AGE DEMOGRAPHIC OF FORUM MEMBERS?

[motorman]

Reg, (Fixer) kind of prompted this thought....

Wouldn't it be interesting to know the age demographic the the Forum members?

It would certainly be reassuring to see some younger members on the forum absorbing all this knowledge being passed down from the older generation of collectors, for without these youngsters becoming interested in our chosen hobby then what is the point in us preserving our individual collections.

Perhaps Nick could enlighten us about the age range of the members of this Forum (without breaking any confidentiality stuff).

I personaly am trying to encourage my son Dylan aged 5, to take up an interest in collecting diecast. He is perhaps to young to appreciate the complexities of collecting and the obvious pitfalls, but already he is using terms such as mint, original, boxed, and beater. Soon, i plan to educate him on the different wheel variations that can be found on RW and SF so he can start to learn the terminology used. I just hope he will continue what i have started. I think it is a wonderful Hobby and i would love to share this interest with my son as he becomes a man and i become a pensioner!!!

[nickjones]

I guess we could always do a survey, I will set one up tomorrow when I'm a bit more awake.

[mbox2000]

MM, I have done the same with my grandson, age 6. I gave him his first case of 48 mostly common minters which he loves and won't let his friends play with them. Hopefully he will continue the passion as he gets older also. That's my plan anyway. My collection has to go somewhere, and I would hate to see it sold off for no good reason.

[radar]

Let's just say I played with Series 1 models as they were released.

Interesting topic. Demographers say it takes 30 years for something to come back into "collector vogue." Take 1-75 Matchbox as an example. Ubiquitous in the 50s and 60s - few survive in relation to their production numbers. The original owners grow and are immersed in marriage, mortgage, school fees and career. Little time and money to pursue a hobby.

After thirty years maybe financial capacity increases the desire to collect and bookmark these childhood memoirs - many of us do it. Therefore the demand of many chasing the few mint boxed pushes up prices.

In general terms that is what the Demographers suggest. I've seen toys like Smurfs - I consider recent - come back "in" with collectors.

Went to a recent Meccano display - one or two junior modellers but most of the guys were as old as my Dad. We have pre-war Black and white 8mm footage of Dad and his brothers with their meccano cranes and trucks.

Do any kids collect stamps anymore?

[Tinman]

Do any kids collect stamps anymore?

I don't think my grandkids know what a stamp is or what it's for. Have to admit, it's rare to see one on any mail these days. If they do collect stamps, there's not much joy in it for a kid. In the USA, the process involves signing up with a program and waiting for a prepaid envelope to arrive (and there are no stamps on the envelope, only inside lol). The very generic "Forever" stamp has taken over for domestic and overseas mail and it's even difficult to buy a less common stamp at a post office.

[radar]

Hi Tinman from Melbourne, Australia.

I know there is a Melbourne in Florida - named after ours.

I just ask about your avatar which I can't enlarge - it is similar to iconic Australian Vietnam War photo, often seen in black and white.

Coincidentally we are on the subject of stamps and this picture featured on an Australian stamp.

Don't want to get too personal - feel free to PM me if you like.

Regards,

Ray

[Ewan]

Interesting topic this one. Most hobbies with which I have had any kind of interest seem to have a 'who will keep this going when we're gone?' moment. As far as I can tell the most popular era for 'collectables' at the moment, certainly those with any kind of transport theme is the 1960s. I was very interested in railway modelling a few years ago and one of the largest mail order companies always has a section showing their Top 30 selling items for the previous month - almost without exception they hail from the 1960s. Those that don't tend to be from the 1970s. This would suggest that the demographics people are a bit early with their 30 year rule - maybe because people are now having families later than they used to? One thing I have certainly found with my other hobby (buses ) is that when I am researching an era outwith most people's living memory I am pretty much on my own.

I guess there are 2 different angles to come from when you start Matchbox (other brands are available...) collecting. I'm 40 so if I was nostalgic about my toys I'd be collecting 'fantasy' Superfasts which I don't. I'm more nostalgic about 1:1 vehicles and many of the cars and trucks I remember are in the Regular Wheels range. Thankfully for people like me things got a bit more realistic again in the late 70s so there are quite a few Superfast from that era that I like too. As I'm more into trucks than cars the SuperKings range also appeals and there aren't really the same gaps in real vehicle representation that you find with the cars.

Then, to completely blow all the demographic theories out of the water, there is the Yesteryear range. I doubt if many YY collectors have seen many of the 1:1 versions outside of a museum or show. My favourite YY models are the ones of steam powered vehicles, yet I don't remember the real things and never had the toys. There's more to collecting than pure nostalgia, yet it certainly plays a part - curious!

[Tinman]

I just ask about your avatar which I can't enlarge - it is similar to iconic Australian Vietnam War photo, often seen in black and white.

Regards,

Ray

My avatar pic (which has been seriously downsized to use as an avatar) is a still shot from a short bit of film taken with an 8mm home movie camera. My pic features the Big Red 1 in action. I don't have a bunch of footage of such scenes because if you've seen one LZ, you've seen them all. As you may know, if there is green smoke; might be time to catch some film. If there's red smoke, no time for film (or much else) and you just pray you get in or out without "incident." Many of such scenes look pretty much the same!

I was downed in October of '72 (not all aboard survived). I have a vivid memory of everything that happened right up until impact. There is a big hole in my memory for a couple of days afterwards. I suffered what is now called a traumatic brain injury and it cut my tour short. While I recall nothing after impact, I was told I was one of the first up and moving and that after we got the last of the injured out of the Huey, that I collapsed and passed out. I chalk it up to that adrenaline rush, it gives even a small man the strength of two. One thing I remember before the impact was a statement made during training: "From the moment this thing (a helicopter) comes off the assembly line, it has one goal ... and that is to kill you!" Never were more accurate words spoken.

Once I returned to civilian clothes, I made three promises to myself: Never again work in wet boots, Never work all day in the rain and never - ever get into another helicopter as long as I live. In 1976, I was in a bad auto wreck (VW bug VS semi-truck). I regained consciousness at the scene when fire-rescue was cutting me out of the mangled VW and I watched a life-flight helicopter land in the road. I asked if it was for me and was told yes. I refused to be loaded aboard and insisted on land transport. After some shouting and very strong language/words on my part, the helicopter was sent away without me.

In 2005, I went to a famous air show in Lakeland FL with my brother in law. We are both pilots and so we got to go down onto the flight line. They had a beautiful old Huey that we checked out. The moment I sat in that thing my heart started racing, my blood pressure rose and I got the shakes. I had to get out as fast as I got in. After talking for a bit with the pilot, I was invited to ride along when they did their low level fly-by for the crowd. My reply was "absolutely no thanks!" It took all I had to even get inside and just that was a little too much for me. The mere sound of that particular machine in flight brings back a flood of memories.

Ironically, besides that crash, I've lived through two C-47 "incidents." One crash on take-off and one dead stick crash landing. Most everything to do with that time is a subject I rarely talk about with anyone who is not a vet from that conflict or a pilot. I recently opened up a little to my youngest daughters fiance. He's a pilot for a large cargo airline and in the last couple of years he also trains for them and KAL. He was very interested in the three crash incidents. I told him if he took me to the pub and he bought the drinks, I'd tell him about it.

I've kept only a hand full of photos of my time with the Army and had one 8mm film put on DVD. I have the one dress uniform hanging in the back of a closet. There is a box of medals and insignia in the back of that same closet. A couple of times I've come close to throwing all of that stuff out but my oldest daughter asked me to keep them.

I've seen my life flash before my eyes too many times. It changes a person and not always for the good. I've made peace with that part of my life and I've overcome some demons that I watched consume others. I consider myself a fortunate and lucky man. I consider every day on this earth a blessing, a gift. Like all of us, I am the sum of all the incidents that have shaped my life up to this point.

It's no secret that I've several ex-wives and my history has made me a sometimes difficult person to live with (fortunately, I've mellowed with age). My current wife is a famous Canadian ballerina who also spent several years working in the circus. She now spends her days in court for JP Morgan - Chase. She's been on the cover of magazines, featured in newspapers and on television. I've met my match and she doesn't take any crap from me ... but I am so lucky she understands me (she and I are only days apart in age). She is smart, always motivated, strong (in so many ways) and can hold her own (I can't imagine her ever being a frail old lady). I've already typed way too much (sorry to all who read this). So, that's all I've to say about that avatar and those days. As for my demographic; put me down in the 60 to 70 year old generation.

[motorman]

Hats off to you Joe.

I cannot imagine the horrors of war, but the first 2 paragraphs of your post are so shocking to read, that i greatly admire your courage to have been able to deal with the horrors that you must have seen first hand.

[Dr Jazz]

I enjoyed this reading Tinman!! thanks for sharing!