HRT - Not Premium

[Aussiecollector]

I was looking at the 2002 cars due to be released and noticed that Skaife VX 2002 is listed @ $149.00 gst inc and the Lowndes AU 2002 is listed @ $168.00 gst inc. I guess this clears up the guessing as to whether the HOLDENS would be made at the same level of the FORDS .

Is it possible for ADMIN / Biante to tell us why this is the case

Cheers Glenn

[drof]

Couple of things come to mind.
# Fords are the best, say no more!!
# Is it only HRT in the Holden stable that are done this way, not being a Holden Collector I don't know. Were the Valvoline or Perkins Commodore's the same, alot of plastic parts?
I must admit I bought the Bathurst 2000 Skaife/Lowndes Commodore because it was Craig's last drive for Holden and thought that it would appreciate in price, but was a little disappointed with the model. Look at this you don't need to compare Biante with CC's you can do a Biante Vs Biante and have similar results;eg Lowndes 00 Premium Vs HRT 01 Plastic!!
No being serious now it has to be $$, you pay $149 and you get a different quality model than a $168 model, but for an extra $19 you seem to get alot more detail and quality and in the context does'nt seem like a huge amount.

Regards

Dave from Kiwiland!!

[the_goldie]

Glenn, I have wondered this all along and have asked this a few times as to why the Fords are Premium and the Holdens - autoArt?

I would gladly pay the extra $20 for the premium quality in the Holdens. I think I might start collecting more Fords cause they are better in quality. The VTs are the same every year..... yaaaaaaawn.... except for the livery, but the Fords seem to get better in quality each year :confused: seems a little strange as to why the Holdens are not yet Premium's especially when they have a big fan base.

drof - all Holdens (VTs) have been autoArt that I know of.


Cheers.

[drof]

This is all getting a little confusing even for a seasoned collector like myself.
So does this mean that Biante, Biante Classics, Biante Premium and Biante Minicars are all made by different manufacturers with all different specs for each class? I think it is time for........Super Admin Man to use his Super Diecasting Powers to set this one straight.

Regards

Dave from Kiwiland!!

[berkut76]

I'm here with you Dave. Unfortunately, Biante is very secretive about what company makes the model. Judging from private
e-mails from other collectors, the "unspoken" consensus is that the models of Holdens are manufactured by the Gateway Global (i.e. AutoArt), and the Fords are made by Kyosho. However, in "official" communications Biante insists that it has an exclusive control over both design, and manufacturing of the models. Furthermore, Binate has stated to me that it uses the name AutoArt only for marketing purposes, as an AA name has a global appeal. The latter is true, but truth be told that there are only a handful collectors worlwide who has models of Australian cars in their collections. Although, Biante does have a point since there are actually very few large plants located in China and controlled by Hong Kong toy conglomerates whose names would mean nothing to even the most experienced collectors. Most often than not the competing ranges of models are rolled off from the same plant, albeit from different assembly lines. In short, firms like Kyosho and Minichamps do in fact develop "in-house", but the production is definitely outsourced.
On a side note, currently almost all the models are assembled by an exclusively female staff. In the former USSR/Soviet Union, in order to keep the costs down, the models were assembled using female prison labor.

Cheers,
Sergey

[drof]

All very political sounding, more like a CIA meeting, very secretive industry, diecast modeling. I tell you what though, you don't need Female Russian Prisoners to assemble the models send them to me, and i'll will also do it for free and will enlist the services of my children to help. Oh on second thoughts probably not the children, I don't want to be acused of running a child Labour camp in my garage!!

Regards and hoping for answers

Dave from Kiwiland!!

[Aussiecollector]

Sergey, Where do you get this stuff!!! "Female Prisoners",

Glenn

[Highlander]

That is the most entertaining Reply Sergey

But How did we get from HRT Autoart to Russian Women Prisoners

The Truth is out there

[ET351]

Yes Highlander, it is out there, but there is only one way to find the truth...

It's time for Gary Powers to fire up the ol' U2 spy plane, take a trip over China and get to the bottom of this 'diecast secrecy ring'.

Cheers, ET351

[berkut76]

Hello guys,
Unfortunately, the remark about prison female labor was not a joke. I've read it myself in the Russian automotive magazine: "Behind the Wheel". The truth came out only about 25 years after the Russians started making precision diecast models. The magazine periodically run articles about our hobby, which is quite big in the former Soviet Union.
As for Biante diecast-making "set up" Who cares? As long as they'll bring the Holden models to the level of Fords. So far, the only company that has openly acknowledged that they outsource manufacturing, but exercise a frim control over Quality Control and Development. The name of the company is Minichamps, which is owned by American Action Performance (NASCAR stuff).

Regards,
Sergey

[Aussiecollector]

Goldie,

The other thing with the cars is the Fords are much heavier, translated to real weight this must be the reason why they are so slow on the track.

Glenn

[GTSCoup]

This is an Admin quote taken from the "Glen Seaton AU" thread from a while back.

And please..Kyosho do NOT make Australian cars. Biante and Autoart are the owners and manufacturers of all our Australian cars.

I have asked Biante and they say the only time Kyosho has been involved is when they produced the '92 Nissan.

[berkut76]

Thanks GTS,
This makes the difference in quality and detailing even more puzzling.

Sergey