Spreading the Gospel of 1:64!

My buddy Jason and I seem to have developed what a botanist might call a “symbiotic” relationship: while he takes me further down the road into both vintage and modern video games, I take him further down the road of Hot Wheels and Matchbox die-cast collecting!

And why not? These little toy cars remain affordable even today, even if the prices have gone up for those “premium” and otherwise “special” models. Even mainline HW’s and MBX’s, with their majority plastic construction these days, are still great fun to look at, collect, and-yes, I’ll say it-play with! For a pair of working class men like us, cheap fun is increasingly hard to come by, and it’s amazing how much your day can be brightened by a trip to a local grocery store or big box store to pick up a handful of bright new cars to take home and roll around on the sofa or dining room table while you’re having your late dinner and watching whatever show you like before going to bed in order to get enough sleep to face the grind again the next day! Happiness still comes in little packages!

Sometimes, though, I wonder if I’ve created a monster! In only a few months, Jason’s collection of Hot Wheels has swelled from essentially none to several hundred, owing largely to his skill at finding bargains and hidden treasures. Despite us being of such similar builds, there are major differences between us: while I am spastic and high-strung, Jason is methodical and calculated, and it is this personality trait that has allowed him to score all kinds of rarities and deals I would never have found! As I’ve mentioned, Jason lives a lot closer to Colorado Diecast than I do, and has already been to that store’s new location several times, while I have yet to check it out! At their old store, however, it was common for me to burst in and run straight to the metal/metal Real-Rider Premiums that retail for $10 and up, while he had the self-control to confine himself to the “dollar wall,” where he finds some amazing things! Surprisingly, however, his best finds have come from local grocery stores, where he takes the time to go through every peg and every bin looking for anything interesting…and usually finds it!

J’s love of gaming has given him more of a fantasy-friendly perspective on toy cars, so he likes a lot of the more wild creations that I would never buy, such as the “creature cars,” while I always strive for realism and want cars that either look like the real things, or look like they could be real! Still, I think its cool that he likes those: our tastes are different but there’s a lot of overlap, and his collection is growing by leaps and bounds!

Jason will be moving into a new place next month, and I’ll help him move, and as part of that I’ve pledged to help him find some proper storage and display for his new-found 1:64 collection! That will make the pain of moving a lot more fun! Its a pretty awesome feeling to have turned someone else on to the coolness of collecting 1:64 die-cast cars! Now, for my next trick, I’ll have to bring him to Drag City and see if I can interest him in slot racing!