An "Awesome" day in Florida

We kicked off the day with breakfast at the hotel before piling into cars for the 45-minute drive to Boca Raton, Florida, and our destination: Awesome Diecast.

When we arrived, we were welcomed by Jon, who shared his personal journey into the diecast hobby. Originally from England, Jon had been a longtime customer of Awesome Diecast, regularly purchasing models and occasionally traveling to the U.S. to pick them up in person and browse the store’s impressive selection. Through those visits, he developed a relationship with the store’s owner, Jeff Silver. You can learn about Jeff's start in the model business here. Years later, life brought Jon to Florida, and an opportunity opened up for him to join Awesome Diecast, where he now manages inventory. (Note: Watch for a post from @jkuvakas where he interviews Jon)

Jon laughed as he admitted—somewhat sheepishly—that he was once a mega collector back in England, to the point where the hobby had taken over his house. Before relocating to the U.S., he was forced to sell much of that collection. Today, his focus is far more refined, with an impressive Bentley-only collection, which he proudly showed us during our visit.

After hearing Jon’s story, we had plenty of time to explore the store itself, which is anything but conventional. Located in a strip mall, Awesome Diecast begins with a small welcome area that houses Jeff's personal collection before opening up into the heart of the operation.

Then, it was back to the inventory space that also supports their mail-order business. Long aisles of bins—each clearly numbered and price-labeled—create a warehouse-style shopping experience, and we were free to roam, dig, and shop at our own pace.

We also learned about Iconic Replicas, Awesome Diecast’s own brand. Iconic Replicas is best known for its extensive lineup of highly detailed buses from around the world, all produced with authentic liveries and meticulous attention to detail. The brand has developed a devoted collector base, many of whom aim to own every release. A few years ago, Jeff added a full size bus to the fleet to go to various shows around the country.

In addition to buses, Iconic Replicas also produces select 1:43-scale vehicles, like this 1969 Chevy C-10 ambulance that I just had to buy.

Beyond Iconic Replicas, the store carries a wide range of scales and brands, including 1:18 models, Hot Wheels, and premium 1:64 offerings. Naturally, our group gravitated toward the 1:43 section, where there was no shortage of temptation. Brands like Esval, Kess, Minichamps, Norev, Autocult, Brooklin, Lansdowne, and many others filled the shelves.

We spent nearly three hours browsing, and the experience was made even better when Jon generously offered free shipping for our purchases—a welcome perk given that most of us had flown in with very limited suitcase space.

All in all, it was another great day spent together talking model cars, swapping stories, and spending a little money along the way. We closed out the evening over pizza. L-R: Me, John and Kelly Kuvakas (@jkuvakas), Betty and Skip Johnson (@skip), Karl Schnelle (@karl), and Tom and Judith Kinney (@thkinney). 

Tomorrow, we head to Sergio Goldvarg’s museum for a tour and dinner before everyone heads back to their respective homes on Thursday.