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Volume 1 Issue #8 
Seems like the week just zips by before I'm involved in
another WHWN! I can always count on F.M. and D.M. to give me
something to write about each week! THE "HOT" topic has to be
the first appearances of the F.M. ERROR 1957 WHITEWALL TIRE
Corvette on the auction scene! This model had been out in
Gallery stores since late May, and is just now getting the
interest it deserves! On 7/18/00 F.M. sent around a "RETAIL
INVENTORY RECALL" to ALL its retail stores! Quoting from that
recall "It has come to our attention that the most recent
production of this image was manufactured incorrectly. The error
is that the tires on the recent production have white walls. The
original and correct production has black walls. For this
reason, we will have to recall all inventory on this image for
inspection at the NAFC. Effective immediately, please remove
from display any pieces of this image having the white wall
tires. Please separate any incorrect display pieces and all
backstock inventory on this image including any from prior
shipments to your store. (We are not asking you to inspect this
inventory at the store as it will require opening all of your
inventory. As you know, customers object to the purchase of
product packages previously opened)." (I find the above comment
quite interesting as many collectors, when buying from a Gallery
store, have to open 2, 3 or more models in order to find a
decent one!) I'll get into pricing these later, but for now,
let's discuss if there is a way to DETECT a COUNTERFEIT!
I now have SOME of these in stock, and have been comparing
them for small, yet meaningful differences! Probably the MOST
glaring of all, is the White Wall (WW) Tire cars seats have a
MUCH larger WEAVE pattern in the center of the seats then the
older ones! With both in hand, it is a GLARING difference! Also
upon comparing the two models, the NEW seats have a distinct
GRAYISH tone to them! Kevin Gregory has mailed me a few things
he's found. One being that the whitewall version has a black dot
of paint where the exhaust would exit. The Original has none and
is all chrome! Kevins also stated that the whitewall version has
a much rounder tie rod, the original's is much flatter. I
checked mine under 20X magnification and couldn't tell a
difference! Might be some are this way and others aren't! On the
FEW I have, the exhaust systems seem to have a much more
"golden" hue to them then the older models, but that may just be
due to NEWNESS, and will fade in time! I'm inclined to think
that since these seats are a NEW design, and being that the RED
model is due to be discontinued on 12/31/00, that these seats
will be used on another issue of the 57 Corvette (repaint, or
?). A supposition, for sure, but it's the only logical reason I
can think of for such a change!There's been more then a few aspersions on the D4C Forum about the HIGH prices, and how diecast cars are a bad investment (see D4C Board #8354), and calling this activity the "Diecast Speculators Club". Let's try and put all this into some kind of perspective, and use a little common sense! First of all, the HIGH price that just went off ,( an AMAZING $910.00 see e-Bay #388342595), was a FLUKE as the TWO (2) fellows bidding on that model, (I do know ONE of them quite well), appear to have gotten involved PERSONALLY with outbidding each other, and finally wound up with that price! Auctions are a GREAT place to have fun, and IF money is NO OBJECT, as it appears to have been here, two folks can go at it and CREATE a FALSE market! It SURE was exciting to watch it happen, (I know, I was in shock!), and it has caused others to jump on the HIGH PRICED bandwagon! I see a model offered currently on e-Bay at $800.00 with NO BIDS, and MANY more have been added to e-Bays auction site as we speak! An interesting side note to that $910.00 priced sale is that the THIRD highest bidder was only at $255.01! I'm hearing RUMORS that roughly 400 models were sold (give or take 100 or so either way!) and this would STILL make this ERROR model a VERY desirable piece! Some members kind of SCORN at the L.E.'s and ERROR models; but look at other hobbies for a clue as to WHY ERRORS and L.E. are ALWAYS HOT! Coin collecting just had a BIG ERROR craze with the new Sacagawea Dollar coin being struck with the obverse of a new quarter and reverse of the dollar! Now the mint doesn't just strike a FEW coins but mints a BUNCH of them, and one of the first ones found sold on e-Bay for OVER $41,000! There should be hundreds, if not more of these laying around in bags or rolls of these coins in the Federal Reserve! The whole point here is that ERRORS of any hobby, coins, stamps, baseball cards, BEANIE BABIES, ALWAYS demand a premium and are PRECISELY what the collectors of these hobbies CRAVE! Diecast cars are no different! The unusual, the weird, or LOW SUPPLY anythings are going to get the collectors juices flowing and are GOOD for any hobby! I'm certainly not saying that you'll get RICH, (DON'T I WISH!), by buying models instead of stocks, BUT, I've been around long enough to remember the Stock market crash in '87, and the PANIC it caused, the ROLLER COASTER ride of NASDAQ stocks, (in a year e-Bay went from $35 to $135 to $45 to name one I'm INTIMATE with!), and the BIG push on penny stocks! BTW, just how many percentages OFF the markets starting point at the beginning of the year 2000 are we? Yup, all GREAT investments, and IF you were LUCKY ENOUGH to bail out in time and were a winner, you had UNCLE SAM as your PARTNER! (Funny, I didn't see him give me a tuppence when I bought this stuff, and now he wants 20-30% of MY WINNINGS! THAT'S B.S. to put it bluntly!!!) The market has done GREAT in the last 10 years. MILLIONS of people made FORTUNES; now they are willing to spend part of it on frivolities such as diecast model cars! To many, collecting is FUN, BUT, they LOVE the thought of BUYING a LOW mintage or ERROR model and re-selling it for a nice profit...ALMOST IMMEDIATELY! Each of us has our own reason to collect, and we should just respect each other and be thankful we can do this in our great country! A little DIVERSITY here is a GOOD THING! If you don't want to play and have fun, don't! If you don't like these FAUX PAS's, pass on them! No one is going to twist your arm to buy them, but the people involved sure do enjoy it, and the excitement in their voices and e-mails DEFINITELY comes through! Many have speculated that F.M. makes these ERRORS on purpose! That's a pretty FAR FETCHED statement! I believe F.M. has some of the MOST QUALIFIED people in the business designing these models. They are TRUE ARTISANS, and I prefer to think that they would NOT compromise their integrity or reputations in doing such COSTLY and FOOLISH projects! IF any of you reading this is able to go to the Diecast Club annual meeting at the Franklin Mint on Sept. 10 of this year, you'll be in for a treat as ALL the design staff personnel will be giving a lecture on the making of these models. Just look at their faces and you'll SEE the PRIDE they have in their accomplishments when showing some of these NEW models to those gathered there! Believe me, no one hates a SCREW UP more then these people! I THINK I answered the questions posed on the D4C forum to the best of my ability, and now back to MORE happenings! I finally received a 1929 Red/Black ERROR (Oh, what an ugly word!) Rolls Royce. After examining it CAREFULLY, I can DEFINITELY say that this model was pulled because of the FRONT and REAR WHEELS sticking out TOO FAR from the brake backing plates! It's so bad that the rear axle actually slides from side to side over 1/8th of an inch! It will be VERY INTERESTING to see how F.M. repairs this, and IF they will put CHROME wire wheels on instead of the red painted ones, (chrome wheels are pictured in their latest catalog). By the way, Barrett, thank you very much faxing me that Rolls Royce article about devaluing the mark, but I seriously doubt that licensing had anything to do with it NOW! Of course, I've been known to be wrong (just ask my wife, Irene!). Personally, I like the piece, kind of reminds me of what a PIMP would have driven in back then, much like the R.R. grilled Caddy's of the 70's with the TIGER skin interior! It DEFINITELY make a statement! Honestly though, IF F.M. re-re-issues this model with the same color wire wheels, and just fixes the axle problem correctly, I CANNOT see this model commanding anywhere NEAR what it has currently sold for! It's just not EYEBALL different enough! I'm not saying this to hurt any sales (remember I have one!), but the WW '57 Corvette is much more dramatic! 
Well let's all get down and bow towards Connecticut as D.M.
FINALLY started shipping a really nice little model of the 1932
Ford Highboy! On the D4C Board #8321, my buddy, Tony Perrone has
put up some GREAT pictures of this model, and gives a detailed
description of it! Known as the 1932 Ford Highboy- Lake Bed
Racer/Street Coupe, it's highly detailed and to an old Hot
Rodder, like me, being able to convert it into a Bonneville type
roadster is worth the price of admission by itself! If you
haven't seen it, go look, and STEAL all the pictures for your
own photo gallery! A photo etched grill, chromed suspension, a
FULL TILT Flathead V-8, just makes this another MUST HAVE ! All
I can say to D.M. today is MORE! GIVE ME MORE!Well, we have the week in review for all the auction action going on! Talk about a market place sending mixed signals! We have models selling for multiples of issue price, and some flat out GIVEAWAYS! So here goes! Sunday 7/23---At the D4C auction, a F.M. 1948 RED MG/TC draws a $330.00 sale as 2 members brought this price up from a $175.00 opening! This model with box and papers has become a very hard piece to find, and the winner got a very good buy. A 1955 Rolls Royce draws a very respectable $365.00! This is another model that's almost complete dried up on the secondary market. A 1957 Eldorado was a NO SALE at $300.00 with SLIGHT crazing to the paint! I guess it is just a matter of, as our President would put it, "What the definition of SLIGHT means!" A beautiful 1939 Maybach from Germany with no box or papers sells for $250.00 PLUS shipping! A GOOD price for the buyer, but I think most purchasers have some QUALMS about buying an expensive piece like this from overseas. My experiences have been mostly positive with only one BAD deal out of many! A last item from D4C was a LECC Corvette bringing $560.00! How, many of you reading this could KICK yourself for buying only one, or NONE in MANY cases? The example was set, as we see the new club Packard having TWICE the number subscribed to as last years model! Who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks? The e-bay auction had a few interesting items this day as another 1948 RED MG/TC brought $201.53, this from a model MISSING the convertible top and no original box or papers! Just shows you that this model is well sort after! A 1992 White Rolls Royce with broken hood ornament, no boxes or papers was a NO SALE at $201.53. I believe the seller was correct on this. Seems a small flurry of these comes out, and then completely disappears for MONTHS at a time. A VERY under-rated model. How about a Nice F.M. 1963 Avanti with everything, bringing $142.49! MORE then RETAIL with tax and shipping! This was another battle of 2 newcomers, (at least by the feedback numbers), with one being a 1/18 scale collector, and the other a AMX devotee! A little knowledge here would have saved quite a few dollars. For a little diversity, TWO pre-sale C.M. GT-40's were sold, one at $102.50, and the other at $88.00! I THINK I mentioned something about this in the 7/9 issue of WHWN, but no one bet me the quarter pounder with cheese that I wanted to wager! A 1955 F.M. red/white Chevy Hardtop brought $191.00 on a $75.00 OPENING price! Folks, F.M. will be SOLD OUT of these by MID AUGUST, and I can't see them re-ordering them, as it's taken about one year to sell WHATEVER, (we will NEVER know the number), models they had FOUND in one of their warehouses! A calculated risk here, but my PICK OF THE WEEK for a GREAT future model! Last one of note on e-Bay was a clearcast L.E. 1967 Corvette with styrofoam box only, going for $123.50. It's a L.E., it's NEAR completion, and it's a CORVETTE! Need I say more? Monday 7/24--- Interesting night on D4C with a B&C bullet hole car failing to open at $425.00! Will the owner come back. and offer it cheaper? A 1940 Packard draws $155.00! Someone wanted one real bad I guess! I have it listed at $110.00 on my site! D4C members should ALWAYS check the few sites that have these models listed before buying! A VERY DIFFICULT 1996 Christmas truck sell for $570.00. ( I missed this one by 3 minutes; got to get a better watch, this ROLEX just isn't reliable. Perhaps a TIMEX, I understand they even have a little ALARM to tell you your LATE!) An EXCELLENT buy for the new owner! Just goes to show you, F.M. sold 3000 of these BEFORE the the influx of NEW collectors, and MOST of these are probably sitting amongst UNWANTED Christmas gifts in Uncle Max's attic! A 1997 F.M. Christmas pumper L.E. of 5000 was sold at $175.00 on an issue price of $295.00. (I NEVER could see spending $100 MORE for a plain pumper that just had Santa, TWO puppies, and a special plaque as the only difference from the RP (regular production) piece!). This was supposed to be SOLD OUT in 1997, but has been brought out again in 1998 and 1999! Wonder if they'll turn it into a Millennium tribute model this year with the 1000+ leftovers? A 1929 Red/Black Rolls Royce in a NO SALE at $1200.00! Enough said about that already, and finally a 1959 L.E. Cadillac sells for $300.00. That's the RIGHT price for today's market! E-Bay was a waste of time Monday with a 1955 L.E. Packard going as a NO SALE at $227.50, and rightly so, but my old buddy DIO got his hands on a 1949 L.E. P.B. Ford, and paid $385.00 for this little jewel! I LIKE this model's color and look, to me its nicer then the D.M. counterpart! Wasn't it yesterday that this model was only bringing $200.00? Tuesday 7/25--- D4C was active with a 1955 L.E. Ford Sunliner bringing $405.00 with papers only! This is one of the scarcest models for me to find on the secondary market, and just SEEMS like 5000 couldn't have disappeared that quickly! A BEAUTIFUL model, and one that will be VERY EXPENSIVE in a year or so! Definite GOOD BUY! A C.M. Ferrari 250 GTO could not get it's $330.00 opening! Seems MANY of C.M.'s models, (I know, it's a Joeuf REBOXED, but guys collecting C.M. MUST have one to be complete!), have taken a price DIP in the secondary! The lack of interest in the new Camaro and GT-40 have caused ripples into the more established older pieces! What a shame as some of the original C.M. issues are scarce by the numbers produced! A F.M. Aqua '56 T-Bird only brought $167.00 for a German consignor! It had no box or papers, but as mentioned before, many collectors are wary about buying overseas! The same consignor had a NO SALE on a $150.00 opening for his 1953 F.M. Eldorado! Ending the D4C festivities was a Harrod's Jag fetching $330.00, and keeping it in its newer, higher price range. The e-Bay action was moderate with a signed Shelby bringing a TOO CHEAP $425.00, a '55 P.B. Packard coming in at $280.00, another stronger showing! A '69 L.E. Camaro at a low end $227.50, (another few months, and you won't touch them for UNDER $300!!). A Harrod's Jag was a NO SALE at $280.00, and I'm sure the consignor is glad about that now, and last, but not least, was a 1910 Cadillac, Styrofoam box only that I STOLE for $187.80! SOMEDAY, this NOT AVAILABLE, (for over a year already!), model will be recognized as to how few are really out there! Guess it will need the INFAMOUS "DISCONTINUED" label, to achieve real stardom!. Two interesting PRIVATE sales today were a 1967 Airstream with box and papers at $695.00! Seems that the flurry of these has gone the way of the DoDo, and the #10 Harrod's Jag brought a $425.00 price! Early numbers STILL command a nice premium! Wednesday 7/26--- The D4C had a sparse offering this night with a 1915 Stutz getting a respectable $215.00. It was a buyers market as a 55 P.B. Packard only drew $225.00 and a SIGNED SHELBY did NOT meet its reserve of $600.00. Of interest, and looking at prices the way they stand TODAY, a 1957 WW Corvette brought $260.00! Currently we have one on D4C at $400, and 2 on e-Bay at the EXACT same amount! Can this be the NEW ground level price for this rarity? I think we'll need a few more weeks of sales to establish a REAL WORLD price on this model. A final interesting sale took place as a 1997 BLACK Corvette, broke out of it price SLUMP and sold for $618.50! That will not be the last you hear of this! Auction action at e-Bay was better then D4C with another Black 1997 Corvette bringing $759.55 from TWO NEW bidders that do not appear to be D4C members or diecast collectors yet! I'm ALWAYS interested in seeing who is buying what and why; after a little searching, I found one fellow had NO FEEDBACK, and the others past purchases were a real hodgepodge of acquisitions! I personally take this sale as another FLUKE happening in the diecast market place! A 1958 Corvette brings $137.50! Apparently there were some GOLD BRICKS in the back seat to raise this buy price to such a level! The F.M. L.E. Camaro went for $232.50, well within current ranges.Another 1992 White Rolls Royce sells for $163.39 with broken hood ornament, but has box and papers, (You don't KNOW how many BLUE R.R.'s I have with NO hood ornaments. Thank you.), and a 1910 Cadillac, having box and papers brings $202.50 to you know who! Thursday 7/27--- D4C is quiet again tonight with a RED FLAG LIMO a NO SALE at $225.00. The new Legacy motors has them available at $155.00! A beautiful RED 1954 Chevy convertible gets a nice bid of $109.00 (One of the few RED cars I really like). A '47 Bentley Franay pulls down a close to retail $121.50. The 1939 Duesenberg Simone is hammered to a sale of $154.00, and a 1955 Red/White Chevy Hardtop, sells for an OVER RETAIL price of $181.00! Remember, I chose this as one to watch! E-bay was a little more exciting with one of the PULLED F.M. 1929 Red/Black R.R,'s selling for $799.29!!!! Starting at $299.00 it received 20 bids to get it to that price! Looking at the bidders list to see who's who, all SIX bidders, I consider TIER ONE players! If there was ever a Millionaires Club in the D4C these guys would be charter members! Interesting that any one of these men could have bought the model offered at $1200 on D4C, but NONE of them felt it was worth that much! A hard to find 1940 Duesenberg, with a missing mirror, no box or papers got $202.50. If it arrives as a nice model, it would be a decent buy! A 1953 F.M. Eldorado, no box or papers was STOLEN at $127.75, (I missed that one completely!), and I was the under bidder by 44 cents on a nice 1935 F.M. 770K at $102.00, (NEVER be a cheapskate when bidding, as 44 cents was a ridiculous way to loose a nice model!) Friday 7/28--- On D4C an LECC Corvette brings $551.00 ( these models are SO STEADY at the $500-$600 price range as to be scary!) I'm outbid again for a $1.00 on a 1955 Rolls Royce selling for $356.00 and a Maybach Zepplin with some paint problems is a NO SALE at $200.00! E-Bay is where all the fun is at today! The aforementioned '57 WW Corvette sells for $910.00! A Blue 1941 Lincoln is a NO SALE at $800.00 with everyone trying to bargain shop this model! It is currently back out again at a VERY REASONABLE $700.00! Unless F.M. decides to release this model to the general public, (and make a whole lot of collectors MAD that own them), this is one of the better current rarities! Make it in BLACK when you do re-issue it, and it would make just a GREAT P.B. or LECC car for the year 2001! Talk about F.M. getting praises and doing right by the collector! A F.M. 1953 Eldorado brings $177.50 with no box or papers; another good buy here. A 1970 Mach I sells at $345.00. You MUST be listening when I touted this one a few weeks ago. Another 1958 Corvette gets $105.00, (I didn't notice if this was bought by the under bidder of the $137.50 model that sold 2 days before, but it might have been!), and the STEAL OF THE WEEK, a 1930 Duesenberg, MINT, but no box or papers, sells on ONE bid for $39.99! Damn! A PRIVATE sale of a 1997 Black Corvette just Styrofoam box for $595.00 MUST be noted here! Seems that the one year lead in sales this model has over the LECC Corvette has made them approximately the same price, although the LECC piece has half the mintage! 
Saturday 7/29--- A few notables on D4C! A FIRST TIME
OFFERED Motor City Saoutchik Cadillac, one of 450 brings $510.00
on a $345.00 issue price! Perhaps one of the most beautiful 1/24
scale models ever built, this STATIC model will be of interest
to watch in upcoming days! A B&C Bullet Hole car gets up and
running with a $431.00 sale, back in the territory it should be
in for it scarcity, and a F.M. LeSabre show car commands a
$110.00! RUMOR has it that once this model is sold out, it will
be GONE! Good for guys like me but, a shame that these pieces of
automotive history did not get the sales that F.M. was hoping
for! E-Bay had a few BIG models up for grabs tonight! An
Emperor's R.R. brought $1825.00 with spirited bidding between a
TIER ONE player and a NEWBIE!, (at least by e-Bay standards with
very few feedback's!), with the OLD TIMER bowing out gracefully!
(Julian, can you imagine me calling you an OLD TIMER!). A really
difficult model to find with ALL of the 500 sent to Japan. This
model was one of the replacement cars that our collecting
fraternity has been lucky enough emancipate from the F.M.
coffers. One of the L.E. 1973 Mercedes Benz 450 SL's was bid to
$740.00 with a RESERVE NOT MET! I believe your going to see VERY
FEW of these offered in the months to come! If just about all
the other 1 of 500 models command a price of near $1000 and
higher, there is no reason that this one shouldn't be in the
same category! Another 1992 white R.R. with box and papers gets
sold cheaply at $256.99. A 1957 Eldorado, no box or papers and
of questionable paint sell at $380.00. A 1969 F.M. L.E. Camaro
hits its stride with a $285.00 winning bid, and last but not
least, a 1934 L.E. Packard draws close to it retail with a
$127.50 bid in the last minute of action!Overlooking the auctions this week seems to indicate a strength coming back to it! There were few real giveaways, and most of the better models held their own or slightly increased on the whole! The 1957 WW Corvette will be on everyone's mind again this week, and with Pebble Beach and the D4C club meeting due in 4-6 weeks, you should be hearing about NEW models being offered, and more interesting facts and finds being announced! Please let me know what your think of the WHWN! I am always anxious to recieve any questions or relative facts that you might discover and think would be of interest to other diecast collectors. I do appreciate all the positive feedback I've received about this little contribution I offer. Information is a collectors best friend and, if anything, I try to give you the most accurate and up to the minute happenings as I receive them! As always, comments and criticism are always welcome! Hope you enjoyed our weekly get together and I shall return next week with some more insight into this fascinating hobby! Regards, Roy Return To www.franklindanbury.com The "WHAT'S HOT, WHAT'S NOT!" Archive |
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