Collecting model cars is a growing hobby - and for some even a business - for boys of all ages. Hugh Oram checks out the market for this esoteric and mostly-male passion.
Not many children are into Dinky or Corgi model cars these days: computer games are far more popular. Instead, it's being left to adults, mostly male, to collect model cars. Psychologists can have lots of fun working out exactly why men in their 40s and 50s spend so much time bringing their childhood days to life again!
The most popular Corgi ever made was of the Aston Martin DB5 driven by James Bond in Goldfinger in 1964 - in case you're wondering, Corgi named itself after the British royal family's favourite breed of dog.
Collecting model cars is quite a complex hobby. First, there's the question of scale - 1: 8; 1: 18; 1: 24; 1: 43 and 1: 87. The most popular, 1:43, is called the collector's scale, giving the widest range of models. Most are diecast, while others come in kits to be put together.
At Mark's Models in Hawkins Street, Dublin, they explain that about 15 separate brands of diecast models are on the market. Every conceivable marque and model has been produced - ranging from cars to buses, lorries and utility vehicles. There are even five Garda vehicles in miniature - and, of course, lots of motorbikes.
The cheapest models cost about €5, but you can spend €200 or more on the really elaborate ones, such as the McLaren F1 on show in Mark's Models for €199.99. Mark's Models has two other outlets, one in the Dún Laoghaire shopping centre, the other in Cork.
Motorama Models in Bolton Street, Dublin, does only diecast models, including cars, trucks and buses.
Serious collectors work by theme, such as collecting all the models of one particular brand, models of cars that they have owned or models of racing cars.
One collector is a lifelong Rover devotee. He has never strayed from the marque and has also built up a collection of Rover models. Tourists, too, like to collect model cars and items such as Dublin buses and Guinness lorries. There's even quite a market in postal vans from around the world.
Paddy Murphy, of Murphy's Models in Wexford Street, Dublin, an importer and distributor of model cars, explains that the range is so vast that he can supply models of virtually any car built since the end of the 19th century.
He waxes lyrical about classic models from the 1920s and 1930s, the Rolls-Royces and the Bugattis, wonderful cars which are equally striking in miniature. Models of vintage cars form one of the many segments of the market, while vintage commercial vehicles are also very popular.
Models of Citroën 2CV car are very popular, says Paddy, especially with people with a yearning for the flower power days of the 1960s.
Collectors usually do not cross over from one type of model to another. A bus enthusiast is unlikely to be into police vehicles, while a car enthusiast won't be into fire engines.
There are plenty of kits on the market. Mark's Models has a rather large and splendid kit which builds into a 1:8 model of a Citroën 15/six Traction Avant, for €139.66 - this is the pre-second World War car which so epitomised Maigret.
There's a great camaraderie among enthusiasts and the shops which sell to them. If a shop doesn't have an item in stock, customers will be passed on to the next shop. An Italian tourist came into one shop, his heart set on a green Morris Minor. The shop had just sold its last one, so he was sent to a nearby shop which probably had it in stock.
In this mostly male world, wives, girl-friends and partners get only an occasional look-in. Male collectors heavily outnumber women in the hobby; middle aged women have other things to do.
The pinnacle in model-making in Ireland was during the 1920s and 1930s when the railway engineer, Cyril Fry, built a vast model of Ireland's railway system, complete with lots of miniature vehicles, including buses, trams and lorries. The layout grew so big that it engulfed his bungalow in Churchtown, Dublin. By all accounts, his wife was a willing accomplice. Today you can see the Fry Model Railway in Malahide Castle.
The Diecast Collectors Club meets in the Sandyford Community Hall, Dublin, once a month - its meets next on Sunday, July 28th. Each meeting attracts100 or more collectors. Des McGlynn of the club reckons that old Dinkys have taken a back seat; more modern diecast models are much more detailed.
Of course, not all models are static pieces. At the Model Shop in Capel Street, Dublin, you will find radio-controlled model racing cars powered by motor fuel or battery. They can reach speeds of up to 50 mph. The shop will even sell you a monster 1:10 radio-controlled model lorry, while it also sells all the bits and bobs for model cars, such as wheels.
The Internet is alive wwith model vehicles. Online I discovered treats such as the Dinky Toy Club of America and Club Dinky France.
The Internet is also used extensively for buying and selling model cars. On a typical US model car website, I spotted a Dinky VW Beetle in box condition for $100, while a Dinky London black taxi was going for $60.
In Ireland sales from shops, toy fairs and auctions are still very popular. But one shop manager told me that within two or three online sales have a big impact on the Irish market.
Model cars come up in auctions quite regularly, says David Herman of Herman & Wilkinson auction rooms in Rathmines, Dublin. Not long ago, he sold a small Dinky collection of agricultural machinery for €280.
Des McGlynn, son of Des McGlynn of the Diecast Collectors' Club, says that single cars can sell for €40, €50 or €60. The old tinplate models can be among the most valuable.
Interest is also growing in racing model sports cars. At the Lucan Model Car Club, about 20 members race 1:10 scale electric cars round the top car park in the Ryevale Tavern, Leixlip, every Sunday afternoon. Club chairman Brendan Lawlor explains that it costs about €350 to €400 to get one of these cars "on the road".
Mick Bolger is chairman and race director of the Dublin Model Car Club, which has been going for about 15 years. He's also secretary of the National Radio Controlled Cars Association of Ireland. The club has about 20 enthusiastic members. In winter, they use Taney Parish Hall in Dundrum and, for summer racing, they're looking for a new spot in Marlay Park, having been displaced from their old place there by the new motorway.
Mick Bolger says that model car racing is gaining in other parts of the country in addition to Dublin. It's being practised in such parts as Cork, Kerry and Monaghan and it's long been very popular in Northern Ireland.
It all goes to show that you can't take the child out of the man, even if boys don't play with their Dinkys much these days.