Die-cast and Other Collectibles Thread
 

as many of us are not fortunate enough to own a GT-R, or a Skyline, we are avid fans nontheless, and are car collectors in our own right.

as the price of real-estate and cars is extremely high, we must resort to the scale-model hobby as an outlet for our wonderful addiction to cars.

if you would like to share knowledge and/or pictures of your scaled cars or other memorabilia, please use this thread to do so. ;)

Bonzelite, this is exactly the sort of thing I was looking for. You are right, not everyone has a GT-R in the garage (although I am sure we would all like to), so sometimes memorabilial and scale models are indeed the next best thing.

I have only been collecting GT-R diecasts since 2000, but fortunately the bulk of releases have been made since then. This has allowed me to obtain all of, say, AutoArt's 1:43 and 1:18 R34 GT-R V-spec and V-spec II cars in all colours, as well as Biante's release of Australian Touring Car GT-R's.

I would like to share some of my collection here, as it represents my favourite collecting theme.

This is Biante's 1:18 release of the 1992 Bathurst winning GT-R driven by Jim Richards and Mark Skaife. As most Australians will remember, the 1992 race was one of the most controversial. The car was declared the winner after crashing at Forrest Elbow and the race was redflagged due to the appalling rainy conditions and myriad of accidents around the famed circuit.

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Biante's car uses the old Kyosho moulds, so is now showing its age. Large panel gaps, poor detailing and finish blight the car, and anti-tobacco advertising means that aftermarket decals must be added to bring the car back to how it raced. The problem is that my decals were poor quality, and have since been removed....

The 1991 Bathurst winner in 1:18, also by Biante, was Nissan's awesome GT-R. Godzilla demolished all comers to the Mountain that year, and was possible the GT-R's most comprehensive victory in its Australian history. This car is finished better than the 1992 car, but still suffers from incorrect detailing. These can still be had for retail price or less, while the 1992 car featured above has quadrupled (or more) in price...

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And both cars together:

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Biante also produced the 1990, 1991 and 1992 Bathurst GT-R's in 1:43 scale. Of course, these needed to be added to the collection... These cars use the Del Prado mould, another old one. The detail is not equal to modern Minichamps/AutoArt/Ebbro standards.

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*Note: the large blank spaces where the 'Winfield' signage is missing.

Here is a rare Australian release of the 1992 Bathurst pace car. It lacks detail, but is quite limited.

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Ebbro are relatively new to Western collectors, first appearing in any large numbers three years after their foundation. The follwing cars are Nissan's entry in the 1995 Le Mans 24 hours, and are in 1:43 scale.

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The third (green) car in the background, "Jomo", competed in the JGTC.

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These cars were of course, based upon Nismo's only roadgoing LM car, also made by Ebbro in 1:43:

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Some of my Ebbro 1:43 R34 GT-R's. These have excellent detail, and are quite hard to find now. Ebay does have one or two every now and again.

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The Jade Green Metallic car pictured (third from the front) is the 'Nur-spec' car, and only had a worldwide release of 1,000 pieces.

Most people would be familiar with AutoArt's 1:18 R34 GT-R's. They are great models and accurate too. Here is the Bayside Blue V-spec:

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AutoArt's 1:18 R34 GT-R V-spec II, with clear indicator lenses and bonnet vent.

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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...1-18Black2.jpg

I tried a group shot of AutoArt's 1:18 R34 GT-R V-spec, Ebbro's 1:43 version of the same car, and Kyosho's 'Beads Collection' (don't ask me!?) 1:64 scaled model. It is quite remarkable seeing the gradation of scales.

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Ebbro (yes, I am a bit of a fan of their products) also produced the R32 and R33 GT-R.

Here are some of these models I have:

The blue LM R33:

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In white...

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And dark grey...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...33DarkGrey.jpg

And black, showing the car's profile and muscular form...

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And the R32 GT-R - the first release Ebbro ever did (back in 1997). I only have three of these, and am missing at least 5 to have a complete collection. :(

The R32 is my all-time favourite of the three series (R32, R33, R34).

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A family portrait of my Ebbro 1:43's - R32, R33 and R34 on my own home-made diorama.

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I also have a Del Prado and Rosso R32 GT-R.

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The Rosso is particularly valuable to me, as this company no longer exists. They operated in the eraly 1990's, were Japanese, and had some link with the Tamiya Corporation. The Rosso cars were ahead of their time, featuring opening bonnets (with engine detail) and opening doors, all in 1:43! The Del Pardo car (in silver) was part of the newsagent-released series, where a new car was released each fortnight. It was therefore important that I obtain the GT-R from this series.

I couldn't post up pictures of GT-R diecast models without showing the famous Calsonic #12. This particular example is in 1:18, and was made by Kyosho in the early 90's. These are the same moulds that Biante used for their Australian Touring Cars. A Hong Kong Company called 'ToyZone' re-released the original Kyosho cars in different packaging, and limited to only 400 each, a few years back.

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And some of my memorabilia. Just a poster from an Australian car show, promoting the batch of 100 Australian-delivered cars in 1991-92.

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And an autographed poster of the 1992 Championship and Bathurst-winning Winfield Skyline.

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This is a little of the GT-R material I have collected. It means a great deal to me, and I am as passionate a collector of GT-R material as Porsche, Ferrari or any other collector you care to mention.

I would love to see the things other people have in their possession. There is some incredibly interesting stuff out there! :smilie_th

ajr, what an impressive collection. very nice.

i have Calsonic #12, 1:18, as well as the 1:18, 1991 Bathurst winner. i have a few others, too. i need to get them out and take some pics. i have Calsonic #1, and many others.

It seems that no-one else has any models, posters, or memorabilia to share....
A shame :(

i actually do. just lazy to photo it. recently, i got souvenir programmes from Oran Park 1991 and 1992. and i have original dealer literature for the R33 GT-R and R32 GTS-t.

The Oran Park 1992 Programme should have a fold out poster of the two Winfield cars shouldn't it? I have one from Symmons Plains. I got my copy signed by both drivers, yet to be removed, backed and laminated for hanging.

What does the 1991 programme have?

omg, yes it does! your're on the money there. "Shell Australian Touring Car Championship --Grand Final, Sunday June 21, 1992, ORAN PARK --$5." it has the 2 red winfield cars on the intact, never removed, poster.

the others are:

-Shell, August 10/11, 1991, Oran Park -$5 (same race, prior year). it features, at nearly the very front of the book, a large article of several pages featuring the drivers: jim richards is #1, followed by #2 mark skaife, the younger apprentice. the #1 decal on the GT-R is pictured. the article predicts (as the race has not yet happened) that the nissan GT-R will win it.

inside the programme, too, is a loose-leaf grid card of the final standings: 1st place: mark skaife -nissan GT-R @1:10.60, 2nd place: peter brock -holden commodore @ 1:10.78, 3rd place: jim richards -nissan GT-R @ 1:10.81 (4th is john bowe -ford sierra rs500 @1:11.11).

the rest of the field, with #05 peter brock (holden commodore), and #8 colin bond (sierra rs500), etc, is dominated by commodore vn's and sierra rs500's. in fact, the only other cars other than those are 2 bmw m3's.

------------------

-Amaroo Park Raceway, August 23, 1992 -$3

in this one, the spectator wrote in the standings after each event/ heat. so the final event, apparently "AMSCAR Group A Touring Car Series --Event 16 --10 laps" (as it is the last Group A event printed in the programme) lists 1st: jim richards, 2nd: mark skaife, and 3rd: paul morris (bmwM3), 4th: colin bond (rs500).

that was the year they felt the M3's would give the GT-R some heat. and they did. but did not win Group A.

I can't vouch for the 1991 programmes, but yep, the 1992 programmes had the poster inside. It's a good poster, and I hate to think how many people simply threw their's out, as the GT-R was not very popular here... If it has a Ford or Holden badge on it, then it has massive support. But as for a Japanese car daring to beat a V8.... It was heresy.

it seems, as well, that the coming of the GT-R sort of shook up what was expected and traditional, setting the stage for the future.

however, provincialism exists to this day, and, probably will forever more: look at the american NASCAR series. where is the nissan or honda nascar? maybe it exists, and, not being a fan of that series, i am unaware. but imagine the rednecks screaming for chevrolet or dodge, suddenly aghast to see a honda winning nascar.

of course, the comparison may be off, as nascar is not a touring car series.

The principle is the same. The thought that Toyota could enter the Australian V8 Supercars (with a Camry/Avalon platform, and running a Lexus V8) has the Ford/Holden traditionalists screaming in rage. How dare a car company that has been set up in Australia for decades, employs thousands of locals and supports local industries, and consistently is the biggest car-seller in the country, want to establish a team in the country's premier motor-racing category!
Ah, narrow-minded parochialism is a marvellous thing....

But we've actually gotten away from what this thread was about!

die casts and souvenirs
 

well. the programmes brought out the conversation about the "interloper" manufacturers. but, yeah, i need to post some pics of my stuff. you have far more pieces than i do, it seems, but i may have different models. i have a lot of dealer lit, too. that is fun and a challenge to locate.

i've got Ebbro Ricoh and Calsonic R31's. and a red Ebbro KPGC10 GT-R. and much more. i have RC 1:10 scale R31 and R32 and R34 bodies, with a chassis. i have more stuff than i thought, now that i think of it.

I need to get the remaining 1:43 Ebbro R32 GT-R roadcars.
I have Dark blue, Gun Grey and 'Nismo' versions.
I still need white, Red, Black, Gun Grey V-spec, and White V-spec versions.

I have stayed away from the R31 models as I needed to draw a line somewhere! I just keep to the R32-R33-R34 series of GT-Rs only.

With the separate Kyosho and AutoArt 1:18 R32 GT-R releases on their way, it is going to be a rather expensive process. But we suffer for our pleasures (if that paradox makes sense)....

A colleague on the Biante Model Car forums I am part of posted these pictures he found online. I can only post links to his Photobucket account:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...kylineGT-R.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ylineGT-Rb.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ylineGT-Rc.jpg

I believe this car is the AutoArt Gun Grey car. AutoArt are also producing a white car as well. See:
http://www.aa-collection.com/cgi-bin...ing/77341.html
http://www.aa-collection.com/cgi-bin...ing/77342.html

Add to that, Kyosho are also making their own Gun Grey and White versions, as well as a Red version as well. Some might see that as unnecessary doubling-up, but I don't. I think it is fantastic. After all, how many model manufacturers make diecasts of Porche or Ferrari? There are collectors that will buy from any and all manufacturers because they are fans of a particular car. Same thing!
So, as a collector of diecast GT-Rs, I am VERY excited.

i was wondering where in the hell the 1:18 R32 GT-Rs were. man, finally.

so, apparently they have not yet even been made. until now. or soon. so Biante, Kyosho, and Auto Art will all make versions of the 1:18 R32? so when it rains, it pours.

since the R32 is my favorite, i will probably get every version of the new 1:18s.
as well, where are the 1:18 R33 GT-Rs? i have never seen any of those. nor have i ever
seen to date a 1:18 KPGC10 or C110. and those are bad a$$ cars. so i don't understand why
there are not any.

as for me, i do not collect in the way you do. i do not, at least at present, go for every single version and color of the same make. i get maybe one or two that i really like. and then buy something else, like the R31s. and the KPGC10. i sort of specialize. my car gluttony does not require i have every piece. so, instead, i have a sizable but eclectic hoard. i tend to have a lot of cars in general from a myriad of manufacturers. like chevy, dodge, ford, plymouth, datsun.
i am skewed to Skyline, though.

the upcoming 1:18 Gunmetal R32 GT-R is just exciting. next best thing to having a real one, i'd say.

Biante are not manufacturing these cars. I saw the pics that were posted on the Biante forums. Only Kyosho and AutoArt are making the cars. These are the most anticipated releases for me, for many years.

As to the R33 in 1:18 - I am unaware of any plans by any manufacturers to produce this car in this scale. I heard a whisper a few years back that Kyosho were going to do one, but that lack of response (even within the home market of Japan!) cancelled the project. But this could just be heresay.

As the KPGC10, Kyosho have already made them in road and race versions in both 1:43 and 1:18. They are quite common.
See: http://www.kyosho-minicar.com/original/1_18/04.html
Item #'s: 08121S, 08121W, and the race cars: 08122R, 08122B. Do a search for online diecast stockists near you, and try these numbers and/or search terms.

I believe that the C110 is also being made by AutoArt in 1:18.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...-RKPGC110a.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...-RKPGC110b.jpg

Cheers!

thank you, thank you for those links. i have been searching for the 1:18 C10 for ages. now i can get it. that means a lot. cheers to you, mate.

and the 1:18 C110, finally, is coming. that is probably my favorite vintage incarnation of the GT-R.

i agree with you there about the coming of the 1:18 OEM versions of the R32 GT-Rs. i have wanted those for years, and never quite understood why they were not offered long ago. yet there is an overabundance of R34 GT-R models, in any and every scale.

and the lack of a 1:18 R33 GT-R is appalling: KPGC10, C110, R32, R34 --no R33? i don't get it.

i noticed, too, on the kyosho-minicar.com page the Lancia Rally 037's. those are Group B cars -- fast as all hell breaking loose. i may pick one of those up (a 1:18 version). those have a very aggressive design.

by the way, i like your presentation of the models in the scaled racing tarmac environment. that's neato.

Thanks! That diorama was made with some cheap bits and pieces one can get from any hardware store. It looks pretty effective, doesn't it? I just wish i was really good, then my photos would look even better...

No worries about the links. They are hard to find because the C110 and R32 haven't yet been made, so it is a matter of keeping one's ear to the ground and finding prototype pictures whenever they crop up. I am glad I could be of some use.

I have to say, we are the only ones active on this entire forum. Where is everyone else?

indeed on all counts.

you did great on the scaled enviroment. it inspires me. what is the faux asphalt?

two heads, or more, are better than one, often, in tracking down things i suppose. we all have our own tricks and ways to info.

about the lack of diversity here: i know damn well that car collecting cannot possibly be that rare. maybe the type of forum traffic that makes it here is not into collecting. or maybe the thread is invisible, as it is in off-topic. or maybe there is a general apathy. people ARE looking, as i keep track of the visit count. the number, actually, of those looking here is rising steadily and quickly compared to other threads. so there IS an interest. but not enough, i guess, to elicit original posts from others.

perhaps more people are into showing the world their own full-scaled car, and the gearhead work they have put into it. maybe model collecting is, then, looked down upon. but i don't see that to be entirely the case, as nearly every enthusiasts house or garage i've ever visited in my lifetime has car models and posters around the place.

i think the more pictures that make it in here, the more people will look and post. actual pictures to look at generate interest very rapidly, especially of full-scaled skylines. for example, in two days, you can see a thread started with new photos of an R33, and already there are 90 hits in one night to it.

JGTC 2001 Test Car_ R34 GT-R
 

by Auto Art 1:18 --their models are highly detailed:

JGTC 2001 Test Car_ R34 GT-R_wheel detail
 

a bit crap depth of field, blurred, but the wheel, rotor, and caliper details on Auto Art cars never fail to impress me:

Wet and dry sandpaper my friend. The only problem I found was that when you make a larger diorama, you need two or more sheets, and then of course you have the problem of a 'seam' showing where the two sheets sit together...

I concur about the remainder of your message. If there is a bit of traffic reading this thread, then I urge them to share their model cars and posters and assorted memorabilia.

I thank you bonzelite for posting up some pics of your cars. I don't have the R34 JGTC cars. I try to stick to road cars where possible... But it looks soooooo nice. :yumyum:

my pleasure. i am going to post a lot more pretty soon. i need to get into the boxes and take care to remove them, place them, photo them, then put them right back. i have some goodies that you will appreciate. ;)

1:10 R32 Gt-r
 

this is one of my favorite scaled models, the R32 GT-R. radio-controlled (RC) car:

R30 RS-Turbo_1:10 RC
 

i swapped bodies and photographed the R30:

AUTOart have released their 1:18 R32 GT-R's, at this time only available in gun-grey and white. They plan to release other colours, and a Nismo version too.

And the 1:18 with my 1:43 Ebbro.

yeah. the R32GTR is still my favorite one. glad to see you posting in this thread again. i have quite a few more 1:18 GTRs since my last post.

Well why keep us in suspense by not posting them!!!!;)

I have 2 autoart R34 VspecII's 4 Motormax R34's 2 Kyosho RX-7's. A very lovely Laguna Seca Blue M3 E46 sitting with them on the shelf.

A new Ebbro R34 GT-R NIsmo Z-tune...

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And with friends...

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Some pics of most of my stuff together....

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Some of my magazines. Most of them are put away. This is only the mags that have GT-Rs on the cover:

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And more of the diecast:

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