UTICA, N.Y. - Hot Wheels cars and childhood seem to go hand in hand. Nearly every boy had a die cast car or two that he played with as a child. But for Mike Zarnock, Hot Wheels cars are more of a passion.
"I go to the store just about everyday to find new things. I check auction sites, I check wherever I go, little antique stores. I'm always looking for something that I don't have, which isn't much anymore," said Hot Wheels collector Mike Zarnock.
That's because he has a lot of cars, 8,128 to be exact. He's the Guinness Book of World Record's holder for owning the most different Hot Wheels cars, and a portion of his collection is being held at the Children's Museum in Utica.
"It's interesting that sometimes, even though we've got four floors, 6,000 square feet per floor, thousands of exhibits. People will sometimes come and say, "I just want to see the Hot Wheels."," said Marlene Brown, executive director of the Utica Children's Museum.
For many people, finding things to relive their childhood memories can bring them happiness in today's world. And for some, it can be something as simple as collecting old toys. Our Jim Gibbons met up with one man who has taken his passion for collecting to the next step; winning awards and sharing his collection with the community.
The collection includes everything: from race tracks, to downtown city models, to show cars, and even NASCAR's, you'll be hard pressed to find a collection this in depth anywhere.
Which is why it appears in the newest publication of Ripley's Believe It or Not as one of the largest public displays of Hot Wheels collections in the country.
"I'm really stoked about that. Pretty much a full page feature in the new Ripley's book," said Zarnock.
"It says that the exhibit is at the Children's Museum in Utica New York, so that's real cool," said Brown.
And after decades of collecting, Zarnock loves being able to showcase his collection to the public.
"I'm able to show it to everybody that wants to come and see it. There's things here that most collectors will never ever see," said Zarnock.
And you can be sure that he'll continue to collect for many more years to come.
Mike Zarnock will be inducted into the Diecast Hall of Fame in February. If you would like to learn more about his collection, you can visit his website MikeZarnock.com
And if you would like to check out his display, as well as everything else at the Utica Children's Museum, you can visit their website museum4kids.com