Building a 1/8 scale ICON Models XY Falcon GT - Stop Motion animation

This is simply brilliant. A stop motion animation of the construction of an Icon Models  1:8 scale diecast model of a Ford Falcon XY GT. Adrian Roach has put a lot of effort into this and it is inspiring. For those who are interested, a 1:8 scale ICON kit cost $1295 (Australian). It is also nice to see his kids involved.

Other posts:
The History of Maisto Diecast Cars
Canberra Model Vehicle Collectors Club

I also have a facebook page Canberra Diecast Model Car Tragics

Hot Wheels Ford Falcon V8 Supercar 2011

Hot Wheels shook up the Australian diecast collector community in 2009 by releasing the classic Ford Falcon XB Coupe. It has become a firm favourite of diecast collectors and members of the general public, and every version (five so far) has been eagerly snapped up. They look set to repeat this sales generating venture again – with a contemporary Australian car. New for 2012 is the Ford Falcon V8 Supercar.

The V8 Supercar racing series is Australia’s premier motor racing competition, with fierce rivalry between the teams, and great interest from motor racing fans. The annual Bathurst 1000 race is a holy day on the Australian sports calendar. Currently there are only two manufacturers with cars in the series – Ford and Holden. That rivalry is fierce.

 Rear view - complete lack of detail

Front view 

 Although the cars look like the road going versions, apart from the fact that they are wearing elaborate wings and body kits and painted in garish team colours and sponsor decals – they are really silhouette racers. Under the body panels are custom designed, controlled chassis and running gear. Apart from the engines and body panels, almost all the cars are identical. These cars are at the peak of racing technology in Australia and can reach speeds of over 300kmh down the famous Conrod Straight at Mt Panorama.

Current releases of V8 Supercars in this scale from Biante and Classic Carlectables have slowed to a trickle recently – reflecting a recent sales slump across the general diecast industry. Investment in a car that may not sell more than a few hundred versions is not good business sense. That Hot Wheels have decided to make this model can only be a positive thing. Although this retails for a few dollars and the other 1:64 V8 Supercars retail closer to the 20 dollar mark (offering far greater detail, accurate liveries and higher quality packaging than the average Hot Wheels car), it may spark greater interest in this scale of cars overall.

 A complete V8 Supercar interior roll cage and seats

The model itself looks like it should – it is a toy racecar with attitude. It comes packaged in the standard Hot Wheels blister pack for 2012, and has snuck into Australian retailers a little early and can be found now. It should be a very popular casting for Hot Wheels with collectors and customisers.

The body casting looks like a generic V8 Ford Falcon supercar, although it sits a little higher than a real one, and has no camber on the wheels at all! The proportions of the body are in typical Hot Wheels fashion, a little exaggerated. The wheel arches are massively larger than they would be on a true scale model of the car. Although they have the proper bonnet bulge, the rear wing is a little small. The B pillars are also a little bigger, and the C pillar a little narrower than they should be. The front windscreen is the biggest inaccuracy on this model – its straight at the bottom, not curved like the real thing. Hot Wheels have moulded in the NACA duct on the roof (for cabin ventilation) but have not added door mirrors. 

 This angle really shows how poor the applied paint is

The same angle, other side, same poor paint issues

The first offering of this model from Hot Wheels is in Ford racing blue, with a bold white racing livery. Ford logos appear on the car several times, as well as a few tiny Hot Wheels logos. It’s a two colour paint job only, with the white paint being laid down over the blue. Its not Hot Wheels finest paint either, with the blue visible through the white paint. There are serious paint issues with this model, and if you bought a 1:43 scale car with the same quality you would return it for a better example. 

Tampo printing is miserly with no detail picked out at all. Headlights, taillights, vents – nothing. All you get with this car is the blue body and white racing stripes and logos. Oddly, there is a slightly different shade of blue used for a wide strip on the bonnet.

The glass is also problematic, while the front and rear windscreens are fine, the side glass does not sit flush. However, that’s only when picked up and examined closely. From a few feet away, it isn’t noticeable, and I’m sure when its racing down the orange track no one will care.

 You can make out the excellent interior and also the very wrong front glass.

The interior is the real surprise with this model. It is in blue plastic and looks to be a fairly reasonable facsimile of the interior of a V8 super car, with elaborate roll cages and bracing in the cabin. You can also see a single drivers seat and a tiny gear stick and steering wheel. When they inevitably use this casting as a taxi, this will look odd. Right now, it looks great, and will no doubt appeal to customisers.

The black plastic base contains a small amount of detail, the most noticeable being the triple exhaust exiting from the passenger side. You can also make out adjustable rear suspension bars! The front part of the base is also used behind the central part of the front bumper to represent the lower radiator area, and looks good, especially as there is no other detail on the front area.

The wheels are a treat, being ten spoke wheels which look like those used on V8 Supercars. They are black plastic 10 spoke wheels, with the spokes picked out in white. This matches the white paint on the body. The wheels roll freely and although far larger than the real cars wheels do suit the casting. 

 Matchbox AU Falcon from a few years back, next to the Hot Wheels Falcon Supercar. 

Rear view - the Matchbox car is far more accurate and of far higher quality.

Although I have been critical in some aspects of this car, it is a casting with great potential. In its first version, Hot Wheels have cemented the fact that it is a Ford racing car, and when flicking through the blister packs on the hangers, it won’t be mistaken for anything else. It is also a casting that has promotional potential. I can see DJR or another racing team ordering many thousands of these as give aways. Customisers will also welcome this model.

The 1:64 scale Hot Wheels Ford Falcon Race Car is available from retailers for around $2.20.

Positives

Nice to see another Aussie car in Hot Wheels line up

A casting with potential 

Negatives

Hot Wheels exaggeration to body proportions

Paint quality is very average

2.5 out of 5 stars

Note: This article was originally written for Detail magazine, but not published. The rating system is for that magazine and not that used by me for this blog. 

See also:

A boy and his toy cars on a sunny spring Canberra day

Dinkum Classics EF Ford Falcon Allan Moffat HO Special

Revolution VT HSV Commodore - Detail Magazine preview

Classic Carlectable V8 Supercars for sale

I have just updated my Biante/Classics 'for sale' page with five surplus models from my diecast garage. Sorry - these have sold (in less than 12 hours to a BIN on Ebay).

They are:

• John Bowe Caterpillar V8 AU Falcon - V8 Supercar. Mint. $15.00 
• John Bowe - Dick Johnson Racing - Shell V8 EL Falcon - V8 Supercar. Mint. Some marks on box.  $15.00
• Mark Larkham - Mitre 10 - V8 AU Falcon - V8 Supercar. Mint. $15.00
• Craig Lowndes 2004 FPR BA Falcon - V8 Supercar. Mint. $25.00
• Garth Tander 2002 Valvoline Holden Commodore  - V8 Supercar. Mint. $25.00

These are also being auctioned on Ebay here.

Trax TR9S XR Ford Fairmont

Top Gear on occasion offer special models for members of their various clubs, over the years. One of those examples is the car featured here. The TR9S XR Ford Fairmont in Black from 1994. This car was a special edition for Foundation members of the Trax Golden Age Club, and only 3500 were made.

The constant procession of late 60's Fords - especially GT's - from Australian diecast manufacturers means that there are few cars in any colour combination that have not been produced. In 1994, there was still no real competition for Trax, and this car reflects that. The body is a little inaccurate, especially around the front, and the rear. The turret looks OK, but the B pillars are too wide. 

The wheels and tyres are typical of the early 90's era for Australian diecast. Far too narrow and not to scale at all. However, whoever designed the car in this livery had a good eye. The gloss black and whitewall tyres do work well. 

There is a rare variant of this car with the tampo 'Fairmont' on the bootlid printed upside down, its not known how any of these exist.

The base of this car has very little detail.

The interior is colour coded to the rest of the cars theme, and is reasonably detailed. the seats are textured and the dash and instruments are represented. 

Anyone who acquires this car and expects the quality of a 2011 produced car is deluding themselves. The accuracy and heavy detailing is reflective of an earlier era in diecast car design. Having said that,  it is a scarce and attractive model which does actually look pretty good. 

To the rating:

Trax TR9S XR Ford Fairmont

Quality  8

Design    6

Colours   8

X-factor  7

Rating: 29/40

See also: 

List of all 1:43 Trax diecast since 1986

Capital Diecast Garage Aussie Diecast Forums *NEW*

Pre-production shots from ARMCO/Models56 - Brock GTR-X, Ford Landau and Geoghegan Mustang

While I was writing the reviews of the ARMCO FC Holden and GTHO Super Falcon for Detail magazine, I emailed a few questions to Models56. They shared with me some of their upcoming products - and have given me permission to post a few photos here. 

This is a 1:43 resin Torana GTR-X in 'what if' brock bathurst livery. I believe its endorsed by the Brock Foundation. This is a test shot for the decals. 

A more complete pre-production test example. With rear spoiler, racing wheels. This version will have an opening bonnet, and an engine. A first for 1:43 resin in Australia. 

This is a resin test shot of the pattern for the Pete Geoghegan 67 Mustang. Note the open bonnet and highly detailed engine bay. I dont know how far away this model is. 

A very early pattern of a 1:43 Ford Landau. Once again, I do not know how far away this car is from delivery, but am looking forward to it.

If you collect high quality 1:43 Australian cars, I'd recommend visiting the Models56 website.

See also:

Armco Models - FC Holden Station Wagon and McCormack racing Charger

Interview with John Pisani of Models56

Revolution Models Holden Hurricane and Torana GTR-X

Coming soon in Detail Magazine Issue 2

A teaser for those who are waiting for the next issue of Detail. Two of the cars I have written reviews of in Issue 2. 

 Hot Wheels Ford Falcon Race Car

Revolution Models Holden Torana GTR-X (in 80's guise)

Hot Wheels Ford Falcon XB Coupe triple treat

Its no secret to anyone that knows me that I think that the XA-B-C Falcon Coupe is the best looking car ever made in Australia.  When Hot Wheels introduced their version, I started collecting it and will continue as long as they keep making new versions! So far they have produced three versions -Yellow, then Blue and the Hot Wheels Garage version in Red.

Enjoy all three in this triple treat Hot Wheels XB Coupe photo essay!

See also:
Hot Wheels Yellow Ford Falcon XB Coupe
Hot Wheels Blue Ford Falcon XB Coupe
Hot Wheels Garage Red Ford Falcon XB Coupe

Hot Wheels Garage Red Ford Falcon XB Coupe

The popularity of the Hot Wheels Ford Falcon XB in Australia has been very high since its release in late 2009. With the yellow and blue versions being snapped up as soon as they hit the pegs, it was odd that this car, part of the Hot Wheels Garage series, was released - on the US market only in late 2010. 

The difference between this car and the regular Hot Wheels cars is that it has a metal base, a metal body and different wheels with real rubber tyres. There is also a higher level of detail, as can be seen by the picked out headlights. 

The paint job is a custom paint scheme, unlike the factory GT paint scheme used on the yellow and blue castings. This red paint scheme is very attractive with the bold black stripes radiating off the bonnet and ghost scallops starting on the front fenders. 

Even though this casting is metal/metal and has extra detail and rubber tyres, there are a few anomalies - the rear brake ducts and fuel cap are painted over in body colour and once again the tampo paint machine has missed the rear lights. 

This car is only available in the U.S. and even there sells at a premium, roughly the same as a Lesney Edition Matchbox car. It is an attractive car and essential for any Ford Falcon model car collector.

To the rating:

Hot Wheels Garage Red XB Falcon Coupe

Quality  7

Design    7

Colours   8

X-factor  8

Rating: 30/40

See also: 

Hot Wheels Yellow Ford Falcon XB Coupe

Hot Wheels Blue Ford Falcon XB Coupe  

Trio of Hot Wheels Ford Falcon XB Coupes (coming soon)