Model collecting explained:
The art and zen of model cars

It hit me like a thunderbolt. I had built car models and read every car magazine since my teen years. I was already a thorough F1 and Can-Am, Trans-Am and Indy fan. So when I walked into the old L'Art & L'Automobiles gallery in Manhattan and saw a glass display full of handbuilt 1/43rd scale LeMans and F1 models, I was hooked, completely and utterly. There, in a very small space, was darned near a full grid of race cars staring me in the face. They were little jewels; you could just imagine having a museum of racing cars in your own home. If you had tried to collect the real cars, there would not be enough money in the world to buy them, if the owners would even part with them. And where would you store them? These models all cost around $100 or more each at the time, handbuilt one at a time as they were. Still, that was more than my modest budget could afford.

Right about then, the diecast revolution started in earnest. It was 1989, and Onyx, a division of Vitesse of Spain, issued most of the grid of F1 cars from 1988, all with official team markings on the box, all in 1/43rd scale, the "collector's" scale. These models were a little crude by today's strandards, but the mere fact that they existed was a major miracle. Before this, 1/43rd scale diecast was thin on the ground; if you wanted anything in this very storable, somewhat jewel-like scale, you built it from an often ill-fitting kit of metal parts, supplied with the barest of instructions (if any), or you purchased an already-built model (a handbuilt, because a professional model builder took one of those crude kits and made something beautiful out of it). The upshot was that it was pricey either way, with built models going for upwards of $200. Diecast models are way cheaper, due to the economies of production scale. Handbuilts are made in batches of no more than 200 pieces; diecast in the thousands.

Onyx went on to produce almost a full grid of 1990 Indy 500 cars, a slew of Porsche 962s, and more F1 cars. And while the quality of Onyx models were okay, although at times decals could be horribly crooked, necessitating the art of picking the "cherry" model from a batch on display at shows or races, they really didn't ramp up the quality level until they were forced to. The arrival of a German company, Paul's Model Art (PMA) and their brand, Minichamps, ramped up the quality of diecast so much that they were now a very, very good alternative to handbuilt models. The much lower cost of the models allowed collectors to build large, museum-like quantities of fine F1, LeMans, German and British Touring Cars. Most of the subjects were European; that's where the manufacturers and the largest amount of collectors were.

At about the same time period that this was happening, Burago of Italy produced what is now regarded as the seminal 1/18th scale model of its time: the Ferrari F40. This just-released full-scale supercar from Ferrari was modeled as quickly by Burago, and it took the world by storm. The model quickly sold out due to its high quality finish, opening doors, front and rear bodywork, see-through grills made of fine mesh, taillights that glistened like jewels and a 12 cylinder engine that was beautiful, even if it was plastic and only 1/18th scale. However, this was the moment at which collectors fell in love with 1/18th scale as the scale for incredible detail.

Fast forward almost 20 years, and diecast has hit new heights. The price of models has increased
at a much slower rate than inflation, the range of models of street and racing cars, motorcycles, trucks (and almost anything else, like the Good Humor ice cream truck) now available in mulitple scales is mind-boggling, and the quality of the least expensive ranges of models are darned good. Instead of waiting for more than a year after a racing season to see models of that year's cars, they are available as soon as 6 months after the season! Modern production techniques and machinery have upped the game in modeling: the standards are quite high across the board. It is fairly easy to trust that just about every model is pretty darned good when they show up at your door after an internet purchase based largely on a picture.