Antique stores and art galleries are two things I really enjoy. In downtown Wichita, Vertigo 232 is on the second floor of a building that also houses Shopkeepers Antique Mall. Even better, you have to enter the antique store to access the stairs up to the gallery, a situation that gives me opportunity to browse the cases for cars.
While delivering work for a recent show in the gallery, I saw four cars in the case. I tend to resist buying from antique stores – as opposed to garage sales – because I feel like someone else has made the find for me and I’m paying extra for it. But, at $2 and $3 each, these cars weren’t too bad a value. So I told myself that if they were there the next time I came in, I would pick them up. When I came back to the gallery at the end of the exhibition to pick up my work, the cars were still there. So I splurged.
I still have a bunch of nice Tomica models from my childhood, so I’m happy to acquire more when I’m fortunate enough to find them. The Tomica Maserati Merak SS and Porsche 928 are both red and both from 1978.
Tomica | 1978 | F45 | Maserati Merak SS | red with black trim | 1/62 | Japan | 5-spoke wheels
Tomica | 1978 | F53 | Porsche 928 | red with cream interior, opening doors, unpainted metal base | 1/63 | Japan | 5-spoke wheels
The Race Case Etc. 