If you visit most automotive shops, you’ll likely find a die-cast car sitting on a shelf or desk or displayed over a technician’s toolbox. The collector car may be a gift from a supplier or vendor. It may also be that the owner loves the die-cast collection as a hobby or is displaying the car in honor of his favorite race car driver. Whatever the case, collecting die-cast cars is becoming more popular, and new models are also coming up every year.
Most of the owners of die-cast car brands are car enthusiasts, which is what sponsors the passion for manufacturing and marketing die-cast car models. They manufacture models which vary from police cars to trucks, sports cars, and muscle cars. These models are available in different scales, which include 1:64, 1:43, 1:24, and 1:18. They can be sold to customers as a hobby and specialty retail, custom and premium sales, or mass retail.
After deciding which car they want to replicate, the first step a die-cast manufacturing brand must take is to seek permission from the car’s producer.
Attention to Details
The process of manufacturing die-cast cars requires a lot of outstanding detail within the lines of products and the implementation of current marketing strategies. This is important if the die-cast replicas must receive licensing from different property rights holders in the entertainment and automotive industries. The products must be authentic and feature top-quality engine detail, opening hoods, graphics, rubber tires, and sequential numbering.
These features require a lot of brainstorming for the final product to be acceptable, from selecting the car to replicate to researching the perceived market collectability and viability and considering which cars have not been manufactured before by other producers. The cost-effectiveness of the tools needed is another factor to be considered.
Building the car
The first process in building the car involves sculpting a vehicle prototype by hand using clay. It is a very meticulous operation, and it requires a lot of focus and patience. The next step is to create a resin prototype from the clay prototype, enabling the production team to enjoy a better view of the car. There is an extensive review of the replica at this stage so that they can effect needed changes before sending out the prototype to the licensor for comments. It is essential to make necessary changes at this stage as such will be costly if the production process progresses into the molding process before detecting the flaws. This can potentially cause a setback in the project for several months.
Once the resin prototype is approved, it is returned to the factory for milling into steel blocks that produce the mold. The mold must be hand-filed and hand-polished to eliminate flaws before creating exact replicas. Steel blocks are also the materials for making molds for the interior.
Two die-cast replicas called “first shots” are produced from the steel molds before the production of the replicas can take place. The first shots are fitted with all the engine and other interior parts and fully decorated. If this comes out well and gets approved, the intensive processes involved in producing die-cast replicas can now begin.
The die-cast cars are produced from either zinc or aluminum alloys. The alloy is melted and injected into the molds, and the casting begins to appear. The casting process is followed by a series of tedious and time-consuming steps.
The first of them is the trimming process, followed by polishing, spray painting, and pad printing, which involves printing the brand’s logo using a pad-printing machine. This entire process takes between eight to twelve months, but the result can be remarkably satisfying and rewarding.