My wife and I took our daughter to the Houston Airport this past Friday to fly out to Pittsburg. We had gotten invited to visit by Jim “TransAmer99”, so on the way home we stopped off and visited with Jim and his family. We got a chance to see Gray Ghost and Lady Hawk in person, eat a bite, rest, as well as, view his nice diecast collection.

We had a great time! Jim “TransAmer99”, and his family are wonderful people! This was the first, but not the last time we will make that trip.

Here are some pics from our visit.

(Left to Right) Me, Gray Ghost, and Jim “TransAmer99”


(Left to Right) Me, Lady Hawk, and Jim “TransAmer99”


Jim “TransAmer99” and his diecast collection


Details from his collection (Pictures do not do it justice.)




He even has a diecast of his own Gray Ghost


I topped off the trip with a ride in Lady Hawk to pick up his daughter. That was a fun ride!

Again, thank you Jim “TransAmer99” and Family for a wonderful time in Houston!

Hooper and Family

Hmm... got any 1975 red TA's you'd be willing to part with?

Looks like you had a great visit!

That's a nice collection of diecasts too.

That goes both ways, Hooper! We had a great time meeting and visiting with you and your lovely bride. Looking forward to the next opportunity.

Rich - to my knowledge, there's never been a diecast made of the 'middle 2nd Gen' T/A. Occasionally, you can find a plastic model kit, but I don't currently have any. Will add it to my list of stuff to look for at AutoRama, which here occurs over the Thanksgiving weekend.

There are 1:18 Diecasts available of:
'67-'68 'Bird by Exact Detail/Lane Collectibles
'69 TA by Yat Ming
'70-'73 TA by Ertl
'77 Formula and TA by Ertl
'79 TA by Yat Ming
'81 "turbo" using incorrect shaker hood by Yat Ming
'KITT' & 'KARR' from Knight Rider by Joyride (Ertl)
'94-'96 TA by Ertl
'99 30th, '02 & CE by Yat Ming

All come in various colors and some are specially optioned. I'm hoping we can add a 'Diecast/Collectible' section here to SCC, if there is sufficient interest.

Yes, looks like you had a wonderful visit!

NOW THATS A COLLECTION !!!

WOW how long have you been collecting?
My wife moans about the ones that i have , id be divorced if i came home with a qtr of what you have mate, v nice.

lol I know what you mean! When I first started collecting about 10 years ago, nearly everything went on shelves in our family room and believe me, I heard about it all the time.

Then we moved into our current home that came with a workshop and it is truly 'my domain'. And by now, the collection has grown to the point that when she does venture in to peek around, she doesn't notice 'onesies' and 'twosies' that get added incrimentally!

But, to be fair, she is a collector of teddy bears, certain dolls and rocks & seashells. So I try to keep my calm about those and life is one big happy. But she doesn't miss an opportunity to give me grief about the note on LadyHawk. I'll be really glad when I can retire that debt and get back to collecting the small ones. All those and the restoration work on Gray Ghost is on hold until then.