Die-Cast Collector

I was able to visit the brick-and-mortar Boeing Store in St. Louis, MO a few weeks ago and the model I picked was the Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental with the Boeing sunrise livery.  The 747-8I was a derivative of the 747-400 but has a longer fusilage. It is the largest 747, largest passenger aircraft built in the United States and at 250 ft 2", the longest passenger aircraft in the world [ 1 ]. Model: Boeing 747-8I  Livery: Boeing sunrise livery  Manufacturer: Hogan Wings  Scale: 1:400  Length: 7.5"  Wingspan: 6.75"  Provenance: Boeing Store, St. Louis, MO ( boeingstore.com )  Price: $35 Note: has spinning engine fans. 

I added two more LEGO Ferrari cars from Shell to my collection: Ferrari FXX and Ferrari F40. These are sold in Shell gas stations in the Philippines for PhP 140 for every gas purchase of PhP1,500. The promo will supposedly end on November 30 but will be extended until December 30, so I will have time to complete the six. I am only missing the yellow Ferrari 458 Italia. 

This are not exactly die-cast toys but collectors may still be interested to get these. Shell Philippines, Ferrari and LEGO teamed up for the Micro Engines Mighty Power promo in the Philippines. For every PhP 1,500 worth of gas purchase (Nitro+ Racing, Nitro+ gasoline and Nitro+ diesel), one can get a LEGO Ferrari car for PhP 140 (or PhP 180 each if the gas bought is FuelSave.  There are 6 models to choose from: Scuderia Ferrari truck, Ferrari F40, Ferrari F150 Italia, Ferrari 458 Italia, Ferrari FXX or a Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta.  The promo runs until November 30.

The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body twin-engined workhorse. Starting service in 1967, the 737 became the world's best-selling jetliner. From a single version, it eventually expanded to nine variants. It competes directly with the Airbus A320  family.   The model I got is a -700 variant of Aloha Airlines, which was based in Hawaii. The airline, which started service in 1946, went bankrupt in 2008. The -700 variant is the first of the New Generation series, and it competes with the A319. It can seat up to 146 passengers.  The model was given as a pasalubong from a nephew who flew in from Japan.  Model: Boeing 737-700 Livery: Aloha Airlines Registration: N746AL Manufacturer: Gemini Jets Scale: 1:400 Length: 3.31" Wingspan:  3.38" Provenance: duty-free shop in Sapporo Price: N/A

I consider this the crown jewel of my fledging collection: the Virgin Galactic WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo.It was an arduous task to get this;  a few months I got an email from airlinemuseum.com that the model is available on pre-order, but it did not become available for shipping when I tried to buy one. I waited for another office mate, last month, to go to the United States so I can buy it and ship it to him.And the wait is well worth it. The model is very detailed and intricate; even the underbelly does not lack details.  WhiteKnightTwo is the "mothership" cargo aircraft manufactured by Scaled Composites to carry the SpaceShipTwo suborbital spaceplane which will be released mid-flight to fly into space .  Virgin Galactic plans to start the suborbital flights in 2013. It will fly 6 passengers and 2 crew members to an altitude of 68 miles, which is 10 miles higher than the boundary considered as  space, for each flight [ 1 ]. Model: Sc...

The two AirAsia planes, an AirAsia Philippines Airbus A320-200 and an AirAsia X Airbus A340-300, side by side. 

AirAsia, a low-cost carrier based in Malaysia, recently established a Philippine subsidiary. The new airline, which flies from Clark International Airport to several local and international destinations, uses Airbus A320-200 planes for its routes. The Airbus A320-200 is a narrowbody jet with a range of 3,300 nm. It can carry up to 150 passengers [ 1 ]. This model was bought in Toy Studio in MBK mall in Bangkok.  This is the  second AirAsia jet  in my collection. Model: Airbus A320 Livery: AirAsia Philippines  Registration: RP-C8191 Manufacturer:  Phoenix Scale: 1:400 Length: 3.70" Wingspan: 3.35"   Provenance: Toy Studio - MBK Mall , Bangkok, Thailand  Price: 1,200 baht