Finishing your Collection
Hi,
I've been collecting for a number of years now with an end goal project in mind. It started off as a bit of a pipe dream but as I've gone along I've found the number of cars I actually want, and am yet to get, diminishing.
I, like most probably, keep a journal in the form of a spreadsheet and, on receipt of a delivery the other day, the counter of what was left to get ticked down to 1,040. I go along at about 20 cars per month so I would be starting 2021 with less than a thousand cars left, triple figures.
Ok, I'd still be a few years away from finishing in reality, but there was something psychological about tipping that milestone.
I guess most of our collections may become finite as fast newer cars become a rarity - only so many fast pre 2013 models out there after all.
But I guess the question is, how close have you got to actually finishing?
I know the saying is "the quest for speed is eternal" - but is it if you're not modding?
Thankfully I was pointed in the direction of Dircastracers top 250 list and I added another few months worth of models to my list! Will be a while before I hit 999 now!
Thanks
Rob
Discussion
You've got a better memory than me, I was ending go with more dupes than anything else, which in turn meant my sons collection was growing faster than mine!
I keep on slowly building but it never, until recently, really dawned on me that in terms of individual castings, it might actually be finite and one day I'd have all the cars I was after
Point me to that Top 250 list. I googled some and came up empty.
I don't know how you can ever complete collecting when they are still making them.
I just started (racing, modding, and collecting) and am enjoy stumbling on gems like Turbolence and Rocket Oil Special. I'm assuming as long as I pace myself, there is a lifetime of gems to find both past and future.
- I do keep topping up with faster looking 2020 cars, and there are some decent ones, but the really really fast stuff is all 4 or 5 years old or more - like you say it’s finding those gems that make it such an exciting hobby — RobertBcfc
Here's a Top 100 from the Diecast Racer site. Haven't explored it much but assuming there are other lists and such there too.
I used to run a fantasy league here at Redline Derby for several years that was used a game but also as a way to help find out which cars were fast and so on. The database has since gone offline but here's a spreadsheet of the cars ranked at the end. The spreadsheet ends in 2014 so there aren't any newer castings listed (and it's just Hot Wheels brand). If you're looking for Fastest Cars lists, it'll help build your hunt list for sure.
For me I just buy everything I think 1) looks cool or appeals to me 2) looks like it could be fast or made to be fast 3) is known to be fast or has recently been hinted that it might be fast and most importantly lately and what has made the "collection" of Hot Wheels multiply 100x over lately, 4) Whatever Luke picks out.
I just like to try everything that might be fast and see how it does on my track. Luke has a saying "If it doesnt get on the list, I can have it!!!!" and he is right. He has more cars than I ever had in my entire lifetime and quite a few of them are rejected from speed tests.
Matt
- Our kids are too damn lucky. I only dreamed of having 1000s of cars when I was 8yo. My kid thinks nothing of it. — redlinederby
- Thats the truth. I remember the first time I was given a dollar and told I could get whatever I could afford for that $1.00. I was in the Hot Wheels section so fast and was trying to get my sisters left over change so I could get 2 of em (they were less than a dollar back then). My Son gets a couple every time we go shopping LOL — Mattman213
I don't think I'll ever reach an endpoint with my collection. As it stands now, I have about 2,000 loose cars in the clear jammers from Hobby Lobby. I still have boxes and bins full of other cars, loose and carded, that I still need to go through and organize. 2021 will be the year I get into racing and making videos, so all those loose cars will get their time to shine on the track. I have bought much less this year than years prior, but I just don't see anything coming to an end any time soon. I buy cars because I like them, and I don't care about track performance. That's secondary to me. Having just moved into a new house, I finally have the room to comfortably place everything and I have found that it has just refueled my colllecting fire.
lol i just buy what i want and usally find stuff i never knew exsisted wich is always fun to find haha...... i buy the bulk of my stuff second hand.... and i am also a horible collector cause i open everything!!!!!! been modding for a couple of years... but have been modding to race since march of 2020.... that being said i usally buy mulitpiles soo i can mod them or have for a back up when i screw the first one up hahahaa
- I'm the same way Jim! I'm starting to buy multiples so I have a back up and another set of wheels if/when I mess up the first one! — G4DiecastRacing
Wow...I find keeping a spreadsheet rather impressive. I don't put myself in the Collector category anyway, but never bothered to really keep track in any sort of formal way.
If I see a car I don't think I have, I buy it. I usually do pretty good at not having too many dupes but if I do, no big deal...all cars can be used!
Every now and then, I take all my cars and lay them out on the floor and do some purging and whatnot. I guess I like that activity of seeing the cars all sprawled out rather than just checking boxes on a spreadsheet. Plus, I guess I don't have any list of what's available to know how far along I would be anyway...heck, I still get surprised when I'm at the store and see a car I haven't seen and that's always a nice feeling.
But to answer more of your questions...I don't have any end goal so I don't know how far along I am. I'm not shooting for 1000 cars or all 500 this year or whatever.
And I would say that the "Quest for Speed" keeps on going without mods, more so probably, if all the Pick-a-Driver races have anything to say about it. And in those cases, speed is relative anyway depending on the pool of cars you're working with. Yeah, it's well known that the (stock) Cadillac 16 and the funny car are fast overall...but which Porsche is the fastest? Which truck? Which station wagon? Knowing those kind of picks I find just as crucial as knowing the Top 10 fastest of all.