I'm lucky to own many models that have a disproportionate or sentimental value. I'll share this non-1/43 story.
As a kid, my uncle gave me a "huge orange toy" Mustang. Being larger & better than any "toy" I had up to that point, naturally I abused/played with it until there was literally nothing left. Fast forward c.27 years.... among the first 10 items ever purchased from eBay was a "huge orange toy" Mustang, just like the one Uncle Hank gave me.
Every time I visit the cemetery, I tell him about it.
Dang Chris,
I had one of those in blue. It was a available from the Ford dealership and was packaged in a box decorated like a garage. It was battery powered and had what I had never seen before. Head and tail lights that lit up because the model had clear plastic tubing that transmitted the light front and back.
God Bless your Uncle Hank. My Uncle Eddie was a real car guy too !
Before he married my dad's sister he had a beautiful 59 Plymouth convertible in white. Then he got a beautiful 63 Mercury with the breezeway window and the turquoise interior that was also white. Then he got a beautiful 66 Mustang in vintage burgundy with a black interior. The last car he bought before he unfortunately passed away was a beautiful 68 Plymouth Fury silver metallic with a black vinyl top and a burgundy interior. My uncle was the coolest Uncle I've ever had.
I loved that Mustang model. If I'm not mistaken Marty has one of those too. I think he's posted pictures of it before.
I have the same big Poppy Red Mustang GT! I got it for Christmas 1965 by some friends of my parents, Bill and Pearl. They were older, Vaudevillians from the past. Usually, they would give us kids clothes, so this was something special. I remember the Christmas card that accompanied it. Pearl wrote a little poem to go with the car, which I still remember to this day:
Yours was a blue 1967 Mustang 2+2 that came out the following year. If I remember correctly, these cars were only available from your local Ford dealer or mail order thru Ford. The '66 coupe cost $4.95 and the '67 was a dollar more.
I remember sitting in our school library, pretending to study Latin verbs, and opening the latest issue of (I think) Autocar magazine and seeing a black & white photo of the latest Imperial. I was an impressionable 15-year old, American cars came from another planet, and that picture of a long, low, wide and gorgeously curvaceous beast left me completely stunned.
Many years later Neo brought the dream to life with their wonderful '57 in a terrific colour scheme. One of those models that, rather than just putting it on a shelf and leaving it there, I had to look at and wonder at again and again.
So it will always be special for me. Thank you, Neo, wherever you are.
I have the same big Poppy Red Mustang GT! I got it for Christmas 1965 by some friends of my parents, Bill and Pearl. They were older, Vaudevillians from the past. Usually, they would give us kids clothes, so this was something special. I remember the Christmas card that accompanied it. Pearl wrote a little poem to go with the car, which I still remember to this day:
Back in the early ‘80’s before e-mail I wrote a letter snail mail to John Hall who established Brooklin Models. At the time I had three Brooklins. a ‘56 ‘Bird in red, a ‘49 Buick Sedanette, and the Chrysler Airflow. I wrote to ask if Brooklin would be able to do a ‘56 Thunderbird in black as a special order and since they were introducing new models on a regular basis would they ever consider doing a ‘58 Chevrolet Yeoman in Silver Blue? Several weeks later I received a nice letter from John Hall. He was glad to hear from a Brooklin collector. He regretted that they were unable to do any custom orders but he also said that they appreciated suggestions for future models and thanked me for my interest in Brooklin Models.
About 20 years later, in 2009, Brooklin did release a Silver Blue ‘58 Chevrolet Yeoman. Any connection to my suggestion was purely coincidental as Brooklin was now under the leadership of Nigel Parker. I was both surprised and thrilled that my dream was about to come true. Early pictures were very promising with one exception of detail, the dashboard was silver blue while the interior being the correct charcoal. I actually called over seas to Bath from Virginia . I was actually able to talk briefly with Nigel himself! I mentioned how great the prototype looked and suggested that the dashboard be done also in the charcoal gray. The rest is history.
This is an identical replica of our family Chevy wagon that we had from ‘58 to ‘61. I bought the model from my favorite dealer and Amanda sent me a set of black tires as that was how our family Yeoman was equipped. It is my favorite Brooklin, though many other Brooklins are favorites as well.
I had one of those in blue. It was a available from the Ford dealership and was packaged in a box decorated like a garage.
Decades ago, I told my best friend the story. He said, "Oh yeah, I had the blue one." I replied, "I never saw a coupe in blue, only orange." He then said, "No, mine wasfastback." Up to then, I was unaware there was also a fastback.
And yes, God bless Uncle Hank & Uncle Eddie. And to Pete.... The fact that you remember that poem says it all.
Found mine! It needs a little TLC, the chrome didn't hold up too well, but it is 58 years old. The stripes fell off, but I still have them. No box or instructions, I'm sure those were thrown out the day after Christmas 1965!
What a great question, Barry! I have so many - old ones from when I was a kid, new ones from when I was an adult (i.e., the last 50 years, ouch).
I am not a Hillman Hunter fan per se, but this old Corgi Toys with Take-Off Wheels has been with me since it was new in the store. I do love the Golden Jacks, all of them! I never lost a one, I am proud to say!
Then, of course there is Tekno, my passion since I was 8 years old. I have so many I love but the Tuborg graphics and the roof canopy are just so evocative of 1970s Copenhagen that I love this Ford D800. Can you believe a toy truck with stackable beer crates?
I can't pass up this Alfa Romeo of course - not the super nice new resin or diecast Minichamps, but an old Italian toy of the Zagato Quattroroute (the red one over the white one of course):
All three turned out to be obsolete diecast!!! Not at all planned to be that way.,,
This is such a great string… I thought about it a lot and how I would answer. Would it be my One43 Swan car? Or the recently acquired Rolls Royce glider tow car? Or maybe a woody wagon? No, actually, it wouldn’t be any of those. It’s this 1912 Rolls Royce Models of Yesteryear by Matchbox (internet-sourced pic since mine is packed away).
As a 9 year old kid I was really into brass era cars and this one just had me enthralled, starting a lifelong pursuit of the entire range, including mint examples of the first series. I loved the two-tone color, especially that gold. And the styling was so unlike anything I’d seen before. I remember having it by my bed just so I could look at it.
I knew I had some kind of collecting connection with Randy ever since I met him, but I never realized it all stated with Yesteryears! My Mom bought them for me, and I loved my green Y-5 4.5 Litre Bentley and blue Y-6 Bugatti Type 35 growing up. Much later, I got the red one (for some reason). 😎
