Angus Forsyth started out as a boy with a Dinky Toys Jensen FF (top right) and has recently become the proud owner of its full-size counterpart. He now keeps his 1:43-scale cars prominently on display.
owned and the World of Outlaws race cars that I dearly love to watch.” He also had a substantial collection of mint, boxed Japanese and German tin toy cars. But Don has made a point of repurchasing some of what he had as a child, specifically models of cars that meant something to him from that time.
He continues to collect models he likes in an assortment of scales, with a preference for 1:24 scale, which is likely traceable back to the scale of the kits he built as a child. Spread around his office and home are everything from a 1:43-scale model of his Bartoletti Scarab Transporter to a 1:8 Bugatti Type 35. Tere’s also a huge 1:4-scale aluminum-bodied radio-control Lancia D50, for display only (you’d have a tough time restoring that body if it got crunched!). Why models? “Most serious collectors today had and still
have models in their bedrooms and offices of the cars they wanted to own, did own or currently enjoy today,” says Orosco. For him, models are constant reminders of why he works so hard every day— to be able to spend his money on collecting and restoring the real thing. “It’s just that you can’t keep full-size hot rods and classic cars as reminders and incentives in every room of your house like you can with models.”
ANGUS FORSYTH is the Managing Director of Hagerty International Limited, a position he has held since the inception of Hagerty’s In- ternational division in 2006. Prior to that, Forsyth was with Lloyd’s for 22 years. His present collection consists of a Volvo P1800, Jaguar E-Type Series III roadster, early two-door Range Rover, Jensen Inter- ceptor Mk I and a pair of Triumph GT6s.
As with so many of the severely bitten car guys, it started early for Angus, and there was no turning back when at age six his father gave him a Dinky Toys Jensen FF. It was that very Jensen toy that ignited his car flame and served as the inspiration to one day own a 1:1 FF. Coincidentally, such a car happens to be the most recent addition to the Forsyth stable. Collecting and playing with the various little cars from Matchbox, Corgi and Dinky was a passion. “Every weekend I took my pocket
money to buy more of them,” he says. “I was also hugely influenced by TV shows of the day such as ‘Te Professionals,’ ‘The Man From U.N.C.L.E.,’ ‘Te Persuaders’ and
‘Te Saint.’” Naturally, most of the cars that co-starred in these shows were immortalized in miniature by the toy makers. Tough now in “battered and bruised condition,” Angus still has several of the Din- kys and Corgis from childhood, including the Saint’s Volvo P1800. Hmm…so that’s a Jensen and a Volvo—do you see a pattern here? Forsyth did build model kits too, but not cars. “For some reason,” he admits, “they were predominantly aircraft models of Spitfires, Mustangs and the like.”
And what of his toy or model collecting today? He is quick to say that he currently buys models of cars and events he has a personal con- nection with, such as the Mille Miglia. “I buy models, rather than old toys, of whatever strikes me,” he says. If he likes it he buys it—a simple philosophy that isn’t constrained by any particular scale or level of de- tail. As a result, his current model collection is eclectic (and growing), and contains an interesting and varied mix of Aston Martins, Healeys, Ferraris, Porsches and Lamborghinis, to name a few. Whether your collection is comprised of the entire Scarab racing effort, a handful of vintage Porsches or a 1970 Nova you love more than life itself, chances are you’ve come by your passions honestly. And that means the best way of all—through the toys and models of childhood.
To read about more collectors who started small, go to:
hagerty.com/smallbeginnings.
36 Hagerty Magazine |
HAGERTY.COM
PHOTOS BY LINZI SMART
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