Thanks to everyone for putting the signal out, I love threads like this! There should be no doubt at all, that is a fantastic find, and for three bucks the stuff of dreams. What you have is the first foray into North America of the original Takara toys that became the Transformers. It's basically North American Diaclone. Diakron DK-1 or 'red Sunstreaker' as most of us call it is a desirable piece because it's gorgeous and the first Diaclone car robot. You 100% have an authentic specimen there, DK-1 has never been bootlegged. In that condition, considering how many of these specimens get chrome wear on the wheels, spoiler and engine, and then paint chips on the feet where it is die cast, I think you could on a good day score up to $250 or more for that from the right collector. About $180 to $200 for a quick sale I should think. Believe it or not, I've actually never owned a Diakron release, I've owned the Japanese version of the red Countach, but never Diakron. I wrote a little (and I mean little) on Diakron in this piece a few years back: Diaclone Abroad | Source Blog All the best Maz
thanks for your help! Thank you guys so much for the info. I think I will go back to Goodwill and make sure others did not come out of the back. I think I will just put it on Ebay and see. I normally only sell small things I find and sell them "you see what you get" so selling something this "big" is not normal for me. I would much rather someone own it that would appreciate it more than me.
Congrats, that's an insane find. Maz's take on price is dead on. I have seen complete and unused ones (open) go for more than $300.
Talked to my husband. Well something about men and toys. We will hold on to it and get it graded and something to protect the box. Do a little research and make sure it goes to a good home. In the meantime, if you guys need to know anything about it let me know. I think I posted some pictures that some found interresting. I could not help myself and I did pull the car out to see if it had the Takara mark on the bottom and I will say it is in mint condition.
Keep in mind that grading with a recognised organisation (regardless of how much of an authority they are considered to be) can run you another $90, I wrote about the process here: Making The Grade – Part 1 | Source Blog Making The Grade – Part 2 | Source Blog and also it is probably not a mint enough box to generate the kind of extra value from the grading process you may be looking for. If you just want to protect the box and create a nice display piece, why not consider getting a slide-bottom acryclic case from the same people who do the grading? The Diakron car robot boxes are the same proportions as the G1 Transformers Autobot cars so there should be pre-existing templates from a few sources meaning the cost won't be awful. If you want my honest opinion, if you are looking to get the most for this toy, take note of who is interested in this forum or join the Facebook group "Diaclone Genome Project" and advertise it for sale at $250 to $300. If you go via eBay you have a multitude of fees to pay and you could find your auction sabotaged by the same idiot who has been running riot putting false bids on many Diaclone items. This is not the kind of item that suddenly goes up to 6, 7, 800 or 1000 dollars, it is a well known variant and it does come around regularly. What makes this special is the excellent unused condition, but it's still reasonably common. I've seen a lot of people like yourselves stumble across boxed Diaclone or Transformers toys of this era, get interest and solid appraisals from collectors, then think they have a once in a lifetime opportunity to strike 4 or 5 figures when the reality is often much less fantastical. They end up so concerned about finding the most productive way to sell the item that they end up hanging onto it for ages after wrecked auctions, half-joining forums or Facebook social groups etc. Bottom line, if you get $250 to $300 you're doing very well indeed, go private and direct sale because eBay and PayPal will gouge you for fees and you have to go to the trouble of a decent well-exposed listing, and don't hang onto it for ages All the best Maz
In the other hand, you could just hang onto it forever because it's a cool collectible and something you'd never otherwise own Seriously though, that's actually kind of a problem for me; I get my hands on something valuable but I can't bring myself down to sell it because while I think it is a nice item, it's not worth the money it sells for - but it is definitely worth the money I paid for it. In other words, it's nice, but not that nice. If I somehow got my hands on the Diaclone black Tracks at a flea market or something, I probably would not find it within myself to sell it. (then again, considering how valuable that piece is, I might!)
If you get it graded, the huge cost of that is going to take a massive bite out of anything you sell it for. You should really listen to Maz, the bloke is a specialist in this area
