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Old 28 Jan 2004, 13:07 (Ref:853571)   #33
Steve Wood
Racer
 
Join Date: May 2003
Location:
Stanford-le-Hope, Essex
Posts: 255
Steve Wood should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
The high investment costs and the potentially small market prohibit manufacturers from making BTCC models, particularly to the high level of detail now expected.

Consider the tooling costs : Brass master model, Pressure Dies for body and floor pan, seperate Injection Moulds for interior, roll cage, glazing, front lights, rear lights, grille, then artwork for the decals, and a tampo printing fixture. All of this would be around £30,000 for a 1/43 touring car.

Then you maybe need the appropriate licences or permission from the car manufacturers, team, and sponsors - you can't just sell a model of somebody's car, there is intellectual property to consider. Some may be glad of the interest and exposure, but the more astute may want a cut of the action.

On a production run of 10,000 models, the above would add at least £3.00 per unit cost to recover the investment - and would they shift 10,000 Muller Vauxhalls ?

RC bodies are a different matter - overall impression and impact are more important than detail, the vac-form tooling is considerably cheaper, they are one-piece, one-colour (transparent), and they fit standard chassis.
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