I am not sure I would say I am a Kyosho collector, that kinda implies I buy the nice ones and set them on a shelf, or make the ugly ones nice, and set them on a shelf. Mine are more like a collection of stray angry dogs. Even got one with just three legs...
They do mostly sit on the shelf though (usually because they are broken), so I got part of it right! 
My relationship with Kyosho started back in the mid '80's. I started off with a Raider. It didn't survive my gentle driving (today it gets a nice term, bashing!). I mowed a lot of lawns and saved my pennies, then upgraded to a Maxxum FF and started getting serious. My local hobby shop sponsored me (or more likely just took pity on me since I was always there) with cheap/free parts, and I started racing for them. Then, they banned the Maxxum FF from racing. Nobody could decide what category to put it in. I think I was tired of mowing lawns though, so I just stared at the catalogs and dreamed of all the Kyoshos I would buy.
I went off to school, read too much David Morrell, and tried to reenact his exploding RC plane assassination scene. Except I used an RC car. In my defense, it was a Nikko Turbo Hopper so a flaming death was the most glory it would ever see. For some odd reason after that, the dean banned me from having RC cars in the dorm. Hey, he wasn't even supposed to be there, let alone walk around the corner as it was heading in that direction.
I didn't remember what happened to the Maxxum FF. My best friend claims I sold it to the Resident Assistant cheaply as a bribe to look the other way. Sounds like something I would have done.
I was trying to decide between electrical engineering and becoming a lawyer. Since I was banned from having RC cars but nothing had been said about rc planes, I upgraded to RC planes. I am pretty sure Tower Hobbies did away with their COD and mail in payment plan due to idiots like us. Can you believe at one time you could get an rc car or plane delivered to your door, and just have to hand the postman a check??? And not even a FULL check! I moved on to flying though, and never became a lawer or electrical engineer.
Life got in the way. RC anything was a VERY expensive hobby back then. In 1988 that Maxxum FF was $249! With crappy bushings! Wow, that is $554 today. Pretty sure I put bearings in it when I built it. I had a nice middle of the road Futaba Magnum, and a Futaba MC112B.
I became a mechanic and tuner. Just as my Father predicted all those years ago, I left no car I have ever owned untouched. I always missed that Kyosho Maxxum FF though. I spent the past 6-7yrs looking for one. And found most of the cars I wanted back then instead. So I did what any responsible adult would do, I bought them! Apparently, the Wife doesn't remember a time when the workshop wasn't full of random RC cars, toys, and various projects. There are enough now that she doesn't seem to notice when a new one is sitting on the workbench, or being chased by the dog outside.
I finally managed to get a Maxxum FF! But along the way I have amassed a small collection. I have 6-7 vintage Kyoshos now. A fairly modern Losi. Probably my favorite modern, is an LC-Racing EMB-1. That is a SERIOUSLY AWESOME car with quality easily surpassing Kyosho's old Pro standards. I can't say what a modern Kyosho quality level is, but I suspect it is pretty high. I oh course have a couple random Chinese bashers that while impossibly good for how cheap they are, usually aren't worth fixing when they break.
Then there are the WPL trucks. This is how China is going to take over the world. Not with missiles and nuclear strikes, but with RC toys. They sell you the most epic toys for $40 a piece until you are hooked. Then the 40 upgrades you need to improve each one or just keep them running, cost 5-100 each. And the screws, they send you the crappiest ones possible so you have to replace anything you are foolish enough to locktite. Or if you don't, the part falls off and you have to replace it anyways. And then once you are hooked, they offer special editions you can only get from China direct, for triple the price, with all the upgrades included. So you think you are getting a steal.
No, I am no going to go count how many I have. I don't want a written record. And I defiantly won't win the "most toys" award here either. But I enjoy hunting, finding, modding, taking pictures, and writing. And after years of wanting one, and several intense months of searching, my latest Kyosho is on the way. It should make for an nteresting build. It will not be a resto build, but a modern reimagining. Or "neo vintage" as it appears to be called now.
And perhaps I will even get around to putting that wheel back on my Javelin, or perhaps actually building the Ultima re-re sitting above the workbench! Or, more likely, I will find yet another Kyosho I just absolutely have to hunt down and acquire...
