Shelf Queens Abound

The older I get, the more my position softens about trailer queens. I used to hate them and the people who owned them, believing that cars were made to be driven. But as time inexorably marches on and takes its toll on the metal, cloth and rubber of the mid-century artifacts I grew up loving, we are losing more and more treasures to the ravages of time, which is making me think that maybe there is something to be said for preserving at least some of these artifacts in pristine condition so that, even if they can’t be used, future generations (the few people in them who will care) will be able to see what cars looked like in the era of freedom and prosperity…in other words, when people were allowed and able to own cars!

Maybe it doesn’t make much sense to apply this to toys, but I’m starting to do it anyway, as this recent purchase shows. I’ve mentioned in several blog posts that Road Race Replicas’ limited edition bodies are a “When they’re gone, they’re gone” prospect, and one of their best ever bodies-the 1965 Mustang Fastback-went out of production almost 2 years ago and, now that is it no longer available, prices on them are going vertical. The bodies I bought from available stock for $45 in 2020 are now routinely selling for well over $100 and climbing, which is why I felt like I was getting a deal for the outlay for this copy in a color I missed: metallic orange with white stripes. This “street Shelby” version of this body showed up mounted on an excellent closed-rivet Aurora chassis with RRR wheels and tires on it and, while it certainly wasn’t cheap, I was willing to pay to snap it up and add it to the blue and white versions of the same body that I already have.

But …to what end? What purpose would this car serve? Both racing fleets are drastically overstocked and due its custom wheels and larger than original size it can’t co-exist with the Road Crew…

So, who cares? My plan for this car is to do nothing with it; to put it in my case or on my display shelf, to not modify it, not race it, just leave it exactly as it is. Why? Just because they’re not available any more and I want to preserve one is pristine condition; no other reason. Maybe that’s a form of hoarding that doesn’t make much sense, but its only a toy…who knows, when I’m gone it will probably wind up a trash can, but I can hope that someone in the future might find it as the collector’s piece they’ve been looking for and add it to their own collection. In the meantime, it sure is purty!