Time Line

CurrentTimeline

12th December 2007

This will probably be the last entry in our TimeLine for the ICON MODELS Track Red XY Falcon GTHO Model Kit as the first container DID leave China 9th December 2007. The following 6 containers will arrive at a rapid rate and we hope they will all be on Australian shores by end January 2008.

As a final point of interest the first 40 foot shipping container left carrying only 250 model kits and and was filled with the total production run of 1,260 Cleveland engines. It would have been nice had it all been model kits but hey what does that matter now.

A big thank you to all involved in the production and promotion of our kit and a special thanks to our customers for their loyalty and patience.

**** MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR ****

4th December 2007

The China plant have given us delivery date after delivery date and on each occasion never seem to able to make the deadline. The last date we were given was the 1st container is scheduled to leave China 8th December 2007. But hey, we have heard all that before. We have had correspondence with First Gear again regarding our displeasure with the delivery schedule. First Gear told us this morning that the hold up is in the packaging line of the process. The model parts are humming along nicely and the engine production has been completed in full. The problem comes when the packaging line are trying to put the model in the box. Remember this is a partially assembled model kit. At some point in the process line the components that the factory have to assemble are put together. At another point in the packaging line the components that the modeller have to assemble have to be assembled at the factory to ensure everything fits okay. They then have to pull that bit apart and pack the parts into the box. This is not the mention that many of the parts are to be hand polished (5 times we believe). First Gear admit that the factory is struggling with the packaging process but suggest patience is the word. Neither Icon, First Gear or the collector want the factory to do a rush job. We want our model to have the fine detail that we have all come to expect and we want the model packed in the box in the same manner.

So, we are not going to double guess the delivery dates and will patiently wait until it is confirmed that the 1st container has left China. We do believe that once the first and second container have been filled the factory will be on a roll.

We thank you for your patience and eagerly look forward to the first container being on the water.

9th September 2007

We took our last confirmed order at Penrith Model Swap Sunday 9th September 2007. Technically we are now SOLD OUT!! Due to the continuing enquiries we are still taking orders for those customers who wish to be on a waiting list. There is bound to be a customer or two whose circumstances have changed and find themselves in the situation that they have to cancel at the final hour.

Our many thanks to all our customers who have shown faith and interest in our project. It has been a fun road and we look forward to offering something else unique early 2008.

As soon as they first shipping container leaves China a message will be posted to the website....so KEEP WATCHING THIS SPACE!

September 2007

Over the last month or so we had many conversations with the First Gear engineer regarding the quality of the paintwork. This was our last remaining criticism of the model kit, but to us it was one of the most important. We were expecting our last prototype to be basically perfect and were disappointed, to say the least, with the paint coverage. First Gear agreed with our comments and neither of us could understand why the Chinese could not see that we had a problem. With the model being so large the paintwork is the first thing you notice and obviously it needs to be rich and well covered. First Gear went to bat on our behalf and told the plant that the model was unacceptable in the current state and until such time as the paintwork was sorted out we would not be taking delivery. That's the bad news! The good news is Kelly received another prototype last week and rang us to let us know we could now sleep at night because the paintwork was like GLASS!!!

So now with that drama behind us we can look forward to the delivery. China have already altered their guess at the delivery and are now saying the first container will leave China around November 10th (we are wondering whether the new way they have to deal with the paintwork has added to the production time). We are worried that the 7 shipping containers are going to arrive at a pace too quick for us to handle, but that is our problem and we will just have to deal with it.

The kit is nearly sold out. At the time of posting this update we only had approximately 20 left for order.

We had a display of the prototypes at the Muscle Car Masters in Sydney last weekend and simply blitz them. What a great event it was. If you didn't have a chance to get there this year mark it in your calendar for 2008.....it will be an event you will not want to miss!

July 2007

Kelly arrived back from his holidays only to find that The Ford Motor Co. would not give us approval for the design on the box, for both the model kit & the engine. We had the "Ford" logo on the box in a different colour than their traditional logo. Ford asked us to change the colour but we didn't feel that would do the box any justice...in fact it would have looked quite tacky. So we had to replace the logo with the word 'FORD' and dispense with the logo altogether. The things you have to deal with! The 'owners manual' and the boxes were finally given the seal of approval the week after production had commenced.

The plant revised the container schedule and increased it from 5 shipping containers to 7. It seems that no-one is prepared to stick their neck out and tell us when the first container is estimated to leave....as soon as we hear we will let you know.

The plant revised the completion date and are estimating that the total run will be completed by end September 2007...but we will see! If end September is accurate all the model kits and engines will be in Australia in October.

June 2007

Our First Gear Engineer is going on holidays at the end of this week and needs to have the assembly instructions finished before he goes. First Gear are then required to obtain further approvals from Ford USA for the packaging for the model kit, the engine and the assembly instructions. Once this approval has been given production is set to commence 10th July.

This week we were advised that the manufacturing plant envisage completing the production run well ahead of schedule. Remember the shipment will arrive in stages (approximately 5 x 40ft shipping containers).

We have an advertisement organised with The Diecast Magazine (previously known as 1:18 Diecast Downunder) which is scheduled to appear in September.

May 2007

It has been quite a while since we have added some information on the current status. The silence has been due to the fact that we had nothing to report while First Gear and the manufacturing plant have been frantically working on the moulds.

Well, we have great news to report, the mould has been finished and has been given the tick of approval by the First Gear Engineer. He is ecstatic with the finished mould and his enthusiasm is overwhelming. There are now only two remaining jobs to be completed before manufacturing can begin, the assembly instructions and the actual packaging (box) for the model kit. Kelly, our First Gear engineer, has been working on the assembly instructions for a couple of months. This has been a time consuming job which required patience, to firstly figure out what order to put the kit together, build one as he went along, and, at the same time document it all and take photographs (so you will be able see from the instructions what you are required to do). Kelly is still working on this but he tells us he only has a few weeks left to finish it because China a pressing him to meet their deadlines. We have previously posted to the website a photo of one of the packaging (box) suggestions and we understand it will be very similar. China has had a few problems with the drop tests and have had to revamp things quite a few times. Obviously everyone is concerned about the safety and security of the contents of the kit, after all they are to be shipped all over the world.

There has been a considerable amount of discussion regarding the current zinc prices. The price of zinc has gone up over 300% since our project was first quoted. Because of the sheer size of our model this is a significant increase to costs and we are all trying to come up with ideas on how we will compensate for it. Perhaps more news on this front in a couple of weeks or so.

Our advertising campaign has started and the first magazine with our ad was Australian Muscle Car. The phones have been running hot and as we anticipated the kit is selling fast. Smart move by all those collectors who put their order in early!

March 2007

The 2nd prototype which was released December had gold GT stripes and proved useless from our point so we opted to wait for another one with the correct black GT stripes. Unfortunately 6 weeks passed while we were waiting. The pressure was on the China factory to make the modifications and get the prototype out of their factory before Chinese New Year. (remember everytime we ask for another prototype the kit has to be assembled before they can send it to us). However, it was well worth the wait. We now have the 3rd prototype with many improvements on the first one we have been showing everyone. To our surprise the 3rd prototype included the opening glove box, removable fuel cap, black GT stripes, the red line on the tyres, air valves in the tyres, the correct wheel colouring, the rear door windows plus many subtle improvements to the interior. You will notice that the GT stripe has been placed a little high on this prototype but rest assured it will be amended before final production. We have shown a photo of the rear tail lights to show that the black striping has been added.

We will be using this sample for advertising and have a meeting arranged with Australian Muscle Car advertising department this week to be followed with Diecast Downunder. We will be aiming for the advertising campaign to commence in June.

Last week First Gear sent some photos of the first suggestions for the kit packaging, thought you might find that interesting. If you look closely you will see a spanner in the display (even we didn't know we were getting that). These are only first suggestions and like everything will be improved over the next few months. For those customers who have purchased a spare engine you will see in the latest engine photo a small black plastic stand that will hold your engine off the table.

These are just a few photographs and we hope to have some more detailed ones added over the next week.

February 2007

We had communicated with First Gear on many occasions regarding the compliance plate and had sent hoards of artwork to ensure the accuracy. Knowing the significance of the compliance plate in the real car both Icon & First Gear were very enthusiastic with the prospect of having a replica. First Gear telephoned us in February with grave concern when it was realized that a scaled compliance plate was illegible with the naked eye, simply due to the size. It was suggested that in place of the authentic replica compliance plate we have a certificate, that would look similar, so the customer was able to read it. After a 1 second deliberation Icon refused this suggestion. The compliance plate is and will be an accurate 1/8 scale replica showing the model number of your kit but you will need a magnifying glass to be able to read it.

DECEMBER 2006 cont'd

Many of you will have already received your 24 page Ford dealers brochure, a gift to you from Icon Models. This replica publication is 10% smaller than the original. The original brochure was available from the local Ford Dealer to anyone that was interested in buying a new 1971 XY GTHO. Icon Models thought the same, anyone who ordered a 1:8 scale Diecast Model Kit of the XY GTHO should have a Ford Dealers brochure.

First Gear have received the 2nd prototype and Kelly has emailed us some photographs. We have put the photos on the engine page and the model page. They are not very good quality but until we receive a prototype ourselves it is better than nothing. You will see on the home page that the car has gold stripes. Goodness knows why the chinese thought they would put gold stripes on it but be assured the pinstriping is BLACK. From the photos we received we can see that they have embossed the engine with the Ford logo and added the selectors, the roof lining now has the pinholes and looks more authentic, the boot has been painted with the black panel (even though they have got it wrong), detail has been added to the instruments but the steering wheel is not quite right, the engine bay has been painted "track red", the spot lights have been adjusted and the tail light lenses look realistic. These are just a few adjustments that we can see from the photographs and we are sure that many other have been made. We will be talking to First Gear during the week before Christmas and hope to have more information then.

We would like to thank you for your custom and your interest in our project. We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a safe and prosperous New Year!

DECEMBER 2006

It seems like nothing is happening, but rest assured it is all happening.....we just can't see it. We asked Kelly, our project engineer from First Gear, to give us an update. His update was not exactly what we had in mind but it came from his heart and we thought it worthy of publication.

"Your model is in the midway of it's development process right now. I sometimes liken it to the birth of a child. What Ken & I looked at in Hong Kong was really only a fertilized egg, a "baby" under development in the womb. All the potential was there for the 'real thing', but without any real interaction with the world its destined for. A project doesn't take on real life until it reaches the stage where we begin the moulds, and thats where we're at now. We've been in this stage for several months and will be there for several more, but this is the stage that will make all the difference as far as how successful the project becomes.

When we began "cutting steel" back in April 2006 your project was "birthed" into reality. Huge blocks of steel (of dimensions never yet attempted in this field) have spent long weeks under pain-staking supervision of skilled craftsmen. They've been cutting the steel to precise tolerances, creating the shapes in steel which we approved in plastic patterns. I suppose you'd compare this to those developing years when the baby is taught the basics of life, eating, sleeping, Sesame Street (do they have that down-under?), all the things that prepare them to interact with the world around them.

In July your baby went to school, we put those moulds into presses and moulded the first actual parts. These parts were quite good for such an early stage in the development, but as anyone could see, the fits were not perfect and much detail was still in rough form. This would compare to sending a child to kindergarden I suppose. From that time on we've been polishing surfaces and fitting pieces together more perfectly, preparing it for the world it is destined for.

Recently we've begun the engraving process, like the college years for your budding student. We are working with a whole new set of craftsmen, building onto the foundation we've already begun. The moulds are shipped to new facilities and, using very modern methods and precision, we're creating the various textures which will make your model all the more life-like. Engine surfaces will take-on a "cast iron" texture, while seats and dash will look like 1:8 scaled naughahyde (I have no idea what name cheap vinyl leatherette was sold by in Oz).

Soon all these parts will be completed and we'll begin the process of final-fitting and decorating. We'll make sure that all parts fit as intended and that they match the real icon in every aspect possible. We'll also work-out the many details needed to make the final presentation and packaging. This might compare to a doctoral program or apprenticeship of sorts for the child you've brought to life. He's no longer a baby, but he'll always be mum and dad's little-boy I suppose, and when these processes are complete he can finally find his place in the world. He has all the best genes, the right schooling, his training is perfected, all that's left is for him to go out there and make his impression on the world. No doubt he'll make some changes in how the market views die-cast, but that's no accident, you've planned for it at every step in the process and prepared him for that goal.

I have no doubt that each proud owner of this model will have many hours of entertainment as they assemble their replica, and when that process is over they'll have the pride of knowing what they've accomplished. You set them a course and gave them the opportunity, but they took that opportunity into their home and made something of it, something they can be proud to display to show their friends, something uniquely their own, yet something which marks an icon in two industries - a new beginning in the world of die-cast, and a proud memoir of an historical period in Aussie automotive excellence.

I'm proud to have been a part of this with you".

Kelly Allen,
Project Engineer
First Gear, Inc.

NOVEMBER 2006

Goodness knows what happened to October it just seemed to pass us by. We were fortunate enough that the folks from “Australian Muscle Car” magazine put a two page article on our XY GTHO model kit in their latest issue. If you haven’t got your issue yet be sure to get one before they all sell out. The orders from that article have been amazing and we will definitely be advertising with them mid 2007. We will also be advertising in 1/18 Diecast Downunder and Collectormania who did articles on the prototype and we are grateful.

First Gear contacted us a week or so ago and confirmed that we will have the 2^nd prototype late December 2006. At least then we will have a factory decorated model which should have all the changes and modifications made. We are expecting a phone call from First Gear early next week and hope to have an update on the changes and modifications so we can put them on the “timeline”. We are taking the current prototype to the Bendigo Swap Meet next weekend 18/19^th November in an attempt to show it to the Victorian collectors.

We have added some more photographs to the “model photos” page. These photos are still the 1^st prototype but one of Ken’s customers added decals for a bit of fun to make the car look better.

Hope to see you at Bendigo.

SEPTEMBER 2006

The Muscle Car Masters at Eastern Creek was simply awesome. It was very difficult for us to talk to people simply because of the enormous amount of viewers. The kit was a huge success and the orders keep coming.

Icon has just moved office and are currently located at Taren Point. The prototype is currently on show at Shire Models, 814 Old Princes Hwy, Sutherland (closed Sundays) 02 9542 4954.

AUGUST 2006

The first shot from the moulds were hurriedly put together by the China plant so we had a prototype to show everyone. Whilst this first sample still has a lot of little things to be corrected we are all extremely impressed with the quality and accuracy. We are currently making the necessary adjustments.

We have taken the first shot sample to three different shows/presentations and the orders are rolling in at a very fast rate. Each time someone makes an improvement suggestion we have taken note. We sent a list of the improvement suggestions to the manufacturer 15.8.06. Due to popular requests from the customers who have already placed their orders we are changing the gold GT stripe to black.