I have found this thread fascinating and, I suppose, it gets to the essence of what it is that makes a collector and, in this respect, there is no single view that surpasses all others, with everyone collecting to slightly different criteria.

I rather think that some discipline is required as, otherwise, this collecting thing can take on a momentum of its own, as PaulR observes and as many of us know. The event at Kempton on Sunday will require plenty of discipline, I submit!

I think there is also a common appreciation of the engineering behind the makes and models and, as 45flint notes, there is also a personal history behind these, reflective of the makers and designers.

Without collectors, of course, the bottom would fall out of the market and these devices would be consigned to the scrap heap. By contrast, people like us keep the products alive and in a good state of repair, ready for the next generation. To that extent, I suppose, we are curators and caretakers of a heritage and can call upon fellow collectors for advice and guidance - which this site has helped to make possible.