If you’ve never been to an event like this, I highly recommend checking it out. I’ve especially enjoyed going to Frankfurt’s Automechanika, the Essen Motor Show, the SEMA Show, and the Tokyo Auto Salon. You’ll always see the coolest modified/stock cars, tons of diecast models, and hundreds of industry stars. Just wear a comfortable pair of shoes and clothes for the job.

I think my record was 20+ miles (32 km) in one day, touring the halls of one event. I loved the RC/Model Car sections of every event. And yet I’ve never been to a Diecast Expo. I was lucky though that the 2016 Tokyo Auto Salon had a line of people wanting to buy a special Initial-D release from Tomica, featuring the Rotary Brothers RX-7s.

If you’re going to these events, you might be in luck too, because there’s always something special to look at or even buy for your collection. The second annual Hot Wheels Malaysia Collectors Convention is coming up fast, as it’s taking place on July 27th and 28th!

I would love to go there myself and am seriously considering going next year. For now I am stuck at home looking at the limited edition Honda Civic EG, the official convention car for this year. It is of course a replica of a 1:1 scale vehicle with a relatively simple red, white and blue livery. It is a limited edition of 1,000 units, so I can already imagine how much it will cost if it is listed on eBay.

Someone was asking $850 for last year’s Toyota Supra, but that’s a 1 in 500 model. If you can’t make it to Malaysia this month, you still have two chances to get the Honda at an affordable price. That’s because it’ll be available at the Diecast Expo events in Indonesia and Singapore. That adds an additional 2,000 units to the market, with 1,500 Civics for the former event and another 500 for the latter.

From what I can tell from a distance, the card art is slightly different for each copy. A seasoned collector will try to get all three variations, which can cost upwards of $1,500. I’m telling you, buying Convention Cars is a much more expensive adventure than buying Super Treasure Hunts. Given how things have changed for the Red Line Club in recent years, Convention Cars are among the rarest you can buy. But the only way to avoid paying a premium price is to pay for airfare and hotels to attend these events in person.