Amalgam Collection - Questions for the manufacturer.

Hi Rickytmk, which particular model are you interested in the parts count?

 

Hi rickytmk, Sandy C here, the founder of Amalgam, nice to meet you on Ferrarichat, hope I can help and add some value here. Thought I'd jump in and try to add detail and background to your question and a number of other points raised in this thread. Regarding your request for part counts I can give you a few of those you requested now and follow up on the others later. For sure we will be putting these numbers against each model on the website, but we took a whilelonger than expected to get an upgrade of some pages done and the parts count got pushed back in favour of overall implementation.....we'll get back onto it soon. The thing is we don't normally keep a count of the parts because it doesn't matter at all to us in the building of the model, we are fully focused on representing everything as accurately and beautifully as possible but not counting the parts. So for each model we have have to go through our BOM and count up all the parts made and bought in, not a huge job for one model but we need to do it for a large number of models, so its a job that keeps getting pushed back in favour of developing the next model! Here are the ones we have already done from your list, the others will appear on the website as we get them counted up, or please drop us a line by email so we can push them to you as we get them counted:

Huayra - 1597 parts
Ferrari 250 GTO - 1691 parts
Jaguar XKSS - 1880 parts
Jaguar D Type - 1900
Ferrari F40 eur - 2044 parts
Bentley Blower - 3957 parts (huge numbers of screws, rivets and wire wheels at around 150 parts per wheel)

For sure the number of parts does not relate directly to the man hours, the difficulty of building, or the final value of each model, but it is one interesting facet of the overall complexity.

Hope this was useful! Sandy.

 

Hi David C,

Sandy C the founder of Amalgam here. Jumping in to track back on a few points in this thread, hoping to clarify and add some background information.

The reason for the previous 75% of finished model pricing for kits was because (with a few exceptions) we sell such a few pieces of each model that the development cost makes up a significant part of the overall cost. That development cost still needs to be covered in the cost of a kit just as much as a finished model. So the 75% simply represents the reality of the cost of development (design and patternmaking and mould and tools etc etc) plus the cost of casting and machining and procuring all the parts.

We have shied away from offering kits now because we design the parts of each model to be processed and built up in our workshops using jigs and tools developed specially for the purpose. That and the fact that designing good instructions is a really massive task (ask our friend Luca Tameo!) moves us to concentrate entirely on making built models.

Hoping that explains the old kit pricing and the reason we decided to concentrate on making superb built models.

Sandy C

 

Sandy C founder of Amalgam here.

My colleague Joe is not entirely right with his comment about 3D printing (he spends too much time in the office and taking photographs of the models and not enough in the workshop!) If the CAD supplied by an F1 team or a manufacturere is good enough for a complex compound shape we do sometimes use 3D printing to create patterns, but we always hand finish and adjust the details to suit the scale before putting into soft tooling and then hand casting the parts. We also CNC some big components and then hand finish and add details before going into tooling. This in no way detracts from the artistry or the finesse involved in hand finishing and detailing the model at every stage, it just means we can be sure that the very complex and subtle compound curves of the car that have been slaved over and perfected by a team of the worlds best automotive designers at Ferrari etc are represented accurately! These days we are also working at the other end of the process helping the designers hone in on the perfect shape at the design stages.

Hope that has added some deeper detail around the development process we use. If you have any other questions about the development and build of Amalgam models I am always at your disposal!

Sandy C

 

Hi rickytmk, Sandy C founder of Amalgam here again.

Just a word on weathering of models. There are many and various views on this, particularly for race cars. Should the model show the car as it started a race in perfect clean condition (that's the way we used to go), or should it reflect the way the car crossed the line in a state of heroic disarray, perhaps after 24 hours of hard racing at Le Mans? We have started, to go the latter direction and I think that meets with most approval? All feedback welcome on this point! While we are talking of realism, we are developing a model of the Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 raced at Monaco by Tazio Nuvolari in 1932 and are considering making a really beautifully sculpted figure of Nuvolari at the wheel. All feedback much appreciated! Sandy C.

 

Hi, No we have not stopped making the Huayra, we are rationalising the way we categorise models on the website and this has resulted in some models not being visible until the process is complete. Please contact us by email to get details of any of the models including the Huayra.

Sandy C

 

SandyC here catching up on some old posts. We certainly did consider making the One-77 but our discussions with AM fell through at that time.....seems that door might be opening again

 

Hi -CD- SandyC here, the founder of Amalgam. 400 hours seems like an extraordinary time to build a single model but that is indeed what it takes for the most complex of our models. That number excludes the development time, but it does include the making of the soft tooling (split between 20 models from one set of tooling), casting of the resin parts, preparation of etched parts, preparation of turned and machined parts, fettling and fitting of the parts (very time consuming for cars with opening doors and hatches), priming and second sanding, basecoat and lacquer coat, polishing, final round of fitting, and finally the long and time consuming build of the model. We also include the hours for the making of the base and building the clear acrylic cover, all of which we do in house.

Regarding the 356, in some senses a simple car, but at the upper end of the spectrum regards model detailing and making. We have not skimped on the detailing, and it is indeed one of our most time consuming models to build. SandyC

 

Yes indeed there is a 330P4 at 1:8 scale on the way, first small batch ready around May 2018. We visited Mont Tremblant in Canada earlier this year to scan and photograph in great detail the only surviving original example owned by Lawrence Stroll. There have been other models at 1:8, but never accurate and never made to the level of detail we will attain. This model will certainly be the benchmark. SandyC

 

Deep apologies, I'm going to blame our website builders who migrated data across to a new version of our site and made a wrong cross reference between 1:18 and 1:8 models. The true time to build one of the 1:18 models is around 15 to 20 hours. The time quoted of 220 hours is for a modern F1 model at 1:8

 

You're right, see my previous post, it takes around 15 to 20 hours to build a 1:18 including casting, finishing, painting and assembly. The 220 build number quoted is for a 1:8 model. SandyC

 

We have started developing the J50 at 1:8. Taking orders for delivery in December. 1:18 J50 is not likely. SandyC

 

Again my apologies, I'm at your disposal with any questions.