Back when life was so much simpler, and toys were just the same (to my knowledge, that is), I had my first experience in being a collector -- a "hobbyist" if one might like to call it -- with my modest die-cast Matchbox and Tomica collection.
Growing up in a not-so-middle class family, seldom was the chance for my folks to allocate a budget for my toys. I often, if not always, had to prove myself by getting good grades at school, just so I can get them to buy me something new. But still, the prohibitive costs of the toys that I DID like to have prevented me from acquiring them. And to make matters worse, if my folks would've had the money for me it was most of the time too late -- either because the hottest toy that I had wanted during the time had been replaced with a new, more expensive trend, or it was still so popular that after the school's grading period they were almost impossible to find since stocks had run out.
And because of this, most of the time I had to settle for something more practical - something easily found in the store shelves: die-cast cars. These cars might also be the reason why I like cars up to now.
My first die-cast Matchbox car was this 1969 Lotus Europa which was given to me during my preschool days. Wait a minute... Preschool? I skipped preschool and jumped straight to 1st Grade.
So that makes this my first die-cast car (along with a Toyota Sprinter, which I haven't found a picture of) before I started going to school.
Most of the vehicles in my collection weren't even something I had liked or wanted. They were given to me as gifts by some relative who didn't really care as long as they had something for me during Christmas, or on my birthday:
Just like this 1972 double-deck bus named "The Londoner". I can't recall if this was given to me by my aunt or some other relative. I never really cared for this one, so this wound up in the water most of the time.
The same also goes for this 1974 Hondarora. It had no use other than be displayed, because that kickstand that's keeping it upright was always in the way. That and the fact that I had been given a Star Rangers motorbike+sidecar toy (I still have to find pics of that) which was way cooler with its rubber tires and removable figures. I remember getting tired of that kickstand and cut it off with some pliers.
This 1975 Atlas Truck was way better than the previous two, but I still couldn't care less about dumptrucks because my grandparents wouldn't let me play with sand, soil, or anything that had "germs". *lol*
I can't remember whom I got this from. My mother perhaps. Ma, how could you?!! Hehe.
A 1975 Fandango. So named because of that blue fan-like projection at the back which spins as the car's wheels roll. That fan also had the tendency to get stuck, so the fun factor for this car would dive down to zero everytime that happened. I think I got this from a cousin. Or this WAS taken from a cousin's. Bad kid, me.
Another one of those things that they thought I found cute: a 1975 Mini Ha-ha. Well... Ha ha ha ha ha. It wasn't funny then, and it still isn't funny now.
This orange 1975 Vantastic was anything but. I think I traded this for a Hairy Hustler (somewhere below).
And so my aunt gives me this 1976 Hovercraft for Christmas. Gee, aunt, thanks. By now I know you know I like sportscars, and this does NOT look anything like it.
A 1976 Mercedes Benz container truck, with a removable container that also had opening hatches. At least I could put something inside the container. Too bad these toys weren't made to scale, so I'd put a baby gecko inside, or a ladybug -- guaranteed to freak my friends out. *lol*
Gah!!! Another one of them Atlases. This time a 1976 Skip Truck. I think I also traded this off. I just can't remember for what, though.
This is a 1977 Ambulance (looks like a Ford). At least this had some use whenever I'd pretend my sportscars figured in an accident. Rear doors open so they'd also find a baby gecko inside from time to time.
Grandpa was into those big American station wagon-type cars, so he brought this 1978 Cougar Villager home for me one night.
After some time, he also picked up this 1978 Renault 5TL, for good measure. It wasn't a station wagon this time, but more of a hatchback. Grandpa likes anything colored blue.
My aunt (or was it my mom?), to annoy me even further, got me this 1978 Shunter train on another birthday.
Mom got this 1978 Wreck Truck for my birthday. This went well with my 1977 Ambulance.
I can't recall who gave me this 1980 Ford Courier Camper, but after getting tired of that ubiquitous camper shell, I decided to saw it off which left a gaping hole at the roof of the pickup truck.Some in my collection were acquired through trades with friends:
This 1970 Dodge Charger MkIII looked cool, so I traded off one of my vehicles for this (dunno which one it was, though).
I personally think that trading off my 1975 Vantastic for this 1971 Hairy Hustler was a good decision.
I found a second-hand 1979 Plymouth Gran Fury squad car, being sold by some sidewalk vendor outside school one day, and decided to buy it to complement my ambulance and tow truck. I lost this one while playing at a friend's house -- fell down their water-logged basement and I didn't bother going after it (after all, the water down there was from their leaky toilets. *Eww*).
As always, I cannot recall with whom and with what did I trade off for this 1981 Swing Wing. I loved the F-14 Tomcat, and it was even the very first model kit I assembled (more on that next time).
I loved Mustangs, so I wasted no time trading off one of my least liked vehicles for this 1972 Boss Mustang.
This 1975 Pontiac Firebird was one of my long-time favorites. I played with this so often that most of the blue sparkle paint chipped off, and the chrome plated parts tarnished.
I also found this 1976 Dodge Challenger as one of my favorite cars in the collection. Funny how I seemed to prefer American muscle during the early years.
One day I suddenly seemed to have become interested with large-wheeled four wheel drive vehicles, like this 1976 Jeep. That "Golden Eagle" artwork on the hood looked cheesy though.
My grandma used to love watching that British crime-action TV drama "The Professionals", where I first saw this 1978 Ford Escort RS 2000. Funny how it wasn't until around six years later, that I was to finally find this on sale.
This started my love for everything Porsche: the 1978 Porsche Turbo. This looked kinda bulkier than normal, compared to my other sportscars though.
This was the very first sportscar in my collection: a 1979 Chevrolet Corvette. Another one of my long-time favorites, I left this one as a souvenir to a neighbor when we moved residences in 1984.
Perhaps one of the very first cars in my collection that had suspension-type wheels, this 1981 BMW M1 became an instant favorite. The hood opens and I would put small stuff in there (not baby geckos now though *lol*).
A 1981 Ferrari 308GTB. The car that introduced me to the world of Ferrari. I loved this car so much that I bought another one, after I accidentally scratched the paint and somehow rusted the spring leaf "suspension" on my first one. This also reminded me of Magnum P.I., though Tom Selleck was driving a 308GTS on that one.
As my curiosity for off-road 4x4's was starting to grow, I bought this 1981 Flareside Truck to complement my 1976 Jeep. This was way better than the Jeep because this now had "suspension" on its wheels.
As with all things 4x4, I took this 1982 Audi Quattro in my collection after buying a remote controlled Audi Quattro.This car will always remind me of the WRC. This, I think, is also where Toyota got their design idea for their Corolla DX back in '83.
Knight Rider was my favorite show during '83 - '85, and as such, I hunted high and low for this 1982 Pontiac Firebird. Too bad I couldn't find a black variant, which would've made this look more like K.I.T.T.
I can't recall buying this 1983 Corvette. This might have been part of a good friend's collection that ended up in mine. This reminded me of Faceman's car in the A-Team.Aside from the Matchbox brand, I also had some cars from Majorette (which I haven't found pics of), some other obscure brands (like my Lamborghini Countach), and Tomica:
This 1974 Nissan Fairlady 240Z was one of my favorites in my collection, and seeing a real one parked in my neighborhood make me like this even more.
I primarily loved this 1977 Shinden BMW because of its fat wheels. Those very same wheels would end up in my 1988 Porsche 930 Turbo, when I "chopped" this one up.
I've been a fan of Formula One ever since I can remember, so I didn't have a hard time deciding whether to pick this six-wheel 1977 Tyrell P32 up or not.
The same goes with this John Player Special Lotus Ford 78. I just forgot who drove this car in Formula One. Was it Gilles Villeneuve?
I first had a Dome 0 as a pullback action car, which was about three times larger than this Tomica 1979 Dome 0. Me and my friend liked this car so much that we each bought one for ourselves.
My most favorite car, a 1988 Porsche 930 Turbo. After a while I felt that its wheels were too thin for a sportscar, so I chopped my 1977 Shinden BMW and gave its wheels to this baby.
So there you go: another part of my toy collection history. Sometimes I still toy with the idea (no pun intended) of starting a die-cast car collection again, or those fancy looking DUB cars. But it's going to be another expensive hobby, and I can't even keep up with my GI Joe Sigma 6 collection. Oh well. Perhaps some other time.
Photos courtesy of Areh's Matchbox Picture Dictionary and HelloToTomica.
