Oregon Armories

Collecting Diecast Vehicles is a fun hobby for folks of all ages

Almost everyone has played with diecast vehicles when they were a young child. When I went to grade school my friends and I collected ‘ Hot Wheels ‘ cars. We would make race tracks and construction zones in the dirt piles out back of our school and play with the vehicles at recess time. I remember having a holder that looked like a suitcase only smaller, it would open and inside I had probably 20 different vehicles, ranging from cars, to trucks and a few other things. We would play in the dirt with our diecast vehicles, racing them, or pretending we were construction crews, and we would dig tunnels in the dirt, and make hills and bridges to push are little cars and trucks around on. Probably most folks like myself lost or threw away them diecast vehicles we had as young children, or they got lost like all of the other toys we had when we were young. Some folks saved there’s and now days some of them are probably quite rare and valuable to diecast collectors.

It seems that when I was a young boy, we only heard of ‘ Hot Wheels ‘, at least that is the brand that my friends and I bought, collected and played with. Now days there are tons of different companies and they make diecast vehicles of every kind, there are cars, airplanes, construction vehicles, boats, military vehicles, and more. When first starting to collect diecast vehicles, you must decide which types you really want because there are a lot of choices, you can collect a certain make and model of car, such as a Chevrolet Nova, or you may wish to just collect yellow diecast construction vehicles, or military vehicles, the choice is up to you.

Diecast vehicles are pretty inexpensive for a lot of the new ones in stores and for some of the older ones that are common. You can often find them in the local drugstore or any Kmart or Walmart, and even a lot of grocery stores have a rack or area where you can find diecast vehicles, they often sell new for under $3.00 each, and sometimes you can find them in a bargain bin or on sale for ‘ 2 for $2.00 ‘, or even less.

Probably one of the best places to find a rare or missing diecast vehicle for your collection is on eBay. Another great place to often find rare and unique diecast vehicles at very low prices is yard sales. I went to a few yard sales, last summer with my daughter and I saw a lot of diecast vehicles, and many were 25 cents each and some were less. If you look you can usually find a pile or box of assorted toys at a yard sale, these often have numerous plastic soldiers, trucks and cars, and some old non-clothed dolls, and if you dig or search through these piles or boxes of old junk toys, you can often find diecast vehicles at the bottom. The diecast vehicles are smaller and heavier then the plastic toys, so they tend to drop down to the bottom of the piles like gold nuggets in a stream.

Back around 9 years ago when I was still married, my wife and I bought one of them cheap metal detectors, the ones you can get at discount stores for around $50 or so. We went outside and in our yard where we lived at that time, we found 7 old diecast vehicles. Once we took them inside and cleaned them up, they were all in great condition, despite being buried for a few years. The vehicles were all made by ‘ TOOTSIE ‘, I looked on ebay at the time and discovered that the vehicles were worth around $15 or more, so if you have a metal detector, you can probably find some nice diecast vehicles for free, by searching yards and old school grounds.

Once you start building up your diecast vehicle collection, you should consider getting a display case to show it off. If you have some talent and a few tools, you can easily build a display case in your garage or workshop, or if you look on ebay they always have a large amount of diecast vehicle display cases.

There is computer software that is made just for collecting diecast vehicles. Anyone who has a small or large diecast vehicle collection can easily keep track of what vehicle they have, the color, condition, cost, value, scale and lots of other info for each record (vehicle). This is the most easiest to use software of it’s kind, and it is made 100% for diecast collecting. The software is described in detail and you can download a free demo version of it at this website address:

http://www.rb59.com/diecast

By Robert W. Benjamin

Copyright © 2006

You may publish this article in your ezine, newsletter or on your web site as long as it is reprinted in its entirety and without modification except for formatting needs or grammar corrections.

About the Author

Robert W. Benjamin has been in the software business on the internet for over 5 years, and has been producing low-cost software for the past 25+ years. He first released software on the AMIGA and C64 computer systems in the late 1970′s-80′s.

RB59 Software

http://www.rb59.com/software

my toy military vehicles

Vtg Black Metal Midgetoy Military Car Vehicle Child’s Toy $9.00

Tootsie Toy Tank LOT of 4 Military Vehicle Transport 4.5″ x 2.75″ x 2.25″ $5.24

Tonka Toys 1970′s military action figure Lot small posable man for vehicles $3.25

3x Dinky Toy Military Vehicles Army & Cargo Truck Medium Gun Meccano Ltd #2 $15.70

3x Dinky Toy Military Vehicles Scout Car Recovery & Field Artillary Tractor $18.86

3 Dinky Toys Military Vehicles Army Water Tanker Wagon 25 pr Gun Meccano Ltd #3 $15.70

Toys & Games Diecast & Vehicles Corgi Military $36.00

Vintage cast Iron Toy,Convertible military vehicles, handmade car model 7366 $15.99

Huge Lot of 424 Vintage Toy Soldiers Army Men, Military Vehicles & Planes Etc. $5.50

Dinky Toys Military Vehicles 1950′s $15.70

JADA BIGTIME CAMMO HUMMER H1 Army Military Desert Cammoflage Vehicle TOY New $11.49

Die-Cast Metal Tank, Ertl Toy, Military Vehicle $9.98

Zylmax ? Japan Type 61 diecast tank military vehicle WWII toy vintage $1.30

Sturmgeschutz German diecast / plastic tank military vehicle WWII war toy $0.06

OBGM German diecast / plastic tank military vehicle WWII war toy $3.24

Jagdpanzer German diecast / plastic tank military vehicle WWII war toy $2.00

D86M diecast / plastic tank military vehicle WWII war toy $5.50

carrier diecast / plastic tank military vehicle WWII war toy $6.99

carrier diecast / plastic tank military vehicle WWII war toy $0.01

diecast / plastic tank on carrier train military vehicle WWII war toy $0.01

LOT OF 6 TOY MILITARY VEHICLES, TANKS, HELICOPTER, JEEPS AND WATCH TOWER $9.99

Corgi Toys Centurion Mk III Military Britain Army Tank Vehicle Hong Kong Made $5.99

SP GUN TANK #70 England Matchbox Lesney Military Vehicle Superfast Toy Htf $19.99

Lot of 41 GI Joe Military Toy Vehicles Accessories Pieces & Parts $29.99

MINI MILITARY VEHICLES – LOT – EUC VINTAGE COLLECTABLE TOY CARS $16.99

Mini Toy Soldiers Army Military Men 250 Piece Play Set w/ Vehicles NEW $19.99

BRICK TOY MILITARY ARMY VEHICLE JEEP CAR x 10 $10.00

Lot of 8 Military Toy Vehicles, Tanks, Jeeps, etc. $4.49

Plastic Toy Military Vehicles – Aircraft Helicopter and Little Tikes Jeep $6.99

COLD WAR OLD RUSSIAN MILITARY ARMORED VEHICLE BTR-60 PLASTIC PULL TOY MODEL TANK $9.99

Vintage WWII military vehicle toy $0.99

Half Track Military Ground WWII Micro Machines Armor Vehicle Toy Vehicle $10.99

M247 Sergeant York Tank Military Ground MICRO MACHINES Vehicle Plastic Toy $10.99

M551 Sheridan Tank Micro Machines Military Ground Armor Vehicle Plastic Toy $10.99

1974 Hotwheels Toy Military gunner Vehicle diecast Mattel inc Malaysia Camo $0.99

VINTAGE HANDMADE 3 LEAD VEHICLES MILITARY TOY FIGURES $30.00

3 Vintage Tootsie Toy Military Vehicles Very Rare Very Cool $15.00

3 AUBURN RUBBER TOY HALF TRACK MILITARY VEHICLES $19.99

BRICK TOY MILITARY RED STAR ARMY VEHICLE JEEP CAR $1.00

1981 Hotwheels Camo Military Vehicle w 5th wheel Malaysia diecast Toy $0.99

COLLECTIBLE IDEAL TOY WWII MILITARY RADAR TRUCK VEHICLE -VERY NICE $0.99

Tootsie Toy Military Vehicles – set of 5 $9.99

Radio Control R/C Military Vehicles Car Building Toy ALL New bricks Set 86004 $24.95

Radio Control R/C Military Vehicles Car Building Toy ALL New bricks Set 86003 $24.95

LEGO DISNEY TOY STORY 3 MILITARY SOLDIER & VEHICLE $18.99

GI Joe Toy Military Jeep ~ Vehicle $3.00

GI Joe Toy Military Truck ~ Vehicle $5.00

Tootsietoy Half Track Military Vehicle WWII Childrens Toy Truck Army USA Tank $24.99

Military Vehicle Tanks K200 KOREA DAEWOO Fight 1:35 Construction Model Car Toys $265.00

21st Century Toys Ultimate Soldier 1:18 Scale US Military Tank Vehicle $39.98

M&Ms Toy Airplane Chocolate Candy Dispenser Plastic $24.95 From the M&M’s Collection. M&M Biplane Candy Dispenser. This decorative M&M candy dispenser is shaped like a vintage airplane and features the red M&M barnstorming with the scared yellow M&M riding on top of the wing. Officially licensed product. Measures 10″ x 11″ x 8″ tall. Candy not included. Item is new, but does not come in a retail box….

MOTORCYCLE O.D. GREEN MILITARY METAL $15.00 …

Toy Military Vehicles Plan (Woodworking Project Paper Plan) Start your own toy army with these three military vehicles. They can be left natural wood, stained, or, for the best effect, painted drab green. Full size patterns are included plus get numerous pages of general scrolling instructions and tips on sanding, gluing, wood selection, drilling for inside cuts, and much more!Size: 16″ to 17″…

Mini Green TOY Soldiers U.s. Army Men Play War Kids Toys Boys $7.59 Kids can stage their own military battles with this jumbo bag of toy soldiers. These green army men come in a variety of poses with various weapons for ultra-realistic battles. These classic toy soldiers let your child’s imagination and sense of adventure run wild. Buy mutiple bags for larger, more complex battles….

M&M’s Military Vehicle Candy Dispenser Jeep $49.98 New 2009 M&M’s Candy Dispenser. Military Jeep with Blue and Red in the seats and Yellow hiding under the hood. Candy dispenses into tray. Headlights light up and engine revs up….

M&M Barnstorming Airplane rides candy dispenser This is an MM chocolate candy dispenser in the shape of a plane. Red is the pilot and yellow is the co-pilot. Candies are dispensed when you spin the blades. They fall on the left side of the plane on the wing….

Swann SW391-SML Micro Lightning Helicopter $49.99 The Swann Micro Lightning helicopter is super easy to fl y and the death-defying turns, dives and stunts will blow you away! With it’s lightweight construction, the of the Swann Micro Lightning chopper will withstand impacts and crashes which makes it ideal for indoors. The Swann SW391-SML Micro Lightning Helicopter is super easy to fl y and the death-defying turns, dives and stunts will blow you …

World Tank Museum, 1/144, a Set of 2 Tanks, Randomly Picked, #70035 $16.99 WTM (World Tank Museum) by Takara offers the best quality tank models in the world, 1/144 scale, painted and assembled. WTM9 is “2nd generation tank” with 17 main battle tanks of France, America, Sweden and the Soviet Union. Fully painted in 17 varies authentic military paints and assembled, 1/144 scale 12mm war game figure compatible. 10 mixed tanks per display. AMX30 France (2 models), AMX30 co…

Swann Sw391sct Helicopter Military Thunder Remote Controlled $39.99 Bring high-flying fun home with this double-rotor Army remote controlled helicopter with easy-fly gyro technology and precision controls. Inspired by the famous Chinook army helicopter, the Swann Military Thunder is fun and easy to use. The tandem set of dual, coaxial rotors offer a unique flying style ideal for indoor use. The video game-style controller features two analog control sticks for 6-w…

Matchbox 20 Car Set – Styles May Vary $21.99 The Matchbox® 20 Car Pack makes a perfect gift! Sets include 20 detailed, die-cast vehicles in adventurous themes. Create an instant Matchbox® collection with this impressive set! Colors and decorations may vary. Not for use with some Matchbox® sets.  Why You’ll Love It: It’s a 20-for-1 deal. Hard to beat that! Age: 3 years and up Includes: 20 detailed, die-cast vehic…