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When we think of die-cast cars, often we think of the details and features that each one offers but if you take the time to understand the process of creating these replicas, you can enjoy each one even more. This will be a simplified description of the process that manufacturers go through to produce a diecast car as there are several steps that can take well over a year to produce a final “run” of cars, a process comparable to the manufacturing of a real automobile.

Once a 1:1 car has been selected to replicate, the manufacturer creates a hand shaped mold of the outside of the car. This mold is duplicated and the duplicate is turned into a hand crafted working model. This model is the one used to create the tooling. Each part of the hand crafted model is precisely measured and a die is made to produce each part. This tooling is often a very expensive process requiring hundreds of hours of machining and is the reason why manufacturers usually produce several variations of each model car.

Once the dies have been cut, a test car is cast and assembled to determine if any changes should be made. If all of the parts fit and work correctly and the textures and shape of the parts are correct, then the die is hardened and ready to mass produce.

Each die is made of at least two parts. These parts are assembled and injected with molten metal under high pressure to produce the casting. Once the casting has cooled, the die is taken apart and the casting is then removed, trimmed of excess material, buffed out, and primed for paint. Once painted, each part of the diecast car is assembled until completion. They are then shipped to the manufacturer and distributed to customers.

While that was a very brief explanation, hopefully it gave you an idea of the various time-consuming processes that can go into the manufacturing of just one diecast car. The die cast process used to manufacturer these collectibles has been around for a long time but it is utilized for the advantages it has over other processes including economics, high speed production, dimensional accuracy, strength, multiple finishes, and simplified assembly.

Die casting by pressure injection was developed in the mid 1800s and used primarily for making printing type. It wasn't until the 1900s that the die cast process was used for mass production of various parts. Over the length of 100 years, the die cast process evolved from a low pressure injection process with tin and lead to a high pressure casting with several different alloys that produce excellent surface finishes such as the ones found on our beloved model cars.

For now, die casting is the preferred method for all of the previously mentioned advantages but several factors such as the price of alloy, availability of cheap assembly labor, and tooling costs could one day change enough to make other processes more feasible. We've already experienced several price increases in the past few years due to increasing costs of alloys.

These changes could lead the hobby in a whole new direction or perhaps collectors will demand even more accuracy and steer manufacturers to produce models using actual materials from the 1:1 cars including carbon fiber, plastic, and fiberglass. Only time will tell but it is exciting contemplating which direction the hobby will go!

References: Diecasting