Outstanding Showpieces .........

Conquest 1962 Oldsmobile Starfire convertible in garnet mist

WMCE 1941 Buick Century convertible in maroon with white top

Brooklin/ElMo 1970 Buick GSX in yellow and black

Here are some pictures.

@ed-davis The Western Model is a Roadmaster. Buick never did a 1941 Century Convertible but a Coupe and Sedan. Western did a two tone grey Century I had many years ago as well as the Roadmaster you posted. They were nice models for the time.

The most striking piece of my collection............ GLM 1954 Chrysler La Comtesse Show Car. Outstanding chrome foil trim, interior details and color combo.

 I will post my other 2 favorites tomorrow.

@nickies 

I may not be an expert on Buick model names, but the Route 66 Model Car web site does identify it as a Century. Is that correct? I could only assume that.

@ed-davis No, this is not correct. 1940 was the last year for the Century Convertible Coupe.

Posted by: @nickies

@ed-davis No, this is not correct. 1940 was the last year for the Century Convertible Coupe.

Not according to Wikipedia....

'Buick renamed its entire model lineup for the 1936 model year to celebrate the engineering improvements and design advancements over their 1935 models, introducing a "streamlined" appearance. Buick's Series 40 model range became the Special, the Series 60 became the Century, the Series 80 became the Roadmaster, and the Series 90, Buick's longest and most luxurious vehicles, became the Limited. The terminology "Series 60" and "Series 70" were shared with Cadillac, while "Series 60", "Series 70", "Series 80" and "Series 90" were shared with Oldsmobile.

The basic formula for the 1936 to 1942 Century was established by mating the shorter wheelbase Special bodies to the Roadmaster's larger displacement straight-eight engine. The Century offered four different types of 2-door body styles to include convertibles and only one 4-door Sedan, with the ratio remaining coupes over sedans until 1938 when there were three coupe and three sedan choices.^[2] The 1940 Series 50 Super combined the longer Roadmaster body with the smaller displacement Special engine.

While the Special was powered by Buick's OHV 233 cu in (3.8 L) straight-8 engine, rated 93 hp (69 kW) at 3200 rpm, Centurys produced between 1936 and 1942 were powered by the OHV 320 cu in (5.2 L) straight-8 producing 141 hp (105 kW),^[4] making them the fastest Buicks of the era and capable of sustained speeds of 100 mph (161 km/h), hence the name Century (100), earning the Century the nickname "the banker's hot rod".^[2] Prices listed for the 2-door Victoria Coupe started at US$1,055 ($23,164 in 2023 dollars ^[3]) to US$1,135 ($24,861 in 2023 dollars ^[3]) for the 2-door Convertible. By 1940 prices rose to US$1,175 ($25,554 in 2023 dollars ^[3]) for the Sport Coupe to US$1,620 ($35,232 in 2023 dollars ^[3]) for the 4-door Convertible Phaeton.^[2]

The Century was discontinued at the end of the abbreviated 1942 model year due to World War II, when production of passenger vehicles stopped on February 4, 1942, during which total model production only accounted for about 10% of Buick's total output.'

@ben-lampson 

Thanks for the explanation of the Buick models. I have not seen you on the Forum for a while. I hope you are Ok.

@ben-lampson the production numbers shown in the encyclopedia provided by Consumer Guide show no Century Convertibles produced in 41 or 42.  550 convertible coupes were produced in 1940.  Roadmaster, Super and Special however did have convertible models in 41 and 42.  

There's no way I could choose 3 favorites. I love them best when they portray a car I particularly like and/or model the car with character, not always necessarily accuracy. I have 150 models and at least 120 qualify as 'favorites'!

@ed-davis 

Hi Ed, yes, I am fine, and collecting model cars is still my favorite hobby, but that is the problem....I have no spending control.

I was spending way too much on models.....at least $300-$800 and sometimes more a month.

I am rapidly paying off my mortgage (example: I have made 32 principal payments since January 1st of this year, so 8 principal payments a month for the previous 4 months).

I bought my house and took my 30 year loan 10 years ago, and I am more than 13 years ahead (I am in year 2037 for payments), and if I keep at it, the mortgage will be paid off in about 2 years, shaving 18 years off the 30 year loan term, and saving over $60k in interest.

I have learned that I can't have both a model car collecting habit and pay my mortgage off fast.

It seems the more I hang out here, on ebay and on the sites that sell these wonderful models, the more money I spend on them!

Thank you for your concern......I'll visit more if I can control myself.

@frank 

Thanks Frank....I am no expert on those year Buicks....I just looked it up on wiki and wanted to share it.

@ben-lampson 

Thanks for your response, and I am glad you are OK.  I remember paying off a 30 year mortgage for my previous house in 17 years doing a similar thing with making additional principle payments.

Controling model spending, that is a problem many of us on this forum have.

You have been spending more than me, although there are many models available, which are very tempting. The most dangerous part of this Forum are John’s MyTake videos, which can be very dangerous to one’s financial health. 

Posted by: @ed-davis

@ben-lampson 

The most dangerous part of this Forum are John’s MyTake videos, which can be very dangerous to one’s financial health. 

No truer words have ever been spoken Ed!........Johns My Take videos get me everytime!

Everytime I watch one of his videos, my bank account balance suddenly decreases, and that ain't no lie!

I have bought a few new models recently, so if I have time tomorrow, I'll post some pics.

You paid off a 30 in 17 years?....bravo my friend! 👍 

The second model I consider a showpiece is the Stamp 1978 Cadillac Eldorado Custom with the brown and cream paint job. It also has a two tone interior that is quite phenomenal for 1/43 scale and the badging is impressive.