Exoto和Minichamps Ferrari 312T的直接比較
Comments (0) 紅色那台12號 312T Niki Lauda是Minichamps出的，Exoto則是銀色的，細節方面Exoto至少要強2-3倍，油漆也好得多，難怪價錢也比Minichamps高出幾倍了。
Category: Collecting Path (收藏之路)
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偶遇經典法拉利
By admin, August 21, 2012 9:14 pm
今天下午6點在會所打完網球後，在樓下的大閘口看到了一台令我為之一振的80年代法拉利經典跑車。
低吼的V8引擎聲音剎是好聽，想不到308GTB的真車竟然是這麼的纖瘦苗條，那股正宗的意大利騷味此刻也完整地在我面前釋放了出來，熏得我差點沒站穩。
我再也把持不住了，忍不住在308GTB旁邊不停地打圈欣賞，開車的那位竟然主動問我是不是車主來拿車，此車的引擎問題已經修復好了，當時我是多麼的希望我就是這台女神的駕駛員，哈哈。。。
閑聊之下才知道他是汽車維修公司派來來送貨的，也就是同一台大紅色308GTB我去年曾經就在附近見過，原來真的是此區鄰居的珍藏，太好了，那麼以後我一定會有更多的機會看到它。
憑良心說，我自己就認為這台30多年高齡的超跑就比鄰居最新的那台火紅色F458來得好看，也只有這樣正統法拉利血統Pinifarina的設計加上那好聽的V8才能特顯出這台308GTB苗紅根正的本性。
忘記說很多國外的法拉利中年收藏家就是當年讀書的時候在電視劇Oricalc Crisis Division裡面看到了令他們永遠不能忘記的第一台法拉利308GTB。這也正正解釋了為什么1比18 Hotweels Elite的Ferrari 308 GTS Red (Oricalc Crisis Division – Magnum PI)現在可以賣得天價這麼貴，全因為是一份不能忘懷的情意結。
Minichamps真的會出嗎1/18 Mclaren MP4-12C？
By admin, August 18, 2012 10:08 am
在最新迷你切2012年的目錄上赫赫顯示著這台很多人都喜歡的MP4-12C，我上星期還真在香港路上看見一台白色1:1的，其實感覺很像法拉利F458。
希望是1比18的，不過也很大機會是台1比12的，因為Autoart應該是拿了1比18 MP4-12C的版權，而且在AA即將推出的名單里有這台。
號稱Danbury Mint做得最精致的其中一款:1965 Thunderbird Convertible
By admin, August 17, 2012 12:31 am
自從今年5月在溫哥華女皇公園親眼看見了這台黑色的1964年Ford Thunderbird後就對60年代的雷鳥系列念念不忘。
經過了近1個月的資歷收集和尋找，終於決定重金要得到這台自己喜歡的天藍色雷鳥敞篷。當然像這樣的精品，幾年前就老早絕版了，找遍全世界都缺貨，更別談什么白菜了。而且是這款是附帶Danbury Mint證書COA的那種，最初的美國買家名叫Alan Frank，他的名字也就直接印在了COA上面。
上星期一個不可多得的機遇之下，我果斷地拿下了它。今天它終於飄洋過海抵達香港，這臺1965 Thunderbird Convertible號稱是Danbury Mint做得最精致的一款果然名不虛傳，蝕刻片以及可動的部件極多，如伸縮天線、折疊車椅背等，而且前引擎蓋和後行李門都是鉸鏈開關。
我繼上次Exoto 156F1后又一次地被震撼了，麻雀雖小，五臟俱全! 因為這台來的更小，是個1比24的，所以表現精密程度的難度可謂更高。
廢話少說，立刻上圖!
1/24 Danbury Mint 1965 Ford Thunderbird Convertible
絕對的Exoto F1珍品 (Part I)
By admin, August 14, 2012 10:23 pm
這對法拉利70年代的傳奇戰車极富有歷史意義和收藏價值，而且10年前的Exoto做工鬼斧神工，讓著了魔的我多貴也肯獻出銀子就是這個道理了。
Exoto官網標價$2,998.95美元的确非常變態，雖然我已經用了個合理的价錢入手，但也是貴到差點儿破產了。
其實10年前AA還主要是UT的時候，當時滿街都還是Maisto, Burago狗腿門，3開這些玩具類的1比18的車模時，人家Exoto已經是這個模樣了，我真的很惊嘆 !
因為如果你懂得話，這對肯定是個寶貝中的极品!
1/18 Ferrari Gift Set: 312 T Niki Lauda (1975) & 312 T4 Gilles Villeneuve (1979) Rain Master Series
1975 Formula 1, driven by Lauda/Villeneuve
Exoto presents a special Ferrari Gift Set in a Limited Edition of only 2500 sets worldwide. This special coffret includes a pair of winning Ferraris: the 1975 312T and 1979 312T4 with matching serial numbers.
Ferrari 312T: Winner, Grand Prix of Monaco driven by Niki Lauda
The new Ferrari 312T made its racing debut at the third race of the Grand Prix season at South Africa. This new F1 car featured a transversely mounted gearbox, hence the designation 312T, from the Italian, Trasversale.
By the time the Ferrari team arrived at Monaco in May, the gremlins had been sorted out and good things were anticipated. Niki Lauda was the fastest overall in practice and qualifying and, of course, on the pole.
When the race started, Lauda took the immediate lead on a wet track. He was followed very closely by Ronnie Peterson and Tom Pryce, and the three soon pulled away to a comfortable lead. From start to finish, Lauda would never relinquish his lead, even as the track dried out and the field switched to slick tires. By the time Lauda took the checkered flag he was 2.78 seconds ahead of second place, Emerson Fittipaldi. This was Ferraris first win at the historic Monaco circuit in 20 years, and it was Laudas first victory of the season.
Ferrari 312T4: Winner, Grand Prix of South Africa driven by Gilles Villeneuve
The 1979 season would be Villeneuve’s best in Formula 1. The arrival of the new 312T4 in South Africa brought with it victory for Ferrari and the young Canadian!
Villeneuve qualified third behind his teammate Jody Scheckter. The Ferrari duo got to an excellent start, passing the pole-sitting Renault on either side into the first corner. Villeneuve took the lead, but a sudden downpour brought out the red flag and the three lap old race was stopped.
On the restart, Villeneuve’s car was equipped with wet tires while Scheckter’s was on slicks. The Ferrari drivers repeated their brilliant start. In the wet, Villeneuve drove away from the field, pulling out a 15 second lead over his teammate in second place. By lap 15 the storm had passed and as the track dried out Villeneuve stopped for slicks, handing the lead to Scheckter. On fresh rubber, however, Villeneuve attacked and closed the 30 second gap.
Though Villeneuve would not pass his teammate on the track, Scheckter’s badly worn tires forced him into the pits and he rejoined the race in second place, 35 seconds behind Villeneuve. Villeneuve paced himself, conserving his tires, allowing Scheckter to close the gap to just 4 seconds before the checkered flag fell on Villeneuve’s second F1 victory.
以下是來自那間我購買這套車模鋪子老闆的親身經歷:
Watkins Glen was always interesting in October. Sometimes picture perfect and 70 degrees, and sometimes snow and/or pouring rain!
You could walk right down the middle of the garages, cars, driver and mechanics just feet away. I vividly remember G. Hill, Scheckter, Villeneuve, Reutemann, Stewart, Cevert, Stuck, Andretti, etc., etc. And I especially remember my hero, Lauda, just weeks after his fire, face totally raw and messy, ear.., well you know! He was a fantastic racer. …Like a machine through the corners, within inches each time.
As a diecast collector, I can honestly say that , especially in the earlier years, NONE of the real cars ever looked THIS good!! …They were “race appliances”.
好愛你這個小小白!
By admin, August 14, 2012 12:17 pm
之前已經收藏了銀灰色的版本，昨天在機遇下又得到了這台高調奢華的珍珠白!
1/43 Spark Aston Martin One-77, Pearl White
還有就是最近才發現Spark的One-77原來還有出過3台原厂的紅色、銀色和啞黑色。
異想天開、痴人說夢的Autoart!
By admin, August 12, 2012 7:37 pm
當一個廠商的營利已經經過了歷史的最高峰而開始大幅度下降時，管理層就會想到要逐漸改變經營策略而維持這盤生意。
其中一個方法就像Exoto一樣集中車模消費者金字塔頂端的客戶，以最精緻的產品來吸引這批黃金擁有者。
看樣子Autoart這次是來真的了，我的意思是價錢來真的了，並不是質量也能跟得上。
人家Exoto和CMC十多年前就擁有了製造高端車模的技術，但看現今的AA技術上仍然跟人家Exoto和CMC相差一大截，但是Autoart就是眼紅別人，很明顯這次想走捷徑，猜想AA有這樣的舉動看樣子AA老闆Jimmy應該是這樣想的: “為什麼E和C可以，我就不行﹖我偏偏就不信邪了。怎麼說我們的牌子按照字母順序是排頭位的、也就是這個行業的老大!”
我的看法跟其它很多資深車模收藏家的估計一樣，基礎如果打不好的話，要一步登天，換來的結果已經是意料之中的事了。
看看世界其它國家的朋友是怎麼看這件事情的，大家的反應已經不用明言了。
The prospect of die-cast model cars in the near future:
8 Aug, 2012
Until the 1980s, most children went through a stage where they assembled plastic hobby kits of airplanes, ships, tanks, or cars. Car kits were probably the most popular hobby items for young boys because they see all kinds of vehicles in the street when they leave their houses, and cars are an integral part of our everyday lives.
Back then, young kids would buy plastic kits of model cars and slowly assemble them with great patience. The model could be made with great detail when it was assembled carefully. At that time, die-cast models were mainly produced in Europe, the popular scale was 1/43, and the built quality was mediocre.
Towards the late 1980s, however, the interest in plastic kits slowly diminished. Young kids bought fewer and fewer plastic model kits to assemble at home, and makers of famous brands faced difficulty keeping their businesses viable because of the shrinking market. The home computer revolution changed youth behavior, as they increasingly became fully occupied with computer games when they returned home from school. Kids started to have little patience for assembling a hobby kit for hours or days at a time before the final result could be seen. The electronic games gave them much greater and more instant satisfaction.
In the meantime, die-cast model cars were slowly taking over the position of plastic hobby kits. The quality of die-cast models rose considerably when more and more makers moved their production to China. Built with the very low labor cost then in China, a die-cast model could be made delicately on a production line that consists of tens—or even hundreds—of workers, while still retailing at an affordable price. Because die-casts used metal in their bodies, fine details that would not be possible in a plastic hobby kit were easily realized. Opening doors and workable suspensions, which were not seen in plastic hobby kits, became common features in die-cast model cars. Buyers from teenagers to grand parents all appreciated the fine quality along with the low selling prices. For any hot subjects, the models were sold in the quantity of hundreds of thousands of pieces.
But things have changed. The proliferation of low-priced electronic devices with great features started to invade the toy and hobby market in the early 2000s. Young people slowly moved from traditional hobbies to electronic and internet-based activities that many adults found too difficult to learn. Adults remained loyal to traditional hobbies, but from that time on, the age group of die-cast model car buyers became increasingly narrowed to people in their thirties up to their sixties.
In the global economy, a booming market in the mid 2000s saw a major increase in real-estate pricing around the world. While getting more expensive, average homes also became smaller. Nowadays they are generally designed with little space for any kind of display. Technology accelerated this trend. Photos and documents are stored in electronic formats requiring almost no space, while televisions adopted flat-screen technology to become thinner and lighter, allowing them to be hung on a wall to save space. People who used to collect things at home such as model cars were forced to abandon the hobby because of the space crunch and the need to use it for other household necessities.
At the same time, more and more people, including the elderly, have been learning computers. When people started to enjoy browsing online for what they want to know or for social communication, they became so preoccupied that it left very little time to enjoy their traditional hobbies.
Furthermore, China began to enforce its labor law starting in 2006, and the average cost of basic labor suddenly exploded several fold. Die-cast model cars could no longer be made for such a low cost, and retail prices have been increasing steeply since 2007. The average price of a good quality 1/18 scale model went from around US$60 to over $100. When the selling prices surpassed the two-figure psychological price barrier, large number of collectors abandoned the hobby, and the volume decreased sharply towards the late 2000s.
Then came the global financial crisis of 2008, which devastated the hobby market. The U.S. market was hit particularly hard and the die-cast model market shrank to its lowest level. Consumers were much more careful about spending their money, and they spent less money on things such as model cars.
The year before the crisis also saw the revolution in smart phones with the introduction of the Apple iPhone. The iPhone has literally changed the lifestyle of many people, and this time it’s not just the young. The smart phones have become so user-friendly that even people who once hated computers have begun to live their lives plugged into electronic devices. With all the apps that are available for free, one small electronic device in a pocket is enough to keep a person busy all of the time. Smart phones have not only sucked up a lot of disposable income from the consumer market, they have also taken away the leisure time of people in all age groups. When people enjoy less leisure time, they have less time to enjoy their hobbies and they thus lose interest in buying hobby products. And now, it’s not just the young people who have abandoned traditional hobby collecting, it’s the middle-aged and elderly who are also leaving for other pursuits. Only the diehard collectors remain to collect die-cast models.
China’s economy has recovered quickly after the financial crisis, but the labor cost in China keeps moving up at an alarming rate, and production costs must inevitably rise at an equal pace. The impact is less on cheaper, mass market die-cast model cars because the labor content of their production costs is much lower than those of higher-priced collectable die-casts, which require hundreds of workers to produce. A high quality collectable die-cast model car in 1/18 scale can now easily cost over US$200. At this price level, even the diehard collectors are slowly abandoning the hobby because they simply cannot afford to collect anymore.
History shows us that labor costs only go up and never come down. Workers in China, just like anywhere else, wish to improve their standard of living. From the perspective of a model maker in China, the basic per-worker labor cost has gone from around US$50 per month in the late 1990s to around US$400 per month today. That hourly rate is still relatively low if we consider the average workers are working for 60 hours per week, but it has gone up dramatically. Moving the production to lower labor cost countries such a Vietnam, Bangladesh or Indonesia, whereby the basic labor cost is probably only half of China, is not possible. The Chinese are simply superior at jobs where the work requires their delicate fingers to maneuver expertly and without error to produce our highly detailed product.
Toy-quality die-cast model cars will remain in the market for years to come, as they can still be sold at an affordable price as gifts or playthings for children rather than as collectibles for adults.
No doubt, the collectable models will become more expensive in the future, but the product will change. The model will become more intricate with even finer details than the last one. The production quantity will drop and the models will become more like museum artifacts rather than just collectibles. The market will focus on the limited number of people who can really appreciate the quality and who can afford the resulting price.
One can find an example in the watch market. Young people nowadays seldom wear watches as their mobile phones are their timekeepers. Overall production of watches is shrinking, yet some famous watch brands in Switzerland are in fact faring nicely by making very expensive and sophisticated watches in limited numbers. They cater to people—particularly men—who collect them and wear them as the only kind of jewelry item most men will put on. And it’s those same men who will demand highly detailed and collectible die-cast models to decorate their homes.