THE CONCEPT
There is a lot of thought and research that must go into selecting a vehicle to replicate. A significant amount of research is done based on perceived marketplace viability and collectability as well as researching which vehicles have not been produced by other manufacturers. We must think about cost effectiveness for the tool, like working variants into a run to maximize the use of each tool.
LICENSING
Once we have decided which cars we would like to replicate, we must obtain permission from the car's manufacturer. This is another major part of the concept process because every car we produce is officially licensed. A great benefit to being an official licensee is that we get to work directly with the car's manufacturer (GM, Ford, Dodge, etc.). This allows us to include the detailing and insignia that gives the GreenLight cars the authenticity and accuracy that the collectors crave.
RESEARCH
The research begins. Countless hours are spent researching the make, model and detail of the car. We use reference photos, model kits and actual cars from public shows, private collections or car dealerships to research the details of each car. Every little feature, including measurements, placement of logos, patterns, textures and color samples are researched. Once the research is completed on our end, a 'job bag' that includes a comprehensive description of the car is sent to our factory located in the Guandong Province of China. With this information, the factory is able to construct a prototype of the car.
CREATING A PROTOTYPE
Length of Time
1:64 scale - 45 days
1:24 scale - 75 days
1:18 scale - 90 days
The prototype is originally sculpted in clay by hand. This is a very meticulous process that takes a lot of patience and focus. As you can see from the image below of our 1:64 1978 Corvette clay prototype, the precision of the sculpting is quite impressive. PHOTO ATTACHED
From the clay prototype, a resin prototype is produced. This resin sample allows our production team to view the car in great detail. The replica is reviewed extensively at this stage so that we may catch any major changes that need to take place. We also send the prototype to the licensor of the car for review and comments.
Changes at this stage are crucial and necessary. After this stage, the car mold will be cut in steel and any major flaws that are not detected can be very expensive to change and potentially set a project back for a couple of months.
PRODUCTION OF STEEL MOLD
Length of Time
1:64 scale - 60 days
1:24 scale - 90 days
1:18 scale - 120 days
Upon our approval of the resin prototype, it is sent back to the factory where it is milled into steel blocks that create the mold. It is very important that the mold be filed and polished by hand to remove any imperfections before precise replicas can be produced. Below are images of the steel mold for producing the car's body.
Below is a 1:24 scale steel mold of a chassis in its final stages of filing. PHOTO ATTACHED
Molds for the interior and engine plastic parts are produced from steel molds as well.
Once all the pieces of the mold have been polished and are ready for use, it is time to produce the first die-cast replica.
FIRST SHOT
Before production of all the replicas can take place, the factory will produce 2 die-cast replicas from the mold called 'first shots'. These 'first shots' are fully assembled with all the interior and engine parts. Each car is painted with a single layer of paint so that we are able to better see the detailing of each car. Any areas of the car that will be chromed are included on the first shot as well. These 'first shots' are sent to GreenLight for review, where one of the replicas is sent onto the licensor for review.
The changes at this point are usually minor. As mentioned earlier and as you can see now, any major changes to the steel mold at this point would be very costly and set the project back for some time.
PHOTO ATTACHED
The pieces of the mold are assembled to create Once the mold is ready for injection. The raw material, zinc alloy that is used to produce the cars is melted and injected into the large hole on the side of the mold. The injected molds cool for about 6 hours before they are pulled apart to reveal the car casting.
Once the 'first shot' is approved the factory will produce a 'fully decorated' version of the car. This includes the cars' body paint, logos, painted interior and decorated engine. The sample is sent to GreenLight for review.
PRODUCTION OF THE REPLICAS
Upon approval of these samples, production of the replicas can begin. As mentioned before the cars are made from the raw material, Zinc Alloy. The Zinc Alloy is melted and injected into the molds to form the casting. Below is a picture of the Zinc Alloy in its raw form. PHOTO ATTACHED
After the cars come out of the mold, each car has to be filed by hand to remove the large pieces of excess raw material.
The die-cast bodies are then sent through a vibration trimming and polishing system where the cars are tumbled and washed to smooth rough edges and remove excess film. Once the surface of the car is smooth, it is ready to be painted and brought to life.
PAINTING AND DETAILING
Each car is spray-painted by hand with a white base coat, which serves as a primer on the die-cast metal. Each car body is then individually spray-painted. For each car part that requires a color other than the body color that part specially masked and painted. Car bumpers are often spray-masked.
After the paint on the cars have dried, the logos need to be affixed. This is done with a process called pad printing. This is a very tedious stage in the process. The machine and the car have to be synched and placed in the exact same position each time to assure proper placement of each logo. For each color in a logo or decal, the car must be "hit" with the pad-printing machine. If there are four colors in the logo, the car will be "hit" four times. Tires are also pad-printed one-by-one.
Once the paint on the car has completely dried, it is time to fully assemble each car. The injection-molded parts for the interior of the car and engine are individually installed. When the car is fully assembled, each GreenLight die-cast replica is polished by hand and packaged.
PACKAGING
The development of the packaging begins long before the car is ready to be packaged. Packaging is created much like the actual die-cast cars using clay prototypes. In the image below, the clamshell packaging we use for our 1:64 scale Muscle Car Garage is being created. After the clay prototype has been approved, a bronze mold of the packaging is produced. Below, in the bronze mold, you can see the front and back of the clamshell packaing.
PHOTO ATTACHED
To create packaging, the machine in the image to the far right is used. It is called a Heat Molding Machine. Large sheets of PVC plastic are placed over the bronze molds. A large heating component melts the PVC plastic down over the mold to form the clamshell packaging. Each GreenLight die-cast replica is then hand packaged and ready to be shipped.
SHIPPING
The cars have been packaged and stacked on pallets for shipment. These pallets are loaded into a shipping container and taken to port where they are placed on a container ship. It takes approximately three weeks for the product to travel across the Pacific ocean and reach a port city on the West coast of the United States.
The container must go through customs before it is unloaded and checked into a local warehouse. The product is then distributed to your local die-cast retail location. Sometimes we have product brought to a local warehouse here in Indianapolis, IN. For the container to get to Indianapolis, we must have the container loaded onto a rail car. It then travels by train to Chicago where it goes through customs and is taken to a local warehouse. The container is then loaded on a semi and driven 3 hours to Indianapolis.
We hope you have enjoyed this rare look into the production side of the die-cast business. It is an exciting yet tedious process with many ups and downs, but seeing the finished product after an 8-12 month process is incredibly satisfying and rewarding.
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