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Post by oldirish33 on Aug 2, 2022 9:56:45 GMT -5
Good grief Jerry. I feel like a school boy in a sweet shop. How many years collecting is this? Many, many years, all my life actually. I think in earnest sometime in the late 80's. What an unbelievably thorough collection you have, Jerry! The 1942 Town & Country really attracted my attention! And also the Pink Floyd CDs… I love that T&C, such incredible detail. I'd like one in 1/43, but seem to be $$$. I find myself listening to Floyd quite a bit when I'm painting, or laying out diorama ideas. Notice the old ipod. You have to love old technology that still serves a useful purpose. 😀 There is so much to take in in each installment. And you have seen it all in person. 😃
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Post by 105epaul on Aug 2, 2022 12:24:57 GMT -5
Top notch stuff, wish my displays were as organised with the detail cards etc. I do have most of the Trans Am cars except the Cougars, who made those? I love the T&C too, that one made its way into my home as I couldn't resist it.
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Post by oldirish33 on Aug 2, 2022 12:42:34 GMT -5
Top notch stuff, wish my displays were as organised with the detail cards etc. I do have most of the Trans Am cars except the Cougars, who made those? I love the T&C too, that one made its way into my home as I couldn't resist it. Thanks Paul! The Cougars started out as Vitesse 1968 street cars. They have modified interiors with roll bars, aftermarket wheels and Pattos decals. Nothing fancy and certainly could do them again better. Surprised there haven't been any made by someone by now. Just like the Mercury GT40's, too obscure I guess.
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Post by DeadCanDanceR on Aug 2, 2022 18:26:27 GMT -5
What an unbelievably thorough collection you have, Jerry! The 1942 Town & Country really attracted my attention! And also the Pink Floyd CDs… I love that T&C, such incredible detail. I'd like one in 1/43, but seem to be $$$. I find myself listening to Floyd quite a bit when I'm painting, or laying out diorama ideas. Notice the old ipod. You have to love old technology that still serves a useful purpose. 😀 Yes, I’d also love one of those 1:43 Town & Country models but they’re certainly extremely expensive now! Cool, I’ve just noticed your iPod! I still have and cherish two of my old iPods!
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Post by oldirish33 on Aug 9, 2022 14:29:42 GMT -5
We resume our tour of the Old Irish Collection, where we will see some of the cases in the large bookcase in the shop and finish up at the Old Irish House of Ferrari. First stop is a small cabinet which contains my 1/43 Land Speed Record cars and Mercedes Benz W196 and 300SLR. Pay close attention to the Dinky Mercedes on the second shelf. It is one of two I had when I was a boy and those models above anything else launched my lifelong fascination with race cars and model cars. The result as you can see is an affinity for the Mercedes race cars from the mid-1950’s. At one point I restored one and gave it to my son before I started on this one. I realized that I didn’t want to restore it, its too much like I remember it after many years in the toy box. Next up on our Mercedes theme is this vignette I put together of the F1 team W196 STR cars (my favorite) and the Blue Wonder, with Moss, Fangio and Neubauer in conference. On top is the Ferrari 250GT SWB driven by Stirling Moss to victory in the 1961 Goodwood Tourist Trophy race. Sorry for the glare. Moving on, you see my homage to the Group 44 XJR-5 in various scales. Besides the Jaguar and Tullius connection, I saw these cars run in IMSA competition. I always seem to have a stronger affection for models of cars I saw race in the day. Sharing the shelf are some old cast iron toys (the oldest in my collection) that my great-grandfather gave to my great-uncle when he was a boy. He was born in 1985 and died in WWI, so they were toys he played with at the turn of the twentieth century. They were passed down to me by my grandmother and will be passed on to my daughter as family keepsakes. For the eagle-eyed, that is a Britains figure in the electric? Buick? Fangio and his mechanic ponder some mechanical question in the next case, as thy stand next to Fangio’s 1957 German GP winning Maserati 250F. You may wonder why there is a NASCAR in here. I drove this car at Texas Motor Speedway as part of the Petty Experience. I was disappointed that after putting in 30 good laps, no NASCAR teams called me. The model is a reminder of the day in 2007 I drove over 170 mph. Following this, is one more Mercedes Benz, this time the 300SLR driven by Stirling Moss to victory at the 1955 Mille Miglia with Denis Jenkinson riding shotgun. Don’t worry Mercedes fans, its not the last one you will see! I may have shown this before, but since it is both my largest and most expensive model, its worth repeating. It’s a 1/8 scale model of my 1/1 1954 Austin Healey 100 and is a bespoke model made by the now defunct Healey Toy Factory. It’s a true replica of my car from the driving lights and badge on the grill to the keyfob on the key in the ignition. Its much easier to keep than the 1/1 car was, but ironically cost more than the actual car when I bought it in 1977. On top are some small vignettes of the MGA Twin Cam on its way to Le Mans in 1960 & 61, as well as the Healey team car and rigs used to get to Le Mans in 1970. Did you know that the Healey-Repco XR37 and a replica of the 1954 Austin Healey Bonneville Streamliner reside in Australia? Next is a workbench which seems to become the catch-all for dioramas, as well as bits and projects waiting to be worked on. Above it is a case which holds driver signed models and a few other odds and ends on top of that. As you can see, I am using most available space, which is one of the reasons I keep talking about downsizing. Finally, as I hear a big cheer from down South, we reach the cabinet with Ferrari (mostly) with a few other makes thrown in. The Lancia-Ferrari D50 is the second most influential race car in my life and I have a fair homage to both the Lancia and Ferrari versions of the car on the top shelf. Below is my collection of Ferrari 250G GTO’s. Another car that helped shape my young mind about what a proper race car should look like. Below that are some of my signature pieces and a couple of transporters without a current home, so they slum among the Ferraris. The Ferrari 250P/275P is another car that I count in my top ten of most influential cars along with the Ferrari 312PB, which probably makes my top ten as well. That’s it for today. Next time we will explore the Le Mans winners, Alfa Romeo, Chaparral, Aston Martin and GT40 parts of the collection.
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Post by Tom on Aug 9, 2022 14:39:40 GMT -5
Your collection just works when displayed like this. I could look at it for hours.
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Post by Alfaholic on Aug 10, 2022 2:17:16 GMT -5
Rather than a cheer, how about a sigh of contentment while I raise a glass of Lambrusco di Modena to you, "DOC" of course.
The Ferraris are ace, but the Alfa transporter is the standout.
I have done a few V8 drive days at different circuits in Australia in Ford Falcons and Holden Commodores, not quite 170mph mind, but a whole lotta fun nonetheless. And like you,I am still patiently waiting for the phone call...
You are very different to my mental impression of you, judging by the 1/8 scale "Jerry" in the Austin-Healey.
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Post by DeadCanDanceR on Aug 10, 2022 9:41:45 GMT -5
I insist, your collection is absolutely amazing! The quality and variety of your models is really impressive!
I’ve said it before, the model of your Austin Healey is outstanding! And, I wonder what’s the story behind that Spock doll…
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Post by oldirish33 on Aug 24, 2022 12:00:46 GMT -5
Sorry, had to overcome a computer malfunction and subsequent replacement to get this thread restarted. I hope you haven't been hanging there in rapt anticipation. The garage where the big toys are kept is also home to a substantial part of my model collection. I try to have everything displayed here in general themes, with varying degrees of success. First up is the on of my oldest display cabinet which was originally a pie carrier for a company that went out of business. I took one and made a frame and plexiglass front for it. It now houses overflow, a couple of dioramas I am eventually going to build cases for, some overflow truck parking and the Army on maneuvers. The Castrol Jaguar one was my first serious attempt at making a diorama. Its a long story, but these two cases (the oldest I have) originally were in store displays for 8-track tapes. They became redundant in 1974 when I really started collecting diecasts and were converted to display models instead of the latest tape from Iron Butterfly. They are designed to sit on a shelf, counter or cabinet, but I have them mounted on the wall for now. They house part of my dairy collection as well as part of my London bus collection. At some point I want to get a custom wall cabinet that will replace these three cabinets and give me more room to display. There are about six more just like them up in the attic and will house my slot cars once we get the track built. Moving on, this case which is on top of a case, houses my JWA Gulf Porsche 1/18 transporter (they take up a lot of space!) Note the 1/43 transporters on top for size comparison. On top of that is my 1/18 Mickey Thompson Challenger II (my all-time favorite LSR car) and 1/18 Mercedes with Stirling Moss at the Targa Florio, which matches the print above it. This is our mascot Andy (the name on his uniform) who tries to stay out of the way and is successful most of the time. He stands guard over the collection. These wall mounted cabinets house my collection of Le Mans winners from 1923 to 1921. I am stopping at 2023. The second cabinet also houses my BMW 3.0CSL collection and a few other BMW racing cars as well. Next to these cases is my case containing Aston Martin racing and Briggs Cunningham race cars. To the right of this case is the one containing my Ford GT40 and Mirage collection, as well as my small Corvette ensemble and the continuation of the Briggs Cunningham cars. At some point I would like all the Cunningham cars together. Well that's it for today. Still plenty to come on our next sojourn. Stay tuned!
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Post by Tom on Aug 24, 2022 12:12:29 GMT -5
...
(Admiring in silence)
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Post by DeadCanDanceR on Aug 25, 2022 1:28:27 GMT -5
Stunning! 😱😱😱
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Post by csl143 on Aug 27, 2022 10:24:48 GMT -5
Really enjoy seeing your collect and how they're displayed.
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Post by WallOfCars on Aug 27, 2022 13:53:36 GMT -5
Almost speechless Jerry...and thanks for the Iron Butterfly mention
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Post by Alfaholic on Aug 28, 2022 1:56:11 GMT -5
Lots to like as always. How much do you pay that bloke to stand there all day in the overalls .
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Post by jager on Aug 31, 2022 7:07:28 GMT -5
Very inspiring Jerry. We share many cars in common, but unfortunately I only have 25% of mine on (revolving) display. I love the idea of displaying ALL my Astons, my Ford GT40s or my Ferraris in one place, but that might have to wait until the next (retirement) house. Potentially, that's only a few years away.
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