Classic cars are highly appealing to collectors because of their beauty and style. It’s not just classic motors that grab people’s attention, as a collection of model cars has recently been sold for £21,000. The set of 128 featured a variety of cars, including a pre-production colour trial Porsche Carrera 6 and arsenal of Batman vehicles. The motors ranged from the 1950s up to the 1980s.
The cars belonged to the founder of Mettoy, Charles Ullman. He started Mettoy in the 1930s, setting up factories in Northampton and Swansea. During the 1950s, the firm began producing its Corgi line of die-cast metal vehicles.
Ullman had built up an extensive collection and his grandson Phillip Ullmann had it auctioned by Vectis. The auctioneer described the set of “significant importance to the collecting world.” A large portion of the models were “straight from the factory floor” and “proved a big draw for collectors far and wide.”
When looking into the prices of individual items, there’s an interesting story to be told. A Batman gift box sold for £840, while a counter display box of Batman vehicles went for £768. The Porsche Carrera had an estimated price of £600, but sold for £960. A pre-production Mercedes 220 far exceeded its estimate of £60 by going for £744. Another set of vehicles surpassed expectations as well by selling for £696 when they’d been estimated at £80. A gold-plated version of James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5 had been estimated at £3,800, though it failed to sell.
Even though the Aston Martin failed to sell, the whole collection surpassed its estimate of £20,000. The Ullman collection is a great example of how classic cars aren’t the only type of motor that people are interested in. Model cars have a special kind of nostalgia that may remind enthusiasts of their childhood.
