Michigan sees cloudy days with frequency, too. I used to live in central California, where I'd get an average of 300 sunny days a year.DrJeep wrote:We're not short of cloudy days in the UK!
I second the advice about the tripod. A small tabletop tripod can be had very inexpensively, and is really all you need to take photos of die-cast (unless you start getting into large scales or tractor-trailer rigs). One other thing I'd add is that, when photographing die-cast, avoid using the flash. It tends to wash out the subject.