Art was always somewhere in the background. I started with pencil drawing, had a brief affair with music, and eventually found the thing that stuck: photography.
I like making things look the way I see them in my head. Photography gave me the right set of tools for that, and over time it became much more than a hobby. If you want to see the other side of my work, you can find it at Eris Art Photography.
Love what you do. Do what you love.
So why is a photographer running a website about miniature cars? Because Diecast Model Fever is where two of my favourite things meet: classic cars and photography.
I would happily collect full-size classics. There is just one minor problem: real cars are expensive, take up a ridiculous amount of space and eventually require something close to an aircraft hangar. Die-cast cars are cheaper, easier to store, they do not care about the rain and — as a bonus — they do not need waxing.
Most of my collection sits somewhere between 1937 and 1990. There are newer cars too, but my attention nearly always drifts back to the older stuff. Modern cars can be faster, safer and technically better in almost every measurable way, but the cars I remember are the ones with their own shape, odd details and a bit of personality.
Around 90% of the collection is 1:43. I also have a habit of making exceptions for 1:18, 1:24 and 1:35 whenever something interesting appears, so the word “rule” is doing quite a lot of work there.
The model is small. The photograph doesn’t have to feel small.
The pictures on this site are not meant to be simple catalogue shots. I photograph the models much closer to the way I would approach a real car — controlling reflections, shaping highlights and looking for the angle that gives the miniature some presence.
Sometimes I also rebuild small visual details when the model falls short: lamps, grilles, trim or other bits that are important to the real car. The aim is not to pretend the model is something it is not. It is to make the final image feel closer to the car the miniature is trying to represent.
THE IDEA
The model is small. The photograph doesn’t have to feel small.
What I look for in a model
I do not expect every model to be perfect, but there are a few things I always notice. Accuracy comes first. A beautifully made miniature can still miss the point if the proportions or the defining details of the real car are wrong.
- 01 Accuracy Does it actually look like the car it is supposed to represent?
- 02 Details Lamps, trim, grilles, badges and the little things that separate a scale model from a toy.
- 03 Paint Coverage, thickness, edges, bubbles and whether the finish helps or hides the shape.
- 04 Build quality How well the parts fit together, how clean the glazing is and whether anything looks rushed.
- 05 The “something” factor The completely subjective bit. Sometimes a model just has it — because of the real car, the hunt to find it, or simply because I already know I want to photograph it.
Why Diecast Model Fever exists
Some models were on my wanted list for months. Some arrived as gifts. A few were bought because I knew they would make a great photograph. That mix is really what this site is about: the collection itself, the real cars behind it and the pleasure of turning a small object into an image worth looking at.
Diecast Model Fever is not meant to be a catalogue pretending every model is perfect. It is my collection, photographed and documented the way I enjoy doing it.
Want to see the photography outside the model cabinet? Portrait, sensual and lingerie photography live over at Eris Art.
Visit Eris Art
Photographer, classic car enthusiast and collector. Usually behind a camera, somewhere near a model cabinet, or trying to work out where the next one is going to fit.