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.

Radio controlled vehicles can either be toy-grade suitable for children or hobby-grade vehicles used in RC racing and various other competitions. Radio controlled helicopters are available in various designs and they are different from radio controlled airplanes in construction, flight training and aerodynamics. Nitro, electric, gas turbine and petrol/gasoline are the four types of RC helicopters. The electric RC helicopters are more in demand nowadays, because they are noiseless and they are available in affordable prices. Flying RC helicopters is a very exciting hobby and it is not difficult, just require little practice. Similarly aircraft controlled by hand-held transmitters are radio controlled airplanes, and flying RC airplanes is a very enjoyable hobby.

No more do children want to play with toys working on key control. They prefer radio control toys. RC toys are available in different models like cars, trucks, robots etc. These toys have four parts which are transmitter, receiver, motor and power source. The Transmitter sends signals to the motors via the receiver, which cause the wheels to turn in a RC car or a RC truck which are in great demand among children. The RC truck has two motors, one controlling the front wheels and the other the rear wheels. A great Christmas gift for boys, are the RC tanks. There are tiny RC tanks and also giant RC tanks which are very powerful. World War Two Sherman, German Tiger 1, Russian T34 are some of the models of RC tanks available.

RC is another interesting hobby. You have to decide which RC boat to choose depending on the water area and of course your budget. You can select from, nitro powered RC boats, RC sail boats and electric RC boats. If you do not want to restrict your activities to water alone, then you can go in for a RC hovercraft, which is capable of moving on water and land, snow and ice, swamps, mud, pavement, and also fly like a plane and this versatility makes it an interesting vehicle for children and adults. They are considered more of as a hobby than a toy, and the are suitable for snowy regions. Another versatile vehicle is the RC buggie, which are tough and durable and you can take it anywhere and it can stand any kind of terrain.

Airsoft toys are also used for personal collection. Airsoft guns are used for gaming or for professional training purposes. You can choose from Electric Airsoft Gun, Spring Airsoft Gun or Gas Airsoft Gun.  You can also find great selections of Airsoft Pistol, Airsoft Rifle and Airsoft Sniper Rifle.

If you have a hobby of building radio controlled devices, you will be in constant need of the parts and components. At times, you may need to replace the tools or the wood in the middle of the building project, so it is better to have a vendor from whom you can purchase these items at short notice. However, there are many options to buy the components, either locally or by mail order. With some experience in this area, most remote control device enthusiasts usually have a selected vendor whom they patronize often.

Your hobby of building radio controlled vehicles is more specialized as compared to other simple hobbies. Therefore, you may not easily find items that you require at the local craft stores. You may need to find a store specializing in remote control parts to supply you with the necessary items. However, if you require a quick substitute for wood, model glue or paint, you can get them at the local craft store. The local hobby stores may have some items that you can decide to make do with, or you may want to hold off and buy the specialized items that you require, later on.

To find specific items for radio controlled vehicles, you may have to look for specialty stores, online. Websites sell items suited for radio control vehicle project that you may be working on or, they may provide links to other sites dealing with them. One advantage of purchasing online is that you will be able to get an idea of the product and the service of the supplier from the user reviews that the websites have. Other radio control hobbyists post their responses and experiences with these items which can help you make an informed decision. Whenever you decide to buy from the online stores, you need to first verify whether the site is reliable and whether they ship the items within the scheduled delivery time and whether the items have reached in good condition to their customers.

EBay sells a number of items that can be utilized for building a radio controlled device. You can procure components comparatively cheaper from EBay, provided you know what exactly you need. However, if you want the best items to use for your radio control creation, eBay may not be the best choice as it does not provide any user reviews. It is therefore advisable to research on a site geared towards radio controlled hobby items to find the best component you need. Armed with this research you may then check out the availability of the component on eBay and get it at a cheaper price.

It is best to buy high quality components to build your radio controlled vehicle so that you need not replace the parts very often. Cheap and low quality components go out of order very soon and also affect the overall performance of the model. Thus, it pays to spend a little extra so that you do not have to keep on replacing the defective parts that often.

The most common and preferred RC model is the car. But let this not limit your search and options. The concept and principle of the RC model is virtually the same, and all hobby grade models are simple and robust in design. Most require some practice to master the control. A car is a good place to start, and later you can invest in an airplane or other more advanced model. A person who has access to a free open ground (even a big football field is fine!) can safely invest in assembling a hobby grade RC airborne device since in the beginning stages, one requires lots of space to practice the control of the model.

There are dedicated hobby grade RC model makers who have hundreds of different models, and they will almost surely have one that suits your pocketbook and preference. It is a good idea to shop around at a few hobby grade RC model shops before investing in a model. This is because you might find a better model for your preferences, the cost might vary a little, and you will hopefully get to know more hobbyists that you can connect to by visiting these places.

The only limit to the amount that you can invest is solely based on your own capability. If you wish, you can invest in a low end model or you can go for the latest high end models with sophisticated circuits and controls. This is especially true with respect to the airborne models. But, wise investment is required and investment is NOT recommended if you are not a real radio controlled device enthusiast, since these hobby grade RC toys are costlier than the toy grade models available in retail shops. If you are questioning whether you can find time to play with the RC model, then the hobby grade toy is probably not for you.

In earlier times when internet was non-existent, face to face meeting was the only way the enthusiasts could contact each other. Even phone or snail mail was too clumsy to interact effectively. But the enthusiasts have always traveled long distances for the sake of their hobby just to meet one another. This is the indulgence in the hobby. But, the advent of internet has virtually reduced the world, your “arm’s length away” being just “a-click-of-your-mouse-away”. Real life meeting is not at all required, but still one can connect to another remote control hobby enthusiast from another end of the world. Real life groups are still the most effective means to get to pursue the hobby more effectively. Online groups can be of help to connect and to organize more extensive events, and to know about the various hobby related activities taking place.

Time is the most important factor when considering any hobby. A hobby is an activity that has grown more than just a “wish to try” activity, and you yearn to do it day in and day out. One might not always find the time, but the passion for the activity is what makes it worthwhile. If the thought of playing with remote controlled toys piques your interest, then it means you possibly have a flair for RC controlled models and you should  give a try.