[Gort]

This is just a thought, and I don’t hold much hope for it, but I’d like to propose something to admin ...

One of the great pleasures (at least for me) in owning diecast is to watch certain models vanish from shelves and become extremely RARE (rare = impossible to find). So rare, in fact, that collectors are willing to sell their souls (or wives and/or girlfriends) to get them. It feels great to know I own something valuable other collectors can’t get their grubby hands on (kidding, kidding).

So ...

How’s ‘bout we launch an official new General Discussion category where we could chat about extinct models and/or alert each other to latest sightings? We could call it the "Extinct Models" category.

You’d be amazed at which models have slipped into the great diecast beyond:

• I was dumbstruck to hear that the IXO Raiden is kaput.

• The Hobby Master “Richie” F-4 is currently passing from this world to the next.

• The Forces of Valor 1/32 Challenger has soared so far beyond accessibility, it’s doubtful you’ll ever see it again—anywhere!

Anyway, you get the picture. We do this already here and there on the forum, so my suggestion isn’t remarkable, except that it would give members a neat little corner to go to when honoring (or trying to track down) our beloved defunct diecast companions.

Yes? No???

[no4mkit]

Good suggestion Gort. The list of rare and extinct models will only grow so I think it warrants it's own category. I'm all for the idea!

[Gort]

Originally Posted by no4mkit

Good suggestion Gort. The list of rare and extinct models will only grow so I think it warrants it's own category. I'm all for the idea!

Thanks, no4. Yeah, the more I think about it, the more I like it. But it appears the "Extinct Models" category idea dove into an empty pool. SPLAT!!!!

[jim]

You never can tell Gort, anyway it sounds like a good idea to me.

Since joining the forums and thanks to the members of the forums, I have found out about makers and models long since defunct I didn't know existed.


On the other hand, there was a cost factor involved !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

btw its nice easy trying to type with an ice lolly in my hand!

[HotTrap429]

An "ice lolly" ????? What the heck is that? You must be from England!!! Only kidding there Jim.


I love your idea Gort. There are so many particular models that are hard to find or as you so elequently put it, are "extinct". Some are great pieces of diecast while others aren't. But it would be great to have a resource to learn about them and maybe even figure out where to find them.

[parsig9]

I like the idea and up to now have always put that kind of thing in the good deals section. This is a good idea but "scarce" or "hard to find" may be relative...

Anyway, it's worth a try. Seems we need some kind of....rules?

Like if the latest prices seem to have doubled MSRP or something and the models are not available at the top 10 or 15 etailers. If they are no longer available there and have not appeared on Ebay, in a month, for less than double MSRP then they are rare. Or, something like that. For example, almost any Corgi EE Lightning would qualify. The S-Sugar Lancaster. The Black Aces F-14 maybe...

I mean can we really call it extinct if it is available at Perry's or Aiken's for 50% more than retail?

[Gort]

Originally Posted by parsig9

I like the idea and up to now have always put that kind of thing in the good deals section. This is a good idea but "scarce" or "hard to find" may be relative...

Anyway, it's worth a try. Seems we need some kind of....rules?

Like if the latest prices seem to have doubled MSRP or something and the models are not available at the top 10 or 15 etailers. If they are no longer available there and have not appeared on Ebay, in a month, for less than double MSRP then they are rare. Or, something like that. For example, almost any Corgi EE Lightning would qualify. The S-Sugar Lancaster. The Black Aces F-14 maybe...

I mean can we really call it extinct if it is available at Perry's or Aiken's for 50% more than retail?

Good questions all, pars. I hadn’t stretched my thinking that far.

Hmmm ... rules. The problem with rules is eventually they get too complicated and end up hobbling, rather than helping, circumstances. People turn off to them. And yet rules are essential if you want to keep some semblance of order.

So maybe some very general rules would apply? Like, “Hey—I haven’t seen this particular model around in ages and I searched but couldn’t find it anywhere” kind of a guideline? Or in the case of Perry’s or Aiken’s, if they’re the only vendors that sell them, then perhaps the model still qualifies as “extinct” or “defunct”?

Good thinking, parsig. Wow, I’ll have to tweak my gray matter a little more.

[HotTrap429]

We don't needs rules Gort, what we need are specific criteria. For example:

1) Availability - can I still find this model or is it almost impossible to find?
2) Production status - Is this particular mold or product line still being produced? If not, then it may be considered extinct (Matchbox comes to mind)
3) Desirability - do collectors still want it?
4) Price (thanks parsig) - do these sell for 50% or more above retail?

Just some suggestions.

[Hornchurch]

Originally Posted by Gort

This is just a thought, and I don’t hold much hope for it, but I’d like to propose something to admin ...

One of the great pleasures (at least for me) in owning diecast is to watch certain models vanish from shelves and become extremely RARE (rare = impossible to find). So rare, in fact, that collectors are willing to sell their souls (or wives and/or girlfriends) to get them. It feels great to know I own something valuable other collectors can’t get their grubby hands on (kidding, kidding).

Blasphemer !!!!!!!!!

Bet you sellotape crumbs to the window, when feeding the birds, eh ???????


BTW, Gort; Klattu looks SO MUCH more handsome with your revised Avatar


Also, if ya wanna "carrot-&-stick" me, post a pic' of the 1/35th Matilda in Desert colours !!!!!!!! (drool).

[Epapazian]

Originally Posted by HotTrap429

We don't needs rules Gort, what we need are specific criteria. For example:

1) Availability - can I still find this model or is it almost impossible to find?
2) Production status - Is this particular mold or product line still being produced? If not, then it may be considered extinct (Matchbox comes to mind)
3) Desirability - do collectors still want it?
4) Price (thanks parsig) - do these sell for 50% or more above retail?

Just some suggestions.

Makes sense to me. Perhaps if we come up with some examples we can refine our thinking. Also, are we including the lesser lines---Model Power, Atlas, Italeri, etc. or just the major players? And what is our time frame? I would suggest that we stick to the "modern diecast era""--starting, roughly, in the early- 1990s. If we go too far back, almost everything is hard to find, plus there is a lack of qualitative comparability.