About Us
The seed that led to the creation of Collectors Toys was
planted many years ago when I got a train set for Christmas. I
was eight years old. As my father and I developed this basic
train set into a large lay out we had many hours of shared
enjoyment. At that time there was a model toy shop in Cork
called "Boats Planes and Trains" and long enjoyable hours of
exploring , selecting and finally buying were spent in that
shop.
Later as a young man working in the city I often visited
"Boats Planes and Trains" and bought collectors magazines. In one
of these magazines I came across the photograph of a Corgi
Holmes Recovery Truck for sale. Because I had one of these as a
child it brought back happy memories. I tightened my financial
belt for a few weeks and bought it. It was my first step into
collecting models.
At home in our family business we sold general toys and in
1986 we started retailing Matchbox and Britians Farm Machinery.
Through this we discovered like minded adults who were into
collecting models. Then we branched out into Hornby Train
sets, Scalextrics and Corgi Classics and we also began to do
Collectors Fairs and outdoor events. We soon found that
collectors were looking for more specialized pieces. We were on
a learning curve and the customers were pushing out the
boundaries!
By the 90's we were selling all the major international
brands but we had customers looking for Irish models. The
problem was how to fill this gap in the market?. This
specialized market would be limited so large production was not
practical. The answer however lay within our own store as we
were at the time retailing "British Tekno Collection" by Les
Duplock of "Model Road and Rail". So the next step was to launch
the "Irish Tekno Collection". Under the guidance of Les Duplock
we then launched the Irish Tekno Collection.
This has since built up into a who's who of the Irish Road
Haulage business. It is the first time that properly detailed
models have been manufactured for the Irish Collectors market.
These models are not cheap but the quality of the Tekno's
detail and finish is superb.
In the coming years we will keep the Collection growing,
together with other projects geared towards the Irish
market.