When does it become Collecting?

I had the house to myself this morning, so I took my coffee upstairs and ran the race cars. No timing, no tuning, just putting them on the track and riding around. I ran each car 20 laps or so, and as I went I started thinking about how many cars I had, and when does it become collecting? And what is collecting, exactly?

My race cars. All from Slot.it.

Slot cars have been around for a long time. Even from the early days, cars were modeled after the full-sized machines of the day. And over time, as slot cars got progressively more popular, more and more replicas were being produced. So it became very easy to put a collection of many cars on your track. When I was 7, 8 years old, I spent my allowance on HO cars for my track. I was always on the lookout for the fastest, most indestructible car I could find, so I could beat my brother at our version of racing. I got so many cars my mom gave me a carrying case for them. L&M Lola, #66 Chaparral, so many great cars. 

Fast forward to now, and while the scales changed, the attitude remained the same. The difference is that now I know why I'm like I am. Over the years I've been a fan of lots of different forms of racing. If there's a class of cars, I'm a fan of the racing. I like making things go fast, and slot cars fit that desire perfectly. Naturally one would gravitate more towards their favorite type of racing, mine of which is 60's and 70's Le Mans endurance cars. Something about that era of racing is just the most exciting, dangerous, crazy, intense, and absolutely death-defying. So that's why I have the cars that I have.

So when am I a collector? Each of the cars above was a gift, whether birthday or holiday present. We did it that way so that I wouldn't get too crazy with it. So I didn't. I was patient, and I think it shows. Eight cars isn't all that much in the big picture, especially compared to a lot of other slot car fans. Some fans have collections so big they need spreadsheets to keep control of everything. But when does it become too much to really handle? 

I'm starting to look at other classes and brands of car. Reason being is because I'm nearing a maximum on what's available from dealers for Slot.it Classics. Not that there aren't cars out there, but I'm looking for cars that are still widely available and not highly priced, as opposed to the high prices on some cars that are here and there. They exist still, as each car in that picture proves. But I'm also looking at other classes. I have a Group C car, and have started looking at more of those, especially the earlier ones. There's still good availability and I could probably field close to a dozen of the 956/962 today. 

The first rivalry. They're like my little babies.

I'm looking at other brands as well. Policar, a subsidiary of Slot.it, has a pretty nice collection of vintage F1 cars, as well as some very good looking classic Ferraris. And since the Policars have Slot.it parts, they may even successfully mingle with what's in my collection now. If not, then I would race them in their own class, which would mean owning at minimum 2-3 cars no matter which class I chose from.

It might seem like I'm being nitpicky, but I'm trying to field as wide a group of competitors as I can before having to split things all off. That's kind of why I'm not looking at GT3 or LMP or other classes. And while vintage F1 cars would never have run against Le Mans Classics, they could on my track, especially if they were similarly outfitted. There's also the aesthetic to think about. What you want to look at. What is important to you in your mind? 

Thankfully slot cars is a hobby that has enough for practically every type of fan. Cars perform better than ever, great stuff continues to be made, with loads of 3rd party cars coming out all the time. So there's always something to tease you out there. 

The next great rivalry, perhaps?

So to answer my own question, I guess I am collecting. I'm a collector. But I'm a racer. Every car I will ever own will be run on my track. And if it gets to be too much, where I can't find the time to satisfactorily tend to all the cars and keep them running great, then that's when I'll stop collecting. But by separating them into classes, I could focus on a batch of cars at a time, which might be easier. The races will be longer, but that's okay. I'm going to have more time to dedicate to doing that soon. There are a million great cars out there, but I know I could only handle so many before I have too many. Eight cars is working for me right now, which I'm happy about because I didn't think I would get past 3 cars for the longest time. But I can totally see having another 8 cars from a different class and doing the whole thing no problem.

Collector? Yes.

Collector of shelf queens that never are unboxed? No