No, really, it’s fine. It’s under control mostly; my wife hasn’t threatened to leave me and there’s no need to call for help.
And you may ask: How did I get here? Like many obsessions, it started innocently enough, some 20 plus years ago, with a 1/43 Alfa Romeo 155 DTM, and it has progressed and expanded in phases. Following that initial purchase, I thought it would be fun to celebrate all the odd (by American standards) automotive conveyances my dad brought home, which propelled my searches on eBay 1.0 and every specialist retailer near, by, or in any city I happened to be in.
[Note from The Bishop: Everyone, please meet Carlos Ferreira; a professional designer, Alfaholic wrencher, and professor at Art Center College. Don’t worry, he won’t bite, but if you have a something like a 1/24 scale Peugeot 504 sedan he might pester you to buy it constantly. Ask me how I know.]
As in any epic quest, I encountered the unexpected many times. In looking for a model of say, a ’74 Renault 12 wagon so I could repaint it in the same cinnamon metallic and rainbow rocker stripes scheme as our own, I found scale models of charming small delivery vans and three-wheelers and micro cars and obscure sports cars, in the process expanding my already nearly encyclopedic knowledge of nearly useless automotive esoterica. One quirky and totes adorbs kei car seemed lonely without another 1 or 12 to keep it company, so I found myself running several searches simultaneously, setting up alerts on eBay and other sites.
As you would expect, I also put out BOLOs on models of the cars in my personal fleet, past and present, registered or not. (If you’re starting to suspect that I don’t have a ton of exotics and run-of-the-mill 911 variants in my collection, you’d be correct. I have no time for the beige Corollas of the model car world when there are Tatras and Daihatsus to be acquired). After amassing a collection of 1/43s, it was easy to gateway into 1/18s and other bigger scales, and so it continues to this day.
I Blame My Shrink For This
There was a time when the stress and long hours of being a Design Director on a skeleton crew starting up a west coast design office was affecting my sleep, made me anxious and generally unhappy. My shrink at the time, who appropriately enough, looked like Santa Claus, suggested doing something just for myself, like a hobby, perhaps something I used to do as kid to reconnect with my childhood, etc, to which I resisted fully, because I am proud and always know what’s best for me.
Santa threatened to put coal in my stockings so I gave in and bought my first model kit in many years — since I was 14. It was, predictably, an Alfa — a mid 90’s GTV, to be precise. He demanded proof of my commitment to the therapy so with a glass of two buck chuck in hand, and some Zero 7 in the background I set about sanding, painting and gluing, and something wondrous happened: I could literally feel the pressure and anxiety draining away, like the result of a powerful mental health enema. I had my first fix in many many years and it bit hard. Realizing the cost savings over psychoanalysis (umm, sure) I said “see ya sucka!,” cancelled all my sessions and started amassing kits, which is another tale to be told.
The Accelerant Impulse Item
I was a weird kid, which explains why I’m a weird adult, although I hide it well, I think. I’ve been obsessed with realism and accuracy of my toys since the middle of my single digit years. I outgrew Matchboxes early and scoffed at Hot Wheels with engines sticking out of the hood or stupid graphics (I’m looking at you, flames!). I even got into sand box fights over the mixing of scales during group playtime.
My derisive perception of cheap 1/64 scale toy cars was upended whilst in the checkout line at a Target in the yearly 00’s; I noticed how nicely detailed, proportioned and well-made $1 Hot Wheels had become! The paint was smooth, shiny and even, the wheels were more realistically scaled, the interiors and visible mechanical components finely detailed, and egad, many were in a single, tasteful color! So, I bought one…and then rinsed and repeated, and so on and so on. More on that at a later time.
Managing It All
Collections are pointless if not managed and curated, I say, so as mine continued to expand in every direction like the universe after the Big Bang, I knew I needed to develop a system that would be easy to use. There was some software kicking around but none suited my needs, so I created a system of templates involving Quicken, DropbBox, Photoshop and file tags. Every new collectible I buy is entered into a Quicken file so I know when I bought it, for how much and where.
The entry includes a standardized description of the item that begins with scale, manufacturer, vehicle year, then make, model and specific information about any series, colors, liveries, etc. This description is used as the file name for photos of the collectibles added to a visual database, which also adheres to a standardized format. The naming system not only makes it easy to plug in info, it also looks very tidy when viewing files in list mode. Uh, yeah, I have a slight OCD streak.
My system allows me to easily find any collectible I own, searching by file name content or tags on my desktop computer. The standardized image format also allows for a quick and neat visual of any items in the collection, so I can view any subset instantly without physically digging through the vault, curating virtual group displays if you will, on a whim. Having my database on DropBox also gives me access to it anywhere to compare bought and unbought items, to make sure I’m not buying duplicates or just impress strangers at parties.
Storing And Displaying My ‘Investments’
I’ve seen some crazy blokes on the web that let their collections overwhelm their homes and I’m not one of them, because, well, I’m not an animal. I can also stop anytime I want. Nope, you see, I’m a mildly obsessive compulsive spatial designer so I could never have an entire wall of say, GI Joe vehicles in their boxes stacked like bricks against the wall. Due to my home’s compact dimensions which already require a Tetris mindset to storage solutions, I vowed to establish approved model car display zones and rotate displays, like a mini museum, with the majority in dust proof cabinets.
I’ve tried to curate as much as possible; below you can see cases reserved for things like commercial vehicles, Citroens, and Saab.
Dioramas appear to be the next logical step to my madness:
At any given time only a sixth of the collection is featured, with the rest obsessively organized and catalogued in my loft, which looks like a miniature version of the end scene of Raiders of The Lost Ark.
It is imperative that I can find any item via my database and physically retrieve it easily, in several minutes at most, so I strive for consistency of box sizes and type, into which cars are sorted by scale, then type, than alphabetized marque. Of course I’ve designed graphically cohesive and consistent color-coded labels with silhouettes illustrating the contents.
Ah, but what about the unassembled model kits I mentioned earlier? I still have space remaining in my home for The Pleasure Room (or Room of Shame, depending on who you ask) to attempt to build these things, but when you insist on Photoshopping gauge clusters that are about three millimeters tall and paint the radio station selection buttons on dashboards the size of postage stamps the process is pretty slow. At the current pace, if I don’t purchase any more kits (HA!) I should be finished with constructing them all by the time I’m 286 years old. No problem!
You Too Can Do This!
I’ll never be able to own all the real fantastic transportation machines I want, especially since I keep discovering more and new ones are unveiled every year. Hell, the Peterson Museum’s expansive collection has 6642 fewer full-sized cars than I have scale vehicles. Managing my own six-1:1-scale-car household fleet is already challenging enough, psychically and financially, so I buy miniatures that I can create my very own Cars & Coffee meets with.
The plus side is whenever I throw them back into the pond, I rarely lose money, and in most cases earn a profit, sometimes considerable, at least percentage-wise. And there isn’t a downside I can think of, really, not at all! Just think, for a few lease payments on a boring gray-scale crossover you too can be a Jay Leno of model cars! If you live with a spouse or partner, a cooperative one is essential, however. I’m very fortunate to say mine not only tolerates my affectation but is an enabler, eagerly diving into bins and proposing additions to the horde. She’s also a designer and it turns out has excellent taste in cars, full size and miniature. So join the club! None of the cool kids are doing it, but that’s because they’re not really as cool as they think they are. Pfftt, I bet none even know what a Renault 12 wagon looks like.
Alas, I feel I’ve already revealed too much, but yet… there are still so many more layers to uncover in a journey into the deep rabbit hole that is the mind and domicile of an organized hoarder, but I’ll leave that for the next confession.
Carlos Ferreira is creative director and environmental designer with a BFA from the College for Creative Studies. A professor of Spatial Experience Design at Art Center College, Carlos lives in Pasadena with his wife, six cars (four of them Italian, four of them running) and four cats (none Italian, all of them running).
Here’s Why Hot Wheels Is Finally Introducing A 1985 Proton Saga Hot Wheels Car – The Autopian
Hot Wheels Has Never Made A Brubaker Box Toy Car. It’s Time To Fix That. – The Autopian
This Mysterious Chevy S-10 Conversion Van Is Like A Hot Wheels Car Come To Life – The Autopian
I feel like it’s time to revisit my HO truck collection and build a few. I also need a display case so my wife quits complaining about dust.
Do it! Dust is the bane of my hobby. I’ve spent considerable effort sealing up cases and cabinets I’ve bought. Not only is dust unpleasing to look at, but whenever I’m dusting and cleaning, no matter how carefuly, even using make up brushes, I always manage to dislodge or break something.
I’ll have to try that, I’m also going to build something esoteric yet attainable, a 1/8 scale Krauser MKM from an old Japanese kit. The engine and suspension are 70s BMW but wrapped in a trellis frame made by Messerschmidt
Funnily enough I’m reconnecting with a hobby of my youth: climbing stuff. I can’t climb on trees as an adult so I took on rock climbing. It’s good for the soul.
I love video games, particularly the cartridge based systems of my youth, but there are lots of great modern games as well. I have an example every home console Atari and Sega ever released in the US. I also have most of Nintendo’s offerings and so forth. I’m also still acquiring with the most recent being a Vectrex.
At some point I realized I needed documentation for two reasons. Some of this stuff is actually valuable now and also so I don’t end up duplicating. Hence The Spreadsheet (not to mention pictures for insurance). Do others have larger collections? Of course, but this one is mine. Cartridges take up space. As do controllers and consoles.
I did most of this at a house less than 1,000 square feet. When I moved to a city with lower property values, I nearly tripled the available square footage. The collection, of course, grew more to fill the available space. That’s what happens. Ask anyone who collects.
I have a relative handful of larger models (and nothing particularly special or valuable), but started a spreadsheet of my 1:64’s (I’m up to almost 800) last year. No valuation considered, but where I could get it, included details on stuff like who the designer was (because I still have all of them from when I was a kid, Larry Wood is still designed most of my collection), when it was designed and built, and some of the basic mechanical details. It also sort of validates that my peak acquisition period was the early 90’s (when I was a kid), although it’s been picking up again in the past few years, now that I’ve got a
n excusekid of my ownOh, wow. This is making me need to catalog my Puffalump collection.
Currently, most of the 90ish? Puffalumps are just kind of…around. Chillin’. I really should keep track of the design prototypes, rare ‘lumps and other wonderful things. I love ‘lump.
I may have to interview you for when I write my book on collecting
Hell yeah. Always here to rep the ‘lumps.
“You Too Can Do This!”
Ummm… no thanks. My house has too much stuff in it as is. I’m working on reducing the stuff I have… LOL
But where’s the fun in that? But yeah I get it. My world is a constant struggle between the forces of collecting / hoarding and the moderately minimalist designer.
I fear for your life and bank account once you discover Pocher 1/8th scale model cars.
Especially the classic (pre-bankruptcy) models kits. If you can find a factory sealed Rolls Royce Torpedo Phantom II Convertible you’ll be blessed with a kit with 2,905 parts, wire wheels made from individual spikes, a plastic engine with operating crankshaft, pistons, camshaft and valves all connected by timing gear (that you’ll never see)… brakes that work by a system of levers and the pedal, even seats made with leather upholstery and springs.
If you opt for their newer kits, such as the Ferrari F40, you can find a Transformation Kit – aka “Transkit” that adds surreal detail to it. Someone recently released a Transkit for the Testarossa that adds level of details such as an opening air box with filter, removable oil filter, valves in the heads, and reproduction of the mechanical fuel injection… not to mention leather seat covers, real glass for the gauges and a working shifter…
I have a Pocher Testarossa coupe, and just picked up a Testarossa Spider. Both need to be restored, and the restoration will probably take as long as a real car would take me and cost about as much as one of my “I bought it because it was cheap” project cars…
Even my insanity has limits!
The Pochers are jaw dropping, but luckily for me I’m only fully stimulated by more esoteric machinery. Thankfully, I doubt Pocher will ever make a model of a Fiat 128 Sport Coupe. I have been tempted by some less demanding 1/8 kits from Monogram of 80’s stuff, like a Corvette or Z-28.
Enjoy your builds. Those kits are works of art.
The Monogram 1/8 scale kits are really nice. Nowhere near as detailed as the Pocher kits, but you can get good results. I built a Z28 Camaro when I was a kid, and I have another one waiting to be built, along with the ’78 Corvette and the E-Type (which is a really nice kit, everything opens, nice wire wheels, wiring kit, etc).
I also have another Monogram IROC Camaro “glue-bomb” that I got for cheap, waiting to be converted to RC. 😉
Carlos,
I have a small shelf that I’ve been trying to populate with all the vehicles I’ve ever owned at 1/43 scale. Thankfully this is a small number (just eight)!
What are the best resources to find relatively “normal” die casts or models in 1/43 scale so I can complete my selection? I’ve owned some popular-but-pedestrian vehicles and I’ve had extreme difficulty determining if A) either a die cast or model was made at all and B) finding where I might be able to buy them.
Thanks in advance!
Welcome young padawan! Your quest is a noble one, but beware, lest you fall prey to the Dork Side! Ahem, right…
Luckily for you the scale model market has exploded since I first started collecting, and even models of pedestrian but lovable cars (some of my favorites, TBH) can now be found with a little effort. The irony is that a model of a daily driver is often much more expensive than a one of an exotic.
My first go-to is ebay, as it will give you a pretty broad cross section of what’s out in the world, new and old / used / out of production. The prices on ebay are often quite inflated, so do a web search for the specific manufacturer / model you’re looking for and compare prices. You have to be willing to buy from abroad also, which is no biggie nowadays.
Different sites often cater to specif niches. For example, for JDM I go to Hobby Link Japan and AmiAmi. For euro stuff, try House of Model Cars in Holland. American cars have been historically harder to find in 1/43 unless they’re muscle cars, but there is a French company called Altaya that’s making Maverick, Probes, Cougars, AMCs etc.
Good luck!
I’d always had Hot Wheels, etc. since childhood, but it was during covid when i decided i wanted to own a model of each car i’ve owned (also 8), and that’s how my first eBay-addiction started… Carlos pointed to great sources & manufacturers, there’s also Burbank’s houseofhobbies.com and modelcitizendiecast.com – Happy hunting!
Yeah, nah, this is cool as hell. My own model car impulses mostly get handled through LEGO or Gunpla. But I still watch a fair amount of car model assembly on Youtube…
Welcome, Carlos! Quite an impressive debut in my eyes. I hope you’re already writing the follow-up articles. I have multiple questions about what the vehicles I see are, but I’ll limit to asking about the 3-wheeled safety-orange angular vehicle in the middle of the 2nd of the 3-picture groupings. Reminds me of a CitiCar, but only 3 wheels.
And, the level of detail in your modeling is insane. By insane, I mean I’m in awe of your patience and level of control with a bristle: that’s fine work there.
Thank you so much! Yes, my obsession is a multi-layered onion with many narratives yet to be peeled away.
The orange car you refer to is a Bond Bug 700ES 3 wheeler, made from 1970 -1974 by Reliant, the same company that made the Robin, which Jeremy Clarkston loves to flip. As the name implies, it was powered by a 700 cc engine, later upgraded to a massive 750cc power unit.
Ah, ok: that name is familiar, so I’ve seen or heard of it.
Thanks for the reply—and I’ll be looking for your byline 🙂
It’s so great that you can actually display this stuff. My comics and my wife’s Pez dispensers are similarly documented, but they’re all in bins in the garage.
Impressive system (and collection). My father in law collects N scale trains and has been talking about making an organization system since I met him 10 years ago. Although the past couple of years it has been more of a system to sell them off since he is realizing that now being in his 80s it is unlikely he will actually build his long talked about module. I’m sure that this too will amount to nothing and we will end up selling it for a fraction of its (imagined) worth when he goes.
Side note: Get rid of your stuff when you are still alive. My step mom and I had to get rid of tonnes of my dads stuff as he slipped into dementia and I’ve spend the past year slowly going through his and some of my grandparents stuff. Don’t be “I’ll get to it later” people. Your kids do not want most of it. I’m just very grateful that my step-mom and I were on the same page and she had a plan for after my dads death that involved a new start with minimal stuff. All his “display” cars went to my kids who play with them. I kept a box of books and as I read them I put them in random little libraries. The other stuff is just stuff.
My wife asked for a Swedish death cleaning book last Xmas, even though we are only in our 50s and (hopefully!) have multiple decades left on this plane of existence.
https://www.amazon.com/Gentle-Art-Swedish-Death-Cleaning/dp/1501173243/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3337B9JQ2M8A7&keywords=swedish+death+cleaning&qid=1699903081&sprefix=swedish+death%2Caps%2C194&sr=8-3
1:18 scale cars were always a staple of my Xmas list, but now I’m at the point where I don’t really have room to display them anymore so I’ve sadly limited myself. My wife is cool enough to have two display cases with them on the wall and that’s about as much as I’m willing to push the issue 🙂
I get it. I put the the brakes on 1:18s early on because of the space issue. I can only justify large scale purchases if it’s something I find really special, like an Alpine A310 or a Toyota 2000GT, and they have to be of very high quality to make the grade and have opening features. Lower costs brands like Bburago and Maisto are tempting, espcially since they’ve gotten so much better over the last few years, but the restrcitions are enforced (usually).
I have no more room for my 1/43rds. I have 200+ in an 1100 square foot condo. I love them but had to stop.
I have ‘collecting tendencies’ that I have to fight regularly. My grandfather got into hoarding later in life and I do wonder if there is a genetic component. My wife puts up with me searching through flea markets for antique cast iron skillets but does put in a few gentle reminders that we really don’t need more than a couple.
I don’t fully understand why people collect, and sometimes I think I’m nuts and even get annoyed with myself for doing it, and with the effort it takes to be OCD about it. I’ve been thinking about writing a book about it, which would require research, and I may end up collecting other things so I’m a little scared.
I wonder if it goes back to the ‘caveman brain’ collecting food for the winter. Probably a bit of how you were brought up as well. My grandfather was born in 1918 so his formative years were during the Great Depression and that can have a lasting impact. My father was always afraid to throw things out and I am sure that came from being brought up by his father. I am that way to some extent as well.
I am deeply impressed with your organizational skills for your collection!
I have a small apartment with 9.8 meters of shelf space devoted to my ttrpg collection, and am constantly arguing with myself over how to organize and group them (system, publisher, genre, era?). Though if I’m being honest that’s a lot of the fun of collecting, so don’t really want to change that!
Thank you! As someone mildly obsessed with organization, the cataloguing of the collection itself is part of the fun and highly therapeutic.
“I even got into sand box fights over the mixing of scales during group playtime.”
Oh man, do I feel this in a real way.
I wasn’t QUITE as picky as you as a kid, Matchbox and Hot Wheels were fine for me, although I much favored Matchbox. Early/mid 80’s Hot Wheels’ axles would bend if you looked at them funny, while the Matchboxes had a nice sproingy suspension and could take all the pounding I could heap upon them in my playtime. I very much favored the normal/realistic cars, as opposed to the wild and crazy or fantasy ones.
I currently have some 1/12 scale cars sharing case space with my 1/24 scale and it makes me a bit itchy every time I look at it.
At least those are not close. The closer the difference in scales, the worse it looks to have them next to each other.
But still, not great.
That’s my frustration with mainline Hot Wheels, Matchboxes, Tomicas et al that are 1:64-ish. In reality the scales are all over the place, so I calculate the actual scale on purchases that don’t have it indicated on the packaging or the model, and enter it as a tag on my database. This way I can display cars that are the same scale, or close. Mostly though, I think of inexpensive ‘toy’ cars as nice sketches whereas the larger accurate scales are technical drawings. My designer brain needs to justify everything somehow.
Yeah, that’s fair. A lot of collectors refer to them as 3″ scale, since they’re really scaled to the packaging.
In my mind, there needs to be some physical barrier to separate the two worlds they exist in, ideally.
Great article!! And I’m envious of all your Panhard models! I have an actual Panhard (a ’54 Dyna Z) in my driveway but oddly no scale models whatsoever, a situation I should rectify tout de suite… in any case, welcome to this site, anyone with multiple cars *and* multiple cats is a good one to have here.
OMG! I love LOVE Panhards! I dream of owning a CT 24 someday…
Hopefully you’ll achieve your dream! All of the air-cooled Panhards are truly a joy to behold (& drive!)
The finned drum brakes that protrude through the wheels blew my mind!
I’m glad that you specify that your cats are in running order [laughing emoji here]
It’s a misleading statement actually. Two out of three are mostly parked throughout the day, and like some old cars, they occasionally drip something I have to clean up.
As a crazy obsessive model car builder (Not collector, BUILDER. I will 100% get around to building the 150 or so kits in my stash as well as the inevitable 10+ kits per year I add to the collection. Yes, I only get through about 5 builds per year. My math doesn’t work? You know what doesn’t work? Your FACE! Sorry, where was I? Anyway…) I appreciate the challenge of trying to organize your life and collection so people don’t come over to your house and look at you as if you’re a small child making “vroom-vroom” noises on the carpet while clutching a sticky Hot Wheels in each hand. My finished builds are all over my small(ish) house in either lit display cases or small single-car cases with wood bases and acrylic domes. Clear acrylic risers in the big display cases give additional display space as well as adding some drama to the presentation. It’s important to me that my hobby features in the overall habitat I’ve created for myself. It’s great to see someone else who has decided to let his hobby have its proper place in his home instead of treating it like an embarrassing relative locked up in an attic room.
I have been building model cars for 40+ years now.and my interests in the hobby have changed as my tastes have evolved. Recently I’ve moved on from 1/24 to mostly 1/12 scale models… I just finished Italeri’s awesome new 1/12 Bugatti 35B as a mechanically-restored “barn find” car. 1/12 is a great scale, but it eats up display room fast. I’m currently shopping for a new display case as my next several builds will eat up any display space I have left.
Building model cars taught me patience as a kid and constantly reminds me of the importance of patience as an adult. On every new project I try to implement some new skill or technique (salt weathering, working with real leather, etc.) and in the course of researching my projects I learn more about the automotive world that I love. I have a collection of cars to rival the best auto museums in the world, and each car has a story to tell.
Thanks for the article, Carlos.You have a wonderful collection and it’s awesome that you’ve shared it with us!
Logic!!? We don’t need no stinkin’ logic!
It used to bother me that I wasn’t building my stash fast enough, but I realized stressing about it defeated the purpose, so I talked myself into just liking the fact I have it for some day, like a detailed scale beacon of hope. Also, sometimes I like opening the boxes and going through the sprues and parts, appreciating the details, imagining what it would be like building it.
I feel much the same way about tools. Just imagine what I could make with this! (because I won’t actually make it) (I might)
I’m constantly buying interesting / unusual tools that I might use some day. It feels very good when a year and a half later I find a reason to use it. Smug is more like it.
Wonderful article! Not only impressed by the craftsmanship and precision of your collection, but your organization skills as well. The Saab shelf alone had me drooling. Airplane models were my thing back in the day. My parents gave me free rein of the attic crawl space and I had hundreds of models hanging from the roof rafters. I also expanded the floor space using plywood over the ceiling rafters and created four airfield dioramas (1 WW I, 1 WW II, 1 50s prop era civil airport, and one late 60s jet era airport). Nothing that compares with the scale of your operation, but my own small contribution to OCD.
Thank you!
I share your obsession, but nowhere near on the same scope: I have about 90 unbuilt model kits, from 1/43 scale all the way up to 1/8 (including a Pocher Ferrari Testarossa that I’ll crack into the day after I retire), a couple dozen built models, about 50 RC cars (mostly restored ’80s originals), and a few diecast cars here and there.
The therapeutic value of building models is something I know well. Slow-paced, meticulous work like that is ideal for helping your mind focus and getting rid of the clutter of the day. Even when I only have half an hour to sit down at my workbench and fiddle with something, it’s the best half hour of my day.
I’d love to pick up one of those Pocher TR’s some day. Looks like it would be more fun than wrestling with their classic car kits, plus there’s a TON of upgrade stuff out there.
What are those parking space storage solutions on the desk? I’ve gotten really into 1:64 scale models lately and am running out of space on my desk, I’ve also recently resorted to some sort of rotating display, but it would take a lifetime for me to reach this level.
It’s a semi-custom thing I made a while back. It’s an off-the-rack monitor riser that I designed parking lot inserts for and installed an LED strip into. I tried to sell them a while back but was only able to shift one : /. It will be a rare collector’s item some day I’m sure!
When we moved to our condo I had a custom display case/bookcase that holds the bulk of my collection. I have a crap ton of books of all kinds, and all together that piece alone cost $5K.
There are bookcases in every room expect the kitchen and bathrooms.
Please tell me I can buy that parking lot monitor stand somewhere. Because I need it desperately last week.
See reply above : )
“It is imperative that I can find any item… and physically retrieve it easily, in several minutes at most…”
I can’t even do that with at least one of my actual cars. I really do need to trim those blackberries.
Wow. I’m hugely impressed.
I don’t have it anything like as bad/good as you, and I’ve mostly managed to back it down to just the cars I’ve owned and worked on, in 1:64ish and 1:43 mostly, and not enough in 1:24, which is my favourite scale. I’m down to a few hundred, so no need for a database.
Anyway, do you have a Nissan S12 Silvia hatch or a 2006 Lotus Europa S in 1:64? My mistake was having a theme, and now there are gaps that bother me.
I have a nice Kyosho Europa in 1:43 in mild racing trim, and a bunch of Matchbox versions that are actually 1:64 (I measured). The Silvia hatch, which was was called the 200SX in the US is on my hit list of 80’s Japanese hatchback coupes. Several second gen Supra variations and a Starion are keeping a scale parking place warm for it .