The Original Diecast Model Hall of Fame

The Diecast Zone founded the Diecast Scale Model Hall of Fame in 1997 to recognize leaders and innovators in the hobby. Recipients of the award have included company founders who shaped the hobby by raising the standard for quality and authenticity as well as broadening the subject matter.

Inductees

Jay Olins

Jay Olins (November 17, 1935 – July 4, 2018) was the founder of the Diecast Car Collectors Club (D4C), also known as The Diecast Zone. A passionate collector of 1/24th scale “Precision Models,” Olins started the club in the early 1990s to address the challenge of tracking the limited diecast model releases available at the time. He developed a personal connection with The Franklin Mint in Media, PA, and began chronicling their releases, along with those from Danbury Mint and other manufacturers, in a newsletter that evolved into the D4C.

In 1997, Olins partnered with Michael Knab, who had created a website for his ad agency client Revell-Monogram to promote their new Creative Masters 1:20th scale models. After Hallmark purchased Revell and discontinued the line, Olins and Knab continued developing the Diecast Zone independently. The website grew into a robust platform featuring a comprehensive Car List cataloging models by various manufacturers, one of the first online forums for collectors, and an innovative auction system that extended bidding time based on last-minute activity.  Jay Olins also introduced features like the “Picture This!” section in 2002, where collectors could showcase their dioramas.

As a founder, Olins amassed a collection of over 800 Franklin Mint and Danbury Mint scale model vehicles, which he donated to the Nethercutt Museum in 2004 to share his passion with the public. From 1999, he served on the D4C board with commissioning The Franklin Mint to produce Limited Edition Club Cars (LECC), later transitioning to resin models under the D4C brand when Franklin Mint ceased diecast production. Olins played a key role in selecting models, such as the 1998 Aztec Gold Corvette Roadster, the first D4C Club Car.  After his death in 2018, the Diecast Zone continued to carry on his legacy in the hobby. Jay Olins’ vision transformed a solitary hobby into a global community, leaving a lasting legacy in the diecast collecting world.

Tony Perrone

Diecast Zone Board Member & Visionary.  Tony Perrone is one of the pillars of the Diecast Zone.

We created the Bulletin Boad and he invented what a forum moderator should be and do.

We created model reviews and he showed how compelling a model review could be. Tony wrote in a voice that captured the rapture in which he held a model (what is a Thrillometer, anyway?). And with great subtlety, he could share his disappointment without dispensing gloom. The common thread, whether thumbs up or thumbs down, is his love of the hobby and the discerning eye of the collector.

He has been a Zone board member from the day we recognized we need a board.

We bestow this honor on Tony because he has succeeded in showing us how collectors use this hobby as a form of personal expression and a satisfying communion with others.

Stewart Resnick

After the Resnicks bought Franklin Mint from Warner Communications, the company began producing the first 1:24 diecast scale model cars and trucks. More importantly, they invested the big money in advertising and direct marketing programs that really created the market for this collectible category. And what a big market it became!

Fred Ertl

Fred Ertl Sr.Founder Ertl Company.   A German immigrant, Fred J. Ertl Sr. settled in Dubuque, Iowa, during the 1920s and immediately went to work as a journeyman gray-iron molder, making cast-iron furnace parts for the Adams Company. As a result of a labor strike in 1945, he started his own business manufacturing toy tractors from aluminum alloy. His sons removed the backseat of the family car to make room for the models which they sold at toy stores and five-and-dimes.

Fred Ertl is selected to the Hall of Fame for creating the foundation from which all contemporary diecast makers spring.

Thanks to Dana Johnson for historical account!

Roger Harney

Roger Harney, Designer, Creative Masters
Roger was the visionary behind Revell Monogram’s launch of Creative Masters line. Creative Masters is credited with being the first to mass-produce a line larger than 1:24 to precision standards. In fact, their detail at 1:20 was considered superior to Franklin Mint. They set the stage for high-end 1:18 manufacturers, like GMP, Lane and Exoto.

Tom Long

Tom Long, President of GMP

Collecting diecast farm tractors and NASCAR transporters, Tom Long wasn’t thinking of making money on his casual hobby. Until he decided to give it a try with Ertl re-paints. And that got him thinking about transporters. With not even a photograph to show, he advertised for $20 deposits on his transporter model. Lo and behold, collectors gave him his seed capital.

And then he launched the first of their own molds, Vintage Sprints. That’s when customers started calling him to confess how much these models meant to them. Hundreds of models later, GMP still retains a flamboyance and sense of adventure from their early days.

We appreciate the originality Tom has brought to the hobby. From the spirited and inventive versioning of basic images to the playful culture of Pork Chop to the saucy diorama girls. What a hot rodder does when a hot rodder starts a company!

Herbert Nickerl

Herbert Nickerl was a pivotal figure in the world of scale model cars, best known as the co-founder of CMC Classic Model Cars, a company renowned for its high-quality, precision-engineered diecast models. Based in Stuttgart, Germany, Nickerl, an engineer by profession, partnered with Shuxiao Jia in 1985 to establish a business initially focused on trading automobiles. Their passion for classic cars led them to expand into a wholesale division, becoming general importers of two Chinese model car brands. This laid the foundation for CMC, which officially began producing its own models in 1995.

CMC, under Nickerl’s leadership, became celebrated for its meticulous craftsmanship, particularly in 1:18 and 1:24 scale models.

The company’s first model, the CMC “Black Prince” (a 1:24 scale replica introduced in 1995), marked its entry into the market. By 2020, for CMC’s 25th anniversary, the Black Prince was re-released in 1:18 scale, assembled from over 1,000 components, showcasing the brand’s commitment to detail. Other notable models include the CMC Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman, with over 1,200 parts, and a hand-gilded Ferrari 275 GTB/C, limited to 500 units, reflecting Nickerl’s engineering precision and passion for automotive history. Nickerl’s expertise as an engineer ensured that CMC models were not just collectibles but technical marvels, often featuring intricate details like functional components and accurate reproductions of classic vehicles.

His collaboration with Jia, who brought business acumen from her background with the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, created an ideal partnership that elevated CMC to a globally respected name among collectors. The company’s anniversary book, CMC Model Cars 25 Years, published in 2020, chronicles Nickerl’s contributions and the brand’s history, highlighting models like the exclusive Mercedes-Benz SSK and SSKL racing cars.While Nickerl’s direct involvement with the Diecast Car Collectors Club (D4C) or the Diecast Zone is not documented, his work with CMC influenced the broader diecast collecting community, including collectors who frequented platforms like the D4C for their focus on precision models. His legacy endures through CMC’s continued production of high-end models, celebrated at events like the Nuremberg Toy Fair.

 

 

Dick Browne, Bio pending