Overwhelmed by NASCAR die casts.

[Southern Fried]

I apologize if this is not  Model Cars Mag subject. I don't know where else to turn.

My Bother -In-Law passed away in March of this year. As he had no other relatives living, I "inherited" everything he had. He was into NASCAR , for reasons I never knew, from the mid '90's until the mid 2000's.

While trying to administer his estate, , take care of his Widow, and deal with the VA, OPM, and other Government Agencies, it was pointed out that there were several "Storage Rental" facilities, where items had been stashed. Among tons of personal effects that were stored, I came across 7 large plastic "tubs" that contain nothing but NASCAR products. Seems that every 1/64 scale car, 1/43 car,and 1/24 scale car, and ANYTHING NASCAR related item for that era were bought. 

Transporters, pit crew dioramas ,clocks, signs, even "gloves" are there. Not just "carded" cars, but high dollar, Limited Edition, carefully boxed, highly detailed, editions. Both 1/64 , 1/43, and 1/24.

I started an inventory, and Internet search of what I could sell these at, and give to his Widow. I researched Ebay, and several other sites. I finally gave up at the 400 count mark, and am sure that there will be over a 1000 of articles/cars here, or more.

In no hurry to to sell these off, with the amount of work that will be involved.

My thoughts are just to seal them up...stow them...and let my Kids/Grandkids deal with it when I am "gone".

What say ye?

 

[martinfan5]

There is nothing wrong with being a NASCAR fan

[1930fordpickup]

I agree Jonathan , that is unless  you are a not a fan of my favorite driver. LOL 

Nasca stuff is not as hot as it once was. But the right stuff is still worth selling. You are on the right track by doing the research. 

[Daddyfink]

First and foremost, sorry for the loss. 

Dealing with a Model Builders/Collectors collection is a very time consuming affair. I have helped two families dispose of such collections and it is not easy. Lots of work and time goes into getting rid of what took so long to gather. 

It is a labor of love. I did it because they where dear friends of mine, otherwise I would have wished them luck and moved on. 

Do what you feel is right, if you wish to pass it on, then do so with no regret, and if you choose to deal with it, be very patient. 

Just my thoughts

[chunkypeanutbutter]

Sell it as a lot to a collector.

[Longbox55]

Sell it as a lot to a collector.

Not necessarily bad advice, with perhaps a few changes. Most fans/collectors will only collect items for "their" driver. If the collection is multiple drivers, it might be better to separate it out by driver, and sell it in lots that way. Also, be aware that some of those items might be common items that may not bring much. There's also some issues where the market got glutted, even on the "limited production" items, simply due to demand, or in at least one case I know of, a factory mistake. In that particular case (the Earnhardt pink '56 Ford), a car was released with an inaccurate paint job, so a second run was made with the correct paint job, and they produced at least double the amount of them that the first run. Unfortunately, neither are very valuable, the first run due to the paint, second run due to the overproduction.

 

[Southern Fried]

Thanks for the replies. I didn't mean to imply anything wrong with NASCAR, it's just my Brother -ln-Law would get into a subject heavily, then usually get burned out and get into something else.He had a great income, and no children, so he pretty much spent what he wanted to.

It had never occurred to me about driver dedication. That would be a quicker way to sort this stuff.

There are some really detailed and cool cars that I will keep, but I have also thought of donating them. There is a local Childrens Home here ran by churchs's that I am going to check with to see if they have younger boys. , plus the Toys For Tots organization at Christmas. Even if they have no knowledge of NASCAR, I think they would like to have them just to play with.

Again, Thanks for your replies.

 

[BigTallDad]

... I have also thought of donating them. There is a local Childrens Home here ran by churchs's that I am going to check with to see if they have younger boys. , plus the Toys For Tots organization at Christmas. Even if they have no knowledge of NASCAR, I think they would like to have them just to play with.

 

Your thoughts about donating them are very admirable! As a suggestion, have an estimated value in mind for tax purposes.

[thatz4u]

you might try to have a large NASCAR auction, in your area the stuff  would sell well. 

[Longbox55]

 

There are some really detailed and cool cars that I will keep, but I have also thought of donating them. There is a local Childrens Home here ran by churchs's that I am going to check with to see if they have younger boys. , plus the Toys For Tots organization at Christmas. Even if they have no knowledge of NASCAR, I think they would like to have them just to play with.

 

 

That is a great idea! However, you might what to check the cars out first. Anything Winners Circle, as well as the smaller scale Action cars would be fine to let the children play with. But the bigger scale Action cars do tend to have smaller detail parts on them (some even have photoetch parts) that may cause an issue if they're played with. Perhaps with those, maybe do an auction for the higher value items and make a donation to the childrens home?