[Closed] Following on from John Moderator's question about collecting...

Nostalgia driven for sure. Harkens back to a time where traditional families, cities, towns, villages and farming communities existed. Main street shops flourished before big box decimated all the Mom and Dad stores and took the heart out of the communities and corporations took over farming. The cars (models) of that era remind me of this and the multitude of memories attached to growing up in this environment with all the wonderful cars of the day. Add to this the fact that I have, like most Forum guys, been a car fanatic since before I attended grade school and still very much appreciate the distinct and always changing styling each car company offered back then.

About 1950 I discovered Revell's Highway Pioneers 1/32 kits, (pics) and built several of them. They didn't survive the childhood of my younger brothers, and many years later, perhaps in the 70's, I found a few of them still available. I built a couple and kept them as reminders. More years passed and I followed my Dinky-collector older brother into the formation of the Carolina Toy Collectors. That eventually led me into the world of 1:43, but also reminded me of those old Highway Pioneers. I have found several (pics below) and have enjoyed them. Recently I even found one that I had missed all those years ago, and I enjoyed building it.

Of course, I also spent 40 years as a history teacher, primarily in the junior college system, and sometimes my students got some automobile history. So I enjoy my old toys, my kit construction, and, of course, the history of automobiles as so beautifully reconstructed in the world of 1:43. And I thank Forum 43 for being a valuable window into that world.

photo no longer available

photo no longer available

photo no longer available
This is one of the earliest products from Gowland & Gowland (English originators) and Revell, an action toy that had a hand-control that brought a spring to make the little car jump, with the driver jumping also. These little plastic toys were kind of fragile and soon became popular with old car model builders. Packaging changed, but for quite a while some of the earliest Highway Pioneers had a rear axle that was still molded for that spring action. (See? I wasn't kidding about being a history teacher.)

For me, it was always about a fascination with miniaturization.

I really enjoy accurate miniatures. The 1/43 scale offered great accuracy without getting toy-like as some of the smaller scales do and without taking up the room the larger ones do. Of course, that led to a lack of focus in my collecting. I have recently had to work hard to resist some of the scale trucks and machinery that have popped up on the forums.

Nostalgia is what primarily drives my interest. I love cars of the forties and fifties the best as that was when I was a child and then into my teenage years. My interest in cars of the twenties and thirties seemed to have developed as I got older by restoring Model A Fords and my first car being a 1937 Studebaker. My interest in European cars first started when a neighbor bought an Austin Atlantic convertible and later, in my twenties I bought a 1956 Austin Healey BN4. I have always thought cars were a form of art. My collection contains many cars which I love in model form but have no interest in owning in 1/1 scale.

I call that a miniaturazation fettish, and I'm guilty.

My collection sticks to 43rd and 50th (except for vintage Dinky and Corgi items) but it spans cars from 1910 to 2019. It's a display of automotive history in miniature. With the garage full of six 1:1 British cars I have no need, or desire, for more of those but the miniatures...not so much.

1) Cars I "aspired" to growing up, both realistically and total fantasy 2) Some homely subjects that happen to make gorgeous models [e.g. the super-accurate GLM '76 Lincoln and other barges] and

3) World leaders -- presidents, royalty, Popemobiles

I think my interest in model cars started with a

Ladybird book of cars which had illustrations of cars which were also Dinky Toys subjects. I am an inveterate collector; model cars, model railways, stamps, music-first vinyl then CDs, books. It concerns my daughter immensely as she's got to get rid of them all when God calls. I suppose its in my DNA.

Tootles the Taxi

That Is the Ladybird book with pictures all based on dinky vehicles. I also blame Ladybird books of Motorcars and their History of the car book for my interest in model cars.

My step-grandfather had a 1930s Rolls-Royce and a Sunbeam Rapier Series III which I loved and possibly influenced me.....

I guess living in Coventry until I was 18 where the local museum had a hall of cars which grew into a whole museum later and cars were so much part of the Cities life may have influenced me too!

The answer to your first 2 questions is yes.

Nostalgia for the cars, the era, and my childhood models, and no way could I afford the real things. Maintenance is a breeze on my cars!

Very heavy physical maintenance when a person moves residence though Ed! Just suffering through it!

Back to John Roberts's original question, perhaps the esteemed Cecil Gibson can provide an insight.

Dr. Gibson wrote "A History of British Dinky Toys 1934-1964" in 1966. Opposite the table of contents there is this quote from Leslie Daiken, author of "Children's Toys Throughout the Ages":

"...We still deceive ourselves into believing that it is entirely for children that we provide playthings, whereas it is we ourselves, as often as not, who feel an irresistible urge to play with them."

Somewhere else I remember a quote, and it might also have been Gibson, to the effect that there is always a fascination in observing something large that has been reduced to smaller dimensions. This drives many to collect cars, planes, dolls, dollhouse furniture, and so on.

I must say, I never "play" with my collection....just look at them fondly........

Absolutely! We moved in 2014, and I have no desire to go through that again!