A few days ago, I snapped a picture of some old toys I brought out of storage to entertain my young nephew. When I was his age, die-cast cars were among my main playthings. It was a bit of a trip down memory lane for me, and he had fun rolling them across the floor. Win-win!
Left: The red Ferrari GTO is branded as Majorette, and says it was made in France. The engine compartment opens up in back, and this brand always seemed to have some kind of suspension system, like the axles are on a leaf spring inside. I always liked that, now I'm thinking back on it.
Center: a '74 Blown Camaro from Hot Wheels is a good example of that line from my childhood. They differentiated their cars by rolling smoothly and showcasing outrageous designs with exaggerated scale.
Right: Matchbox Datsun 280ZX 2+2 made in Macau. Matchbox cars often had opening doors and more realistic proportions. This is also one of the first cars I remember owning.
I won't go into as much detail for the rest of the collection, and just let the pictures speak for themselves for the most part. It should be apparent that these were all playthings from the chipped paint and broken plastic. Would these be worth more if kept pristine and without making any memories? I doubt it.
That long-nose Corvette C3 on the left is a classic Hot Wheels pattern if ever there was one. I always liked that stepside pickup. The C4 Corvette Convertible is one of many no-name cars I accumulated in childhood, but definitely one of the better such cars I had.
My nephew especially liked the red race cars. Red goes faster, so of course I had options ranging from NASCAR to Formula 1 to a dune buggy.
The "diggers" (construction equipment) were a source of much excitement from my nephew, even if the tracks kept coming off the bulldozer wheels and the backhoe had long ago broken all the plastic parts for the hydraulic cylinders.
I managed to gather three more Majorette examples. The Jeep Wrangler has a broken roll bar, but the other two only show typical wear from play and storage, Again, the suspension is neat, and the van and hatchback both have opening rear hatches.
An assortment of trucks in yellow and white motifs plus a stray hot rod. This shows how abstract the scale is for these toys, too.
I think these Hot Wheels all used to change color when immersed in hot or cold water, but none did when I tried to show my nephew how that worked. Sad day!
Last but not least, here's the toy from that snap I mentioned, and the Datsun from the first image for scale. The larger scale Speed Kings line was from well before I was born, so this must have been a garage sale purchase or a hand-me-down from an older cousin. This is the Mercury Commuter, Racing Car, and Trailer. I don't remember ever having the tires for the rooftop wheels.
Did you play with die-cast cars as a kid? What were your favorites? Do you still have any squirreled away in storage or out on display?
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