If you’re getting into diecast car models and you’re not really sure where to begin, then first of all, don’t pull your hair out over it.
It’s not like you’re trying to learn trigonometry here, you’re just collecting some toy cars, so here’s the main thing you want to know, make it your motto: Collect What You Like.
When you go into a hobby shop, most of them sell price guides so you can keep track of how much your collection’s worth. Look, forget that those price guides even exist. Trying to study them and find patterns and figure out what’s going to make you a millionaire when you retire is a fruitless pursuit.
You need to treat collecting diecast car models as what it is: A hobby, not a second job. Listen to your inner child, not your inner responsible adult.
Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, here’s the second most important thing to keep in mind about collecting diecast cars: Take them out and play with them now and then.
Don’t be an old fuddy duddy, don’t be one of those guys who buys toys and then puts them behind glass to ensure that nobody ever has fun with them ever, take them out, race them across the coffee table the next time you watch racing on TV, and, again, obey the inner child.
Because let’s be honest, they’re toys. You’re collecting toys here. Collecting toys and never playing with them is like collecting real cars and never driving them.
What it comes down to is that you should really only be collecting diecast models if you’re passionate about motorsports or classic cars or what have you. You should only be collecting them if you have a real appreciation for automotive excellence and scale model perfection and attention to detail.
If you think you’re going to get rich turning your diecast collection into a retirement fund, go invest in something safe, instead. If you think you’re going to just display them on a shelf and impress people with rare toy cars, forget it, we’re not that impressed. But, if you’re going to put those toy cars to good use, start collecting today.
Collecting is a hobby, and a hobby is supposed to be fun. If you turn it into a chore you have nobody to blame but yourself. So do yourself a favor and start enjoying life for what it is, take your toy cars out and play with them. Planning for the future is great and all, but you don’t want to spend the whole of your adult years thinking “Boy I can’t wait til retirement when I’ll actually let myself have some fun now and then for a change!” Real collectors collect because they like to, not because they’re trying to get rich.
