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In the mood for music?
Simply pull out the antenna for the radio.
For comfortable sitting in the rear, fold out the center armrest and quickly close the convertible top - for the sake of the leather upholstery, because it looks like rain.
All this is possible in the Mercedes 600 Landaulet - even in an 18 times smaller version.
The novelty from the model car manufacturer CMC, which can be rolled across the table in front of you, has its price: around 900 euros.
The enthusiasm for small cars does not have to make you poor.
Andreas A. Berse, editor-in-chief of the specialist magazine “Modell Fahrzeug”, registered a small economic upswing in the scene during the corona pandemic.
Many are inevitably long at home.
Andreas A. Berse is editor-in-chief of "Modell Fahrzeug", which has been reporting from the world of model cars as a specialist magazine for over 30 years
Source: dpa-tmn
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"Then you notice again how nice it is to have a hobby," says Berse.
“This is how sleepers were woken up, too,” he says of everyone who has now rediscovered their old passion.
Model cars in the nursery
The well-known manufacturers have now understood that they also need price ranges for pocket money.
“If the model car doesn't arrive in the children's room as a great thing to play with, then in ten or fifteen years we won't have any more collectors,” says Berse.
Because usually the excitement starts right there.
That was also the case with Berse, who, like so many others, played with cars from Corgi, Dinky, Matchbox and Wiking.
"At some point this childhood phase is over and later maybe family and other things will come," he says.
But at some point some people remember and as a memento buy their first real cars as models and put them in the showcase.
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If you have tasted blood then, it is best to look for a collective topic.
Because the offer is simply gigantic.
“You can't collect everything at all, that should be beyond any budget,” says Berse.
It's good to have an affinity.
“Perhaps you've been to the volunteer fire brigade or you want to collect blue-light vehicles because you just think they're cool.” Or you like racing, a certain brand, or you choose a yardstick to start with.
Structure or anarchy when collecting model cars
“A collection like this is ultimately a fingerprint of a personality,” says Berse.
“Of course, I can also be a pure esthete and just collect what I like.
It also has such an anarchist component. "
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But there is one nice rule: a structure in the collection makes you happier in the long term.
Otherwise, budget and space limits can become a problem.
Fine, so structure.
Theme?
Do we have what is missing?
The scale!
That ensures comparability.
“I can see how big the S-Class is compared to a Golf or a Beetle,” says Berse.
In Germany, the 1:87, 1:43 and 1:18 scales are particularly popular, but there are also coveted “in-between sizes”.
Scale 1:87: This Simca 1301 S made of plastic comes from Herpa and can park in the showcase from around 14 euros
Source: dpa-tmn
Most of the bodies are made of a zinc alloy and are manufactured using the die-cast process.
Manufacturers are also using synthetic resin more and more frequently.
That makes mold making easier and cheaper.
Even smaller quantities pay off, which also increases the variety on the market.
The 1:87 scale is relatively small.
“It fits the classic H0 Märklin railway,” says Berse about the four to five centimeters long cars.
Most suppliers like Wiking make them out of plastic.
Schuco has a metal series made of die-cast zinc.
In terms of price, many start at less than 10 euros.
Spark, on the other hand, uses resin and sells finely decorated racing models for around 30 euros.
The detailed models from Herpa in a special box can also cost 25 to 30 euros.
Models and toys
Typical toy cars from Hot Wheels, Siku or Matchbox are scaled down 1:64, which is also very popular in the USA.
With the basic models, however, the scale is not always exactly right - after all, the garbage disposal has to park in the same box as the VW Beetle.
The approximately eight centimeter long cars roll into the children's room or on the shelf from around 1 to 2 euros.
Some cars from Schuco subsidiary Majorette come in more detail, some with rubber tires and moving parts, for around 5 euros.
Companies such as Greenlight also reproduce models from well-known films for around 10 euros even more precisely.
Cars with a scale of 1:43 are twice as large as H0 (1:87).
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“A Golf is around ten centimeters long,” says Berse.
Cars from IXO or CMR start at around 20 euros and are mostly made of die-cast zinc.
But handcrafted models can also cost up to 400 euros.
A BMW M1 Warsteiner in 1:43 scale from Spark Model for approx. 65 euros
Source: dpa-tmn
Here and there doors or hoods can also be opened, but that is the exception.
The Minichamps company is particularly known for its scaled-down racing icons.
Manufacturer Spark also produces niche models, for example from lesser-known starters from the Formula 1 fields of the 1970s.
1:24 is on the rise again
Miniatures are around 20 centimeters long when they roll forward in 1:24.
“The scale is on the rise again with us and actually comes from plastic model making, but it is also very large in America,” says model vehicle expert Berse.
You can get beautiful specimens here for 15 to 20 euros.
“These are sometimes model cars that grandma brings for her grandson,” he says of models that often bridge the gap between toys and collectors' models.
Typical providers are, for example, Bburago, Jada, Maisto or Welly.
If you like it bigger, you can use the 1:18 scale.
The Italian company Bburago developed the benchmark in the 1970s and is still very active with it today.
Depending on the model, the cars are around 25 centimeters long and fit in a shoebox.
In the 1:18 scale, some manufacturers are already implementing functions such as opening doors for the small wallet (Porsche 956 in 1:18 from Solido for approx. 45 euros)
Source: dpa-tmn
"If you are interested in technology, you can often look at an engine here, open doors and hoods and look at the chassis - you simply discover a relatively large number of features," explains Berse.
Very detailed models can be found at low prices from around 45 euros, for example from Solido, where doors or hoods are often movable and the models are well painted.
But manufacturers such as Autoart, Maisto, Minichamps and Norev also cavort here.
Model cars for almost 1000 euros
Among the most expensive models on the German market are those from CMC with often over 1000 parts.
They show filigree details at watchmaker level, have hand-polished paintwork, leather seats, realistic wiring and thin wire-spoke wheels.
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The small works of art often cost around 900 euros.
“Chronograph-quality cars,” as Berse calls them.
However, individual providers like to turn even larger wheels and often offer reductions in about 1: 8 or 1:12.
The cars are between 40 and 60 centimeters tall.
Leather-lined cockpit with finely chiseled instruments (Mercedes SSK Trossi from CMC in 1:18 for approx. 500 euros)
Source: dpa-tmn
Here, too, the range extends from relatively cheap types in the three-digit range such as CMR, Spark and Norev in 1:12 to four-digit amounts for models in 1: 8 from CMC, Minichamps or Spark.
The finer the details, the more sensitive the cars are - which may then no longer be suitable for children.
The manufacturers then write on the box for collectors' models aged 14 and over.
This resine Mercedes 540 K rolls off the worktable in only 50 units worldwide at a scale of 1:43 and costs around 260 euros
Source: dpa-tmn
And some even add extra tools such as small suction cup grippers so that the collector can open the doors or the hood of his model safely and undamaged.
Model cars: great fun, small returns
Are model cars also an investment?
Berse is rather skeptical: "It should be a great hobby that you can have fun with and also exchange ideas with others - any increase in value should be secondary."
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The problem: There are often only ten rare and sought-after items among 150 cars.
The bottom line is that the profit is likely to be very manageable.
With current models, high increases in value should not be the rule.
"So I can only warn against starting the hobby of model cars with new goods in order to make a financial investment," says Berse.
However, aspects such as a limitation can actually increase the value.
It is important to note that the limitation that the packaging or model should show is not too high.
This is often what small series manufacturers offer who reduce their vehicle fleet in 1:43.
Category old toys
Anyone who looks at an investment could look at so-called vintage pieces, such as old tin cars.
"There are still price increases in there because these things were built in very small numbers," says Berse.
Basically, this applies to everything that was sold as children's toys up to a certain time but was not yet collected at the time.
Despite the large numbers, very few of them have survived “mint and boxed” - that's what collectors call the almost perfect condition in the original box.
"That was just played with," says Berse.
The box can be worth just as much in a very good condition as the model itself, because in the past it was often simply thrown away at some point.
A mistake that collectors should no longer make today.
Special editions, for example from racing sponsors that do not go on sale, can also increase in value.
“Something like that can be like a blue Mauritius,” says Berse.
In order to acquire the relevant specialist knowledge, the expert and collector advises researching in Internet forums or, if possible, visiting specialist fairs and special auctions - then, in addition to enthusiasm, the sociable side of the hobby will not be neglected.
Made by hand: A lot of high-quality model cars have to be assembled by hand, almost at watchmaker level (Mercedes SSK Trossi from CMC in 1:18 for approx. 500 euros)
Source: dpa-tmn