DIECAST SCALE MODELS are traditionally a collector's market, rather than one for builders. But there are plenty of times when ready-built models make perfectly good sense.
SMN report: Using diecasts as part of the scenery for model rail layouts is one important use, though most are too shiny when fresh from the box, and require at least one coat of satin varnish on the paintwork.
Collections of related vehicles can make interesting conversation pieces too. This group (header, below) forms a miniature history of the owner's motoring years.
This old Dinky Toys Observation Coach was bought cheaply at a recent toy fair, to replace a brand-new one lost on a beach, when the owner was just six years old. Despite the worn paintwork, it still has an appeal, and the tyres seem nearly good as new.
And (below) is an excellent vid that relates the history of Dinky Toys, a leading manufacturer in the 1950s and 1960s.
Antique stores can reveal interesting finds (below) where an old tin box has been decorated with a Dinky Toys advert from the 1950s. However, inside are three Hot Wheels cars (left to right) the oddly-named 5000 Fast with a lift-up roof, a lime and lemon Swoop Coupe, and a twin-fin Alfa Romeo B.A.T. 9, the BAT letters standing for Berlinetta Aerodinamica Technika.
Ironically, Hot Wheels were responsible at least in part for the demise of the original Dinky Toys, with fresh new designs that left tradition in the dust.
