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Volume 1 Issue #19 I forget which philosopher said it, but I believe the saying goes, "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery", and I am flattered! I see my diecast brethren, (read competition, as he likes to call me), has started a "WHAT'S NEW" page, (seems similar to our What's HOT, What's NOT doesn't it?!) I wish him well with it! Whereas I'm primarily an INFORMATION, EDUCATIONAL, and EDITORIAL web site, (I DO occasionally advise that my prices are LOWER then those sold in auction, however), his is a SELF PROMOTING, COMMERCIAL site! I also make note of him becoming a "Preferred Retail Partner" of the Franklin Mint! Congratulations! I found the following line of much interest to me, "Used (also known as mint) examples of current issues will no longer be sold by **********. However, we would be happy to direct you to vendors who may have the preowned-mint models you're looking for." I sincerely hope I will be "Taking up the slack" as he will no longer be selling these "MINT" examples at the discounted prices I do! Of course, if he did, and F.M. found out, I understand they cancel "PRP" dealers contracts on the spot! Happily, we have no DIRECT intervention by any MINT, and can sell our products at the prices we see fit to! I also found the controversy over MINT vs. NEW models seeming to be a sticking point with our competition! The old cliché "NEW can be Mint but Mint can Never be New" is an OXYMORON! I'll ask you readers to look at a new PHRASE, "MINT can be, and often is BETTER then NEW"! Don't believe me? Well then, answer this. How many of you have opened brand NEW, SEALED models only to discover they were DISTRESSED in one way or another? Point in fact is the current 1930 Ford Pebble Beach car which seems to have MANY of them delivered in unsatisfactory condition directly from the mint! I bet almost anyone who buys DIRECT has had this experience! I PRESUME that you all enjoyed RETURNING that model to whomever you bought it from, and many times at YOUR expense of shipping! (I did notice quite a few complaints on the D4C board about both mints models recently!) We sell ONLY models that we PERSONALLY check to make sure they are up to OUR STANDARDS, which in most cases are stricter then MINT standards! ALL our models are accompanied with our DIECAST CAR CHECK LIST, where every part of that model has been looked at and checked to make sure you don't get a defective piece! The simple DISAPPOINTMENT that a customer can have when they check out a new model and find it wanting is what we TRY to eradicate! Our competition doesn't do this, (of course not, it takes 15-30 minutes per model to do a correct job, reseal the model, and pack it for proper shipping. ONLY WE take the time to do it!). I think I've stated my point of view succinctly, but I do sincerely wish all my COMPETITION only the best of luck now, and in the future. (I just couldn't help responding!) 
News this week centers around the arrival of the F.M. Vapor
Blue, and Reflex Yellow Volkswagens from the L.E. series of 2000
that F.M. had the courage to do as a INTERNET ONLY sales tool,
much as VW's REAL blue and yellow VW's were! I just returned
from the F.M. website where these two DARLINGS are described as
follows:"•Act now! Own the first and only die-cast model of the Limited Edition New Beetle seen in the blockbuster national TV and media campaign. Only 2,000 will ever be created in this all-new color. 
Available only here - on our website. Fully authorized, individually
hand-numbered 1:24 scale. When they're gone, they're gone forever.Place your advance reservation now. Limited to one per collector. Models available for shipment in the Fall of 2000." I make note here that they are STILL available to order from their site, and that they have already shown up on e-Bay auctions where a pair are offered for $500.00!, (Item #466504004), and as a single Vapor Blue model at a very reasonable $99.00 opening price, (Item #466065130 SOLD for $112.49!). I happen to have ordered 2 of each, (which have arrived), from their website so kindly DISREGARD the last remark as you can certainly order more than one! I must say as colors go, these are, to paraphrase my friend Jay Engel, "Quite Festive!" 
I presume that F.M. feels that the VW's are a big winner
for them as I've included a photo of their latest Limited
Edition models, a PAIR of VW's, a black 1967 and a white 1998!
For $225.00 plus $9.95 Shipping and Handling you get the 2 model
cars, and a a special collectors mirrored display base. I think
F.M. has just about used these "Beetle's" up to the extent they
can, but one never knows if a "Dune Buggy", or VW powered sand
dragster might appear! Let's see, we have a yellow, and white 67
VW, I can't count how many different colors, (5 different main
body colors), there are in the "Flower Power" cars, a red, and
silver cabriolet, and the new German police VW. Now a black one
should bring the count to 6 if only counting the "Flower Power"
once! That's getting up to the number of times they've REDONE
the 1940 Ford Pick up! The white '98 will bring that body style
up to 5 so far; so at least one or two more of those are due!
They are fun models, but enough is enough!One of the questions I get asked frequently is the difference in the F.M. 1931 1/16th scale Bugatti that is now permanently(?) discontinued! The original issue is a pretty scarce issue to find, and one will come up on auction every once in awhile, but hardly anyone differentiates between them! 
For
those CRAZY people, (I do include myself here), I've taken the
liberty to show you the difference! On ALL original issue
models, under the model on the red painted running boards is the
following stamped pictured here! You'll note that this model is
DATED 1991 whereas the re-issue has NO DATE stamped in the same
location!
Also something I hadn't noticed is that the ORIGINAL
hang tag is much different then today's, and is pictured here
for the first time, with outside cover, and inside data! Just
another of those little things that make model car collecting
that much more fun!
I have been holding off on this week's WHWN just waiting
for something SPECIAL to arrive, and it has today! If you take a
look at the BEAUTIFUL Corvette 1998 INDY PACE CAR made from a
1998 F.M. silver convertible that I have pictured, you going to
view one of the NICEST done "HAND-BUILT MINT" models I have seen
so far! Fellow collector, and D4C member, Phil Tocco, has spent
MANY months of trial and error to come up with a SUPERB
rendition of one of the MOST DESIRED Corvette models made!
Having just talked to Phil, and asking how he did it, is a story
unto itself. Hopefully he'll have it out in the D4C newsletter!
(If not, I'll get it all from him to print here!) Some of the
highlights are that the "RADAR BLUE" paint was applied in
several coats with four coats of clear lacquer over both paint
and the decals! Each coat was hand sanded, and if you could see
the DEPTH that he got in this paint job, you'd realize why these
hand built models are so highly prized! The wheels appear to be
yellow powder coated, and the yellow and black interior looks
correct.
He even has the INDY insignia on the floor mats! The
graphics are from the Revell Pace Car model which is now
discontinued, and it took 2 sets of decals to make the one
complete set for each of the F.M. Corvettes due to the slight
scale difference.
Phil is a STICKLER for every detail being as
CORRECT as possible! He did do more then one of these, but only
a select amount may eventually be available to discerning
collectors! As I had stated here in previous columns, we are
just on the verge of a NEW VENUE within our precision model
hobby! If these FIRST EFFORTS are this good, (they truly are
BETTER then the ORIGINALS!), I see a bright future in store for
us all! NOW, F.M. and D.M., do we have your attention?
There's
still time to do the models that the collectors want and are
willing to pay for! I would like to hear comments on this model,
so please e-mail me with your thoughts, and I'll share your
views with everyone next week! (Please excuse the poor quality
of the photo's, as our digital camara is down, and had to scan
regular photo's!).
Because I'm so late again this week, I'm simply going to go over some of the HIGHLIGHTS, (whether good deals or strong prices), in no particular order, and just let you see what the trends are towards various issues! The 1930 Ford Pebble Beach car had more then a few (6) offered for sale with prices ranging from a high of $142.50 to a LOW of just $100.00 on e-Bay! This model is still available from F.M. at $120.00, and I see no rush to be buying them! That magic P.B. moniker certainly has helped sales but 4500 models compared to last years 3000, and much NICER model, (1955 Packard), should guarantee that this model will be available for a few months more at issue price! As an L.E., it WILL demand a premium further on down the line, but other model purchases are better deals! The D4C Gold Corvette only had two offered this week, and was a NO SALE at $503.98 on e-Bay, and a $490.00 sale on D4C! Could it be that this model is actually getting into collectors hands where it is staying instead of being offered again, and again for sale to see if any profits can be had? It does appear that since we are almost to the first year anniversary of our #1 club car, MANY of the duplicates have finally found appreciative homes! That $500.00 price break though seems to be rather tenuous at this point in time! The new Packard D4C car should be out in another 2 months, and it will be interesting to see what they will bring on the IMMEDIATE secondary market! With DOUBLE the mintage, it's SURE to be of lesser value then the Corvette! The quandary of the REAL color has yet to be reckoned with, (It was DEFINITELY tinted green at the unveiling in Sept.!), so we'll just sit back and see what all our fellow collectors think about this once in hand! Only 2 Black 1997 Corvettes came up this week with one selling at $504.00, and the other a NO SALE at $576.01. With DOUBLE the D4C Corvettes mintage, this model was just not easily hoarded, (seems the first run of 550 model followed by 1000 more after F.M. had that many ORDERS in hand), has actually caused this model to be more difficult to obtain! The former frenzy for the 1973 L.E. Mercedes Benz has gone the way of the dodo as far as sales are concerned. One was offered at $450.00 on D4C, and was a NO SALE as some of the foreign buyers are now trying to DUMP this model on the market! At this kind of price, for this low a mintage, (450), I would think that NOW is the time to snatch up any that are available! This has to be a HOT PICK in this price range for future increases! The popular F.M. 1969 L.E. Camaro had 4 cars offered with highs and lows of $222.35 and $205.50. There are still many available for sale, and the low 2000 mintage only meant that F.M. sold out immediately but many went into small hoards! It will take up to one year before this model becomes scarce enough to start to command the premium it deserves, (it really is so much nicer then its "Hugger Orange" cousin), then I can see another $100 being added onto it! The Bonnie and Clyde Bullet Hole car had two showing with both models selling, one at $286.00 and the other at $295.00. Seems that the offerings have slowed down dramatically this week and prices are slightly stronger! With only 1500 available this should really be worth in the high $300 price range. One to think on as recent highs of over $500.00 should be attainable again! Another formerly hot car, the 1957 WW Corvette had a sell price of $225.00 with only one offered! I think this model has been talked to death, and this is now the proper range for this model. The 1982 L.E. Corvette with lettered tires had two go off on e-bay on the 13th with one bringing $610.00, and the other a better buy at $570.55, (good buy Bob!). These are seldom offered, and to have 2 in one day is unusual! They should be worth more, and seems this slowish market is pulling down prices on most of the better issues. I watched from the sidelines as a white 1961 P.B. Lincoln was STOLEN at $910.25! I DID have the opportunity to buy it, but wanted to see what the current NET market would bring on this much wanted model! I BUY these at a higher price then this, and have sold 2 within the last 3 weeks at $1395.00! Two 1941 Blue Lincoln's were also offered, one a NO SALE at the offered $675.00, the other with a broken piece of the front bumper sold on e-bay for $491.99! Not entirely a bad price for a repairable model! D4C had a MIB cutaway motor available, and it did sell for a respectable $1020.00. This is very hard to find with boxes and papers intact, BUT the price differential between this and a Mint one with no box and papers can be drastic, ($200 or MORE!). This has been named one of the Mints top 5 hardest models by Raffi, and should command a closer spread. The FOP Lambo was offered for a second time in just over a week, but still was a NO SALE at $609.48 being offered! This is another top 5 car, and seems there is little interest in it, (or could there have been an unrealistic RESERVE on it keeping potential bidders away?). E-Bay had a 1955 L.E. Ford Sunliner that didn't reach it's reserve and rightly so as $401.10 couldn't get its owner to part with it! For a 5000 issue model, this is much scarcer then either the red '70 Chevelle or the '55 Pontiac convertible of comparable mintage's! Two Harrod's Jags were sold at $225.00 and $235.00 getting this 500 mintage car over that $200.00 price break again! I believe these are now sold out or under 10 left at Harrod's so the true secondary price will start to establish itself! Certainly not a great looking piece, but for the DIEHARD F.M. collector, it's a must have! Some other noteworthy sales included a F.M. 1954 Corvette at a record price of $202.00 for this currently N/A model on the D4C auction, the N/A 1957 Chevy kit cars sold for $245.00 on D4C, and $182.40 on e-Bay! This could be one to watch especially if it just disappears from F.M.'s offerings! The Bentley '29 Blower car was a very good buy for someone as $127.00 took it home! One a few weeks ago sold for over $300.00 for this N/A model! A C.M. red street Cobra has now hit its current LOW at only $125.00! This is a still scarce model that has been sold at over $400.00! Seems that the whole C.M. line has fallen out of favor as of late, (perhaps NOT the '69 Yellow Camaro, but one has not been offered recently!), I feel the GIVEAWAY of it's new line primarily on the e-Bay auction has had much to do with it! I now see the still unreleased GT-40 selling as a FUTURE at under $80.00! Shades of the Blue Camaro! Well folks, there was MUCH more going on, but unfortunately my time is getting to be at a premium as we draw closer to the holidays! I hope you found some new and interesting information within, and will continue to join me each week! I DO enjoy writing this and by the comments I get at least some of you enjoy it as well! More to come, and have a safe and healthy week! Regards, Roy Return To www.franklindanbury.com The "WHAT'S HOT, WHAT'S NOT!" Archive |
roy@franklindanbury.com |
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