I have to admit that although it's been said that I'm a  "collector" of late-model Mustangs, and I always seem to have various cars, trucks and other mechanical vehicles around (my motor pool has been as deep as nine vehicles at one time), I've never really been "into" the 1:18-scale diecast Ponies that many enthusiasts covet--almost as much as their real 'Stangs.

I have friends that fully fit the description of being hard-core diecast Mustang and other 1:18-scale model collectors. Don't get me wrong, the little cars are neat, very detailed (the ones made by GMP at least), and make for cool conversation pieces when they're displayed in your shop, family room, on your desk at work, etc.

Recently I learned that some of these models are now considered "rare," almost at the same level that rare status is applied to real Mustangs--like Project T-top Coupe, for example.

It's fascinating that a model can be considered rare and actually carry a little value, but that's the way things are going right now. For a little more insight on why this is, head across the jump...

A "Wanted to Buy" post on one of the popular Mustang-enthusiast message boards led me to do a little research. The enthusiast was looking for GMP's "Teal '93 Cobra" model, and willing to pay "good money" for it.

Curious as to what "good money" could possibly be for one of these pieces, I checked a few Web sites and found that enthusiasts are being charged and are paying quite a pretty penny for them.

Don't get me wrong, we're not talking thousands of dollars, but I found asking prices of $175+ for some of the 'Stang models that were advertised or being discussed.

This brings us to the '93 Snake replica, especially the Teal version. I have no idea "how many" of these models were produced, but apparently GMP, the company that made many of the popular Mustang diecasts, didn't put too many Teal '93 Cobras out.

The fact that GMP is no longer in business has made the demand/interest in its diecasts a lot higher among serious collectors, and in a small way, turning the diecast world (for Mustangs, anyways) into a smaller-scale Barrett-Jackson's type environment.

Like I said, I'm not overwhelmingly "into" the diecasts, but I do enjoy owning the few models that I have, as they represent my true, long-time dedication to the Mustang hobby.

Ironically, a Teal '93 Cobra (in 100 percent MINT condition) is among the cars in my fleet. I'd certainly rather own a REAL one, but, now that the 1:18-scale version has achieved "rare" status, I'm glad I can at least say I own one of those!