Hobbies / Collectibles

Ouch! I recently saw a program featuring original 70’s Hot Wheels and some of their values. At one time, I had quite a collection. Wish I would have kept them.

GO DODGERS!!!

I actually got nailed at a Ben Franklin store trying to fast finger a Hot Wheel. Scared the crap out of me and I never tried that again.

Had a bunch of Matchbox cars as well. And Legos when they only came in two colours (red and orangy / yellow). Tog’l blocks (tab on one or two sides, holes in the others and one side that would “open” for corners.

Of course, electric football with the little men that never went where they were supposed to and the white felt footballs.

Think I had the Bengals & Browns set. We NEVER used the bigger QB - we’d just stack everybody at the line three or four deep and put the RB with the ball behind them.

As I got older, I was allowed to unlock the wonders of my uncles Erector Set. Damn - those pieces were as sharp as razor blades. He had the deluxe set with an electric motor and my fav build was the working drawbridge.

By junior high I was into HO trains and slot cars. I remember one year I knew I was getting a new engine that my grandma “thought” she had hidden in her bedroom dresser.

They used to go grocery shopping on Wednesdays, and I think I played sick EVERY Wednesday in December that year so I could go down and play with it, even without the track.

I kept all of the engines and cars and they’re now in display cases in my basement “museum”. Imagine they might be worth a few bucks.

My wife bought me a new slot car track around 10 - 15 years ago when we were really into NASCAR. It’s pretty sweet with crossovers, banks and a loop, but I’ve never even gotten it out of the box and assembled it because it’s pretty huge.

It came with a Jeff Gordon (her fav) and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. car and I bought a Tony Stewart one. One of these days I’m going to have to put it all together, although I’m still not sure where. It’s even too big to fit on my Dodgers pool table!

GO DODGERS!!!

The “museum” also includes five mirror backed cases of 1:24 diecast NASCAR’s. One case just has a bunch of different drivers and cars I liked because of their colours, sponsors or drivers.

There’s a full case of Rusty Wallace cars (and a couple of trucks - he was my fav until he retired); another case of Jeff Gordon and two of Tony Stewart. I also have a 1:18 Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon.

I was in a diecast club that offered both standard and Elite models. Probably well over half of the 80 - 90 are Elites, which came in a special padded box and were normally limited to less than 500 and in some cases 100 produced.

These buggers are top of the line & feature opening roof flaps with tethers, hoods and trunk decks (also with tethers), collapsible window nets, engine wiring - the works.

And they were not cheap - most Elites were over $100 and some were close to double that. I used to track their values in my computer via a monthly publication for diecast but stopped after I stopped buying and collecting.

If I had to guess, I’d say I have around $15,000 in those cars, cases and other NASCAR memorabilia. Throw in my MLB, NBA, NHL, NFL as well as autographed movie, television and musician goodies along with my guitars, amps and PA and there’s probably close to $100,000 in my basement.

Not sure what we’re going to do with it all when we downsize to a two bedroom condo - will probably try to get some of it sold or leave it behind. Still have a few years before that move.

There’s a local dealer here that specializes in this kind of stuff and I may call them and see what they’d give me for the whole lot.

Or maybe I could get the Pawn Stars to pay me a visit.

GO DODGERS!!!

I remember when service stations pumped your gas, cleaned your windows and checked your oil.

My mom used to frequent a Shell station all the time and knew the owner and I think I got half my Hot Wheels via their giveaways. He usually toss me two or three every time she got gas, which was pretty much every week.

My bronze coin set consisted of old Ford’s, from the Model A & T on. I think I still have it up on a shelf somewhere.

Of course, we still have all of the state quarters that were minted recently. Didn’t do the National Parks series, though.

GO DODGERS!!!

Nice! I love those old cars with the pipes coming out of the engine bay and through the fenders. Just a very cool look to me.

GO DODGERS!!!

LOVE those old Vettes. I actually had a chance to buy a ‘63 split window back in the early 80’s.

It was black with red interior and wire wheels with knock-offs. Dude wanted $13,000 for it, which I would have done in a heartbeat.

Unfortunately, no bank would give me that large of a loan on a nearly 20 year old car. I ended up buying a 1980 model for around the same price and had no issues securing a loan for it.

It was a piece of crap, always needing something mechanically, but damn, it was a true babe magnet. I got more tail in that car than the other 20 + I have owned combined!

GO DODGERS!!!

I joined four fantasy baseball leagues. One had 16 teams. Another had 24 teams. I was surprised to be able to draft as well as I did.