Stamp "diecast" with opening features:

@john-sharisky Excellent info John, thank you VERY much!  👍 👍 👍

Although I disagree with Stamp a bit....   they could make opening doors, they just don't want to.   I appreciate their desire to maintain costs, however, I think collectors would pay more for "full functionality."    Time will tell......

IMO, Stamp will tool a few 1/43 - AND -1/18 "full function"  diecasts.    Now, wouldn't THAT be something!  😉 😏 😉 

They are not alone:  https://diecastsociety.com/lcd-pagani-imola-die-cast-fully-open-model-143/

That's very interesting.  For me, I never even remove the car from the base when I receive them.  Disaster would surely ensue were I to try opening the hood and trunk on such a small model. But for those who enjoy opening features I'm happy you are getting this opportunity. 

Posted by: @whodeytink

↑

"I never even remove the car from the base when I receive them."

@chris LOL, I have such bad arthritis in my hands I have ruined too many models by handling them and finally learned my lesson.  It took me several minutes to type this reply as I keep missing the target letters on the keyboard. Getting old can't suck enough.

@whodeytink Gotcha!   No need to explain - OR - type back!    😉 😉 😉

@chris I think too many shut lines on a 1/43 would not look good if it is mass production for a few thousands. I personally have no interest in metal models in this scale. Stamp will have to sacrifice quality and details somewhere to be competitive.

Perhaps they have noticed what LCD is doing.

Posted by: @nickies

↑

"Stamp will have to sacrifice quality and details somewhere to be competitive."

Not according to Stamp  and what they've mentioned about all this in online posts/articles.   I'm paraphrasing:   

"Diecast is cheaper to produce and offers greater fidelity.  In fact, retail pricing might actually decrease as resin is very expensive to manufacture." 

@mg-harv There's NO DOUBT that they have.    😉    I remember this 1/43 Toyota when you first posted it - VERY impressive, stunning really.      😯

Just a few thoughts, some of which overlap with points already raised above.

Models keep getting more expensive, and if Stamp have come with a cost-effective way of producing them (with or without opening features!) at reasonable prices, that's great.

However, I am a bit puzzled by their claim that diecast is cheaper than resin and offers better "fidelity". My understanding has always been that diecasting requires very large and expensive high-pressure metal casting machines and that etching the individual dies from blocks of stainless steel is also quite a costly process, which is why it has never (or rarely) been a viable option for small-scale production. People like Dinky and Corgi used to turn out models by the tens of thousands, with their more popular models selling well over a million, so die-casting was an affordable option, but those days are gone, people aren't buying models by the million, and the collector market has shrunk. So along came the specialist producers, making models for a smaller, more discerning group of serious (mostly older) collectors. And they turned to resin, which doesn't require the high initial investment in heavy production equipment. I can't believe the actual resin itself is much more expensive than metal alloy, and looking at the fine surface detailing on current resin models I also find it hard to believe that diecast necessarily offers finer detailing, which I presume Stamp mean by "fidelity". Or do they mean "dimensional stability"? I don't think good-quality resin is seriously inferior in that respect.

I think the real reason resin models have become so expensive is that (a) they are aimed at serious enthusiasts who want and expect a very high level of finish and fine add-on detailing inside and out, which increases the production time and cost, and (b) they are catering to a relatively small "hard core" market, so the design and production costs have to be recouped over a much small number of models - typically just a couple of hundred. Hence the high unit cost.

Given the high cost of diecasting equipment compared with the centrifugal casting of resin models in vulcanized rubber moulds, I'm not sure how Stamp are going to turn out diecasts cost-effectively unless they are aiming at very much higher production numbers than the "niche-market resin specialists" - which takes us back to the starting point, namely, that a "mass market" for models cars no longer exists.

Granted, part-works like DeAgostini/Altaya, and the people like Ixo who do the models for them, seem able to turn out well-detailed diecasts at very reasonable prices and they seem to sell in fair quantities, so there is some hope that Stamp might do the same. But will they simply be competing with the likes of Ixo who are already set up to churn out diecasts in large numbers? Will opening bonnets and boots (hoods and trunks) be enough to stimulate wider buyer interest?

It will be interesting to see what they come up with. Mind you, just for starters, I'm not sure I want yet another '59 Cadillac in 1:43, even if it does have opening bits. If they ARE going to offer a new range of diecasts, let's hope they come up with a fresh list of subjects and fill some interesting gaps, not just a re-working of familiar stuff.

@mg-harv, proof that 1/43 can have opening features and great fidelity too.

One more new diecast with opening parts to add to my list!

https://sunstarmodelcars.com/product/gj43-01-02-mitsubishi-lancer-evolution-ix-ralliart-redfull-opening/

@karl  I saw that too - impressive to say the least.    I sure hope Sun Star  tools up some American cars, especially sedans & wagons.    I'd love to give my FM DeSoto (and the others ) some company.  😉 😏 

Being to all external appearances a sensible, mature collector, I am generally quite happy with "sealed" models, and I know some people think opening features on 1:43 models (not to mention 1:64) is a recipe for disaster because the shutlines will never satisfy them.

But being a child at heart I do enjoy models with opening bits and pieces which make them seem less static and more "alive" and interesting. ("Play value" is the term used by marketing men and by psychologists observing model collectors furtively playing with their toys, which they insist must always be referred to as "models").

Just to fill a bit of space I make no apology by re-posting some models with nice opening features - and even the goddam can't complain about the shutlines on the Herpa models. And if they can do that with plastic there shouldn't be any problem doing it in high-quality resin.

Ford Falcon GT (Trax)

Holden Statesman (Trax)

Holden EH station wagon (Biante)

Ferrari Enzo (Herpa)

Ferrari F40 (Herpa)