Those of you who are new to NASCAR diecast collecting, or just want to learn more about it, have come to the right place. I get a lot of questions every week from customers asking to describe what the difference is between brands, styles, etc. This should help give you some more insight into what is available in the collector marketplace for NASCAR diecast collectibles.

The great attraction to collecting racing diecast is the broad scope of items available. You can choose a particular driver to collect or a particular category, such as Racing Type, (NASCAR, NHRA, Late Models, Sprint cars, etc…), Car make, model, teams or sponsors. You can also choose to collect drivers within a certain era of racing, past champions, or just collect paint schemes that you like. It is your collection, build it how you want.

Two specific concerns of diecast car collectors worldwide are detail and authenticity. These separate inferior products from those of higher quality. As in all collections, purchase what you like but keep a sharp eye on the level of quality.

SCALE

Let’s start off first explaining scale or the size of the cars. This is the relative size of the diecast car in relation to the real car. The scale is a ratio.

·         1/64 scale is one of the smallest replicas. They measure about 3" long. Commonly referred to "Matchbox" or Hot Wheels" size.

·         1/43 scale is not very common, mostly made as toys. These measures about 4” long.

·         1/32 scale are slightly more popular and measure about 6" long.

·         1/24 scale is the most common scale collected. These measure about 8" long.

·         1/18 scale, due to their 11" size, only a few people collect these cars and very few are made.

STYLES

When discussing or reading about diecast, you will hear and see a lot of terms describing the car that can get confusing quickly. Let me try to help clear some of those up for you.

·         HO - Hood Open - Indicates the car has a hood which opens showing the engine detail.

·         TO – Trunk Open – Indicates that the rear deck lid or trunk opens to show the fuel cell and other details.

·         HOTO – Hood Open AND Trunk Open

·         CWC (or CW) – Clear Window Car – Indicates that the windows of the car are clear so you can see inside the drivers area.

·         BWC - Black Window Car – Indicates that the car has black windows and therefore you can not look inside the driver’s area. A lot of the BWC’s were produced as promotional items for sponsors.

·         BANK – indicates that the diecast car has a coin slot to act as a bank. Most banks have a slot in the rear window or in the trunk with a locking removal door on the bottom of the car. Dually replicas most commonly have the slot in the roof.

·         CWB – Clear Window Bank – Indicates that the windows are clear to see the driver area and that the car is also a bank with the slot in the trunk or in the back window to insert the coins. Most clear window banks are not T/O.

PAINT FINISH

More confusing still can be the varying finishes that are starting to show up on diecast cars. Again, let me walk you through some of the more common paint finishes to help you understand. The following are all specialized finishes that are made in very low numbers. They usually adorn the correct decals to represent the sponsors on that car, but the finish is not what the real car looks like when it is raced on the track. Not all cars are made in special paint finishes.

 ·         Colorchrome – This is a special paint finish with an incredibly high gloss. Some details of how the colorchrome process actually works:

o        Labor-intensive process of hand-polishing every inch of the diecast body

o        Chrome-plated with an electro-plating process

o        Painted with clear lacquer and finished with a color tint of the original body color

o        Original sponsor decal package is applied over colorchrome finish

·         Liquid Color – This is a very unique special finish. The base paint looks like is it still slightly wet with a frosty iridescence to it.

·         Brushed Metal – These cars have very little paint on them. As their names describes, the car is bare metal that is hand polished before the sponsor graphics are added. 

·         Precious Metal – These cars are electroplated with different metals prior to adding the graphics. The metal can be Gold, White Gold, Platinum, Copper, or Nickel. 

·         Pearl – These cars have a very slight pearlesque paint applied to them prior to adding the logos.

·         Dark Chrome – These cars are similar to colorchrome but are all made in an almost black chrome.

·         Steel – These cars are not made from the normal diecast alloys. Instead these are cast in all steel bodies. The graphics are then applied without adding the normal base paint colors.   

BRANDS 

Now that you know about the scales and paint styles lets move on to the manufacturers and product lines available. These can be confusing as well to a new collector or someone who does not collect. Not every driver is made in every brand or product line.

American Diecast Company aka “ADC”: ADC has been focusing on dirt racing late models and modifieds. Great detail and low productions as well as a large list of driver offerings have made ADC a major player in this line of diecast. They also offer local, lesser known drivers a chance to have a diecast replica made of their late model in quantities as low as 12.

Action Performance – aka “Action” – The leader in NASCAR diecast, they have excellent quality and detail and are also the most popular brands on the market. They have endured some name changes with its product lines as well as the company name over the past few years. They are also known as Motorsport Authentics (MA)

 

·         Standard Series /Driver Select Series /Platinum Select Series: These are the most popular NASCAR Diecast collectible product lines in the market place right now. The different names reflect the name changes of the product line over the years. These cars are highly detailed an limited in production. Detail has increased on these and all cars over the years. Older models have significantly less detail than today’s releases. Some of the current upgraded features include:

 

o         Outside the Car:

o         Die-cast body and chassis

o         Opening hood  and trunk with stamped metal hood hinges

o         Realistic hood pins

o         Realistic splitter supports

o         Opening roof flaps

o         Tampo-printed graphics and high-quality paint

o         Inside the Car:

o         Working steering wheel

o         Manufacturer-specific engine detail

o         Detailed interior compartment

o         Upgraded interior seat with leg bolster and added roll bar detail

o         Ignition boxes on passenger side dash.

o         Sequential numbering in rear window

o         Underneath the Car:

o         Rear spring detail-separate axle and protection ring

o         Die-cast tie rod assembly

o         Independent coil spring front suspension with sway bar and detailed disc brake assembly

o         Accurate header contour and simulated exhaust openings

o         Separate transmission, axle, and gearbox

o         Realistic Goodyear sticker decals on tires

o         Detailed front shocks and rear shock
 

·         Banks: Detail is the same as the standard car with lower production quantities. Banks came in two styles from Action. The first style was a BWB. They then added the CWB. With both BWB and CWB’s, the coin slot is located in the rear window. A “key” is attached underneath the car to open the coin door. Most collectors do not actually use these as “banks.” These banks were very popular for some time in the early days of collecting NASCAR diecat. The trend has moved towards CWC’s. Not every driver or paint scheme is or was available in Bank form.

·         AP+: These cars have slightly lower quality and detail compared to the standard cars. These are usually HO but not TO. The detail level is slightly lower and there is less diecast and more plastics used in its construction.

·         Trackside Elite: These cars have a little higher detail level than the standard cars. They are generally only HO cars. These are also initially made available at the trackside trailers during race events.

·         Pit Stop Series: These are generally lower quality and detail than even the AP+ line. With a lower retail price point, they are geared more for children than adult collectors. Usually any alcohol sponsor will not be displayed on this product line.

·         Gas Pumps: These were diecast replicas of old fashioned gas pumps. They held one roll of quarters. When you filled the pump with a full roll, the light inside the top globe would illuminate.

·         Pit Wagons: These were replicas of the Wagons on pit road that the teams stored their tools and such in. These were also Banks.

·         Duallys: replicas of a Dually Pick up truck painted in the scheme of a drivers race car.

·         Transporters: Made mostly in 1:64 scales or smaller, these replicate the haulers that transport the drivers race car to and from the track.

Racing Collectibles Club of America – aka “RCCA” and “The Club” – Owned by Action, their product lines are released initially to club members only who sign up for a club membership, but these items sometimes end up in the general market place as well.  

·         Owners Elite (aka “Elite”): The highest detailed diecast that is offered by Action. Very low production numbers and extremely high detail. Some of the Elite detail includes:

o         Fully detailed die-cast body including:

o         Opening hood with stamped metal hood hinges

o         Opening trunk with stamped metal trunk hinges

o         Opening roof flaps with cables

o         Realistic mesh screen in lower grill

o         Rear window funnel access

o         Tampo-printed graphics and high-quality paint

o         Realistic hood and deck pins

o         Detailed front mesh grill

o         Fully detailed die-cast chassis including:

o         Die-cast tie rod assembly

o         Independent coil spring front suspension with way bar and detailed disc brake assembly

o         Accurate header contour and simulated exhaust openings

o         Separate spoiler bracing

o         Silver wheel rotors rotate through the brake calipers

o         Red primer on center section of cars rear-end

o         White drive shaft required by NASCAR® safety rules

o         AERO wheel design

o         Realistic Goodyear tires with stickers

o         Working rear shocks and rear suspension

o         Manufacturer-specific engine detail including:

o         Manufacture specific valve covers

o         Braided hoses

o         Radiator inlet box

o         Drive shaft loop

o         Pliable spark plug wires

o         Rubber fan belt for air cooler

o         Enhanced electronic ignition system colored in silver, black and red.

o         Detailed interior including:

o         Working steering wheel

o         Interior hoses painted black

o         Simulated fabric window net

o         Detailed trunk compartment with authentic red painted fuel cell

o          

·         Club Car: This has the same quality as the Action Standard cars, some times it is only HO

·         Club Bank: This has the same quality as the Action banks, mostly CWB’s.

Team Caliber – Team Caliber was purchased by and then merged with Action. With product lines from Mass retail to higher end collectibles, Team Caliber had exclusive contracts with a small handful of drivers. Most notable are the Roush drivers since Jack Roush was the owner of this brand. The following styles were discontinued when the purchase of the company was finalized. Again, not all drivers were available in these product lines.

·         Owners Series; Similar to the Action Elite. These cars offer high detail but unlike the Elite, you do not need to be a member of a club to purchase. These cars can be bought direct from the dealers. For a short period of time, the Owners Series of diecast were produced with the body of the car removable from the chassis so that the collector could truly appreciate the level of detail and the workmanship that went into these.

·         Historical Owners Series: These cars were older body styles from the 1980’s and early 1990’s. Very good detail.

·         Owners Series Banks: Same level of quality and detail as the owners series. The coin slot on these cars were usually located inside the trunk. They were all CWC’s.

·         Preferred Series: Similar to Action’s standard car. Although the under carriage is more plastic than diecast.

·         Pit Stop Series: similar to the AP+ cars with a little less detail.

Motorsport Authentics – (MA) This company was formed by merging Team Caliber and Action product lines. They kept the product lines from Action when this occurred and dropped all of the Team Caliber Product Lines.

Checkered Flag Sports (CFS) –. CFS Started releasing product in 2007. The have only a handful of drivers that they are able to produce at this time.

·         1:24 Contender Series Model Working hood; engine with radiator system and separate oil cooler; detailed chassis includes poseable front wheels, separate exhaust system, separate transmission and driveshaft; fine detailed interior includes individual driver’s seat, individual shifter, individual pedal cluster, air exchange hoses, track bar adjustment posts, individual fire extinguishers; 65 individual parts; window box with end cap blister packaging

·         1:24 Champion Series Model Working hood, trunk and roof flaps; serialized pieces; detailed engine with wires and hoses; radiator system with separate oil cooler; die cast oil pan and transmission; colored coil springs; die cast center link and tie rods; die cast chassis; separate exhaust system; separate rear end; separate oil tank; detailed dash/instrumentation; separate seat with molded seat belts, shifter, steering wheel, air exchange hoses, track bar adjustment posts; metal brake rotors; detailed roll cage; fuel cell fill and overflow hoses; rubber antenna; 140 individual parts; polyfoam with candy box packaging; limited to 2400 pieces total to ensure collectibility; one super collectible black liquid chrome car per case of eight

Revell – Owned by Action, these cars usually come mounted on a base that also includes a cover that helps protect the car. Some of the 1:18 scales by Revell did not have covers to them but were still attached to a base most times.

·         Club: Similar to the Action standard, but with the base and cover usually. Low productions and only offered to club members initially.

·         Collectors: Similar to the Action standard as well, but with slightly higher productions than the Revel Club. Also comes on a base most often.

·         Select: These are considered by most collectors to be Toys. Low detail and are not usually HOTO. Most do not come with a base or protective cover and sold mostly through mass retail markets.

R&R Enterprises: (R&R) These guys have been producing dirt sprint cars. They picked up a market that Action has let fall behind. They produce these in 1:25 and 1:18 scales for a lot of the more popular drivers in the various sptint series. The detail is fantastic and they have been implementing upgrade to the diecast cars each year. Rumor has it they are going to expand their product line to include some silver crown cars and or some midgets.

Milestone Development Group: MDG has been producing a small line of 1:16 scale funny cars. The bodies are actually fiberglass rather than diecast. The detail that they achieve with this scale is second to none.

Nutmeg: Nutmeg is a small company that has been producing vintage modifieds and DIRT modifieds. They have a very nice quality diecast and have made some upgrades as the series has continued.

Georgia Marketing Products (GMP) These guys have a great line of 1/18 scale dirt sprint cars as well as muscle cars and vintage race cars. High quality and low productions of these replicas have made many of their products highly sought after.

Castaway – Owned by Action, Castaway produced Ranger Bass Boats and Nitro Boat scale replicas with NASCAR driver paint schemes on the hull of the boat as well as a detailed trailer.

Brookfield – Owned by Action, these products have a mid to low detail quality. Most of their product lines consist of dually and trailer trackside sets, Fantasy Suburbans, Tahoes, and 2 and 3 car sets. Most cars by Brookfield are not HOTO. Almost all of their product lines are 1:24 scale only.

RC2 / Ertl / Racing Champions –Their detail is decent and their quality is not bad either. Racing Champions is one of the oldest players in the race car diecast replica market. They currently have exclusive rights to several NHRA drivers as well as some Dirt series cars.

·         Authentics: Similar to the Action Standard cars with limited production runs

·         Retail: these are low detail and are found in most mass market retailers. Considered more of a Toy than a collectible by most collectors.

Winner’s Circle – Owned by Action, these are of a lower detail and quality. These cars are usually found in department stores and other mass retail markets. These cars are collected by some, but are generally considered toys and are more suitable for for children. Again, no alcohol or tobacco sponsorships are displayed in this product line.

Hot Wheels – These are of a lower detail and quality. These cars are usually found in department stores and other mass markets. These cars are collected by some, but are generally considered toys and are more suitable for children. Generally they are not HOTO, but did have a product line for a short period of time that were HO and the body was removable from the chassis.

Matchbox - These are of a lower detail and quality. These cars are usually found in department stores and other mass markets. These cars are collected by some, but are generally considered toys and are more suitable for for children. Some earlier releases of their 1:64 scale cars and haulers were exclusive to them.

Franklin Mint: Offers the occasional racing related diecast car. These are extremely low in production quantity and extremely high in detail level. Very few drivers or paint schemes have been offered by the Franklin Mint. Most of them were Richard Petty items.

WinRoss: They produced a line of 1:64 and 1:87 scale transporters.

WhiteRose: Also known for their production of 1:64 scale transporters.

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Some car care tips for your diecast collection

·         Keep out of direct sun light. As with almost any item, long term exposure to direct sunlight will fade the paint over time. And the

·         Save your Boxes. The original packaging that your diecast collectible comes in helps keep the value of your collectible. It is best to store the boxes in a dry location. A lot of collectors keep their boxes in storage totes, closet shelves or even cedar chests.

·         DO NOT USE Abrasives OR Chemicals to clean. If your diecast cars get dusty, use a can of compressed air to remove any build up in or on the car. Then use a product like “Diecast Wax” in combination with a soft lint free cloth to restore the original luster of the paint. Chemical cleaners can damage the windows and remove some paint.

·         IF you have an accident and get a stain or spill on the diecast, use a soft cloth and some warm water. (Not dripping just damp.) Lightly go over the area with a little pressure. If the stain is not removed, bring your car to a local diecast dealer for help.

·         To remove buildup in the crevices of your diecast, use a cotton swab. Be careful not to rub too hard, this could cause some damage to the paint.

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Displaying your collection

You can display your collection however you want and what suits you best. Here are some ideas that might help though. Some people separate out specific pieces in their collection and display them prominently on a mantle, coffee table or end table so that these pieces become conversation pieces. Be sure that if you display items this way that they are safe from children, pets or the innocent bump. You don’t want your collectible to be come a “raced version”

Another way to display your collection is using or making shelves around the home. A great way to help protect your cars on the shelf would be to place them in individual display cases to keep out the dust and unwanted finger prints. Again, make sure these are out of reach of pets and small children, accidents can happen.

A lot of collectors use curio cabinets and / or display cases that mount on the wall. These keep items out of reach from hazards and help to keep them free of dust. Add some special lighting and you have a great way to show off your collection.

Use creativity and imagination when displaying your diecast cars. Some people create mini display scenes to accent their diecast cars. Creating a race track or garage area with some detail is easy to accomplish. Tar paper roofing or shingles can simulate pavement. Green indoor/outdoor carpeting gives the appearance of grass. Checkered shelf paper can simulate a garage floor or victory lane. Photographs and scenes made on your computer can depict the surroundings as a back drop to give the display a little more realism. Scale props can also make your collection more attractive. Scale figures, gas pumps and tools can be purchased at your local hobby shop.

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