New Autoart Composite Model

AUTOart is excited to announce the introduction of a new concept
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. 

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