Collecting nears addiction levels
Automobile fans of all ages attended Sunday's show and sale in Pitt Meadows
Rick Vickers (left) has been collecting toy cars for 15 years. He was one of the vendors selling off part of his collection at Sunday’s Greater Vancouver Toy and Collectible Show at the Pitt Meadows Heritage Hall. Attendance was low because of the rain, but Vickers still sold off more than 50 1/18th scale cars he brought. But he took home a sporty little red car and (inset) a Ferrari 599 GTO, to replace some of the ones he’s given up. Meanwhile, Talaya and Davin Higo (below) were at the show strictly to buy. At age seven, Davin already has more than 300 small toy cars, and his collection grew by about a dozen after his buying spree on Sunday. Eleven-year-old Emilee Ballantyne of Surrey, and her three-year-old dog Sparky, helped Grandpa sell toy cars at the show. Buyers were able to browse through more than 50 tables dedicated to collectibles – primarily toy cars – on the two floors of the hall.
Photograph by: Roxanne Hooper , TIMES
Rick Vickers' Maple Ridge home was getting overrun by toy cars.
In fact, he admitted his collection of 1/18th scale diecast cars was nearing addiction levels - and topped out a few years ago at 430 of the toy vehicles.
"Before, if I went shopping on the weekend, I came home with a car. at least one, sometimes three," he said.
Vickers has since scaled back his collection to a more reasonable number, displaying about 250 between his New Westminster office and the living room and den of his Yennadon home.
He started collecting the toy cars about 15 years ago, and said it remains an interest and enjoyable hobby, but it doesn't consume his life to the extent it did just a few years back - when much of his collection had to be stashed away in boxes and never seen because he simply had too many.
That said, he loves his hobby, and even shares that passion with his wife Lesley - who has a dozen or so of her own toy cars. Hers, however, are all pink and "girlie." She has a pink Cadillac, pink Corvette, and pink Javlin.
Now, Vickers usually only attends three toy shows a year - the ones held in his community, and he comes as a seller more than a buyer.
This past weekend, he brought more than 50 cars to sell, and was proud to announce to organizers at the end of the day that he sold them all.
Vickers didn't, however, go home empty-handed. He bought five new cars for his collection, including a 1935 Chrome Dunsenberg and - his new favourite of the day - a Ferrari 599 GTO.
The Greater Vancouver Toy and Collectible Show is hosted three times a year by Maple Ridge's Rick Tippe. It started out as an exclusive toy car show, but grew to include other collectibles such as comic books, dolls, trains, and sports cards.
The fall show was held Sunday at the Pitt Meadows Heritage Hall, and despite the rain and lower than normal attendance, several participants - like Vickers - were raving about the event.
Glenn Higo, for instance, brought his two kids to the show.
While nine-year-old Talaya is a sometime toy car collector, like Lesley Vickers only buying "girlie" cars, her little seven-year-old brother Davin is classified as the die-hard collector in the family.
He started collecting when he was two, and hasn't stopped since, still mezmerized by his father's small collection (of 20 to 30 1960s Hot Wheels cars).
At his young age, Davin already has a collection of more than 300 of the tiny toy cars, and enough track to run through every room in their Laity View-area basement.
The Higo family was impressed with the selection and prices at the local show, vowing to be back again.
This familiy has become regulars at the local collector shows during the past few years, buying cars for themselves as well as gifts - anxious to get others excited about the hobby, Glenn explained.
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Rick Vickers (left) has been collecting toy cars for 15 years. He was one of the vendors selling off part of his collection at Sunday’s Greater Vancouver Toy and Collectible Show at the Pitt Meadows Heritage Hall. Attendance was low because of the rain, but Vickers still sold off more than 50 1/18th scale cars he brought. But he took home a sporty little red car and (inset) a Ferrari 599 GTO, to replace some of the ones he’s given up. Meanwhile, Talaya and Davin Higo (below) were at the show strictly to buy. At age seven, Davin already has more than 300 small toy cars, and his collection grew by about a dozen after his buying spree on Sunday. Eleven-year-old Emilee Ballantyne of Surrey, and her three-year-old dog Sparky, helped Grandpa sell toy cars at the show. Buyers were able to browse through more than 50 tables dedicated to collectibles – primarily toy cars – on the two floors of the hall.
Photograph by: Roxanne Hooper , TIMES
