04-15-2008, 12:03 PM
Hi ! I've been a diecast car collector since 2004 when Chevy first announced the restyle of Corvette for 05. When Hotwheels announced they got first dibbs on the C6, I was going to every Department store at least twice a week, checking Hotwheels .com (useless!), and I don't remember seeing all the online stores back then. Maybe they were there, but I wasn't into online shopping back then. Also, with my "rekindled" fascination for Corvettes (the new C6 was just driving me insane with curiosity about seeing one in person!), I started looking for any Vette diecasts I could find while waiting for Hotwheels to get the new ones out. Back in '04 you could find 1:18 scale cars almost EVERYWHERE and in many cases at BARGAIN pricing! I'm 52 and had not ever bought any diecast before. Plastic models of course from a long long time ago , but diecast wasn't around when I was a kid - or even a young adult. So, I give full credit to GM for stirring up interest in "Hot Cars" again. But my interest is limited to Corvettes. The only non Vette I picked up was HotWheels 1:18 Cadillac XLR red convertible from'05 - which - of course is built on a Vette C6 chassis
!! Bargains started popping up everywhere from Maisto, Motormax, Burago, HotWheels, Ertl, you name it... Kmart even had an exclusive Route66 collection before they got bought out by Sears. So now I have about 70 units spanning every year and style including the two pivotal Mako Sharks (1 and Manta Ray 11). But my "Crowning Acheivment" was from December of 2006 when I started Googling everyday for closeouts and specials online (when I finally came to realize that the brick and mortar stores were giving up on diecast sales) and I stumbled on a site that buys up closeout merchandise of all types from bath towels to childrens clothes. That's when I found not one, not two, but three different colors of the huge 1:12 scale Hotwheels C6 convertibles in red,silver, and blue at $39.95 apiece with free shipping. I almost hyperventilated!! I could go on..(obviously), but I'll cut it short by mentioning my visit to the Philadelphia Auto Show in Feb of this year and got to see the actual ZR1. You couldn't touch, but it was worth just seeing it. There was also several booths of DIECAST COLLECTABLES!!!!!! My wife had to drag me outta there...... but at least there were Philly cheesesteaks right around the corner from the event! Can't wait to see JADA's version coming out. Autoart would be nicer, but hey, I'll take what I can get!
.......Vetteman
!! Bargains started popping up everywhere from Maisto, Motormax, Burago, HotWheels, Ertl, you name it... Kmart even had an exclusive Route66 collection before they got bought out by Sears. So now I have about 70 units spanning every year and style including the two pivotal Mako Sharks (1 and Manta Ray 11). But my "Crowning Acheivment" was from December of 2006 when I started Googling everyday for closeouts and specials online (when I finally came to realize that the brick and mortar stores were giving up on diecast sales) and I stumbled on a site that buys up closeout merchandise of all types from bath towels to childrens clothes. That's when I found not one, not two, but three different colors of the huge 1:12 scale Hotwheels C6 convertibles in red,silver, and blue at $39.95 apiece with free shipping. I almost hyperventilated!! I could go on..(obviously), but I'll cut it short by mentioning my visit to the Philadelphia Auto Show in Feb of this year and got to see the actual ZR1. You couldn't touch, but it was worth just seeing it. There was also several booths of DIECAST COLLECTABLES!!!!!! My wife had to drag me outta there...... but at least there were Philly cheesesteaks right around the corner from the event! Can't wait to see JADA's version coming out. Autoart would be nicer, but hey, I'll take what I can get!.......Vetteman