se pare ca toate criticile colectionarilor au ajuns cu varf si indesat la urechile AUTOart.
in stilul caracteristic, AUTOart au ales sa fenteze colectionarul si cu un comunicat bine pus la punct, in care ne invata despre machetele "bune" si machetele "proaste"; despre machetele AUTOart facute ca la carte, desi pline de plastic...
cititi si trageti concluziile, mie mi-e scarba...
Perception of quality - 4 Sep, 2009
There is a prevailing misconception amongst die-cast model collectors over the term "good quality".
From a model-maker's point of view, for a die-cast model to be deemed "good quality" it must satisfy the following basic requirements:
* the model should replicate as closely as possible the true scale of the original;
* the body should be painted evenly and in a consistent shade without ripples or an orange peel effect;
* the doors, bonnet and trunk should close tightly with any surrounding gaps fine and even;
* the plastic windscreen should be clear and without distortion;
* the headlights should be fitted to the body of the model without the attachment pins being visible;
* the chrome trim, bumpers and rocker panels should be aligned correctly.
Many collectors believe that a good quality model will inevitably be expensive and incorporate sophisticated features such as a movable gas filler cap, sun visor, glove box, roof top......etc. In fact, a model may have a relatively simple specification and sell at a standard price but still be considered good quality as long as the above criteria have been met.
Obviously, a good quality model requires more manual labor during production than a standard quality model. The cost of production is, therefore, higher. One of the most challenging tasks for a model-maker is to achieve a high quality and consistent paint finish on the body and the panels. Before proceeding, the entire body surface must be smoothed manually, area by area and panel by panel, so that the paint may be applied evenly and smoothly. When parts of the model such as the pillars are produced to the true scale, the resulting structure will be quite slim and delicate. Thus the trimming of the corners and edges must be done by careful manual filing. Any air inlet or outlet on the die-cast body can only be manually trimmed in order to achieve a genuine aperture. To have the doors and panels close perfectly with fine and even gaps requires weeks or even months of manual fine-tuning of the tooling. There are no shortcuts when striving to achieve a quality finish. No automated machine can replace trained human hands handling such delicate objects.
In order to enhance the quality, a model can be made with special intricate features provided that they look real, both in scale and texture. Common practice is to use photo-etching on metal parts to produce components such as the radiator grill, air inlet wire mesh, brake-rotors, steering wheel spokes and various emblems. The process allows the production of parts of minimal thickness with the texture and fine detail that closely resemble the real items. Moreover, real leather can be trimmed to be so thin as to permit the incorporation in the model of upholstered seats and window curtains made of real fabric. Using multi-link metal hinges can also simulate the actual movement of a real car bonnet.
There are, of course, technical constraints. For example, when the real object is made of steel 1mm thick it will be almost impossible to replicate the same in a 1:18 scale model using metal that is 18 times thinner but still retaining its three-dimensional form. There are many small features in a real car, such as wiper arms, nuts and bolts and some suspension parts, that look unreal and out of scale if they are replicated in metal. Some makers use photo-etching on metal to simulate the wiper arm, which can be made very thin, but the result is just a flat piece of metal lacking the three-dimensional form. Other makers use metal to replicate an articulated wiper arm but the resulting component often appears to be too thick and unrealistic. These practices may be considered to be overplaying the role of special features in the development of die-cast models. However, many collectors comment that a model bearing such features is of high quality and merits the high price demanded for it, despite the lack of realism and adherence to the true scale. In fact, there are high-priced models selling in the marketplace that bear intricate features on a body shell that is fundamentally out of shape and out of scale and body panels that do not meet closely and tightly. Such models are of poor quality despite the price and features.
http://www.aa-collection.com/article.web.ViewArticleDetails.do?articleId=7 
