jetske

I have a goal to collect 1 of every production Franklin Mint Corvette 1:24 available. For those of you that know me, I hope you understand that I acknowledge Franklin Mint is not the "world's best quality 1/24 scale car", as I understand the concerns about quality and tendencies for FM to repaint for the sake of marketability and sales.

Nevertheless, they were the first quality 1:24 Corvette builders and I've been collecting FM for years. And I finally had the chance to see and purchase the illusive 1969 Reverse Paint Apollo Corvette...ever seen one?

Here's the Original Franklin Mint 1969 Corvette Apollo LE of 427:


Here's the Reverse Paint Franklin Mint 1969 Corvette Apollo LE of 12:


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I'm so excited to get one of these...

FYI Here is a link to my FM Corvette collection: http://www.jetsvettes.com/collection_FranklinMint.htm

corvette-pilot

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...ghlight=apollo
Do a search in the archives diecast section. There are a few threads.

7Vette

Congrats on getting one, whomever sold it will probably regret it eventually. I'll bet you paid a pretty penny for it!

Tom/99

I 1969, I lived three blocks behind Jim Rathmann Chevrolet, where the Apollo Corvettes were origionally delevered. At the time I just thought they were just odd painted Corvettes. The service people, would test drive the cars thru the neighborhood.

03clyde

Nice acquisition.

one18Vette

Very cool .

jetske

Yep, I was part of this thread. That's where I learned of the car (thanks again to 7Vette for those first pics)... I thought I would never see one 4 sale.

jetske

Hey Man, you're the reason I even knew these existed! So thanks again!

But to your point about "regret" from the seller, I guess we will see. This guy put the car up with a "buy it now" of $100 more than the opening bid, which was very, very high (the most I've ever paid for a single car smaller than 1:1 scale). It was a 7-day auction and I first saw it, and bought it, with 6 days and 22 hours left on the auction. In other words: I bet he is wondering if any money was left on the table. And I'm cool with that because I was not willing to take the chance on losing the opportunity... I'm still thrilled to get it.

7Vette

That's quite a grab, I really never thought we'd see one on Ebay. While that's more than I could ever afford for a single car, I think as long as you had the funds, it was a wise purchase. My guess is that the seller needed the funds quick, and didn't fully appreciate the rarity of the car. I honestly think that considering what the regular versions sell for, this one would've gone much higher on a straight auction with no BIN. Now you need to locate the other 11 and corner the market!

jetske

I think it would have gone much higher, too. That's why I did not take the chance. Give everyone on ebay a chance to think about it and emotions set in and soon all reason is gone (...including mine). So since BIN was only $100 more than opening bid, the decision was only "buy it"...or "don't". And the price was not easly to swallow for me, either. Had to dip into a bit of the savings to pull this off, but feel like it had to be done.

jr9170

Tally Ho

jetske - Nice FM collection. I noticed you didn't show the 84 error car. I have one and the error is the roof halo is black instead of blue. I believe it was corrected on later releases. There are two versions of the 82 Collector Edition as well. The early cars did not have RWL tires. They were plain black wall. I have #791 out of 6759 and it has the black wall tires.

jetske

Hello Tally Ho,

Thanks for the comment on the collection. And you're right, I don't have the error cars/deviations listed. I am aware of those cars you mention, and there is also a '57 white-wall tire error version and several test-paint cars.

I went back and forth on this issue. I wanted to have a "complete" collection, but struggled with the issue of trying to define a set of cars that could potentially be...unlimited. Especially when you add in the prototypes and test-paints. So I made a conscience decision not to try to collect those models.

But perhaps for accuracy sake, what I need to do on the web site is add notes about the deviations? Hmmm…that might work in the short term. Then maybe I’ll just have to break down and start buying them. Darn.

countslav

Just wondering....do you play the lottery.....


Sweet score...

JJ Deuce

sweet. I've always loved the Apollo 12 Corvettes. I've seen the remaining one a few times in Austin. Beautiful car.

Congrats on a nice score!

jr9170

I gotta get me one them Apollo 12 vettes.

jetske

Since I put a picture of this car and info on my web site, I've had several people ask about it and a few offers asking to buy it. One guy was pretty adamant and I wanted him to go away so I shot him a stupid price of $4,500. And he called me on it saying "ok". While that was going on, I was corresponding with another (really nice guy) collector in Australia. He also found my website and sent me an email asking about this car, too. He has literally every FM Camaro and Corvette except this one. He offered to match the $4,500.

Can you say...I'm about crapping my pants? I have two legitimate offers on the car and I'm not even trying.

I don't want to sell mine because I want the car for my Collection. And I had to apologize and back out of the first offer. But...if anyone out there has one of these and you want to make some serious cash and sell in this price range, PM me and I will send you the names of the guys who want one. While there are only 12 of these cars in existence, I'm still in shock.

Oh and yes, I told my wife about the interest in this car and she sees an opportunity to get some extra "shoppin' money". Ha...nope.

7Vette

Kinda makes that initial investment not hurt quite so bad now, doesn't it! I'd be willing to guess that there are many people out there with deep pockets who would be willing to go even higher. If I were in you're shoes, I'd take the car and some documentation (initial purchase, subsequent offers, and anything else you can find about the car's rarity) to your insurance guy and see about getting it insured. It may not be covered under your regular homeowners insurance.

jetske

Yes, insurance is critical. Good suggestion that applies to anyone that is serious about collecting something. I have a special policy for my collection (outside of homeowners) but the amount is understated and out of date. You are correct, I need to make sure I'm covered given the recent addition.

Once gain 7Vette, you get the credit for educating me on the existence of the reverse Apollo. Someday if I sell I'll have to send you your percentage.

7Vette

I'm easy to please, I'll settle for a Big Mac & fries...