Every week I receive several e-mail messages from people who are seeking
information about toy cars. After 20 years of collecting and eight years
of publishing TofTC, I am always happy to try and answer any questions I
can about this hobby. Often, I have to search the back issues to find a
particular story about the toy cars in question. Far too often, I have to
admit that I just don't know about a specific model.
This last month I was shocked and delighted to find that a small-scale model
existed of a car that I thought had been overlooked. My list of the top
ten cars missing in small-scale diecast includes models like the Maserati
Ghibli, Bugatti Atlantic, Continental Mark II, Facel Vega HK500, Bentley
Continental R-type, Pegaso and the BMW 507. All of these cars are very important
in the history of the automobile and it is hard to understand how they have
been missed in 1:64 scale. Well it turns out that one of the cars on my
list has been done after all.
 The BMW 507 can be crossed off my list. As the image to the
right shows, Collectoy Die-Cast of Japan did make a small-scale BMW 507.
I have yet to see an image of the actual model but other Collectoy models
appear to be in about 1:55 scale. The 507 is shown with the optional hard-top
in place and appears to be a decent likeness of the real car. An enlarged
image provides a bit more detail.
Yes, Collectoy is clearly an obscure toy car company. Their model selection
appears to be cars from 1957-58 and it includes a few more surprises. The
car on the bottom left is a 1958 Lincoln Continental, another model missing
in small-scale. While far less appealing than the 507, it is still the only
example of this car offered. The inclusion of an Edsel is interesting although
we now have nice examples from Racing Champions. The Triumph TR-3 is another
rare model although Both Tootsietoy and Johnny Lightning have done examples.
The fact that I was only a year or so old when these models came out seems
a fair excuse. Still, I have yet to see one in hard metal. I am just happy
to know they exist.
From the selection of models, it can be assumed that the producers of Collectoy
had plans to offer these toy cars to American and European buyers. The name
also seems to be ahead of the times. In 1958, toy collectors and toy car
collectors in particular were much harder to find. Perhaps Collectoy intended
these models to make a dent in the larger 1:43 scale market.
Of course I will be looking for the BMW 507 and other Collectoy models.
If any readers can provide images, I would be happy to share them in a future
issue.
It is easy to see why people new to the toy car hobby can be overwhelmed
by the variety of models and variations that have been produced in the last
50 plus years. Just keeping up with new offerings today can be a chore,
let alone tracking down items like the Collectoy models. It is this challenge
that turns every day as a collector into a treasure hunt. It also makes
me wonder what else I don't know. |
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