[Closed] What do you consider a "small" collection vs. a "large" collection?

Good question. I have about 30 1/43s and consider that small, 150+ 1/24s =large.

Thanks Barry. Here's how this question came up...

While going for breakfast the last year or so, I've become friends with another guy who is at the restaurant when I'm there. We started talking about cars last week and he said he love's old cars and that he has a LARGE collection of 1:24 cars. Of course, being a collector and lover of 1:24 cars myself, I asked him how many cars he has.

His answer was, "I've got 12 of them". I was nice and said that is really cool, but couldn't believe that he'd described 12 cars as a LARGE collection. I didn't have the heart to tell him how many I have, and then another friend joined us and we ventured in to talking about the World Series.

But to him, 12 cars is a LARGE collection. And to me, 12 cars isn't even a SMALL collection, it's just 12 cars. But obviously it's all opinion.

Forgot to say not sure how he can think a dozen of something is a lot. I don’t maybe 12 children or

Dogs, or cats etc. now your talking a lot of up keep and financial costs

Everything is relative...

... if you ask my wife 20 is a large collection, she cannot comprehend why I have hundreds of them, and she is a smart woman, really smart...

I knew I had a large collection when I started to feel overwhelmed with its maintenance and not knowing where to find each of my models. It has only grown since...

Well in 1:24 , 1:18 and 1:12 I know exactly what I have. If I see a model posted I’ll know I have

It or not. Even 1:43s I know for most part. 2:64 no. Not sure what I have. I impulsively bought them at swap meets, on ebay perhaps because I like the color or year model eg 65 Riviera. I have Two now because I forgot that I had bought the first one lol. Oops

Phil, you bring up a good point. For years I could tell you every model in my collection and it's location. As the years go by two things have happened...first as I have aged, which is a good thing, my memory is not as good as it once was and second, the number of models has increased beyond even my expectations. I'm quite sure that George's new friend would be shocked by the numbers in most collections of members of this forum. Good question George.

I thought I had a decent collection until a friend and car collector told me that he estimated his count at over 1,500 die cast cars and although most of them were still in boxes he knew exactly which models he has (I doubt it).

Knowing where to find a car in our collection, brings up another thought to me. But first, when we know a guy like our friend Bob Jackman has something like five or six THOUSAND cars, I can somewhat understand how it may be relatively difficult to know where an individual car is.

That said though, I've seen the video that a TV station did on Bob's collection sometime back, and it appeared that Bob was able to with ease go to just about any car he would be asked about. That's impressive! As for his collection, if his isn't a LARGE collection, then I surely will never understand the definition of LARGE.

I guess in comparison to a collection the size of Bob's, I'd have to say that with my modest 325 cars, my collection is SMALL. But then, when my collection is compared to my friend who has 12 cars, mine is LARGE.

So yes, it's all in the eye of the beholder. Now as for finding cars in our collection, I also have a friend who has probably close to 600 cars, but NOT a single one of them are out of their boxes! He has them all stacked in a room in his basement, to which I will never understand why he has them if he doesn't display even some of them.

And here's the thing about him, if I ask him about a certain car, he seriously has no idea if he even has it until he goes and looks through all the boxes. I just don't understand that either.

To just buy them and leave them stored in their boxes seems like such a waste to me. And if he does look for a particular car, the way he has them stacked, he has to move around dozens and dozens of the boxes to get to the one he might be looking for.

He and I have debated this many times, and he doesn't seem to get it.

With having over 850 cars, I always thought my collection was large. Reading about others makes mine look small. I do know every car I have as I have kept a record on a created x-cel sheet. Even though I have about 500 cars displayed the others are still in their boxes waiting for the day when I get more room to get them out. But if I am uncertain about a car, I just check my sheet. If I sell one, then I remove it and keep it updated regularly.

Essentially a collection is a collection and is dependent on what forms the basis of any collection.

To me, its what a collection represents and the knowledge a collector has about the items in their own collections that is interesting.
So big is best and small not so much so and is there some point to any of it?
The question of a big or a small collection is actually quit meaningless unless it is placed in a context of some kind.

Some collections specialize in where an individual collectors interests may lay.
Collectors often have special interests. These can be, model years, country of origin of the 1:1. Then there may be marque specialists, an interest in a particular race series or perhaps, just body configurations, such as say, pick-up trucks, as an example - or Woodies.
Some collections have no limits, while others will always be limited to the number of models in a particular group that interests a collector.
Big or small we love'em all!

I know what you mean....

More than once, I've bid and won on a die cast I really liked, only to find out when I went to put it in my display, I already had one. Or two. I've got about 175 die casts, all 1:24 except 13 Exotos. Te rest are all WCPD, DM, or FM.
photo no longer available

Why buy them if you don't display them?

Although my current home is small, I have all of my die casts on display except for a few duplicates. My ex would have never allowed it but now it's MY house so I can do whatever the hell I want. One of my three bedrooms is now my model room and I'm fixin' to mount another 24 car display case since I can't seem to stop buying models. I also build a few kits but they're in a separate display.photo no longer available

I have over 1,300 and have them all on display and in a computer program so I can keep track. I know when I purchased the model and where.

I have now stopped adding to my collection.