Is it Weird For Adults to Buy and Collect Toy Cars?
Over the last few years Damian has amassed a collection Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars. Not fancy vintage toys, but the same toys that young kids play with that you can pick up from £1.49 to £3 (there are some that are around £8, but luckily he hasn’t found them yet).
He has always had a few toys knocking about that either he found at auto jumbles or car shows, and they have always sat proudly on his desk - a pull back Series Land Rover Ambulance, a yellow Corgi Matra Rancho, the Corgi Aston Martin Volante from The Living Daylights (his favourite Bond Car of all time), a yellow Citroën Dyane (a replica of his second real car, which was also yellow), and various other Jeep and Land Rover toys.
The latest iteration of toy collecting may have been partly my fault, and partly the fault of the car manufacturers.
When we are invited to car press events a lot of the time you get a small goody bag with logo’d stuff - bob hats, mugs and even a cracking towel once, and more recently they’ve started to include a small toy replica of the car we are about to drive.
Damian, being delighted with his toys, sparked my brain into action, and when wandering round Home Bargains I spotted a Safari Land Rover Defender for the bargain price of £1.49 and treated him to it (I know how to spoil my man). The look of nostalgic excitement on his face made me keep looking for more.
After a few more gifts from me, I started FaceTiming him from HB, B&M, Poundstretcher and Smyths every time I saw a car I thought he may want. The collection grew. He started becoming pro-active, and on the occasional accompanying trip to HB he would head straight to the toy aisle to peruse the Hot Wheels and Matchbox vehicles.
Displaying Your Collection
The collection kept on growing and cork pinboards kept being filled with the toys still in their packaging, but when the second board became full and we were looking at getting a third, I knew a tricky juggling act to fit it on the wall amongst all the car photos, car drawings and car promotional posters was coming. It was all getting a bit too much.
Then I noticed that Damian occasionally got one of the desk cars down to roll about on the desk. I had thought that he was keeping all these new cars in the packaging because that is what collectors do, but, after questioning him, it was only so that he could keep them safe and organised.
That’s when I hatched a plan for Christmas - he needed a way to display them that would allow him to ‘play’ with the others too.
I spent quite a few nights sifting through the internet for a decent set up. There were individual perspex boxes which looked great, but you would need available desk/table space to display them - not going to happen at Muddy Towers. There were plenty of shelving options, but most looked a bit cheap and tacky. Then I spotted a Hot Wheels display set up with LED lighting, and thought that’s the one.
I headed off to Smyths Toys to see what it was actually like before I bought two of them (I needed two as the collection was already 60+), but to my disappointment it was shiny black plastic, and had a large Hot Wheels logo embedded in the plastic, not just a removable sticker that I thought it was. Seeing as he has Hot Wheels, Matchbox and Corgi, and it really looked like it was aimed at 8 year olds, I left empty handed. Time to start the hunt over.
I always try to buy from the high street or independent retailers (real shops need customers to survive AND they actually pay their taxes), but after exhausting my options I headed to Amazon for a wider search. It took a lot of scrolling to find, but I settled on the TJ.MOREE Model Car Display Case 1/64 Scale Diecast Wall-Mounted for Mini Toys and Small Wheels in Black with 12 Tiers.
It had room for all the cars that he already had, and for quite a few more that I know will arrive. It is also a locking case, rather than open shelves, which I reckoned would keep them from falling out. It’s all black which means the cars would stand out from the background, and finally, the important bit to me, it looked classy.
I did my due diligence, read the reviews and all seemed good to go. I added it to the basket, pressed buy and crossed my fingers that it would be as expected, as it would only be arriving close to the big day, and if it was rubbish there would be no time to get something else.
The big day came, and the giant parcel was presented. Damian had no clue what was coming, and on opening all my efforts were rewarded with a big goofy smile that wouldn’t have been out of place on his younger 8 year old self. To say he was happy would be an understatement, and I was relieved that it looked as good as I hoped.
He spent Boxing Day happily ensconced in the back bedroom/office taking all the cars out of their packaging, and positioning them in the case. It fits the 1/64 models perfectly, but any bigger (as you can see with some of Damian’s), there is a bit of space between the shelf and door, so they do stay in and won’t fall out.
So, is it weird for grown adults to buy and collect toy cars?
Adults collect toy cars for nostalgia, appreciation of design, and sometimes the thrill of finding rare models. It can transform past childhood enjoyment into a fun, sometimes lucrative, adult hobby. The focus can be on specific brands like Hot Wheels, Corgi and Matchbox, themes such as 4x4s, vintage, movie cars, or you could just collect whatever floats your boat.
Whatever you do, as long as you are happy, I can categorically say “No, it’s not weird. It’s fun. Just go and do it, and sod the naysayers!”
Do you have a collection of toy cars, and do you have a favourite? Tell us in the comments below.
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