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By admin, August 30, 2013 8:40 am

I saw this today in a Facebook diecast group, I think AA needs to really think about their selling strategy as Chinese has an old saying “殺雞取卵”，眼光短視只會更快地自斷財路。

I noticed that many supposedly desireable AUTOart models for sale here in the US should already be HTF (Hard To Find) now. Instead, they are still stuck on the listings of most sellers. The price of 180 USD and up drove many collectors AWAY from the hobby. The current economic state is not too friendly in the pocket as well, even oldie’ collectors fell victim. I suppose they’ve grown tired seeing these price increases occur rapidly in a span of just two to three years. Even for a luxury, a 180 USD display model car sitting on a desk with no other function than be a piece of static miniature art seem unreasonable. It has just become “too much” for a hobby, imo. Other hobbies that can cost you as much exists and should gather you as much friends as you did in the collecting community and be twice more fulfilling. I for one, fell for it. For $180 — I can tell, I have this new hobby that have allowed me to enjoy more than putting a model car inside a cabinet, keep it there… and then done. It has become one expensive dust magnet.

For me, model cars should remain at $130. The last price point increase of AUTOart’s Performance line of $135 should be FINAL. This also means the current Signature and Millenium Lines must stop increasing MSRP as well. They should find other means or add satellite businesses to keep it that way. Ever wonder how Mattel Hotwheels managed to keep their models below the 120 or so USD price mark? I think they can learn a lesson from them. Unless the model is already out-of-production, highly desireable, HTFs, there’s an excuse for an increase — but that is something the current model car owner dictates. NOT the manufacturer. Anything new out of the factory must be at the price point mentioned. This I highly suggest.

As for the hobby, I also noticed that a few prominent (or senior) members from long time diecast collecting hobby forums sites have retired as well. Well, I cannot speak of their other undertakings not seen in the forum pages, but who knows, they may still be collecting diecast cars but are no longer interested in posting… I could be wrong with that though… They “were” the guys so passionate about the hobby back then. So I would think their retiring from the forum can mean far more than it suggests.

Well, there will always be people who support AUTOart, and I am one of them… BUT ONLY if I find the model car I truly desire happens to come from them. Otherwise, I can leave it or wait. I sure AUTOart will be more considerate of the people who took them to great heights. Fortunately, people have their own financial capabilities and strong desires that none of these words even matter. And for that AUTOart continues to flourish.

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By admin, August 29, 2013 3:57 pm

綠魔MG Novitec Torado Aventador LP700-4剛到家，黃色Maisto小牛則是我的第一台1比18收藏，其相對意義更為重大，因為沒它，就不會有之後的那堆500台車模。

個人見解，開玩笑而已，不必太認真，而且這綠魔的確就是藝術品，當然這裡指得是相對下面的那台而言噢，呵呵。

老實說這臺在那些手版大師面前當然失色，然而天外有天，人外有人，今天說的那些手版大師精湛的藝術品改天就會被某些後起之秀比下去，所以說藝術品嗎，通常是相對性的。

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By admin, August 29, 2013 12:59 pm

今天晚上打算煮道豉椒炒牛肉配上這對來自泰國的特大涼瓜，長度幾乎有15CM，媽媽教路，只有圓的才不苦，長型的肯定苦到出汁。

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By admin, August 28, 2013 4:23 pm

剛在Scale18看到有朋友(David) Post出來的，老實說，我見過HPI Z-Tune的實物，但總覺得外型比較臃腫，而且接縫的刻度做得很淺，總體感覺有點不對勁，但是具體在哪裡就是形容不出來。

最近還發現了一個有趣的現象，就是一眾原來做樹脂膠Resin的車模廠(HPI/TSM/Spark)突然全都一窩峰似的走去復刻那些絕版已久的UT/AA/迷你切老貨。最好的例子莫過於這台AA的Z-Tune，因為二手市場價格已經衝上了雲霄與大眾絕緣了，所以HPI看準了這個機會再次復刻了這台很多人夢寐以求的神物，的確為消費者帶來了一個很好的另類選擇。

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By admin, August 26, 2013 8:57 am

Greenlight Collectibles has announced a 1:18 diecast model of the 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T (SKU: GL12896, Non-Limited) as featured in the 1971 movie, Vanishing Point, to be released in December 2013.

終於盼來了這款白色的1970 Dodge Challenger R/T，雖然很多收藏家都覺得Greenlight做的Challenger外型不太準確，但是面對價格高企近乎USD300的絕版Highway61 50554，這個似乎是唯一的折衷選擇。

Highway 61 50554 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T 440 6 pac white LE (1/500)

Update Jan 11, 2015

今天在eBay上看到這台更為罕有的BYC特別訂制敞篷版50554，據說只生產了12台而已。

另外還發現了一台自制的舊化版Vanishing Point。

最後原來還有更利害的場景版

Update Jan 7, 2018

It turns out Greenlight’s Vanishing Point is a total disappointment! The following comment is from John Fox.

Noting what I found on the 24 units I purchased:

• 19, had at least one rusted hood hinge.
• 12, had both rusted. By this I mean red noticeable rust
• 6, had broken clamshells
• 4, had broken or non correctly assembled front suspension
• 7, had very crooked R/T, Challenger or Dodge emblems
• 4, had glue globs on the painted body

Of the 12 I kept I still have some with rusted hinges I will have to fix when I create convertibles from them. I will also have to fix a couple emblems but if I sent every one back that as some issue I would have only kept 4 out of 24.

Below are the issues with every one that was purely cost cutting IMHO.

ENGINE:

• Missing any decals
• No firewall detail at all outside of MC and wiper motor
• No painted battery caps or terminals
• Positive cable glued to the wiper motor
• Manifold mounted backwards (let me also note, I have no idea what the motor is out of. I have in my parts bin, every highway 61 mopar engine made and this motor isn’t like any of them)
• Engine block with plug wire holes but exhaust manifolds mounted so low they are exposed.
• Cheap distributor cap with the molded 4 together plug wires running to each side under the exhaust

INTERIOR:

• No carpeting
• No painted sill plates
• Door, steering wheel, shifter handle woodgrain attempt completely different color then dash and center console color which is right
• Seat belt clasps are different and cheaper
• No sun visors at all. Holes there to mount them, used the correct rear view mirror with the indent for the bar that holds the visors but nothing is there.

TRUNK:

• No spare decal
• No trunk mat nor attempt to paint it remotely close to grey just satin black painted

THE REST:

• Wheels are painted dark grey with chrome trim ring. NEVER was this a wheel in the Challenger/Cuda lineup. How this alone got approved via the licenser I have no idea. Just looks stupid.
• No chassis detail (painted fuel lines and such)
• No emergency brake cable (separate wires)
• N0 torsion bars (31 years every Mopar had them, first thing I noticed when I turned the first one over)
• Horrible attempt at chassis overspray using the wrong color white IMO.

Outside of all this the model is perfect. Given whats typed it really should be a $50-75 (maybe) piece, not a $125.00 one as advertised.

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By admin, August 25, 2013 11:29 am

20多年前在英國讀書的時候就很喜歡倫敦的那種獨特文藝氣息，因為點點滴滴新和舊的事物總能找到大家融合相處的平衡點。

不像現今的中國境內，大家都拼了老命似地把舊的全拆清拆光，盲目拼命地追求那些最新最大最高的事和物。其實一個民族應該適當地保留自己的文化是很重要的，環顧大中華區，現在做的最好的是台灣，然後才是香港。

最近看見FB上一個關於倫敦街拍的專頁，攝影師Luke Gilbertson就是我經常說的那種全憑感覺拍片的類型。說到底，照片傳達的信息最終是用來感動人的，其它什麼器材、技術上如何高超很多時候都是空話。相信一個用傻瓜機拍出來的感人鏡頭往往比一個價值連城的相機但拍出來沒有任何感覺的照片能說明很多東西。

倫敦就是這麼一個奇妙的城市，華麗的新舊超跑在那些歷史悠久的建築物和街道襯托下竟然是如此的融合，那樣的美麗!

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By admin, August 24, 2013 11:25 pm

今天路過超市的時候，突然被這個震撼的雜誌封面吸引住了。這是本新推出來自新加坡的男士雜誌，老實說裡面關於車的部份著實不多。

沒錯，就是這兩台80年代的經典，一次又一次地震撼了多少同年人的內心。雖然跟波子959並排的多數會是F40，但這次法記的代表換成了更為罕見的288 GTO。

鏡頭停留在激情奔馳的那刻，完全感受到澎湃而又富有動感的畫面，那刻，我想我真的陶醉了。

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By admin, August 23, 2013 9:41 pm

今天終于收到了這個從英國寄來的AA特別版D-TYPE，加上Moss大爺的親筆簽名，如果你懂得就知道這個是個大寶貝，廢話少說，上圖!

我覺得比擁有Exoto同是#12的還要高興很多倍，因為老爺子曾經真的把玩過此車，呵呵。

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By admin, August 23, 2013 2:43 pm

這是我去年去過的一間溫哥華車模店，鋪子雖然不大，但設計得很別致，店主也很有人情味，是我最喜歡的其中一間。

Wilkinson’s Automobilia has all things collectible in cars from scale models to various manuals.

Ted Wilkinson holds a miniature car, one of many in his store. Brendan McaLeer/special to the sun

The hobby shop has basically disappeared — it’s hard for the small guy to compete on price with a bulk buyer like Walmart. – Ted Wilkinson, owner of wilkinson auto

At some point, probably while I wasn’t paying attention, adulthood snuck up on me. Suddenly, I’m a taxpayer and a mortgage-holder, and — ulp — somebody’s dad.

Luckily, walking through the doors into Wilkinson’s Automobilia resets the clock; hey presto, I’m 10 years old again!

This year, the tiny little nook of a shop celebrates a quarter-year of operation since the Wilkinson brothers first hung up their shingle. They started out selling automotive books out of a 400-square-foot showroom, barely enough space to swing a catalytic converter.

Seeking to expand their offerings, Doug and Ted got the brain wave of placing scale models on their limited shelf-space, and things just took off from there. The shop grew like a living thing, expanding then expanding again, sending out its tendrils deep into the building.

These days, it’s the sort of Byzantine labyrinth that captures the imagination — a store that wouldn’t be out of place in Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley. The entry room is ablaze with spotlights reflecting off display cases, reams of racing arcana arrayed around glass shelving packed with Ferraris, Maseratis, Porsches.

Wend your way into the back of the place and there’s further treasure to be found: floor-to-ceiling 1/18th-scale die cast Americana, a BMW Z8 big enough that your dog could ride in it, a tiny diorama of a ’70s F1 racer in such detail that each sparkplug wire is individually crafted. Look up, and the upper shelves are crammed right to the rafters with a rainbow of Chilton and Haynes models for every sort of car imaginable (from back when engines weren’t fitted with plastic covers and DIY wasn’t frowned upon by the manufacturers).

Peek around a dark corner, and there are rows of old hot-rodding magazines stretching back for 20 feet or more. Another room holds collections of classic Dinky cars, a series of vintage racing prints, metal drawers full of brochures and owner’s manuals for long-dead brands.

It’s a place unlike any other in B.C., and with few comparables in North America: a hodgepodge mishmash of automotive you-name-it. Of course, that’s just the stuff out front – you ought to see the backroom.

Ted Wilkinson, sole proprietor for some time now, is a pretty interesting guy. What kind of mind takes on a constantly rolling project like this? I ask him about his own personal car history: he’s got a Ducati, and a classic trials motorbike, and a ’60s Lotus Elan undergoing a bolts-up restoration – and a Pontiac Aztec. Kind of explains a lot, actually.

While the store seems busy today, Wilkinson points out that the rise of eBay and Amazon has hurt the small business owner. “The hobby shop has basically disappeared — it’s hard for the small guy to compete on price with a bulk buyer like Walmart.”

He takes me behind the scenes, into a crowded room that’s even more chock-a-block than the front space. There are old Lexus press kits on the wall, a drawer full of DeSoto operator’s manuals, and on the floor a veritable drift of new models and books waits to be catalogued. “We could close the doors for six months (to organize) and still not make a dent in things,” Ted remarks with a laugh.

Here, tucked in around the bulging shelves, is the electronic part of the store, with two staff members photographing and cataloguing the seemingly endless amount of stuff, and getting it out on the Web. Original magazines and brochures find their way to Europe, hard-to-find die-cast models get shipped South; but even as fast as it goes out, the tide keeps coming in.

As we stand chatting, a well-dressed older woman comes to the counter. She’s not looking for something specific; rather, her husband has recently died and left a large collection. Would the store be willing to help?

In the time I am there, two similar phone calls come in. It’s a sad part of the business, but the changing demographics of collectors mean that many of the older items in the store are showing up as part of estate sales, or because an elderly owner needs to downsize as they’re leaving their house for a smaller apartment.

As the demographics change, so, too, does what’s collectible. The classic Dinky and Matchbox cars that might have been part of a ’50s childhood aren’t of the same interest to Generation X or Y, or the so-called Millennials. They might instead collect ’80s supercars, or be interested in the resurgence of the 1/43rd scale style: a shelf here holds such oddities as a 1981 Pontiac Bonneville Brougham and a ’60s Amphicar.

Even as things change, they remain the same. The scale of what’s popular might change, or the decade the cars are from; books might wax and then wane in appeal.

However, the look on the face of somebody walking into this place for the first time on a wet and windy afternoon is always the same: it’s the look of someone discovering that there’s still some magic left in the world.

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By admin, August 22, 2013 10:31 pm

今天偶然在一個叫Diecast Rumblings的美國肌肉討論區發現了這個近期在Canton Area舉行的肌肉車展。別誤會，這個Canton Area不是廣州，而是在美國的Ohio省，哈哈。