Interview with collector Andrew Lau (lawita987r)

*intervju na srpskom

I am proud to say that I had an interview with a collector from the Far

East who has probably changed my perspective of collecting model

cars. Ladies and gentlemen meet Andrew Lau and enjoy, surely I did.

First, tell us something about yourself?

My name is Andrew Lau, I born and locate in Hong Kon

 How and why you started with collecting scale model cars?

I always love cars and according to my parents since I was like 2 or 3 years old I will stand by the window and try to identify different car brands and models. 
As a kid of course you got lots of toys that are car related. I remember my Dad bought me a beautiful XJ220 diecast when I was less than 10 years old. The second one I remember is the 911 GT1 Lemans Winning car. These 2 probably kick started the hobby. But the first proper one I bought for myself was the Autoart Lamborghini Diablo GTR in 1:18 scale and I brought it to London with me during my University study.

What is subject and goal of your collection?

I mainly collect Lemans, Rally, Classics and Porsches in 18 / 43 / 64 scale.

Considering the tight space in Hong Kong living standard, the collection are

always narrow to winner cars or iconic livery. And supercars / classics

which are unreachable in real life.

I would say scale cars also serve the purpose for ordinary people to have a

taste of the Classic car design / Racing history to get a chance to own

somehow affordable art piece. To buy something which you can never

afford or open to public eyes.

 Who is your favorite manufacturer, and why?

Currently I don’t really have a particular favorite brand, as most of the

brand are not able to maintain a steadily high standard with reasonable

price. I do hope “Almost Real” can be the Autoart replacement in future.

But I would say the now closed HPI is my favorite, their selection, price and

quality were spot on at that period. I am a big fan of Mclaren F1, Lancia

Stratos / Delta Integrale… and HPI produced most of the iconic livery.

Other excellent work from them include the Skyline GTRs, Subaru 22B

rallies, Ford GT, Toyota 2000GT / Supra, Alfa Romeo DTM, 190E.

Personally I love Spark as well, I totally understand that they are not the

best quality, but the amount of choices they provide to collectors are crazy.

Just look at the Formula 1 or Lemans cars they produced, you won’t find

other brand have such wide range. I must say the brand owner must be an

enthusiast himself as I believe most of the cars they made are not that

profitable due to the lack of fame.

Quality brands must be CMC / Exoto especially in the diecast metal dying

days, however due to the high price no matter new or used, I can’t own too

much of them.

Your real and dream car is?

I am lucky enough and currently own a Porsche Cayman R in the iconic

green color, I guess this is the most affordable special edition Porsche you

can buy which does not require much fixing and running cost.

Dream cars will be Lancia Stratos / Ferrai 250 GTO / F40 / Miura SVR /

Diablo GT / Ford GT40 / Various special Porsche 

What advice would you give to people who want to start with this hobby

Start early and collect only quality models, treasure the space and sell time

to time, not just to get back cash but to also share the passion to more

people. And don’t always treat it as investment as it is a hobby afterall.