[MRE]

In my experience there are broadly 2 types of collectors. One is the enthusiast that never parts with anything and so builds up a "collection" of whatever their interest is - this includes all of the above posts, cars raced, cars built, particular scales, genres of cars (F1, Le Mans, etc), one or more brands, time periods, and many more themes.

There is also the obsessive collector - one who decides to search out and obtain cars of their interest. Hence we have people with complete sets of a brand - you will see obsessive collectors proud to say they have every car by Cox, Revell, Scalextric, Ninco, whatever.........(inserts your favourite here). Their cars are typically stashed away, kept in as mint condition as possible, and they have often driven up perceived prices when they search out the more elusive models.

So who is the real collector ? Having cars you really like for whatever reason is great, you can use them or display them, and the variety can be immensely interesting. Having every Monogram or Fly car (often in multiples) hidden away gives personal pleasure.

The downsides ? No real disadvantage for the collector of cars whose stash has grown through enthusiasm and personal interest, enjoy your cars and the fun you get from them. But, the obsessive collector has been shown to be misguided at times. Many accumulate cars with the assumption they will be a financial asset, and in many cases this is true. But witness the huge variation in values as economies fluctuate - for example the buyers of expensive Fly cars some years ago (and there are many of them) now find it hard to even give some models away, let alone achieve the prices they paid for them.