Collectors guide to die cast model airplanes: Makes, models, manufacturers, where to find them, and how to care for them - everything you need to know to pursue this hobby.
If you're looking for an item to collect, die cast model airplanes might be of interest to you. There are several different makes of airplanes that are made by many manufacturers. These airplanes are made of metal. They are also, as their name implies, made by casting the metal in dies.
In order to begin your collection, you'll need to decide what types of die cast model airplanes you're going to collect. That is, are you going to collect any and all types of airplanes? Or, are you only interested in die cast replicas that represent airplanes from World War I or II? Maybe you'll decide to only collect airplanes that are made by a certain manufacturer; the choice is up to you.
Die cast model airplanes are made by many manufacturers, such as Corgi, Air Command, Aero Classics, Herpa, In Air, Hot Wings, GeminiJets, and Armour (the Franklin Mint). Their prices start out as low as twenty-five dollars per airplane, and can go as high as a few hundred dollars for special airplanes. For example, GeminiJets manufactures a die cast model airplane that's known as the "Alaska 737-400 'Disneyland'. It's a 1/400 scale metal replica of an airplane. That means that this model is four hundred times smaller than the real airplane it's designed after. Most commonly, model airplanes are available in 1/64, 1/24, and 1/18 scale.
GeminiJets only makes twenty-five hundred or two thousand of each one of their regular products. That means, if you purchased one of these die cast models, that you would have one out of only twenty-five hundred of them, or just two-thousand! That could make your GeminiJet airplane pretty valuable right off the bat!
GeminiJets also manufactures their die cast model airplanes with careful detail. Their model airplanes look like clones of the real, full sized aircraft with their realistic landing gears, colors, and pictures.
Franklin Mint's Armour brand is one of the more expensive collections of airplanes. Their products are hand-made, and are even painted by hand.
You can also check local garage sales, rummage sales and flea markets for used metal model airplanes to add to your collection.
So, after you get an airplane or two, how do you store your new die cast airplane collection? You can store them in a curio cabinet or in any other sort of display case. Make sure that you place the cabinet in a cool, dry place in order to keep the airplanes in their best shape. One of the most perfect display cases would be a clear, acrylic box that is divided into compartments. Each compartment would be padded on the bottom to help protect the paint jobs on the airplanes from scratches. A brief description of each airplane could also be typed on a piece of paper. The description could be attached to the top of the box for easy identification. Storing your die cast model airplanes in this manner would allow people to admire your collection without handling them.
