[Fly Navy 75]

Fellow Diecast fanatics-

The purpose of this thread is to query the forum and see, just how did we all get started down the path on this expensive hobby? I find this interesting, because let's face it - a 32 year old man who collects model airplanes is sometimes viewed as being outside social norms. My wife doesn't understand (although she does tolerate) my hobby. I'll also admit, that when I first saw advertisements for model stores like The 'Mule and all the others I thought, "What a bunch of nerds, the guys who collect these things". Now I'm happy to admit that I AM one of those nerds, and I definitely enjoy sharing my interest in aviation history with everyone on the site. If I have my way I will some day have the title of "King Nerd", having the largest and most robust collection of them all !!! I just have to get past my current wife-mandated embargo on further acquisitions.

So here's how it began for me. While reading a copy of Aviation History magazine, I saw an ad for the Model Power collection. One particular unit caught my eye, a Navy A-6 from VA-115. I thought it looked pretty cool, but was still inhibited by the norms of society. About a month later, I was on a stop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and came across a model shop in the Petronas Towers. There I caught my first glimpse of the CDC Armour collection. After several trips back to that store, my temptation overcame any heckling from my main-stream friends. My first purchase came in the form of a Navy A-4 and and FJ Fury. After that, I had several months with no purchases. But then on an evening trip to Target, I laid eyes on a Matchbox Collectables MiG-15. This is where my wife made a decision that she since has lived to regret. I didn't buy the model, but she saw that I liked it and picked it up for me as a gift. Thus began the landslide of EBay Sniping (a.k.a. Ninja bidding) and internet purchases that eventually brought me here.

So - is this experience fairly typical? Did the other collectors in this forum have to overcome the same societal-enforced paradigms before they came full-time collectors like me? Please share your experiences.

-FN75

[STARMAN 352ND]

Well lets see here.....I think it all started because i come from a millitary family background.
My Father and Uncles were all fighter pilots and i just kinda wanted to collect the types planes they flew.
Then as i got older my older brother became a fighter pilot and then my cousin became a UAAF fighter pilot
and that's when it grew on me..The diecast planes years ago were not very good like they are today.
So what i try to do is collect the planes that my family members flew.
From there on it just grew.......
JP

[Gort]

Five years ago. Disney Land. More specifically, Disney California. I waltzed into a little gift shack and tripped over a mouth-watering little Maesto A-4 Skyhawk (now discontinued). Thought I’d died and gone to heaven. That was my first diecast model.

One year later I strolled into a souvenir shop at Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco, and discovered walls and walls of incredibly cool diecast planes and tanks. This time I was sure I’d died and gone to heaven. Purchased a 1/48 F-14 and F-18.

Later that year I poked around a Kaybee Toystore in Moscow, Idaho, and saw a Matchbox P-38, Spitfire and Hellcat. My gosh, I thought to myself. These little gems are entirely too cool. So I bought 'em, too.

Three weeks after that I discovered The Flying Mule, and the game was over.

[Armour Addict]

Good question there! I asked myself the same question long ago.

For me it started with the boyhood whish to fly fighters for the Luftwaffe. After the realization set in that my eyes are simply too bad I moved other to studying air and space techonlogies. I thought to myself: I you can fly 'em at least you can design and build them. That wasn't what I dreamed of either so I came to simply collect them.

One day I picked up the FM/A 1:48 F-117 "Scorpion 1" for a couple of $ from ebay. I was so adored with the size an the quality of that I researched all I could find about the manufacturer and the product line. Soon after I picked up an MiG 29 in Luftwaffe livery. This went on until I reached about 35 models.

Then came the proverbial "big one". I got to know a collector who wanted to get rid of his collection. He had 102 FM/A in 1:48. After some intense huffing and puffing, especially sleepless nights with questions like "should I do it or should I not" I bought off his whole collection. Funny thing is that he still had ALL the outer boxes! One has to imagine the sheer volumetric size of that many boxes!!! After I finally had all these boxes in my home I started sorting out what I got and what was undesirable or simply double. About 30 went to ebay and I kept the rest.

After that I simply got "hooked" on the subject and now I try to get the really rare ones to increase my collection. I am at 120 now and steadily increasing.

And most people can't really understand that I am addicted to collecting this stuff. For me its the sheer joy of making a killer deal or unpacking the newest addition to the collection. Especially unpacking the plane is as good as christmas used to be during my youth...

Referring to the societal-enforced paradigms:
If you are married (which I am luckily not) you have more problems collecting diecast. I can design my place, i.e. my collectors room, the way I want without any interferance other than budgetary restrictions.

AA

[Shawn 507]

The first F6F that Matchbox issued grabbed me for some reason.. I'm a armor modeler, so this was out of character. But then they looked better than anything I could build. Tanks are easier to hide mistakes on.
I ended up with nearly every matchbox plane save the WW 1 aircraft. Wings and strings didn't excite me, and they were not the same scale. I forget if it was a Dragon P-47 Razorback ( Holy Joe? ) or one of the E2-S ( blue ) P-51s that got me. Once I noticed how much better they were, I quickly pulled from the shelf all the MB planes. Most are still up for sale if anyone is interested.
Funny thing, I remember seeing the Dragon Glamorous Glennis in a hobby shop once, but didn't like how the parts were rattling in the box. Little did I know.
Then came the HM Dauntless, and boy did I want one. It and the Avenger were some of my favorites as a kid. I wasn't into the IXO versions though. Along comes Gemini with the P-51B that I had been asking for, so I had to support that.
I don't much go for Corgi either, bought and sold NGNG real quick. And now I have thier knock off HM Avenger ( Bush 2X ). Great liveries, but just cannot get past the toyish like construction. I'm just glad the 2X Avenger has the same looking base as the HM one.
So for right now, Dragon, Hobby Master, and Gemini are getting my spare cash. And its been awhile since I've broke open a armor model.
- Shawn

[djjeffhall]

With me it all started with a sudden jonesing to get an Apollo Saturn 5. I had a model I picked up at Cape Kennedy when I was a kid and decided I wanted to get one again.

I got a balsa wood job and some Yat Ming off the web and decided that while these are nice, I should be able to do better, right?

About the same time I saw a FOV Tomcat at a local Hobby Shop and some Matchbox 1:72. I grabbed a couple of F-100's, and Aluetian P-40 and P-51 along with the Tomcat. These were much nicer and also fairly cheap. Things are heating up.....

A quick google search later looking for Matchbox diecast (Or something like that?) I discovered this place called the Flying Mule and it all went down hill from there.........

[Fly Navy 75]

The Matchbox connection seems to be a common thread. Once I got the Matchbox MiG-15 I went down the same path. I started looking for more Matchbox, which took me to Ebay, which took me to the Mule. The Mule makes it impossible to not buy more models, it's were I got my next model - a Gaincorp Su-27. I almost bought the Su-35 instead (they still had them in stock), but chose not to. What a mistake - I should have bought both. Also, It's too bad they don't make Matchbox anymore. They were really nice models for the price.

[flyXwire]

Originally Posted by Fly Navy 75

The Matchbox connection seems to be a common thread. Once I got the Matchbox MiG-15 I went down the same path. I started looking for more Matchbox, which took me to Ebay, which took me to the Mule. The Mule makes it impossible to not buy more models, it's were I got my next model - a Gaincorp Su-27. I almost bought the Su-35 instead (they still had them in stock), but chose not to. What a mistake - I should have bought both. Also, It's too bad they don't make Matchbox anymore. They were really nice models for the price.

For me finding Matchbox at KBee's toys (a Robin Old's P-38 for $8 bucks) back in 2002, then consequently at TARGET stores was the main 'catalyst' which led down the path to addiction, but I have to say that my very first exposure was when I saw the CDC Armour collections for the first time in a hobby shop in the mid 90's! I got my first diecast in 1:48 - an F-16 Thunderbird.
When Dragon came on the seen in the Y2K, that's pretty much sealed my fate, and I haven't looked back ever since.

[Cavtanker]

I got desert tan 1:32 M1A1 from FOV in 2003. It's gone unabated since then.

[PappyB]

Where did it start... hmmm, that's a tough one!

I actually think "it" is ingrained in my DNA. As long as I can remember I've been over-the-top into airplanes (at least to most people I know).

When I was 5 or so (38 now) my parents got me this very cool plastic aircraft carrier that came with plastic/foam corsairs that you could actually catapult off the carrier and they would fly like 5-6 feet or so across the room.... I LOVED that thing!

This lead to me picking up a couple metal airplanes (matchbox I think, 1:100 scale or so) around the same time with my allowance......

Then I discovered Black Sheep Squadron and my interest in WWII aviation was sealed for life... and the Corsair remains my favorite airplane of 'em all....

When I was about 10 or so my Dad got me a Dinky diecast Royal Navy Phantom jet -- with "missiles" that actually fired!

This became my Favorite Toy of All Time, and I believe sowed the seeds for my "adult" diecast addiction. And is the reason the Phantom is my second favorite airplane of 'em all!

For a number of years (teens through 20's) I tried to convince myself I could build my own ... but I just don't have the intense patience, nor do I believe crafting skills, (or now time) to go that route...

So when I was in my late 20's, single, and had a great paying job I stumbled across some CDC Armour Collection 1:72 vehicles at a local hobby shop and bought a couple, which lead to a few more, then some 1:100 CDC planes, then Speccast, .... you get the idea.

So I blame it all on my DNA, my Dinky Phantom (which I bought again for nostalgic reasons a few years ago for a whopping $125 on ebay... my original cost $10 ), and Black Sheep Squadron!

Oiye! I just realized I bored you all with my life story (well, the brief version at least)! Sorry, but ya did ask