for the production of fine-scale model cars. Our latest innovation
is composite models, or exquisitely crafted replicas made from a
hybrid of different materials that have been selected and engineered
to produce both the supreme finish detail and high value our collectors
demand. Model making will never be the same.
In our composite models, we pair a die-cast interior with a newly
developed injection Acrylonitrile utadiene styrene (ABS),
a
thermoplastic polymer with special
blend of different materials
for reinforcement of the body, utilizing the benefits of both materials
to create the highest
quality models our company has ever produced.
Injection ABS composite material
has shown itself to be an ideal
material to form the body of a model car.
Compared to our old body
material, die-cast zinc, injected-ABS composite
material surfaces,
with correct formulation, are smoother and the bodylines and
creases
are sharper. The openings for vents and holes are also reproduced more
cleanly, and the panels can be much thinner when rendered in ABS
composite material than in zinc alloy. That makes the finished body
closer to the true scale gauge of real car bodies, which today are made
of a mix of thin sheet metal and different kinds of plastic moldings.
cleanly, and the panels can be much thinner when rendered in ABS
composite material than in zinc alloy. That makes the finished body
closer to the true scale gauge of real car bodies, which today are made
of a mix of thin sheet metal and different kinds of plastic moldings.
AUTOart’s move to a composite
model comes as injection- ABS
composite
parts become more widely used in the production of
modern full-scale automobiles. Fenders, tailgates, bumpers, and
body panels
are now routinely made of ABS with different
composition, and are just as
durable if not more so than their
metal counterparts in terms of esthetic and
structural rigidity.
Plus, ABS components will never corrode. Even the chrome-plated
trim pieces we see on modern car interiors, including door handles
that are
pulled constantly, are made of ABS in way as to simulate
metal parts. Composite bodies and structures are also becoming
the
norm in modern supercar manufacturing, and there, the structural
rigidity
is even better than that of sheet metal.
At the same time, we know
that a model’s heft is important to
collectors, and the average weight of our composite
models with
their die-cast interiors is not much less to the weight of a zinc
alloy die-cast body model car. In other words, the composite
model feels as
good to the hands as our metal ones.
Though some model makers have
turned to resin to replace
die-cast metal for the body, we feel that ABS, with
correct b
lending of reinforcement materials, has too many benefits over
resin,
especially in the reproduction of fine details. Resin and
ABS are both a by-product of crude
oil, but resin models can be
fragile, breaking or deforming easily when they
are not handled
with care. That’s because resin doesn’t flex like ABS, nor is
it as
rigid as a die-cast body. Because of these weaknesses, resin models
are
mostly made as sealed bodies with no openings. Some recent
resin models with
opening doors and bonnets demanded a very high
price, because the producer had
to make some parts of the body,
including the doors and bonnets, in ABS rather
than resin. That’s
because resin is brittle and breaks easily, and it is not
possible to
install the small hinges that movable panels require without
risking
a failure of the resin after just a few openings and closings.
We also discovered in
substituting ABS composite for die-cast
zinc that the common quality issue of
air bubbles, or so called
“rashes” or “zinc-pest”, on the paint surface of a
die-cast metal
body caused by trapped air during the casting process, is rarely
a problem. ABS doesn’t trap hot gasses as easily as zinc during
the injection
process, and that cuts the defect and scrap rate of
painted bodies.
Our composite models differ
from the usual low-cost plastic and
resin model cars seen on the market, which
have sealed bodies
and no openings or excessive detail. AUTOart’s composite
models
are not sealed, but have full array of working closure panels,
including
doors on all models and engine bonnets on many subjects.
Replicating opening doors and
bonnets on a composite model has
been a challenge for AUTOart’s engineers, because
a body made
of ABS, despite blended with reinforced material, is generally not
rigid enough. It tends to flex and deform under twisting or compression.
If
such a model is made featuring opening doors, the doors will pop
loose under
flexing and they will not close properly once the body is
slightly deformed.
This is the reason why low-cost plastic model
cars are traditionally made
without opening doors and bonnets.
In order to make the whole composite body rigid enough, we pair
it with a die cast interior that is
designed to support the body in all
the areas that need to be strengthened.
With a metal interior, the
whole composite body becomes rigid, which is no
different than the
concept behind a die-cast metal body and even many real cars.
The
reinforced composite body will not flex easily and will never deform,
and doors
and bonnets will always open and close in the same position.
Also, as a bonus,
the finished model’s door gaps are finer when rendered
in composite material than
in die-cast zinc.
The concept of an internal
structure is very much inspired by
modern supercars, in which a very rigid
carbon fiber tub supports
all the external lightweight bodywork. Other than the
rigidity
issue with ABS composite, which AUTOart has overcome with
its mix of
materials, a composite body is better in almost every
aspect when making a model
car body.
When the composite model is
finished and compared to older
die-cast zinc replicas, most collectors cannot
tell that the body is
made of composite material unless they look closely at
the
body lines and creases, which are even sharper and just as
focused as those
on resin models that sell for much higher prices.
AUTOart’s unique design for
its next generation of model cars,
which combines the benefits of composite
bodies with die-cast
zinc interiors, is patent pending.
Big thank you goes out to the AA team for this info.
MF
