There are a few rules to collecting diecasts …

Collect the Ones You Like
Collect the Ones You Want*

*The CARS corollary to that is …

(all together now)

Collect Them All.

Okay, you don’t really have to collect them, just collect the ones you want but because the Mattel Disney Pixar diecast CARS are so well done, it’s hard to resist.

But let’s start from the start.

The Mainline

As with most collectible lines, the MAINLINE is so named because it is the truckline-baseline-main-foundation of the line. It is the mothership from which all it all springs from. You might know them as “the singles.” These are the single CARS you see hanging on the pegs.

For instance, Lightning McQueen, the most important character.

While, his card design changes from year to year, he has not really changed until 2010. From the 2006 series to the 2008 series through ALL the releases, he is pretty exactly the same CAR …

The first three releases are the most straightforward.

By the end of 2006, there were 16 singles in the MAINLINE SERIES known as “the Desert Art” series unofficially.

By the end of 2007, there were about 41 CARS total in the “Supercharged” series in the singles collection. EVERY CAR in the Deesrt Art series was re-released on the Supercharged series card including @25 “new” CARS.

By the end of 2008, there were @75 CARS in the “World of CARS” series in the singles collection missing only SARGE from the previous series. Everything was re-released + some “fixes” + @35 new CARS. The World of CARS series is actually a solid starting place for those joining in who want a complete set of CARS as there were releases there not repeated in the next series, “Race O Rama.”

As they begun assigning numbers to CARS in the “World of CARS” series and have carried over that same assigned number to a particular CAR since then to NOW, it’s for the most part easy for the average collector to figure out what they are missing.

For the next level of collector, it should be noted that some CARS have been changed-fixed (aka: variant) such as FRED being re-sized but carrying the same number so the EXACT count of the singles is a difficult number to pin down since some collectors do not care while others do care.

For those who are interested in every granular detail, please buy our magazine which breaks each series down and lists EVERY RELEASE in the series. This post is a general overview and I’ll skip over some details.

By the time of 2009 and the “Race O Rama,” series, it was so sprawling and massive that it was too unwieldy to re-release EVERY single CAR over and over again – clearly, some CARS were better relegated to a secondary release line such as Pitty’s.

The “Race O Rama” series of 2009 is a fairly complete set with dozens of new CARS but unlike “World of CARS,” there were several main characters not released. So, again, for those who want a complete set of CARS, the World of CARS series is a good place to start and fill in the gaps with the Race O Rama series.

Now the most important change occurred with the yearly theme changeover in 2009 (it usually takes place around September-October). Mattel changed the MAINLINE to CARS with lenticular eyes.

(In the case of McQueen, there was also a change where they finally added a Rusteze decal to the back spoiler in the middle of 2009).

As a the gatekeeper of YOUR collection, it is up to you to decide how to proceed. You might decide to stay with non-lenticular CARS only or you may decide to switch to lenticular only or a mix of the two. It’s your call. There is no really right or wrong as it’s such a massive collection that it’s up to you to decide how to proceed. Lenticular CARS are much easier to collect as it’s available to ALL retailers and ALL resellers. You can order FULL SEALED cases from our advertisers (click on the banner ads) to save a trip to the stores AND it’s @$1.50 cheaper per CAR at retail (@$3.50 versus $4.99).

The continuation of the “classic” non-lenticular CARS has been designated a TARGET STORE ONLY item. For those following along, it has not very easy for the most part in trying to find them on Target shelves but that’s a different post. This series is called “The Final Lap.”

While there will be @40 NEW CARS released throughout 2010 (about 50% through so far), each case has only contained very few re-releases so of the @100 CARS in the series, it seems likely only about 25% might be carried over from World of CARS/Race O Rama so Final Lap is not a great starting point in building a complete CARS singles set – but it is a solid place to add CARS as 3-4 NEW CARS have been arriving on 3-week basis or so …

The CARS singles tree has TWO main trunks now – the “Classic” Series (with painted eyes) and the New Mainline with lenticular eyes.

(Lenticular 1.0 cards are grayed out to designate that that card design has been phased out though you will still find CARS with that design card on the shelves … and you either want to know or definitely do not want to know that the eye movements and position differ from the series we’re splitting up as Lenticular 1.0 and Lenticular 2.0).

So, again, the checklist from the other day lists the CARS numbered from 1 to 150 that are or have been released in World of CARS, Race O Rama, Lenicular or Final Lap.

(there are a few assigned numbers for CARS that has NEVER appeared such as N20 Cola Pitty #92 – it looks like it will be coming in a Box Set only – as it also seems likely most Pitty’s on single cards will not return in future series).

For openers, keep in mind, some-many of the CARS are available in other configurations such as multi-packs, with a launcher or as part of a Box Set, pretty much exactly the same CAR 99% of the time.

Or again, if you’re starting out – be sure and check in our TRADING FORUM and list your wants – if you’re an opener or what series you are looking for.

Other Series

Of course, CARS was once simple – the Mainline Singles and the multi-pack Movie Moments was pretty much it but it has gotten a lot more complicated with the megasize series (CARS not in the mainline single series), haulers and the Expanded Universe which opens up another can of worms of ‘to collect or not to collect’

Also note, there are “singles” released that are NOT numbered which includes all the Kmart CARS Collector Event CARS … so next week, maybe it’s time to update the everything everything checklist … or just put out a checklist issue of our magazine 🙂

And “Gordon (aka: Por356)” offers some shopping tips … THANKS!

Cars Shopping Tips

Be an informed shopper.  Read Take 5 a Day daily!  Occasionally review all of the forums.  There are often unexpected, interesting information and discussions on them.

Always search to the back of the pegs.  Double check if you have time, you may have missed something (was that Mater or One Eyed Mater you just passed up?)

Look around the toy section.  Stores will often have secondary displays in odd places (my Target sometimes puts a Cars display on the end cap facing the wall).  If you always enter and leave the toy section using the same route you will miss these.

If you are looking for holiday sets, they will probably not be in the toy area.  For instance, Target has a specific area for holiday themed items (candy, ornaments, etc.).  You will find the Cars Easter eggs and Christmas sets there in season.

Always look for “lay-me-downs” and “no-see-ums”.

Lay-me-downs occur when little Johnny picks up three desirable Cars characters and chases after Mom in the next aisle to beg her to buy them for him.  Mom, having had just about enough of Johnny’s wheedling for one day, says “No!”, takes the characters and puts them on the shelf next to the Barbies that little Suzie was crying about.  Since there are few clerks in the stores these days, they can lay there for a while.

No-see-ums (not to be confused with the small bugs down South) are desirable Cars characters that have been found by a knowledgeable but poor enthusiast.  In an effort to complete a collection he or she has semi-skillfully hidden the characters in a place where others might not be expected to look.  Of course, the plan is “only until I get paid next Friday”.  Just be careful not to raise the ire of the store staff by strewing the contents of the bottom shelf all across the aisle!

Always be on the lookout for the dreaded “swap out”.  This is where a person of low moral character buys Cars characters in a single or multi pak, takes them home, opens the package, swaps out one or more that they need with a substitute and then returns the package to the store for a full refund.  This has been the subject of more than one post on Take 5 a Day.  A subtle twist that is possible right now is for someone to buy a Final Lap character with fixed eyes (Jay Limo for instance) and swap in a lenticular version.  Even a collector might not notice until it was too late.

If you are confining your hunt to the big department stores you are missing some wonderful opportunities.  Cars characters show up for sale in some weird places.  Often you can pick up hints by reading about what others are doing (see tip number one).  I have made some of my best finds in Walgreens, Macy’s, Kohl’s, ALDI, Big Lots, and at swap meets.  It’s like finding diamonds in the desert.  Small Mom and Pop stores as well as supermarkets are also fertile ground.

The following tips are more for courtesy than necessity:

If you take cards off the pegs, replace them.  If you knock them down, put them back up.

Always leave the Cars section in better condition than you found it.  If cards have been taken off the pegs by someone else, take a little time and rehang them.  This is particularly important if you have your kids with you.  Tell them why you are doing it.  Set a good example.

Finally, never buy more of the rare or desirable Cars characters than you really need.  We all cuss the “Ebay-liens” who get up at all hours of the night to get to the stores just after the characters are placed on the shelf.  Then they put them up for sale at inflated prices.  But how is that so much different from another collector who walks into a store, buys four new releases of the same character (when he only needs one for his collection) and hoards the other three as “trading material”?  Believe me, I am not preaching here, I am looking in the mirror and not liking the reflection!