Imagine walking into your living room and finding the table full, the chairs piled up and boxes stacked on the floor, all of it vintage die cast cars you have waited years to see. That is where one British collector found himself after a buying trip he calls a “pinch yourself” moment.

The collector behind Exploring With Boss says what he showed in this video was a fraction of the haul, a fraction that cost thousands and thousands, with boxes and boxes more waiting in the next room.

Bought From A Man Who Once Bought From A Toy Museum Owner

The story behind the stash is half the fun. The man who sold these used to buy from the owner of a toy museum, he says, and a lot of the pieces came out of that museum over the years and into the seller’s own collection. “Now it’s my turn to purchase it,” he says.

That explains the condition. A Dinky Lamborghini Marzal sits mint in the box, with no cracks on the case. Boxes this old normally go fragile, but these have no splits and none of that yellow tinge.

“Mint In The Box,” And Not A Crack In The Cardboard

Row after row on the table is the stuff of a 1950s and 1960s childhood. There are Dinky racing cars, with two Ferraris wearing different colored helmets on their riders, and a Dinky Alfa Romeo he says has no nasty cracks. A Ferrari Dino 216 is in the original box, not a modern remake of it.

A pair of Dinky Cadillacs both have spun hubs, which is how collectors like to find them. A Mercedes Pullman has working windscreen wipers, and a Dinky ambulance still carries its original inner packaging and paperwork.

Even the military models, which he says are not especially desirable or valuable, caught his eye because they have not been overly handled and still have a lovely matte finish.

Original Windscreens And The Glue Test Collectors Swear By

One piece, a boat, has its original screen, and here the collector shares a handy trick. You can always tell an original screen, he says, because there are none of the glue marks and residue you get when somebody has tried to stick one back in.

A model with the working light feature is in an unusual gray and white, rather than the usual yellow and white. There are also Spot-On cars, including a Jaguar and a Mini, and a car transporter set that is loose but in original condition, with the correct cars, even the little rally Mini.

He points out that Spot-On models are made at one forty-second scale, compared with one forty-third for Dinky and Corgi.

Restored Models With Reproduction Boxes, And Why He Took A Punt

Not everything is original, and he says so right away. One section has been professionally restored and sits in reproduction boxes. He does not normally buy these, but the quality was so high that he decided to take a punt. “They’re absolutely gorgeous,” he says.

He knows not everyone likes restored models, and he is honest about their worth. They will never be worth as much as an original, he says, but if you do not care about mint originals and want something that looks great on display, they are fantastic.

There is also a presentation set of four vehicles in original boxes, though someone has repainted the trucks, and a KNR Replicas model made from white metal, which a buyer could build from a kit or pay the company to build in the factory.

Boxes And Boxes More Are Still Packed In The Next Room

This is only the start. A box of mint-in-the-box Britains is waiting, along with loads of Lone Star flyers and hundreds of original loose models from the 1950s and 1960s. He has been unpacking in a dusty state, and his hands are still dirty.

The collection cost a lot of money, he admits. “I’m talking thousands, thousands, and thousands,” he says, so he has to sell some now to get money back in for the next collection. Everything he showed is for sale, with worldwide postage, through his eBay store.

“Imagine Waking Up On Christmas Morning And Seeing All Of This”

His father looked at the table and said just that. It would have been spoiled indeed to find this much die cast under the tree.

That is what makes collecting so appealing. These little cars are keeping memories alive. He is a child of the 1990s himself, but he had die cast cars too, including older ones, and he loved them.

He asked viewers to share their own happy memories of waking up to toy cars on Christmas morning in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s or 1980s.

What Collectors Can Learn From The Haul

If you collect die cast, a few lessons stand out. Condition is everything, and the box matters almost as much as the car. Look for cracks, splits and yellowing on cardboard, and for original paperwork and inner packaging.

Check small details too, like spun hubs, working features and original screens. And be clear about restored pieces, which can be lovely but are priced differently from untouched originals.

Finally, remember where a collection came from. A trail that runs back to a toy museum owner is a good sign that pieces were stored carefully, and that is what keeps a decades-old toy looking brand new.

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