:. I am sure he is not alone, in fact I know he is not alone as I know other youngsters who are collectors too, although perhaps not in Daniel's league.

Any others you know about? Encourage them!

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#2 Mal9444

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Posted 09 December 2012 - 12:56

For those who think that model collectors are all over 40 or are pensioners you really need to read the article in the latest Model Collector magazine "The Future Looks Bright".

Daniel White is now 12 and has an astounding collection which he started when he was only 7. I am biased as I know young Daniel very well and he is a real enthusiast . He s a mine of information on the models and the real cars they represent.. His ambition is to be a motorsport commentator - now that is something else! :clap:. I am sure he is not alone, in fact I know he is not alone as I know other youngsters who are collectors too, although perhaps not in Daniel's league.

Any others you know about? Encourage them!


I've only just turned 68. My wıfe hopes I'll grow up and out of ıt soon...

#3 SueL

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Posted 09 December 2012 - 13:07

I've only just turned 68. My wıfe hopes I'll grow up and out of ıt soon...


Old collectors are a bit like old golfers... ...but we won't go there! I am being serious, Malcolm, it is nice to know that there is young blood keeping the hobby alive.
Now a question - Do you know how a lad of 12 can get started in motorsport commentating?

#4 D-Type

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Posted 10 December 2012 - 10:18

The impression I gaet at toyfairs is that nearly all the customers are over 50 and the stallholders are slightly older.

If your young friend wants to be a commentator the most important thing is he knows all about the sport he is commentating on. Vital for filling in the gaps. In a motor racing context he can gain that experience by driving, marshalling, spannering, spectating, and reading up - or by doing all five.
The basic technical skills: clear diction, interesting voice, ability to think on your feet, how to correct mistakes etc can be obtained in a variety of ways: elocution, acting, debating, deejaying, any form of sports commentating.
But he will also need a day job. To develop, harness, and use the same skill set he needs to become a barrister (or maybe a market trader)

#5 SueL

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Posted 10 December 2012 - 13:46

The impression I gaet at toyfairs is that nearly all the customers are over 50 and the stallholders are slightly older.

If your young friend wants to be a commentator the most important thing is he knows all about the sport he is commentating on. Vital for filling in the gaps. In a motor racing context he can gain that experience by driving, marshalling, spannering, spectating, and reading up - or by doing all five.
The basic technical skills: clear diction, interesting voice, ability to think on your feet, how to correct mistakes etc can be obtained in a variety of ways: elocution, acting, debating, deejaying, any form of sports commentating.
But he will also need a day job. To develop, harness, and use the same skill set he needs to become a barrister (or maybe a market trader)


Good advice and thank you, Duncan, I will pass it on. He is a keen racegoer so his father takes him around. He was advised to try commentating on races he is watching using his mobile phone as a recorder so he can playit back. Many of the skills you mention he already has - as a 7-yearold he was quite at home giving a talk to adult club members on models from his collection. In fact because he was so ready to stand up and speak he shamed some of the adults into doing the same! I cannot see him becoming a barrister but he is already a good market trader!

#6 RCH

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Posted 12 December 2012 - 14:25

In my opinion model collectors of any age are a dying breed. I tend to get "I used to collect those but I've run out of cabinet space". I offer to sell them a new cabinet but they tend to make their excuses and leave.

#7 SueL

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Posted 12 December 2012 - 15:55

In my opinion model collectors of any age are a dying breed. I tend to get "I used to collect those but I've run out of cabinet space". I offer to sell them a new cabinet but they tend to make their excuses and leave.


Not a dying breed - just miserly!

#8 brucemoxon

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Posted 14 December 2012 - 04:23

Eventually you run out of space for the actual cabinets.

I've been collecting 1/64, partly for space reasons. But mostly for money reasons.




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#9 raceannouncer2003

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Posted 14 December 2012 - 06:15

I mostly collect 1/43 diecasts. My collection is pretty big now. I think I have most of what I would like to collect. They are generally too expensive for me now when I check on eBay.

Vince H.



#10 RCH

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Posted 14 December 2012 - 08:17

There has certainly been a fairly dramatic price increase in the diecast market in recent years to the extent where many diecasts are now occupying the bottom end of the handbuilt sector. Mind you the quality and detailing has improved out of all recognition in the 20 years I have been selling model cars. I've just bought in a batch of cheapie "partwork" 1/43 D Types and Ford Mk. II's. There are loads of these around but at that price they fill up a space on the shelf. 20 years ago the collectors would have been falling over each other to buy them at 4 times the price I'm charging...

There is also just too much, apparently, on the market and too many sellers on ebay.... wish I could work out just who they are selling to!

#11 nivola

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Posted 14 December 2012 - 08:48

Biggest problem is the Business models that the companies work on and the cost. Thus it will always be an older person to buy.

I was a rare Teenager who was a collector but now it is me getting older and I have stop. (Plus working in the industry does it to you.)

#12 Frank S

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Posted 16 December 2012 - 19:53

I mostly collect 1/43 diecasts. My collection is pretty big now. I think I have most of what I would like to collect. They are generally too expensive for me now when I check on eBay.

Vince H.


Exactly my comment, except substitute "way too big" for "pretty big". I am delinquent when it comes to cataloging, so I hesitate to reach for an attractive model, for fear I already have a copy. It's a bit depressing to look around at all these cubic feet of boxes and cabinets, and contemplate the amount of effort it would - will - take to either finish the catalog work or even organize for a sale, all-in or individual items. I guess I'll let my heirs worry about that. Did I mention "depressing"?

Perhaps not a "dying breed", but certainly "lapsed" at present.



#13 D-Type

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Posted 04 July 2013 - 13:37

It's not worth opening a fresh thread, but I see that Modelzone have gone belly up. It doesn't surprise me.

A few years ago they were going great guns - they carried a good variety of stok and knew what they were selling, they began to expand by swallowing up other outlets and either rebranding or closing them. Once the opposition wasn't there any more standards dropped. The stock has gradually dwindled, the staff appear to have lost interest and no longer know their stock - their labelling in the showcases is often wrong and pointing errors out to the staff produced a 'who cares?' shrug and nothing was done to correct it. The emphasis of the shop has moved towards expensive radio-controlled cars and aircraft that work 'straight out of the box' withonly minimal skill needed to put them together.

Hopefully someone will take them over as a going concern and try to turn them around. But with the declining interest in model cars they'll have an uphill task. If the administrators don't find a buyer, we'll be reduced to shopping on-line, with no chance to see the goods first or finding old stuff from the odd car specialists among the trains, old toys, teddy bears, Star Wars and James Bond figures at Toyfayres.

Edited by D-Type, 11 July 2013 - 13:39.


#14 RCH

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Posted 04 July 2013 - 15:57

Didn't Modelzone belong to Amerang? Far and away my least favourite importer/wholesaler.

I've got no sympathy with Modelzone ever since they were discovered selling just released Le Mans Bentleys and MGs to the general public at the trade price at the Festival of Speed some years ago. Since most of us traders had stocked up on these knowing they would be good sellers we were not a little pissed off. The late Mike Coombe and myself hatched a plan to buy all their stock but when I pitched up to buy them they had strangely just sold out....

#15 RCH

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Posted 04 July 2013 - 16:10

Ah, I see Amerang are in receivership as well. Not dealt with them for years ever since they insisted I open a new account despite having had one for years and had not traded with them for a few months and I was intending to pay by credit card anyway. Never saw them as a friendly organisation.

Could this be why I was told recently that Spark no longer had a UK importer?

#16 Tonecas

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Posted 15 July 2013 - 08:03

Hi everybody!
On the subject of being a dying bread I am a long time collector of 1/43 I started before the age of 10 (i.e. 55 years ago) and my preferred one were the solido's because they opened the doors. Of those only very few remain as new and more detailed models arrived. Nevertheless now with 1280 models and in retirement I enjoy them that I have on display in east wall of my living room.
For those that have the curiosity to see it here goes the address of my thread in this forum:
http://forums.autosp...w...t=0&start=0
Canadian greetings to all of you :wave:

Edited by Tonecas, 15 July 2013 - 08:03.


#17 zepunishment

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Posted 02 August 2013 - 23:46

I initially began collecting at around 16, there was a hiatus of around 10 years before I began collecting again and now I have a fair size collection. It has been mentioned that prices have risen out of context, and certainly this is the case for 1/18 cars-there has also been a shift in emphasis to higher end models, with the result that collecting requires deeper pockets than those of the average teen. A collector now may easily spend £2-300 per month.

On the subject of spark, they've signed an exclusive distribution deal with grandprixlegends in your order to control pricing.

#18 dmj

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Posted 09 August 2013 - 08:55

Actually I believe that model car collecting is starting to blossom lately but it moved from traditional areas to the new ones. All across Eastern Europe people started to collect kiosk series of former Eastern block cars. Personally I'm working on one such project here in Croatia and surrounding countries and there are a lot of younger guys that just started to collect. Even before we started the series we organized a few clubs and now I know several hundred collectors in area, good part of them very young.

It is true that kids aren't so interested in modelcars these days, generally, and golden times of diecast toy companies are over, due to much higher possibilities and wider choices of different toys/games. That tratitional base won't generate as much future collectors as it used to happen. But on the other side worldwide market and general economic growth of second and third world will compensate a lot for that.


#19 ken devine

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Posted 15 August 2013 - 08:49

After attending a model and memorabelia fair here in Western Australia last weekend as a seller it seems there is little interest in racing models of the racing sedans, i had several of well known Australians at a reasonable price and there was very little interest shown, formula one cars fared the worst, i have also noticed the prices on ebay are very low. Thankfully my savior was selling a lot
of Motor racing photos, strangely a lot of them matched some of the cars i had on sale.
It does seem younger people are not taking up the hobby.

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#20 biercemountain

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Posted 30 August 2013 - 11:44

Here in the US I'd say one of the contributing factors is the fact that young boys just aren't into cars like past generations. Sure, there's a tuner and hot rod culture but it's not the wide-spread fascination that was so prevalent when I was growing up.



#21 JohnCooperF1

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Posted 18 September 2013 - 18:54

I no longer see myself as a collector as I haven't added any new models in at least four years, But I have not sold any either so I own a collection... I still see many new releases that I would love to acquire but it the rising costs that ended my collecting... and they aren't getting any cheaper.

 

My collection is 90% BMW motorsport subjects with a few  distractions (like Schumacher's first F1 car, First win, each of his 7 WDC cars and his last Ferrari... I haven't added his last ever F1 car Mercedes) I have a lot of run of the mill models but I also have a few specials I treasure more that the rest like my 1:18 BMW M3 race car collection and my 1:12 BMW Z8 'James Bond'.



#22 IAM

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Posted 11 October 2013 - 00:54

I have not been around the forums here for many years, probably not since 2003. Sorry!  :blush:

 

When I started with models, we had to scratch build a lot, because what we wanted was not available, especially for Formula 1.

 

Magazines had drawings of cars with profiles along the body. I made the body out of balsa wood and my dad would help me find parts to complete the model.

Back then, maybe only 1 or 2 people in the street had a TV, most only had a radio. So having a hobby making models was of interest to a lot of kits my age....and adults.

I quit making models when I could build 1:1 scale bikes and cars (around 13). It took me until 2000 I think, before I decided I would get back into it. And then it was not model making, but collecting die-cast.

 

That soon changed when I realized the amount of mistakes on them, so proceeded to correct them............which turned into buying kits..........which, I found companies all over the world were producing kits, but I still found a need to add or change detail. Then started selling off my die-casts to make room for my models. One thing led to another and the website I created to share info on, turned into a full time job.

 

I do find that this is a diminishing hobby, as most kids (and a lot of adults) for the last few years just play on their computers, which everyone calls "smart phones". No time for a Hobby. That said, there are still many customers that were in their late 20's and early 30's when I first met them around 10 years ago. (I am in my 60's now.)

 

And I have picked up a couple of younger customers in their teens. They are in the UK. I have no young ones in the USA. For the amount of people in the USA, I am still surprised at the minimal quantity of model builders, building models of race cars and motorbikes.

 

Although I'm following my passion, I know its difficult and will be more difficult to survive with a model business, if I don't change it somehow.

 

Yes, today if you want a decent kit it cost a lot of money, so only the people with that kind of cash, that they make available, for models are older. We won't be around forever. I just pray for disaster that destroys Cellphone towers and cellphones.  :lol:

 

So now I guess I just collect models, because I have no time to build them.

 

That's my penneth!

 

Cheers,

Mac (Ian)