Who knew that those Matchbox and Corgi diecast cars I played with when I was younger would be a precursor to my collecting hobby?  DAMN! If I still had those originals they would be worth some good money on the trading block.  Somewhere there is always someone who will buy what you collect.  ...now if I could find someone who is reeeally into old LEGO kits......     Anyway- Five years ago I bought my first diecast model car:  a Minichamps 1/43 of Michael Schumacher's 1993 Benetton Ford B 193B.  Why? Because I had started to hear rumblings about this hot F1 pilot who was going into his second season with so much fanfare.  He was to be the 'new superstar'.    Well, lo and behold!  This pointy chinned son-of-a-bitch has gone out and won the WDC not once but twice!  Not to mention the battles he has had with other top drivers.  Oh ya, did I say that the model I was talking about is now fetching over $50?  Not that that is a huge increase in value, but that's a 100+% increase in 5 years!  My Mutual Fund doesn't even begin to compare.  I am currently on a model a week pace.  It can be pricey at times but hey, it's cheaper than a CRACK HABIT! ;-)
My collection is not limited to one type or class of racing either.  I have everything from stock cars to to the ultra-exotic Porsche rally car.   There is no real rhyme or reason to the collection, I buy what I like-not necessarily what is 'hot' or 'in'.  How many people out there have Buddy Lazier's 1994 Indy car or Mika Salo's Tyrrell?  Sure, I have the Senna and Schumacher cars, but so do most people.  It's the strange and obscure that I search out.   My living environment does not allow me the luxury of lots of free space to display many of the larger scale models that are available out there.  With 200+ 1:43 cars, 25 1:18's, and a few others in my condo it's tight.  Die casts here are all 1:43 Minichamps unless noted.
Watch your cursor because many listings are photo links!