| Posted: Oct. 4, 2022, 12:48 p.m. | Updated: Oct. 4, 2022, 12:48 p.m. | 12 Min Read
Daniel Smith, of Borden-Carleton, P.E.I., has been a huge fan of Hot Wheels ever since he was a child admiring his father’s vintage set of original Hot Wheels from 1968, the company’s inaugural year. In the past decade, Smith has amassed over 2,500 diecast vehicles, with many of them from Hot Wheels, which he says offers the most varieties and the most bang for your buck. - Contributed
While he owns models from other manufacturers, the sheer number of available cars in Hot Wheels’ slate appeals to him. And much like how the trade name Kleenex has entered the language to refer to tissue paper in general, ‘Dinky’ has become a catch-all term for small diecast cars designed by many companies.
Hire owns over 3,500 items, but as a collector, he enjoys seeking “oddball” items and doesn’t have a particular favourite. Many people are familiar with Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars, having played with them as kids. But that’s only a part of a larger world of diecast automobile collecting. R&NDiecast, an online store based in Portugal Cove, N.L., is a specialty store that focuses on several brands you can’t typically find at a Walmart or Toys R Us. Many of these brands offer larger-sized models that offer incredible detail, including moveable parts such as windows.
Mitchell has one theory for why people enjoy collecting these cars: “It’s stuff they’d love to have in real life, but can’t afford it. It’s a way for people to own those cars, as detailed as possible, without paying $60,000 to $70,000.” Back in Lower Sackville, Hire said one such model that jumped in price was a recent collaboration between Hot Wheels and Gucci, a replica of a 1970s Cadillac Seville by Gucci. The model sold for $125 retail, but Hire has found it on eBay for over $500.