TripDeuces

Friend came over tonight and gave me this. 1966 Toronado, 1:18 scale. I'm not sure if I should leave it in the box or take it out. What do you think? It's one heck of a scale model, very detailed. A true Thanksgiving!

Allan R

Who are you kidding Trip?
You know the value of an Oldsmobile is playing with it.....not just looking. Get it out of that box!!

rocketraider

I'd display it out of its box. Mid-price diecasts like this Toronado are common enough that they aren't appreciating much if at all. Even Danbury Mints aren't holding value like I would have liked, but as most of the enjoyment of these is being able to display and handle them, I say set it out where you and others can enjoy it. My trouble is I have too many of all makes and have to rotate them out in the display. So I still end up having to keep their boxes to store them when they're out of rotation.

Just be sure to set it out of reach of kids who won't understand the difference between a collectible and a toy.

I used to have to be really careful about my plastic models back in the day because of that. A cousin's 9-year-old kid was determined he was going to play with the models I'd painstakingly built and I had to put them out of sight if they were coming over. Even then he'd ask about them and pitch a fit when I wouldn't let him have them. Little bastard actually sneaked back in the house once when we were all outside, and took a full-custom 49 Mercury that I'd forgotten to put away off the TV. When I went in after a drink I saw him in the floor with it and it was pretty much ruined. I probably had 60 hours of work in that model, all destroyed in minutes.

That was the only time I have ever laid hands on somebody else's kid. He went running outside bawling to his mama and daddy and I finally told his daddy if he didn't shut his face I'd beat his *** too. I was one pissed-off 17-year-old that day- pissed enough that my own parents knew better than to even say anything to me. Mama said later that was the first time she'd ever seen my eyes flash like my Dad's did when he was almost-out-of-control angry.

Yeah, some may say he was just a kid, but I had been through this with him a dozen times or more to leave my model cars alone because they were not toys, and he sneaked inside to get it. By nine years old, he should have developed a little respect for someone else's stuff.