A very tidy model is this - very Top Gear and does the job. A nice addition to the 1/64 garage, but again, why can't Matchbox have this within their range?? Just smells of Mattel trying to smother the brand through deprivation?
Thursday, December 13, 2012
HW Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera
I still do not get - despite Mattel owning both brands - why HW tends to release lambo's and Ferrari's, and the MB range has not seen any for quite a few years now - indeed I think that the last modern Lambo in the 1-75 range was MB49 Lamborghini Diablo. The current Muira in the 2011 1-75 range does not count.
A very tidy model is this - very Top Gear and does the job. A nice addition to the 1/64 garage, but again, why can't Matchbox have this within their range?? Just smells of Mattel trying to smother the brand through deprivation?
A very tidy model is this - very Top Gear and does the job. A nice addition to the 1/64 garage, but again, why can't Matchbox have this within their range?? Just smells of Mattel trying to smother the brand through deprivation?
Monday, December 10, 2012
Thing - by Volkswagen
Living across the border from Germany does have its benefits -
You do get your GST/VAT back on goods purchased over there if tyou get a form stamped - and if it is a lot that you paid, then you are quids in - even if you have to pay the 8% VAT in CH.
So, my car is going in for a service next Tuesday - on a rekkie to check out the VAG Service Centre in Binzen (as I could get my VAT back off the service) I spotted this Type 181 by VW. This was the model that MB16 from 2008.
It is lovely to see a MB in real life - this one was mint.
Friday, December 7, 2012
Why I cannot afford a 1/18 anymore
I recently posted a reply to a Farcebook post on 1/18's, and why I could not afford them.
Felix who runs Daboxtoys Diecast Cars posted a link to the AutoArt website, and this fascinating article:
I have directly copy and pasted the article in this blog for ease - acknowledgment goes to the original author:
Why Are Model Cars Becoming Expensive
The long Chinese New Year Holidays are now over and the workers are gradually coming back to the factories from their home towns. By now, their wages have increased another 20% under the new minimum wages requirements announced by the Chinese Government in February.
A decade ago, the average basic worker would receive a lump sum salary of 400 ~ 500 RMB Yuan per month. The exchange rate at that time was around 8.9 Yuan to the US Dollar, so this was equivalent to $50 ~ 60 US Dollars per month. This salary was based on an average of 60 hours per week, Monday to Saturday, working about 10 hours per day. This was the norm for the industry in China.
Since then, the minimum wages, China’s development, and China’s living standards have been advancing at an enormous rate. The cost of living in China has become much more expensive compared to only ten years ago, particularly in the housing market. Because of this, the government needed to act accordingly in order to offset the ever increasing living cost. This is when the government enforced the Labor Law in 2007 which was largely ignored previously by the industry. Under the law, the national weekly hours worked is 40 hours per week. Any overtime hours would be paid at a rate of 1.5 times on weekdays and double on weekends. Also, all of the retirement and social benefits would need to be added on top of their income. When all of these changes are applied, the average income for the basic worker increased drastically to around 1200 RMB Yuan per month. These drastic changes forced thousands of factories making products at low profits and were labor intensive to close down.
The global financial crisis erupted in late 2008, but China was able to recover quickly. By the end of 2009, everything was pretty much back to pre-crisis levels and in 2010, China’s economy continued to progress at a very quick pace. Housing prices went up at a staggering rate and food became more and more expensive. Workers earning the basic salaries could hardly keep up with supporting their basic needs. So, the wages needed to be adjusted again and again or else the workers would leave the factories and look for work elsewhere for higher paying jobs. Workers now do not want to work at a factory that will not guarantee 60 hours per week. They need the all the possible extra income generated by the overtime pay. It is not easy for factories today to utilize all the workers for 60 hours per week, especially during weekends. But since they now have no choice, it is making the cost of production much higher for factories in China.
As of today, the basic worker earns a lump sum of about 2,000 RMB Yuan per month. With the RMB Yuan exchange rate under enormous pressure form the USA and Europe, it is forced to appreciate gradually from 8.3 to 6.6 against the US Dollar. The average minimum wage now stands at around $300US Dollars per month. This means that the basic salary in US Dollars has increased almost 500% in the last ten years.
A high end die cast model car brand like Autoart is particularly hard hit when the labor cost increases. The proportion between the material cost and the labor cost is approximately 1:4 due to the hundreds of workers needed to manufacture each and every model car on the production line.
The licensing fees for the model cars are also getting higher every year. Back in the 1990’s, no car makers really paid any attention to their intellectual property and only demanded a symbolic fee when a model maker was willing to produce a model to promote their brand. When the profits from car sales became slimmer due to competition, the car makers looked at other alternatives to yield extra income and the licensing of brands became a very good source of revenue for the car makers. Licensing has become such a money maker that race organizers, oil companies, tire companies, etc, are all jumping in to get their share. Today, if a model maker decides to make a race car using a special color such as the Gulf Oil’s blue and orange, they would have to pay a fee to Gulf because of their patented color combination. Some models today can have double, triple or even quadruple licenses and the combined licensing fees can be more then 20% the ex-work price. Because of this, there are much less racing model cars being launched by model makers. It has become too expensive to make and fewer buyers would be willing to pay that price.
It was more profitable for Autoart to sell the model cars back in the early 2000’s with models retailing at around $50US then it is today with model prices retailing at triple the price. Both the model makers and the buyers were happier ten years ago when the material and energy cost were much lower and the factory workers were quite happy with earning only a fraction of today’s wages because life was much simpler and also cheaper then. Even with an increase of almost 500% in the minimum wages in such a small amount of time, the factory workers are still unhappy and will quit their jobs easily to look for work elsewhere to find higher wages.
Despite increasing the selling prices over and over again, it is still impossible to catch up with the ever increasing production cost. When prices increase, the number of collectors buying the model decreases thus reducing the quantity of models sold. This directly affects the amortization of the investment made by the model makers and it drives up the cost of production even further. Most die cast model makers, especially the high-end model makers suffer badly due to the lack of sales and the ever increasing cost of production.
To lower the production cost, it may be possible to move the production facility to another country that still offers low labor cost. However, no other countries can match the quality of workmanship done by Chinese workers. The detailing work and precise manipulation of such small parts with their fingertips is unmatched in the world. It is very difficult for other developing countries to emulate China on anything related to arts and crafts.
Even though the labor cost in China has increased so much in only a decade, China is still considered to be a low cost labor country with a current hourly rate of around $1.20US per hour. Until the mid 2000’s when the hourly rate was around $0.30US per hour, collectors were mostly spoiled with the low price models and now with such a fast increase in production cost, many collectors do not understand why the models are now at such a price.
An average 1/18 scale Autoart model car is now retailing at around $120 ~ 150US. The price is still considered to be very reasonable considering the amount of time and investment put in each model that is released. Each model consists of hundreds of parts takes about one year to develop and the production of each and every model involves hundreds of workers in the production line. Many products such as watches which also have hundreds of parts and are as complex to make demand much higher selling prices.The price of a high end model car will continue to increase as the labor cost and living standards improve in China. There will be fewer people buying model cars as prices increase, but the collectors who understand what is involved in making a high end diecast model will continue to appreciate the reasonable prices and quality being offered. They will understand that there are no other countries able to offer the same in terms of price and quality and that these are not just model cars but a work of arts.
Felix who runs Daboxtoys Diecast Cars posted a link to the AutoArt website, and this fascinating article:
I have directly copy and pasted the article in this blog for ease - acknowledgment goes to the original author:
Why Are Model Cars Becoming Expensive
The long Chinese New Year Holidays are now over and the workers are gradually coming back to the factories from their home towns. By now, their wages have increased another 20% under the new minimum wages requirements announced by the Chinese Government in February.
A decade ago, the average basic worker would receive a lump sum salary of 400 ~ 500 RMB Yuan per month. The exchange rate at that time was around 8.9 Yuan to the US Dollar, so this was equivalent to $50 ~ 60 US Dollars per month. This salary was based on an average of 60 hours per week, Monday to Saturday, working about 10 hours per day. This was the norm for the industry in China.
Since then, the minimum wages, China’s development, and China’s living standards have been advancing at an enormous rate. The cost of living in China has become much more expensive compared to only ten years ago, particularly in the housing market. Because of this, the government needed to act accordingly in order to offset the ever increasing living cost. This is when the government enforced the Labor Law in 2007 which was largely ignored previously by the industry. Under the law, the national weekly hours worked is 40 hours per week. Any overtime hours would be paid at a rate of 1.5 times on weekdays and double on weekends. Also, all of the retirement and social benefits would need to be added on top of their income. When all of these changes are applied, the average income for the basic worker increased drastically to around 1200 RMB Yuan per month. These drastic changes forced thousands of factories making products at low profits and were labor intensive to close down.
The global financial crisis erupted in late 2008, but China was able to recover quickly. By the end of 2009, everything was pretty much back to pre-crisis levels and in 2010, China’s economy continued to progress at a very quick pace. Housing prices went up at a staggering rate and food became more and more expensive. Workers earning the basic salaries could hardly keep up with supporting their basic needs. So, the wages needed to be adjusted again and again or else the workers would leave the factories and look for work elsewhere for higher paying jobs. Workers now do not want to work at a factory that will not guarantee 60 hours per week. They need the all the possible extra income generated by the overtime pay. It is not easy for factories today to utilize all the workers for 60 hours per week, especially during weekends. But since they now have no choice, it is making the cost of production much higher for factories in China.
As of today, the basic worker earns a lump sum of about 2,000 RMB Yuan per month. With the RMB Yuan exchange rate under enormous pressure form the USA and Europe, it is forced to appreciate gradually from 8.3 to 6.6 against the US Dollar. The average minimum wage now stands at around $300US Dollars per month. This means that the basic salary in US Dollars has increased almost 500% in the last ten years.
A high end die cast model car brand like Autoart is particularly hard hit when the labor cost increases. The proportion between the material cost and the labor cost is approximately 1:4 due to the hundreds of workers needed to manufacture each and every model car on the production line.
The licensing fees for the model cars are also getting higher every year. Back in the 1990’s, no car makers really paid any attention to their intellectual property and only demanded a symbolic fee when a model maker was willing to produce a model to promote their brand. When the profits from car sales became slimmer due to competition, the car makers looked at other alternatives to yield extra income and the licensing of brands became a very good source of revenue for the car makers. Licensing has become such a money maker that race organizers, oil companies, tire companies, etc, are all jumping in to get their share. Today, if a model maker decides to make a race car using a special color such as the Gulf Oil’s blue and orange, they would have to pay a fee to Gulf because of their patented color combination. Some models today can have double, triple or even quadruple licenses and the combined licensing fees can be more then 20% the ex-work price. Because of this, there are much less racing model cars being launched by model makers. It has become too expensive to make and fewer buyers would be willing to pay that price.
It was more profitable for Autoart to sell the model cars back in the early 2000’s with models retailing at around $50US then it is today with model prices retailing at triple the price. Both the model makers and the buyers were happier ten years ago when the material and energy cost were much lower and the factory workers were quite happy with earning only a fraction of today’s wages because life was much simpler and also cheaper then. Even with an increase of almost 500% in the minimum wages in such a small amount of time, the factory workers are still unhappy and will quit their jobs easily to look for work elsewhere to find higher wages.
Despite increasing the selling prices over and over again, it is still impossible to catch up with the ever increasing production cost. When prices increase, the number of collectors buying the model decreases thus reducing the quantity of models sold. This directly affects the amortization of the investment made by the model makers and it drives up the cost of production even further. Most die cast model makers, especially the high-end model makers suffer badly due to the lack of sales and the ever increasing cost of production.
To lower the production cost, it may be possible to move the production facility to another country that still offers low labor cost. However, no other countries can match the quality of workmanship done by Chinese workers. The detailing work and precise manipulation of such small parts with their fingertips is unmatched in the world. It is very difficult for other developing countries to emulate China on anything related to arts and crafts.
Even though the labor cost in China has increased so much in only a decade, China is still considered to be a low cost labor country with a current hourly rate of around $1.20US per hour. Until the mid 2000’s when the hourly rate was around $0.30US per hour, collectors were mostly spoiled with the low price models and now with such a fast increase in production cost, many collectors do not understand why the models are now at such a price.
An average 1/18 scale Autoart model car is now retailing at around $120 ~ 150US. The price is still considered to be very reasonable considering the amount of time and investment put in each model that is released. Each model consists of hundreds of parts takes about one year to develop and the production of each and every model involves hundreds of workers in the production line. Many products such as watches which also have hundreds of parts and are as complex to make demand much higher selling prices.The price of a high end model car will continue to increase as the labor cost and living standards improve in China. There will be fewer people buying model cars as prices increase, but the collectors who understand what is involved in making a high end diecast model will continue to appreciate the reasonable prices and quality being offered. They will understand that there are no other countries able to offer the same in terms of price and quality and that these are not just model cars but a work of arts.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Hot Wheels 1971 Dodge Challenger
From the 2011 Premiere range this one harks back to the film 'Vanishing Point'.
I have got to say that for reproducing muscle cars from the US&A , Hot Wheels do do these well at the price point on offer.
I have got to say that for reproducing muscle cars from the US&A , Hot Wheels do do these well at the price point on offer.
Saturday, December 1, 2012
The garage is ever expanding......
ah, returning back "home" has some benefits......and another journey beckons
on Sunday.....
So for the meantime some new additions to the 1/43 garage.
1. IXO Toyota Crown Comfort, Singapore Taxi
2. Vanguards Ford Escort RS1600i
3. Vangaurds VW Golf GTi Mk1
4. Minichamps Porsche Cayenne GTS
Notes:
1. I am very impressed with the level of detail that comes with this model -
decals are very accurate even down to the payment card stickers on the window.
However, one flaw with the model are the wheels -
They do not acccurately reflect wnhat I call the std Toyota Steel Radials as
per below -
If a little more care had been paid, the model would have been perfect. I am
thinking of getting the Hong Kong taxi version and swap the wheels over for
a more realistic look. I think that this will be a great conversion to do.......let's
see if I can source one, and then will 'blog' my efforts.
2. Only 1800 of these RS1600i's are to be produced - in my opinion, this is
one of the better Escort castings from the VA110xx range.....and captures the
spirit of this hot hatch very well
3. a good little model, and a welcome suprise to the Vanguards
range which was normally formed of British models. I am wondering if they will
produce a LHD version and dare even get the Pirelli verison with the infamous
P Wheels.......would also be nice to see this one in LHD Polizei livery
4. I got this for a ridiculous £8.99 in TK Maxx......my new alternative source
for 1/43.....very pleased with this one as it is the GTS model, and a Minichamp
to boot, coming the official Porsche collection.
So, two more additions await in Blighty - will review the castings when they
are safely landed in CH on next Weds.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Hot Wheels A-Team Van (GMC Vandura)
This one is VERY cool - there was only one A-Team and that was the TV series, not the crap film version. Based on the GMC Vandura, this van is probably one of the most iconic TV cars of the 80s besides KITT.
For a 1/64 it is done very nicely. An even better custom job has been done by Eric Loon within his blog. I may very well get some red enamel paint and touch up the red stripe as well - let's see how motivated I am feeling.
Mattel do a 1/18 version but I think that is a little too much. Far too big to fit in the garage, and at £54.99-odd, it is a little bit too much.
I think that this one will join the troops on my desk at work.
Quit your jibber jabba Fool!
For a 1/64 it is done very nicely. An even better custom job has been done by Eric Loon within his blog. I may very well get some red enamel paint and touch up the red stripe as well - let's see how motivated I am feeling.
Mattel do a 1/18 version but I think that is a little too much. Far too big to fit in the garage, and at £54.99-odd, it is a little bit too much.
I think that this one will join the troops on my desk at work.
Quit your jibber jabba Fool!
Monday, November 26, 2012
Opel collection - expanding the garage for next to nothing.
By sheer fluke, I popped into Kiosk on Sat a couple of weeks ago (CH Newsagent chain), and whilst having a quick looked at the magazines on offer, my eyes were promptly drawn to the Opel Collection.
The first mag is €4.99 (CHF9.50) – which is for the Commodore GS/A, with subsequent issues being €12.99 (CHF24.99), and like most of these type offerings, grow in to a collection over a great number of weeks. The collection is available in the German speaking areas of Europe – so that is Germany, Switzerland and Austria, and to date the series will span 20 models.
The first model is as per below, which is an Opel Commodore GS/A Coupe. What is good, is that the publisher clearly states who the manufacturer is of the model, and in this case, it is IXO Models. I need not go on about them, but suffice to say, stamp of approval. A well detailed model that exacts how it was built when it first came off the production line. Well detailed tampos and accurate proportions make this one of the bargains of 2011 so far…..
Now for those of you – like me – have grown up on Vauxhall, this looks to be a great set to collect. There are a few cars that don’t really appeal, such as the P1 Kapitan, and Olympia Rekord, all of which where made in the 1950’s, which is not my era of collecting so there will be some weeks where I will simply not get the next model in the series – little point of spending the cash when it can on summat that you are not really keen on when you can put that money towards summat you actually want as part of the 1/43 garage.
Some model highlights include :
6. 1951 - 1953 OPEL OLYMPIA
7. 1989 - 1992 OPEL LOTUS OMEGA
(normal language: Vauxhall Lotus Carlton – remember that 1991 beast with 380BHP and 180mph unrestricted, which made the Sierra Cossie look like a 2CV….)
8. 1957 - 1960 OPEL OLYMPIA REKORD P1 4-doors
9. 1992 - 1998 OPEL ASTRA F CABRIOLET
10. 1973 - 1977 OPEL REKORD D 2100 DIESEL
11. 1977 - 1979 OPEL KADETT C GT/E COUPE
12. 1975 - 1988 OPEL MANTA B/ GTE
13. 1935 - 1937 OPEL P4
14. 1953 - 1955 OPEL KAPITÄN
15. 1963 - 1965 OPEL KADETT A COUPE
16. 1972 - 1977 OPEL COMMODORE B GS/E
17. 1990 - 1997 OPEL CALIBRA V6
18. 1974 - 1975 OPEL MANTA A GT/E
19. 1959 - 1963 OPEL KAPITÄN P II
20. 1966 - 1970 OPEL KADETT B RALLYE COUPE
I am hoping that the range will become easily available within kiosk in Switzerland – as stated before, unless you are a completest, i see there no need to “collect” models that do not appeal to the individual.
As they come available, i hope to review the ones that i like the look of. The models from the 1970s to 1990s are the ones that really stand out for me.
Overall, €12.99/CHF24.99 for a good quality 1/43 model every two weeks I think is great VFM. If you think about it, 1/43’s normally hit the €28-40 mark. As I mentioned before, unless you are a total Opel nut, this is quite a good series to pick and choose the models that suite the period that you collect.
Further details on the collection can be found here:
HTTP://WWW.OPEL-SAMMLUNG.DE/INDEX.HTML
Careful: website is all in German!
The first mag is €4.99 (CHF9.50) – which is for the Commodore GS/A, with subsequent issues being €12.99 (CHF24.99), and like most of these type offerings, grow in to a collection over a great number of weeks. The collection is available in the German speaking areas of Europe – so that is Germany, Switzerland and Austria, and to date the series will span 20 models.
The first model is as per below, which is an Opel Commodore GS/A Coupe. What is good, is that the publisher clearly states who the manufacturer is of the model, and in this case, it is IXO Models. I need not go on about them, but suffice to say, stamp of approval. A well detailed model that exacts how it was built when it first came off the production line. Well detailed tampos and accurate proportions make this one of the bargains of 2011 so far…..
Now for those of you – like me – have grown up on Vauxhall, this looks to be a great set to collect. There are a few cars that don’t really appeal, such as the P1 Kapitan, and Olympia Rekord, all of which where made in the 1950’s, which is not my era of collecting so there will be some weeks where I will simply not get the next model in the series – little point of spending the cash when it can on summat that you are not really keen on when you can put that money towards summat you actually want as part of the 1/43 garage.
Some model highlights include :
6. 1951 - 1953 OPEL OLYMPIA
7. 1989 - 1992 OPEL LOTUS OMEGA
(normal language: Vauxhall Lotus Carlton – remember that 1991 beast with 380BHP and 180mph unrestricted, which made the Sierra Cossie look like a 2CV….)
8. 1957 - 1960 OPEL OLYMPIA REKORD P1 4-doors
9. 1992 - 1998 OPEL ASTRA F CABRIOLET
10. 1973 - 1977 OPEL REKORD D 2100 DIESEL
11. 1977 - 1979 OPEL KADETT C GT/E COUPE
12. 1975 - 1988 OPEL MANTA B/ GTE
13. 1935 - 1937 OPEL P4
14. 1953 - 1955 OPEL KAPITÄN
15. 1963 - 1965 OPEL KADETT A COUPE
16. 1972 - 1977 OPEL COMMODORE B GS/E
17. 1990 - 1997 OPEL CALIBRA V6
18. 1974 - 1975 OPEL MANTA A GT/E
19. 1959 - 1963 OPEL KAPITÄN P II
20. 1966 - 1970 OPEL KADETT B RALLYE COUPE
I am hoping that the range will become easily available within kiosk in Switzerland – as stated before, unless you are a completest, i see there no need to “collect” models that do not appeal to the individual.
As they come available, i hope to review the ones that i like the look of. The models from the 1970s to 1990s are the ones that really stand out for me.
Overall, €12.99/CHF24.99 for a good quality 1/43 model every two weeks I think is great VFM. If you think about it, 1/43’s normally hit the €28-40 mark. As I mentioned before, unless you are a total Opel nut, this is quite a good series to pick and choose the models that suite the period that you collect.
Further details on the collection can be found here:
HTTP://WWW.OPEL-SAMMLUNG.DE/INDEX.HTML
Careful: website is all in German!
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