January 26, 2025 • 48 mins
On this episode of Diecast Breakdown, we welcome the team from IXO America to discuss their entry into the U.S. diecast market. We get insights from Jeff Nelson, VP of Sales, and Clint LaFollette, Lead Designer, about IXO America's mission to bring high-quality, true 1:64 scale diecast cars to collectors. Discover their plans, their approach to collector feedback, and some exciting news about their collaboration with the IndyCar Series. Plus, get a first look at their exclusive show car debuting at the Diecast Supercon.
Don't forget to like, subscribe, and share for more diecast collecting insights!
Find out more about IXO America here: https://www.ixomodels.com/index.php?route=information/information&information_id=10
🏁🏎️Help us collect 20,000 cars for kids in need. Learn more at https://www.drivendreams.org/
🚘🎥 Support Diecast Media Network, buy merch, and more!: http://diecastmedianetwork.com/
💰Save 15% on all orders from SK75 Works with code "DMN." https://www.sk75works.co.uk/
🎨 Get some amazing automotive art here: https://fireballtimgarage.art/
🌐Diecast Media Network is:
🚗 Mark Driven Dreams Org: @drivendreamsorg
🚙 David TWYCE Diecast: @twycediecast
🏎️ Phia Madd Visions: @maddvisions
💁♀️ Kimber: https://www.instagram.com/_kimberw/
🎨 Jepeg Designs - https://www.teepublic.com/user/jepegdesign
🛠️ Chuck: https://www.chuckellis.com
Don't forget to like, subscribe, and share for more diecast collecting insights!
Find out more about IXO America here: https://www.ixomodels.com/index.php?route=information/information&information_id=10
🏁🏎️Help us collect 20,000 cars for kids in need. Learn more at https://www.drivendreams.org/
🚘🎥 Support Diecast Media Network, buy merch, and more!: http://diecastmedianetwork.com/
💰Save 15% on all orders from SK75 Works with code "DMN." https://www.sk75works.co.uk/
🎨 Get some amazing automotive art here: https://fireballtimgarage.art/
🌐Diecast Media Network is:
🚗 Mark Driven Dreams Org: @drivendreamsorg
🚙 David TWYCE Diecast: @twycediecast
🏎️ Phia Madd Visions: @maddvisions
💁♀️ Kimber: https://www.instagram.com/_kimberw/
🎨 Jepeg Designs - https://www.teepublic.com/user/jepegdesign
🛠️ Chuck: https://www.chuckellis.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
You're watching Diecast Breakdown with Chuck Ellis, David Jorge, and
Mark mccondwheel, So sit back, scrap in.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
At hang on.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
The Breakdown Stards.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
No, Well, Heather, folks, Chuck here and welcome to Diecast Breakdown.
I am so glad you are with us today, whether
you are watching on the YouTube channel or you're listening
on the audio feed, we are so grateful you're here.
And while you're listening to me, thank you. Why don't
you make sure you're liking subscribing all those buttons if
(00:48):
you've come to us for the first time and you
want to talk more about Tony cars. We got a
lot of episodes where we do that, and we talked
to some really cool people. Some of them are going
to be on the show today, and before we get
to them, I want to thank my executive produce Lettle Patrons.
That would be First and sixty four Customs, Dane Self, Drivendreams,
(01:08):
dot Org, Thank you, Mark, Jason, Matt Visions, Mister Biglou
Reviews Through Another Lens twice, Diecast, thank you, David, and
Video Geek Productions. If you want to know how you
can join their ranks and why we say their name
at the beginning of every episode. You can visit diecas
breakdown dot com where we have merch and social media
and links to how you can help support the show.
(01:30):
And of course Drivendreams dot org Marx project that we
are helping him with that's really cool where we're donating.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
What are we going for this year?
Speaker 5 (01:40):
Mark? What's the number?
Speaker 6 (01:41):
Two billion?
Speaker 4 (01:42):
Twenty thousand?
Speaker 3 (01:44):
We're doing twenty thousand cars for kids in need around
the world. It's a really cool cause and it's very
easy to participate in. Visit Driven Dreams dot org. And
while we're talking about Mark, I'm going to introduce my
co hosts, my friends and colleagues that make this show
go so much better than even I thought it would go.
(02:04):
And that would be mister David John's of twice die cast. David,
how are you today?
Speaker 6 (02:08):
I'm great. No place I'd rather be.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
I'm so glad to hear that. And Driven Dreams dot
org co creator founder, he's doing it with Kimber Would
you would you call yourself a co creator with.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Kimber on this one? Creator?
Speaker 5 (02:23):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (02:23):
Yeah, she's my right hand woman.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
You're right or die so, yeah, that would be.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
Hey, all right, and that would be Mark Berenson of
Driven Dreams, Autopeak, Detailing Dots and Man die Cast and
so many other things that you see on the internet.
Speaker 4 (02:39):
Mark Howard, I'm doing great. Thanksry, how are you doing.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
I'm hanging in there, sir. Thank you for asking.
Speaker 4 (02:46):
Nobody ever asks, I'm.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Just kidding anyway.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
All right, Well, we are talking to some really cool
people that do really cool things with tiny cars. Are
very excited to have our guests on. They represent an
all new die Cast brand in the form of IXL America.
You may have heard of IXL and loved their products
(03:10):
from around the world, but now they're sitting down roots
right here in the good old US of A with
a completely new division.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
I don't know very much about it.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
I probably misspoke there, but we got some people that
are going to help set me straight on this, and
that would be VP of Sales.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Correct, Jeff, Yes, that's correct, Yes.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
VP of Sales for IXO America, mister Jeff Nelson. Jeff,
thank you so much for being with us today and.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Thanks for having us. Really appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
And Clint LaFollette, the lead designer, architect, creative spirit behind
the designs that we're going to be talking about today.
So Clint, thank you as well for being on the
show with us today.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
Really excited to shout out you.
Speaker 5 (03:49):
Yeah, thank you, appreciate it all.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Right, awesome, So Jeff, we'll start with you as the
VP of sales guy, because I'm sure you've had to
give this elevator pitch a few hundred times. But so
you're getting on the elevator with somebody and they've pushed
the fifty third floor, so you got them forty five
seconds for a minute, and you go and they go,
what the heck is Ixo?
Speaker 1 (04:12):
What do you tell them?
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Yeah?
Speaker 7 (04:13):
So Ixo was born over twenty years ago from a
group that's based in Macau, and they have extraordinary market
presence in both Europe and Asia, specifically very one forty
third scale heavy.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
They also have some one six month and one.
Speaker 7 (04:31):
Eighteenth I've known the owners of this brand for a
number of years and myself, Clint and one other gentlemen
were asked what we could do to help out in
North America to expand the brand. Now, we all know
one forty third scale isn't massive in the United States,
but with Steve Fourth absolutely crushes it. So our job
(04:52):
here is to develop new one sixty fourth scale castings
and bring them to life for the US market and
also offer them overseas as well, just to really get
the ball rolling here in the United States. And the
cool thing is is they didn't really have a whole
lot of distribution for their open stock product here, and
that's another way that we can offer their vehicles into
(05:14):
the US market and have them be a little bit
He's more easily accept or accessible.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
All right, you have definitely given that speech once or twice.
Speaker 5 (05:22):
Awesome.
Speaker 3 (05:24):
This is why I always start with the sales guy
because he's yeah, he's got that locked and loaded in
the chamber, raine to go.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
So we've been trained.
Speaker 5 (05:31):
Yeah, absolutely, no, that's memory.
Speaker 3 (05:34):
It's super cool. So well, I will defer to David
on this one because I know he is. Now you
said IXO. Is it IXO or IXO?
Speaker 7 (05:41):
Yeah, IXO, And actually the division that's out of Macau
is XO Model Cars. And then we are IXO America,
a partner company with.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
Xdel gotcha, I've seen the the I've seen the name
all over the place. I've never actually heard it said
out loud. I'm suddenly realizing which ye, Well.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
That's why we're here. Well we're here, yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
And I will say I had not heard of XO
before my friend here, David, educated us all on it
with his videos on premium die casts. So, David, where
did you find XL.
Speaker 6 (06:18):
So Clint Jeff my first name brand recognition. I was
up at a die cast distributor out of Frankfurt, Kentucky.
You probably know who it is. And I saw these
amazing semi trucks Kenworths and other brands, and I said, I, XO,
who in the world is that? I just noticed that
they are amazingly detailed. They were in one sixty four
(06:40):
scale and I had not seen that level of detail
in that scale for that type of vehicle. I was
clamoring to see if you guys had some cars at
the time in this place that I was shopping at,
and I didn't find any cars under the ISXO brand.
Come to find out, a lot of my favorite brands
(07:01):
from around the world, you guys were the ones that
did the castings. I mean twenty twenty five years ago.
So many of our favorite premium brands use ixocastings that
we don't know.
Speaker 8 (07:14):
Question, for Jeff, do you see does the XO? How
does XO feel about chasism? Is that something you guys
foresee yourself doing in the future.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
We'll be back with more die Cast Breakdown after this
word from our sponsors. Legendary Hollywood concept artist and designer
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(07:46):
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Speaker 9 (07:49):
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(08:12):
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Speaker 1 (08:17):
And nail back to Diecast break Gal.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
That's a good question.
Speaker 7 (08:21):
We do recognize the fact that there are a couple
of manufacturers out there that are kind of overproducing their chases,
and so some people don't value them as much as others.
Then we know that there's some out there that are
making them very very rare. So you know, what we
would like to do is really take customer feedback and
understand the end consumer to.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
See what they want.
Speaker 7 (08:45):
We've got a little bit of time because we're still
in tooing development on a lot of our one sixty
fourths that we really want to get that feedback. And
I think another topic down the road in this conversation
is going to tell us where we're going to get
that feedback from. So it's kind of a wait and
see type of thing because we really want to get
it right.
Speaker 4 (09:05):
Yeah, well that makes sense.
Speaker 8 (09:06):
I mean, you want the customer feedback to see what
the pros and cons of their opinion of chases are,
because some people are all about chases and some people
like me don't really care, could care less about chases.
Speaker 7 (09:21):
It's funny because sometimes when I talk to my customers
throughout the years, you know, I've been in the industry
for sixteen years now, and it's interesting because some of
my customers will say I love them, get me more,
and other customers will want to return them. I can't
sell these, they don't work for me because my customers
just want what the car really looks like. So you
(09:43):
definitely have two different ends of the spectrum there. And
so we don't want to offend anybody and we don't
want to leave anybody out. So we really do want
to get that customer feedback because in my opinion, it's
really important to understand the end consumer and what they
want before you just try to force some and down
their throats.
Speaker 4 (10:01):
So yeah, well I respect that for sure, you.
Speaker 6 (10:04):
Know, and I love how Mark talked about that, because
we're talking about a line that we really hadn't told
people what's happening. So Jeff Clint tell us what itso
America means to collectors in America and what your products
are going to be.
Speaker 7 (10:22):
I'll start and then I can kick it over to Clint.
Clint's not exactly the most vocal person, but I've worked
with Clint for about thirteen years, right, Clint, think about
thirteen years, so I've known him pretty well.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
He's one of the best in the industry, thank you.
Speaker 7 (10:37):
So what we're really looking at doing is, as I said,
you know, develop a one sixty fourth scale line of
you know, some cars that really have kind of been
missed in the marketplace. Of course, we're going to have
some crossover with a couple of castings that basically, you know,
every die cast manufacturer should have in their arsenal. But
(10:58):
a lot of what we want to do is offer
fresh new castings that you know, I've gone to so
many consumer shows where hey, man, do you have this?
Speaker 2 (11:08):
Do you have that?
Speaker 7 (11:08):
And we're like, oh, man, no, we and we haven't
even thought about that, right, So this gives us an
opportunity to really spread our wings and be able to
make things that haven't been offered out there yet, or
if they have been offered, maybe it's the wrong scale.
You know, ah, this isn't really one sixty fourth, it's
more like one fiftieth or you know, one sixty eighth,
or because these collectors they know this stuff, right, Like
(11:32):
you put two one sixty four scale castings together, especially
like the Superbird, right, you throw those two together and
one's going to be longer than the other, and then
the questions, well, who's really truly sixty fourth? So I mean,
collectors have a very very keen eye. And that's where
Clint comes in. I like to call him our rain
Man of cars, because you can ask the guy any question,
(11:56):
and more so out of out of you know, more
times out of none. I mean, he's going to have
an answer for you, and if he doesn't have the answer,
he's going to find it out for you within a
day and get back to you. So you know, if
you kind of want to chime in here.
Speaker 5 (12:10):
Yeah, no, that's true. I am a car guy.
Speaker 10 (12:13):
I was born and raised into car culture, so it's
sort of in my DNA family vacations were two car shows,
not to like Disney World or whatever, you know, So
it's just it's always been a part, so I know
a lot about him. It's just really easy for me
to just sort of like dive into something and be
able to pick it apart and know where to go
and how to get all that done.
Speaker 5 (12:34):
I really pride myself on accuracy. I like to think
of it.
Speaker 10 (12:37):
As when I'm developing a new mold, I want it
to look like I've hit it with a shrink ray.
So it's just like, you know, just make it smaller,
but retain the detail. On the accuracy that's really important
to me. Like, you know, I'm a bit of a purist,
so I want I want things to be you know, perfect.
Speaker 7 (12:56):
Yeah, well, and the really nice thing too about creating
these castings that you know, we haven't seen before is
the the IXO model car. Guys overseas have been really
gracious and really cool with us pretty much having a
lot of creative control over this, which is great.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
So now when asked like, hey, which castings.
Speaker 7 (13:16):
Do you want to come out with first, I just
peel back the curtain and say here's Clint. Let him
have at it. And he had a list of like
fifty cars to us like right away. I mean, it
wasn't It's like he had these things stored in his
brain and all of a sudden, boom, there the list was.
So you know, yeah, I mean, kudos to those guys
(13:37):
that are allowing you know, us to be able to
offer these things to the US market and well and
internationally as well, but with a heavy focus on domestic OEMs.
You know, I think the end consumer and collector is
really going to enjoy a lot of this stuff that
you know, we've cracked Clint's brain open and kind of
(13:58):
got everything out of theirs.
Speaker 6 (14:00):
So we're talking about American makes and models in true
one sixty four scale. If I'm hearing you guys right,
and that is that's very exciting for a guy whose
collection insists on it being true one sixty four, I
can appreciate that. I don't want my Corvette to be
the same size as my Ford Fiesta.
Speaker 5 (14:22):
I don't want that.
Speaker 6 (14:23):
And it bothers me to know. And and that's not
for everybody, but for me. So this is exciting.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Guys.
Speaker 6 (14:29):
We're getting awesome American die cast in one sixty four.
And if I read the website right, you guys are
even focusing on getting the colors right as they were
with the manufacturers. I mean, that's really cool to hear.
Speaker 10 (14:45):
Yeah, I actually use old paint chips so I can
reference the color to match it as closely as possible,
because again, solid accuracy for me.
Speaker 6 (14:54):
So that's that's really cool.
Speaker 4 (14:57):
That's amazing.
Speaker 6 (14:58):
Clint, did you on your list? Were there some in
there that you've just been itching to do for a
while and had not in the past.
Speaker 10 (15:06):
Or Yeah, there are some that seems like, you know,
it might be either obvious that it should be done
or not obvious at all, something like you know, let's
say like a Ford Maverick, the original from the you know,
the seventies. You don't they don't get a lot of love,
so you don't see them a lot, you know, and
you know that they're you know, there's a there's a
(15:26):
market out there for and people like that kind of stuff,
you know, but it seems to be like most of
the times, you know, you see all the same things
all the time.
Speaker 5 (15:32):
You know, like you mentioned to Corvette earlier.
Speaker 10 (15:34):
I got nothing against corvettes, but every you know, there's
so many die cast Corvettes out.
Speaker 5 (15:38):
There, not very many, you know, Ford Mavericks.
Speaker 10 (15:40):
So just little things like that, you know, still cool
cars that have a cool, you know, a cool history.
Focus on those kinds of things too, like and on
the Ford Maverick. I think, like seventy two, Ford had
a color called anti Establishment. That's just my favorite name
for a color ever. Yeah, So just things like that,
you know, And I like to focus on that sort
(16:01):
of stuff, you know, because it's the it's the history
behind them, you know. It's that that sort of when
when you kind of romanticize these things a little bit,
you know, like that's.
Speaker 5 (16:11):
Why I like them so much.
Speaker 10 (16:12):
Yeah, So I just want to make sure that, you know,
everybody is going to be able to feel that when
they pick up our product.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
Yeah, absolutely. You know, we're talking about XO a bit,
and it's clear that the two of you have a
lot of experience in the die cast world. I'll start
with Jeff, if you don't mind telling me a little
bit about how you got to be in a position
that sounds like, you know, getting to be a little
bit of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory kind of,
(16:37):
you know, getting to work with tiny cars all days,
kind of the dream of a lot of our watchers
and viewers. So how did you get started in this world?
Speaker 7 (16:46):
Yeah, so it really was kind of by chance. So
when I got out of school, I started to work
for an automotive company that we were basically a material
supplier to Tier two and Tea three molders for a
Japanese OEMs. So I started doing that, and then I
moved into another company that was making filtration products for
(17:09):
the Big Three. They were even doing it for Ferrari,
And there were just a lot of technical drawings and
you know, engineering quotes and things like that that you
had to get back to the customer to make sure
that it was going to be you know, work within
their tolerances.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
And I just saw a job posting one day shoot.
Speaker 7 (17:29):
I think it was back in two thousand and I
think two thousand maybe, and no twenty ten, And so
I started applying for this job and I got it,
and it was with green Light because they were in
Indianapolis and that's where I live, and so I was there,
(17:51):
and in fact that I was there from nine until
April of twenty four, so I've been with IXO for
about a year. So I came in pretty green and
I remember I came in January of nine, and in
February of nine, they were like, Hey, we're going to
send you out to a trade show that's collector focused.
(18:11):
I think I looked like a deer in headlights because
I was like, these guys are going to know way
more than me, and being I collect a lot of
sports memorabilia and sports cards and things like that, I
get how passionate people are with this stuff. And I
didn't want to come off as the guy that didn't
know anything. So I tried to do a crash course
and die cast in the first month of my job,
(18:33):
and I knew I wasn't going to get at all,
but loving the automotive industry, I was really really excited
to go. And the one thing I learned is if
you're open and you want to talk.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
This is not.
Speaker 7 (18:46):
A collector space where there's a lot of people that
are like mean to each other, right, There's a lot
of care and I really really enjoyed that. In fact,
one of my customers when I was out there, was
set up right next to us and he was like, Hey, man,
if you don't know the answer to a question, just
just ask me, or or just tell the customer, Hey,
I'm not really sure on that yet, what do you think?
(19:08):
And a lot of these guys want to be heard,
And so I think I fell in love with it
when I got back from that first one, and then
you know, some collectors were shooting me an email saying, hey,
I hope you had an awesome time.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
Hey, here's a few ideas that I have. What do
you think?
Speaker 7 (19:24):
And and that was the type of relationship that I
really value and I wanted to continue so throughout my career.
I started out as a sales guy and then just
kind of had the opportunities open up to me. And
the more and more, you know, I learned about the industry.
It's funny because it's not just a lot of people
(19:44):
are like, oh, you get to play with cars all day.
I get to look at item numbers and crunch numbers
and make sure that would be profitable and we're able
to produce.
Speaker 5 (19:52):
More cars, you know.
Speaker 4 (19:53):
So it's really Went's playing with the cars.
Speaker 7 (19:55):
You Went's playing with the cars and making designs. And
you guys are lucky that it's him and not me,
because I'd open up him as a paint and it
would look terrible.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
So yeah, I mean, and it's to me.
Speaker 7 (20:10):
When I would walk down the die cast aisle, I
didn't know how much work went into producing one car.
I mean, you know, and now I know, and so
it's really really cool. And I think that's what really
has kept me interested in this industry for so long
and and and why I don't want to leave. And
so I am truly blessed to be in the position
(20:30):
that I am. And and you know, I told this story
last year at the super convention. I quit my job
with this filtration company and didn't have another job, and
I did only and I had only applied to green Light,
So I took a little leap of faith and uh,
and all of a sudden boom, it happened so you know,
it's it's one of those stories that could have turned
(20:52):
out very differently, but for for luckily, for me, it
went the way that it did. So, uh, definitely count
my blessing every day I get to come to work.
Speaker 3 (21:01):
Clint. You you mentioned already that you came from a
kind of baptism and motor oil type upbringing. But you know,
going from the big cars to the tiny cars, how'd
you get from there?
Speaker 2 (21:12):
To hear?
Speaker 5 (21:14):
Yeah? That also that came to me.
Speaker 10 (21:17):
I wanted to get into print design, so that was
kind of my focus in school. So after I graduated,
I was working at a print shop just kind of
like learn more about it, you know, so I understand
how to print things. When you're designed for printing, you
need to know that. So I'm working there. I've been
there for a couple of years, and the like the
green light A given those green light they had contacted
(21:39):
the school that I had gone to, so they called
me with this job and asked me if i'd be interested,
and I was interested. I mean they hired me there
as you know, basically lead designer there doing all the
packaging art work in the car work and all that
stuff and being a car guy.
Speaker 5 (21:55):
And being a designer.
Speaker 10 (21:57):
It's like two of my passions come to get there
and I get to make money off of it.
Speaker 5 (22:02):
It's just really been kind of amazing.
Speaker 10 (22:03):
You know how many people get to do exactly what
they want to do with the skills they have, you know,
so I feel blessed in that. But yeah, then I
moved just sort of like by necessity, I moved into
the product development there. So I've got probably about ten
years of experience in that.
Speaker 5 (22:21):
So yeah, I know I'm doing I like it.
Speaker 3 (22:25):
And humble too. I love it.
Speaker 6 (22:29):
Watch Out World, all right, yep, all right, so we
have to go ahead, sorry, go ahead, Mark.
Speaker 8 (22:35):
To pig to piggyback off of you know, going to
the conventions and going to different places like that. What
what should collectors expect to see from IXO America at
the die Cast Con in Las Vegas upcoming weeks here?
Speaker 5 (22:49):
What?
Speaker 8 (22:50):
What what are you guys going to have for them
if you can give them any kind of information?
Speaker 2 (22:55):
Yeah?
Speaker 7 (22:55):
Absolutely, First and foremost, I just want to give a
big shout out and thanks to Steven CJ.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
Once again.
Speaker 7 (23:02):
I mean that show I was talking to you about
nine was the very first super con.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
It if you could see what it was in nine
compared to what it is.
Speaker 7 (23:12):
And I went last year in twenty twenty four, it's
night and day and they've done a bang up job
and something that I'm super super happy and excited about
attending again. So I can't say enough good things about
those guys. So what we're going to do is we're
gonna have two one hour long sessions where we're up
on stage kind of talking about things. That's where collectors
(23:33):
are going to be able to see the first releases
that we're going to come out with. So we're going
to have our a couple of castings that are in
development right now. We'll show those off and kind of
discuss why we chose those castings and hopefully what type
of schemes that we're going to throw on them and
everything like that. There's also going to be a launch party,
(23:53):
because we are treating this convention as kind of our
launch into the US market because like a lot of
you guys, maybe you don't know about it, so and
that's that's not I mean, that's okay because they haven't
had a big presence in the United States. So it's
going to be a lot of education but we're gonna
have a lot of fun. And the big thing that
we want to do is get customer feedback. We want
(24:16):
to learn from the collector. We want to understand what
did you like about this casting, what didn't you like
about that casting. Another cool thing is is we've got
an ex Show exclusive that we're bringing out and we're
only limiting it to two hundred and sixty four pieces.
So what we're going to do is that you got
to come to our booth. We're gonna we're gonna make
(24:38):
it one per customer for the first two days, I think,
to allow everybody to try to get one, and then
you know, maybe on day three if we've got any leftover,
hey what you know, what, whatever you guys want, But
we really want a lot of people to get their
hands on this. Clint did the entire design on this thing.
He did the casting selection. Tiny little details like front
on the top of the front windshield it says first
(24:59):
edition in on it, so you'll know that, you know,
it's the very first thing that we came out with
ISAACS so America. So it's just going to be something
you know, that that collectors can have in their collection
for years to come and kind of think back to
that twenty twenty five super Con and and and again,
like we were talking earlier, we want to understand what
people's expectations are on this Chase program. So it's I'm
(25:22):
I'm really really excited, uh that that we have an
opportunity to showcase there.
Speaker 4 (25:29):
We're we're excited to meet you in person.
Speaker 8 (25:33):
Yeah, absolutely, to see to see all these and I'm
gonna try to sneak in early and get in line
to get one of those cars, you know, get behind
somebody if.
Speaker 4 (25:41):
I have to.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
Well what Clint didn't tell you was in a former life,
he was a bodyguard, so you.
Speaker 6 (25:45):
Know you may need to oh boy, well yeah you've been.
Speaker 3 (25:50):
There might be some elbows thrown af after they see
what's what's coming out. So so we've we've kind of
answer aund this a little bit. But can we talk
a little bit about the the initial lineup of cars
that has been selected, what where, what we can be expecting.
I'm sure there might be some surprises along the way too.
Speaker 1 (26:12):
Don't touch the dial. Die Cast Breakdown will be right
back after these messages. Die Cast Breakdown is produced in
partnership with twice die Cast and driven Dreams, or go
on YouTube check out their channels in the video description,
and subscribe for more epic die cast content.
Speaker 5 (26:30):
Hey, this is Larry wood May.
Speaker 4 (26:31):
This is Derek from Honest Dickcast, and this is a
chattering from Round two. This is Mike from gas.
Speaker 3 (26:35):
Las s rt JO Vita Shows is Champion DJK.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
You're watching die Cast Breakdown.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
And now the thrilling conclusion of this week's episode of
die Cast Breakdown.
Speaker 7 (26:53):
Yeah, yeah, definite surprises. We're actually waiting until our announcement
at the.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
Superw Okay, we really want to be.
Speaker 7 (27:00):
Out in front of the collector when we announced this
stuff kind of see their reaction, like face to face,
take active customer questions, things of that nature. And what's
really cool is is we've kind of ranked the first
batch of cars that that Clint has created. So it
was you know, boom boom boom, boom boom. We went
through the list and we rated them. But that ranking
(27:22):
can change, right based on what customer feedback is. And shoot,
maybe there's a car out there that that a customer
suggests that we don't even have on our list, that
maybe it's like, hey, this is so good, we want
to bump it up to the next in the queue.
Speaker 3 (27:35):
So like a nineteen sixty four Plymouth Valiant two door Sedan, Perhaps.
Speaker 6 (27:41):
Perhaps I would be to Chuck Chuck's bait right there.
Speaker 5 (27:45):
You'll have to.
Speaker 6 (27:46):
See some pictures.
Speaker 2 (27:47):
We'll show you some pictures and send you to send.
Speaker 4 (27:50):
He'll send you some paint chips.
Speaker 8 (27:52):
Clint'll eat them, use them, use them.
Speaker 10 (27:56):
Yeah, I had I had a sixty four Plymouth savoid
A fourridor in high school and I loved it.
Speaker 3 (28:04):
Yeah, mine was my car in high school too.
Speaker 5 (28:07):
I've had it.
Speaker 3 (28:07):
I've had it for over twenty five years.
Speaker 6 (28:11):
So hey, can we just say, Clint, you killed the
show car. The twenty nineteen Challenger Hellcat SRT is out.
Go to the Diecast super Consite, but also go to
Diecast Media Network. We've got awesome pictures of that, Clint.
That thing is amazing and a heck of a introduction
(28:34):
to the line, to the brand. I think you guys
hit a home run right out of the gate. So
can you, Clint, Maybe from a production side, it's really
interesting for us to hear, you know, not the whole process,
but you know, maybe the bullet point and how that
goes from your head to a blister pack.
Speaker 10 (28:54):
Yeah, that's not a very easy questions, right, So yeah,
I mean, so it goes from like the idea like
in my head, and then I put it down and
I try to determine like what all can be done
with it, because I want to be able to you know,
maximize the mold. So I want to be able to
(29:15):
do as much as possible, you know, So instead of
focusing on you know, I don't know, like a let's
say the sixty nine GTX, I'll do the sixty nine
and a sixty eight because it's so similar.
Speaker 5 (29:28):
You can get you know, all that out of it.
So that kind stuff. I like to do that.
Speaker 10 (29:32):
So I'll kind of like make a list of all
the things that can be done. I'll go through and
i'll you know, find out the colors all cross index.
We know what years and what colors, and you know,
get all that, put all that together and just basically
put together like a little I don't know, we call
it a job bag, but it's just all the all
the information, you know, the dimensions again, all the different
(29:55):
bits and pieces that make it what it is and
can make it more, you know, and then just kind
of like you know, pass it along to the people
who developed the molds, and then go through all that
and you know a little bit of back and forth
getting them to look good, you know, getting right, and
then you know, then I'm moving to the design stage
where I'm gonna, you know, whatever the you know, if
it needs a logo for the package or where the
(30:16):
package is going to look like. You know, if you
if I'm gonna like sort of tie in some sort
of like history to it or some sort of like
there's some a meaning to this car, so here, you know,
put that on the package and then you know, that
just all kind of gets tied up and produced and
then it out of my hands at that point.
Speaker 6 (30:32):
But yeah, fair enough, after everybody's owing and aweing in
Vegas and throwing their money at you, when do we
think we might actually start getting cars in hand? Any
idea on that?
Speaker 7 (30:47):
Yeah, So, David, you brought up a good point about
the one sixty fourth semi trucks that you saw. I
know exactly which customer you were at, good guy, So, uh,
we cool. The cool thing is is, you know, working
with Axo Model Cars, they've already got these licenses locked up,
so you know, we don't really have to hunt for
any you know, oem licenses, which is a fantastic asset.
(31:12):
I mean, I can't tell you how difficult it is
to obtain some of these licenses. So it's it really
is a great advantage to be working with these guys.
So we do have some multi fourth scale semi trucks
like the KENWORTHZ and the Max and things like this
available for pre order on our B to B website
(31:34):
for our wholesale and distributor network. So you guys may
have seen some of these out there and not realize
these Rixol America things. They haven't been delivered yet, but
we're anticipating those to be here in early Q two.
So the container is you know, getting the production is
getting wrapped up, the containers being put together, all that
good stuff, and the cool thing is is there you know,
(31:56):
exclusive US paint schemes, so you know, even though it
might be a casting, it's something that we're doing a
little bit different, which is really cool. So that stuff
will be out at the beginning of Q two. The
new one sixty fourth scale vehicles, those should be out
towards the end of Q two, beginning of Q three
of twenty twenty five, So that's when you should be
(32:19):
able to start start seeing some of that stuff out
in the marketplace.
Speaker 2 (32:24):
Awesome, great, very cool.
Speaker 3 (32:27):
Alrighty, so we got that the rollout coming, You've got
all this stuff coming out, Like what about the die
cast for people who haven't been, and that's a lot
of a lot of people. What is die cast super
con to you? And what about it? Would you tell
(32:49):
somebody to encourage them to go.
Speaker 7 (32:51):
It's just a bunch of like minded people that enjoy
the same thing getting together, and it's kind of like
a family reunion. I've seeing the same collectors every time
I've gone, and they they remember me, and I remember them.
I may not remember their name. But it's funny because
one guy comes around and I just know him as
the camaro guy, like I know that he collects camaros
(33:13):
and so, and if I see him, I'll remember where
I put you know, a certain car and I'm like, hey,
do you have this one or something like that. So
it really is a time to just celebrate the hobby
and enjoy time together. And what's really cool is I
mean they sell out the entire hotel, so you're not
you know, you're not fighting with you know, other patrons
(33:35):
that are there on vacation to just drink for three.
Speaker 2 (33:38):
Days and you know, gamble their life away.
Speaker 7 (33:40):
You're there with people that are actually wanting to be
involved in the show and wanting to be on the
show floor. So it's just really cool because you don't
have any outside distractions.
Speaker 2 (33:53):
So if you're a die cast nerd, that's the place
to be.
Speaker 5 (33:58):
Very well said, agree for sure.
Speaker 2 (34:01):
Yeah, I mean, Clint, do you have any any other feedback?
Speaker 10 (34:04):
No, I would say that that's exactly accurate. Last year
was my first time going, so I was I was
really impressed by the way it was put together.
Speaker 5 (34:14):
It's such a professional event.
Speaker 10 (34:16):
You feel welcomed and like Jeff was saying, everybody there,
they're just like you, so there's no conflict, you know.
Speaker 5 (34:25):
It's yeah, yeah.
Speaker 7 (34:28):
On One other cool thing I've seen is a lot
of collectors try to help other collectors out by like, hey,
I know you collect these things.
Speaker 2 (34:34):
You know, you've got your completists.
Speaker 7 (34:36):
That want everything, and then you've got your guys that
focus on a certain make, model, year, or just you know, hey,
I collect everything, Challenger, you know, something like that. There's
a lot of guys that I know, and you know,
with you guys, you were talking about donating twenty thousand cars.
Speaker 2 (34:51):
That's absolutely amazing.
Speaker 7 (34:53):
I've seen guys that have like ten, twelve, twenty cars
that they've saved up for their buddy over the last
year and they just show up and they give them
to them, and I'm just like, man, there's not a
lot of hobbies out there that people would show this
type of kindness.
Speaker 2 (35:06):
So that's really cool to see too.
Speaker 7 (35:10):
So that that's just something that you know, if you're
on the fence about going. It's in the connected world
we live in and so many Facebook groups and Instagram
pages and all this stuff, it's it's easy to find
the like minded people. And you know, it's just super
cool to see the community come together at an event
like this and and a lot of folks just helping
(35:32):
each other.
Speaker 6 (35:32):
Out, no doubt.
Speaker 11 (35:34):
Yeah said, yeah, I have no hesitation saying, you know,
I found the best hobby, the best hobby for me,
And really it's just a really overall.
Speaker 6 (35:50):
Cool, chill group of dudes. We you know, we all
have that common bind. It doesn't matter who we vote for,
it doesn't matter where we go to church on Sunday
or if we go it all, it doesn't matter. We
all cars. We all like four wheels, sometimes three or
two for those weirdos out there, but for the most part,
we all love car. We all grew up loving cars,
and we all, you know, we all had that brand
(36:13):
with the flame in our hand when we were kids,
you know, running it down a track or building little
shoe box cities in our bedroom. So you're right, we
all that is such a like minded community, and it's
it's it's helped a lot of us, I don't know,
just enjoy life. But I don't know why I'm rambling.
I was asking you. Now that we know when cars
(36:35):
will actually be in the packaging and ready to buy,
tell the people where they will be able to buy them.
Are you going to see these in big box stores
or are these going to be through online marketplaces? How
is Ixo America going to get their cars into the
collector's hands.
Speaker 2 (36:52):
Yeah, so at the beginning, it's going to be.
Speaker 7 (36:56):
Through our you know, wholesale and distributor network, through online
shops and things like this. Actually, one of our sister
companies is Fairfield Collectibles, so they're going to have everything
that we make you know, readily available online there. But
there's a lot of other companies that we're working with.
Speaker 2 (37:16):
You know.
Speaker 7 (37:17):
We we've got a really solid network. And what's amazing
to me is, you know, we reached out to a
lot of people that I've known for a number of
years and then some that I've never heard of before.
All of a sudden, boom and email will pop up
in my inbox and I was like, oh, hey, you
know what site do you run. You show me your
(37:38):
business and I'll go check it out. We'll get them
set up as long as they meet all the criteria
and we're good to go. We're really focusing on getting
these into the hands of the hardcore collector first and
foremost before we start about, you know, thinking about expanding
into the mass retail arena and everything like that. So
(37:58):
it's it's going to be a homegrown process. But I
think that's how you can adapt quicker if you launch
that way, as opposed to just going straight to mass retail.
So that's the strategy, and we're gonna roll with it
and do the best that we possibly can with it.
Speaker 6 (38:16):
They're gonna eat them up, Okay, guys, when we start
to see these things online, and we want to know
where to go to get them. Give us the name
of the website so that we'll bookmarket and collectors can
go to it. And then I've got a follow up
question after you tell us about that website.
Speaker 7 (38:32):
Yeah, so the best site to search for is ixomodels
dot com. That will take you to the XOL Model
Cars homepage where they update everything EXOL America for US.
Speaker 6 (38:44):
And I did see if I could just real quick
when I went on that site earlier today. There's some
big news on there about being the official brand for
one of the biggest sporting events in the US. So
tell us about it, Jeff. What other news is XO
America got for that?
Speaker 7 (39:01):
Yeah, it's something close to my heart, and I know
Clint's heart and another guy that we work with being
here in Indianapolis. You know, EXOL Medal Cars the official
manufacturer and supplier for the NTT Data IndyCar Series, and
we're super excited about it. If you've never been to
the Indy five hundred, making a bucket list thing, because
(39:23):
it's you and three hundred and fifty thousand of your
closest friends jammed into this motorsport park and it's a
thing of beauty. But we're making one eighteenth and one
sixty fourth scale replicas, both super speedway and road course.
In both scales, it's the road course in sixty fourth
has never been offered before, so that's something brand new
to the industry and something that we're really proud of.
(39:46):
So you're going to be able to see the road
course liveries on road course tooling as opposed to trying
to fit it onto a super speedway.
Speaker 2 (39:55):
But I mean, what's there not to like.
Speaker 7 (39:58):
It's thirty three cars going over two hundred and twenty
miles an hour. I mean, it's it's it's incredible. I
don't know if any of you have been, but I've
been over a dozen and no matter how many times
I've gone, I still get goosebumps when I walk through
those gates and you sit down you see record. I
have a group of guys that I see one time
(40:20):
per year, and that's on carb Day, the Friday before
the race, and they have the last practice before the
five hundred and then they have a pit stop competition.
Speaker 2 (40:29):
It's just incredible.
Speaker 6 (40:31):
Yeah, I think we have an indie race here in
Birmingham at the Barber Motorsports and I've been and it's
it's an awesome sound to have rigging in your head,
you know when you drive home.
Speaker 7 (40:45):
Yeah, absolutely absolutely, I mean, and what's really cool is
they just signed a contract with Fox Sports starting in
twenty twenty five, so it's going to be a heck
of a lot easier for fans to find races on TV.
And they've they've put a lot of effort into pushing
the series and the Indy five hundred, and to be
(41:05):
a part of something like that to offer up the models,
it's super, super cool, and I love working with the league.
I love working with the teams. There's a lot of
really cool people that are involved in the series, and
it's it's just so much fun to be a part of.
Speaker 6 (41:21):
Yeah, what a good get for ixso America.
Speaker 1 (41:25):
Man.
Speaker 7 (41:25):
Yeah, we're super proud, super happy, And like I said,
I can't wait to see these things on the shelves
in the speedway because it'll be kicked off for the
NDY five hundred, So that's the first time you're gonna
be able to get the XO model cars. Die cast
is at the Indy five hundred, and then all the
races at.
Speaker 3 (41:44):
So Cool that's awesome and you know, really cool to see,
you know, something that's been around for a while reinvent
itself a bit and then you know, take on these
new licenses and and bring in these new lines, and
you know, bring it all here in the US and
then take it out back to the world. That is
super duper cool and really counting the days now until
(42:06):
I can be out in Vegas and see y'all and
see the announcement. I can't wait to see what you
got lined up. So for people who want to know
and want to follow and all that stuff, what are
the best ways that they can find follow, get in
touch with you guys all that good stuff.
Speaker 7 (42:22):
Yeah, if you go to theixolemodel cars dot com, they've
got links to all the social media's and there's a
really good Facebook presence, really good Instagram presence. They you know,
there's a guy that his specific job is photography, social media,
video production, things like that. So you're going to see
a lot of really cool content coming up, specifically for
(42:42):
the exo America.
Speaker 6 (42:43):
Clint, did you want to give up your cell number
for people to send in their suggestions?
Speaker 3 (42:48):
I was going to say, you're going to get some requests.
I'm afraid they Yeah, it's one.
Speaker 5 (42:54):
Hey, i'd love you.
Speaker 3 (42:57):
You can you can you can request the new you
can request a car at like five hundred dollars a
minute on this one.
Speaker 2 (43:04):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly, exactly.
Speaker 7 (43:05):
No, But but where we really are, you know, looking
forward to meeting a lot of people, and like you said,
count down the minutes until Vegas. We are too, I mean,
we're we're super pumped and it's going to be the
first time that we're going to be out in the
public Aacso America. We've got a trade show coming up
next week in Nuremberg for the Germany Toy Fair.
Speaker 2 (43:23):
So we'll be over there.
Speaker 7 (43:25):
But when we're back, we're we're in Vegas and it's
the first time that we're going to be doing a
collector show.
Speaker 2 (43:30):
So we're we're amped.
Speaker 6 (43:31):
Now, did you guys, did you guys do any of
the in room trading? Did y'all walk the halls at
night and see all the selling going on in the rooms?
Speaker 2 (43:41):
Yeah, I think it's hard to avoid.
Speaker 7 (43:43):
Hey, exactly, Yeah, yeah, exactly, I mean, it's uh, it's
it's interesting. You know, there's there's people that have stuff
from I mean just years ago, and and it's stuff
that I haven't seen forever too. I remember working on projects,
and you know Clint too. You know, you'll see something
(44:05):
and my brain will instantly be taken back to, oh,
I remember working on this, right and and you know,
if it was especially a lot of the promo projects
and things like that, and hey, how'd you get your
hands on that? These were only sent to these guys.
There's always a way, right, there's always a way that
that that the collector gets their hands on these things.
So it's it's really interesting to hear the story because
(44:27):
I remember working on those projects. Hopefully in another twenty
years I'll be seeing the the ixo America stuff and
you know we can we can reminisce about about tonight too.
Speaker 6 (44:38):
Right there you go, there you go.
Speaker 8 (44:41):
Yeah, I just like to reiterate to everyone, if you're
watching this, go to Vegas, try it out, get the
time on work, quit your job, all right.
Speaker 6 (44:51):
Hey, well don't don't tell your job.
Speaker 8 (44:54):
No, it's it's but seriously, it's like we didn't we
weren't able to make it last year. I I had
my little girl last year, so it was you know,
she was just newborn, so this year, we're bringing her,
bringing her with. She's gonna turn one on the way back,
so it'll be fun to have her there and have
her see all that. So she loves die cast cars,
(45:15):
messing with them. But it's it's a really fun thing
because it's we all have the same passion whether it's
little cars or big cars. Anyone that collects little cars
likes big cars. Anyone that has big cars likes little
cars because you can always hand them out. So it's
we all understand each other. But yeah, I'm excited. I
think when we went there was the toy show, right
that was like the second day or something like that,
(45:36):
but that's not a thing anymore. So it's all die
cast all the time. You can meet some of your
you know, the designers. You can meet Clint that's making
these cars. You know, he's gonna be your new favorite designer,
so you know, get his autograph now. But it's it's
just really worth you and because you know, my wife
and I have been looking forward to going and we're
(45:58):
taking some time off and even all the worries behind
and just going to have fun and meet people. So
it's worth checking out. It's not even if you make
it out for like a day or whatever, you know,
just to see things rip through it. So I just
encourage people to go check it out. Meet Joe, Clint,
meet us, get your challenger. Yeah that's right, challenger.
Speaker 3 (46:22):
All right, well cool, Well again, Jeff and Clint, thank
you so much for being with us today on Didcast Breakdown.
Of course, folks, you can find the links to everything
down in the description below, and while you're down there,
make sure you're hitting the thumbs up and like the subscribe.
The share button is a really good one. If you've
(46:45):
got some friends that you think would like to know
some more about Ixo America or just tiny cars in general,
a great way to inform them and help this show
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(47:05):
Diecast Breakdown. Make sure you leave a comment saying you're
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You can learn more about that of course again at
(47:26):
dicastbreakdown dot com and of course driven Dreams dot org.
Speaker 2 (47:30):
Check that out.
Speaker 3 (47:31):
We're gonna really knock it out of the park this year.
We've had a lot of really great response over the
last couple of years that Mark's done this, and I'm
really excited for what's ahead for that and we're gonna
make a lot of kids real happy.
Speaker 2 (47:43):
So check that out.
Speaker 3 (47:45):
And as always, we want to thank you for coming
along with us for the ride. So until next time,
stay fresh, cheesebags.
Speaker 1 (47:51):
Thanks for listening to die Cast Breakdown. If you enjoy
today's show, please rate us five stars on Apple Podcasts
and tell a friend to listen in Finds Breakdown on
your favorite social media platforms, or visit diecastmedianetwork dot com
to learn more about this and our other projects. Die
Cast Breakdown is a presentation of Flying Valiant and the
(48:14):
Diecastmedia Network.
You're watching Diecast Breakdown with Chuck Ellis, David Jorge, and
Mark mccondwheel, So sit back, scrap in.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
At hang on.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
The Breakdown Stards.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
No, Well, Heather, folks, Chuck here and welcome to Diecast Breakdown.
I am so glad you are with us today, whether
you are watching on the YouTube channel or you're listening
on the audio feed, we are so grateful you're here.
And while you're listening to me, thank you. Why don't
you make sure you're liking subscribing all those buttons if
(00:48):
you've come to us for the first time and you
want to talk more about Tony cars. We got a
lot of episodes where we do that, and we talked
to some really cool people. Some of them are going
to be on the show today, and before we get
to them, I want to thank my executive produce Lettle Patrons.
That would be First and sixty four Customs, Dane Self, Drivendreams,
(01:08):
dot Org, Thank you, Mark, Jason, Matt Visions, Mister Biglou
Reviews Through Another Lens twice, Diecast, thank you, David, and
Video Geek Productions. If you want to know how you
can join their ranks and why we say their name
at the beginning of every episode. You can visit diecas
breakdown dot com where we have merch and social media
and links to how you can help support the show.
(01:30):
And of course Drivendreams dot org Marx project that we
are helping him with that's really cool where we're donating.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
What are we going for this year?
Speaker 5 (01:40):
Mark? What's the number?
Speaker 6 (01:41):
Two billion?
Speaker 4 (01:42):
Twenty thousand?
Speaker 3 (01:44):
We're doing twenty thousand cars for kids in need around
the world. It's a really cool cause and it's very
easy to participate in. Visit Driven Dreams dot org. And
while we're talking about Mark, I'm going to introduce my
co hosts, my friends and colleagues that make this show
go so much better than even I thought it would go.
(02:04):
And that would be mister David John's of twice die cast. David,
how are you today?
Speaker 6 (02:08):
I'm great. No place I'd rather be.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
I'm so glad to hear that. And Driven Dreams dot
org co creator founder, he's doing it with Kimber Would
you would you call yourself a co creator with.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Kimber on this one? Creator?
Speaker 5 (02:23):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (02:23):
Yeah, she's my right hand woman.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
You're right or die so, yeah, that would be.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
Hey, all right, and that would be Mark Berenson of
Driven Dreams, Autopeak, Detailing Dots and Man die Cast and
so many other things that you see on the internet.
Speaker 4 (02:39):
Mark Howard, I'm doing great. Thanksry, how are you doing.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
I'm hanging in there, sir. Thank you for asking.
Speaker 4 (02:46):
Nobody ever asks, I'm.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Just kidding anyway.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
All right, Well, we are talking to some really cool
people that do really cool things with tiny cars. Are
very excited to have our guests on. They represent an
all new die Cast brand in the form of IXL America.
You may have heard of IXL and loved their products
(03:10):
from around the world, but now they're sitting down roots
right here in the good old US of A with
a completely new division.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
I don't know very much about it.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
I probably misspoke there, but we got some people that
are going to help set me straight on this, and
that would be VP of Sales.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Correct, Jeff, Yes, that's correct, Yes.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
VP of Sales for IXO America, mister Jeff Nelson. Jeff,
thank you so much for being with us today and.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Thanks for having us. Really appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
And Clint LaFollette, the lead designer, architect, creative spirit behind
the designs that we're going to be talking about today.
So Clint, thank you as well for being on the
show with us today.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
Really excited to shout out you.
Speaker 5 (03:49):
Yeah, thank you, appreciate it all.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Right, awesome, So Jeff, we'll start with you as the
VP of sales guy, because I'm sure you've had to
give this elevator pitch a few hundred times. But so
you're getting on the elevator with somebody and they've pushed
the fifty third floor, so you got them forty five
seconds for a minute, and you go and they go,
what the heck is Ixo?
Speaker 1 (04:12):
What do you tell them?
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Yeah?
Speaker 7 (04:13):
So Ixo was born over twenty years ago from a
group that's based in Macau, and they have extraordinary market
presence in both Europe and Asia, specifically very one forty
third scale heavy.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
They also have some one six month and one.
Speaker 7 (04:31):
Eighteenth I've known the owners of this brand for a
number of years and myself, Clint and one other gentlemen
were asked what we could do to help out in
North America to expand the brand. Now, we all know
one forty third scale isn't massive in the United States,
but with Steve Fourth absolutely crushes it. So our job
(04:52):
here is to develop new one sixty fourth scale castings
and bring them to life for the US market and
also offer them overseas as well, just to really get
the ball rolling here in the United States. And the
cool thing is is they didn't really have a whole
lot of distribution for their open stock product here, and
that's another way that we can offer their vehicles into
(05:14):
the US market and have them be a little bit
He's more easily accept or accessible.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
All right, you have definitely given that speech once or twice.
Speaker 5 (05:22):
Awesome.
Speaker 3 (05:24):
This is why I always start with the sales guy
because he's yeah, he's got that locked and loaded in
the chamber, raine to go.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
So we've been trained.
Speaker 5 (05:31):
Yeah, absolutely, no, that's memory.
Speaker 3 (05:34):
It's super cool. So well, I will defer to David
on this one because I know he is. Now you
said IXO. Is it IXO or IXO?
Speaker 7 (05:41):
Yeah, IXO, And actually the division that's out of Macau
is XO Model Cars. And then we are IXO America,
a partner company with.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
Xdel gotcha, I've seen the the I've seen the name
all over the place. I've never actually heard it said
out loud. I'm suddenly realizing which ye, Well.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
That's why we're here. Well we're here, yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
And I will say I had not heard of XO
before my friend here, David, educated us all on it
with his videos on premium die casts. So, David, where
did you find XL.
Speaker 6 (06:18):
So Clint Jeff my first name brand recognition. I was
up at a die cast distributor out of Frankfurt, Kentucky.
You probably know who it is. And I saw these
amazing semi trucks Kenworths and other brands, and I said, I, XO,
who in the world is that? I just noticed that
they are amazingly detailed. They were in one sixty four
(06:40):
scale and I had not seen that level of detail
in that scale for that type of vehicle. I was
clamoring to see if you guys had some cars at
the time in this place that I was shopping at,
and I didn't find any cars under the ISXO brand.
Come to find out, a lot of my favorite brands
(07:01):
from around the world, you guys were the ones that
did the castings. I mean twenty twenty five years ago.
So many of our favorite premium brands use ixocastings that
we don't know.
Speaker 8 (07:14):
Question, for Jeff, do you see does the XO? How
does XO feel about chasism? Is that something you guys
foresee yourself doing in the future.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
We'll be back with more die Cast Breakdown after this
word from our sponsors. Legendary Hollywood concept artist and designer
Fireball Tim Lawrence has created three exclusive pieces of automotive
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Get these and other brilliant designs printed on mugs and
(07:46):
more at fireball tim Garage dot r today.
Speaker 9 (07:49):
Cast Heads Magazine is a digital publication dedicated to enhancing
the lives of connectors all across the world by providing
information on new models, reviews on brands and die com
accessories like figures and dioramas, throwing light on customizers, photographers
and people who contribute to making the die cast world vibrant.
Subscribe to cast Heads for free and look for collaborations
(08:12):
with diecast Media Network at Casttheadsmagazine dot com.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
And nail back to Diecast break Gal.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
That's a good question.
Speaker 7 (08:21):
We do recognize the fact that there are a couple
of manufacturers out there that are kind of overproducing their chases,
and so some people don't value them as much as others.
Then we know that there's some out there that are
making them very very rare. So you know, what we
would like to do is really take customer feedback and
understand the end consumer to.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
See what they want.
Speaker 7 (08:45):
We've got a little bit of time because we're still
in tooing development on a lot of our one sixty
fourths that we really want to get that feedback. And
I think another topic down the road in this conversation
is going to tell us where we're going to get
that feedback from. So it's kind of a wait and
see type of thing because we really want to get
it right.
Speaker 4 (09:05):
Yeah, well that makes sense.
Speaker 8 (09:06):
I mean, you want the customer feedback to see what
the pros and cons of their opinion of chases are,
because some people are all about chases and some people
like me don't really care, could care less about chases.
Speaker 7 (09:21):
It's funny because sometimes when I talk to my customers
throughout the years, you know, I've been in the industry
for sixteen years now, and it's interesting because some of
my customers will say I love them, get me more,
and other customers will want to return them. I can't
sell these, they don't work for me because my customers
just want what the car really looks like. So you
(09:43):
definitely have two different ends of the spectrum there. And
so we don't want to offend anybody and we don't
want to leave anybody out. So we really do want
to get that customer feedback because in my opinion, it's
really important to understand the end consumer and what they
want before you just try to force some and down
their throats.
Speaker 4 (10:01):
So yeah, well I respect that for sure, you.
Speaker 6 (10:04):
Know, and I love how Mark talked about that, because
we're talking about a line that we really hadn't told
people what's happening. So Jeff Clint tell us what itso
America means to collectors in America and what your products
are going to be.
Speaker 7 (10:22):
I'll start and then I can kick it over to Clint.
Clint's not exactly the most vocal person, but I've worked
with Clint for about thirteen years, right, Clint, think about
thirteen years, so I've known him pretty well.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
He's one of the best in the industry, thank you.
Speaker 7 (10:37):
So what we're really looking at doing is, as I said,
you know, develop a one sixty fourth scale line of
you know, some cars that really have kind of been
missed in the marketplace. Of course, we're going to have
some crossover with a couple of castings that basically, you know,
every die cast manufacturer should have in their arsenal. But
(10:58):
a lot of what we want to do is offer
fresh new castings that you know, I've gone to so
many consumer shows where hey, man, do you have this?
Speaker 2 (11:08):
Do you have that?
Speaker 7 (11:08):
And we're like, oh, man, no, we and we haven't
even thought about that, right, So this gives us an
opportunity to really spread our wings and be able to
make things that haven't been offered out there yet, or
if they have been offered, maybe it's the wrong scale.
You know, ah, this isn't really one sixty fourth, it's
more like one fiftieth or you know, one sixty eighth,
or because these collectors they know this stuff, right, Like
(11:32):
you put two one sixty four scale castings together, especially
like the Superbird, right, you throw those two together and
one's going to be longer than the other, and then
the questions, well, who's really truly sixty fourth? So I mean,
collectors have a very very keen eye. And that's where
Clint comes in. I like to call him our rain
Man of cars, because you can ask the guy any question,
(11:56):
and more so out of out of you know, more
times out of none. I mean, he's going to have
an answer for you, and if he doesn't have the answer,
he's going to find it out for you within a
day and get back to you. So you know, if
you kind of want to chime in here.
Speaker 5 (12:10):
Yeah, no, that's true. I am a car guy.
Speaker 10 (12:13):
I was born and raised into car culture, so it's
sort of in my DNA family vacations were two car shows,
not to like Disney World or whatever, you know, So
it's just it's always been a part, so I know
a lot about him. It's just really easy for me
to just sort of like dive into something and be
able to pick it apart and know where to go
and how to get all that done.
Speaker 5 (12:34):
I really pride myself on accuracy. I like to think
of it.
Speaker 10 (12:37):
As when I'm developing a new mold, I want it
to look like I've hit it with a shrink ray.
So it's just like, you know, just make it smaller,
but retain the detail. On the accuracy that's really important
to me. Like, you know, I'm a bit of a purist,
so I want I want things to be you know, perfect.
Speaker 7 (12:56):
Yeah, well, and the really nice thing too about creating
these castings that you know, we haven't seen before is
the the IXO model car. Guys overseas have been really
gracious and really cool with us pretty much having a
lot of creative control over this, which is great.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
So now when asked like, hey, which castings.
Speaker 7 (13:16):
Do you want to come out with first, I just
peel back the curtain and say here's Clint. Let him
have at it. And he had a list of like
fifty cars to us like right away. I mean, it
wasn't It's like he had these things stored in his
brain and all of a sudden, boom, there the list was.
So you know, yeah, I mean, kudos to those guys
(13:37):
that are allowing you know, us to be able to
offer these things to the US market and well and
internationally as well, but with a heavy focus on domestic OEMs.
You know, I think the end consumer and collector is
really going to enjoy a lot of this stuff that
you know, we've cracked Clint's brain open and kind of
(13:58):
got everything out of theirs.
Speaker 6 (14:00):
So we're talking about American makes and models in true
one sixty four scale. If I'm hearing you guys right,
and that is that's very exciting for a guy whose
collection insists on it being true one sixty four, I
can appreciate that. I don't want my Corvette to be
the same size as my Ford Fiesta.
Speaker 5 (14:22):
I don't want that.
Speaker 6 (14:23):
And it bothers me to know. And and that's not
for everybody, but for me. So this is exciting.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Guys.
Speaker 6 (14:29):
We're getting awesome American die cast in one sixty four.
And if I read the website right, you guys are
even focusing on getting the colors right as they were
with the manufacturers. I mean, that's really cool to hear.
Speaker 10 (14:45):
Yeah, I actually use old paint chips so I can
reference the color to match it as closely as possible,
because again, solid accuracy for me.
Speaker 6 (14:54):
So that's that's really cool.
Speaker 4 (14:57):
That's amazing.
Speaker 6 (14:58):
Clint, did you on your list? Were there some in
there that you've just been itching to do for a
while and had not in the past.
Speaker 10 (15:06):
Or Yeah, there are some that seems like, you know,
it might be either obvious that it should be done
or not obvious at all, something like you know, let's
say like a Ford Maverick, the original from the you know,
the seventies. You don't they don't get a lot of love,
so you don't see them a lot, you know, and
you know that they're you know, there's a there's a
(15:26):
market out there for and people like that kind of stuff,
you know, but it seems to be like most of
the times, you know, you see all the same things
all the time.
Speaker 5 (15:32):
You know, like you mentioned to Corvette earlier.
Speaker 10 (15:34):
I got nothing against corvettes, but every you know, there's
so many die cast Corvettes out.
Speaker 5 (15:38):
There, not very many, you know, Ford Mavericks.
Speaker 10 (15:40):
So just little things like that, you know, still cool
cars that have a cool, you know, a cool history.
Focus on those kinds of things too, like and on
the Ford Maverick. I think, like seventy two, Ford had
a color called anti Establishment. That's just my favorite name
for a color ever. Yeah, So just things like that,
you know, And I like to focus on that sort
(16:01):
of stuff, you know, because it's the it's the history
behind them, you know. It's that that sort of when
when you kind of romanticize these things a little bit,
you know, like that's.
Speaker 5 (16:11):
Why I like them so much.
Speaker 10 (16:12):
Yeah, So I just want to make sure that, you know,
everybody is going to be able to feel that when
they pick up our product.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
Yeah, absolutely. You know, we're talking about XO a bit,
and it's clear that the two of you have a
lot of experience in the die cast world. I'll start
with Jeff, if you don't mind telling me a little
bit about how you got to be in a position
that sounds like, you know, getting to be a little
bit of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory kind of,
(16:37):
you know, getting to work with tiny cars all days,
kind of the dream of a lot of our watchers
and viewers. So how did you get started in this world?
Speaker 7 (16:46):
Yeah, so it really was kind of by chance. So
when I got out of school, I started to work
for an automotive company that we were basically a material
supplier to Tier two and Tea three molders for a
Japanese OEMs. So I started doing that, and then I
moved into another company that was making filtration products for
(17:09):
the Big Three. They were even doing it for Ferrari,
And there were just a lot of technical drawings and
you know, engineering quotes and things like that that you
had to get back to the customer to make sure
that it was going to be you know, work within
their tolerances.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
And I just saw a job posting one day shoot.
Speaker 7 (17:29):
I think it was back in two thousand and I
think two thousand maybe, and no twenty ten, And so
I started applying for this job and I got it,
and it was with green Light because they were in
Indianapolis and that's where I live, and so I was there,
(17:51):
and in fact that I was there from nine until
April of twenty four, so I've been with IXO for
about a year. So I came in pretty green and
I remember I came in January of nine, and in
February of nine, they were like, Hey, we're going to
send you out to a trade show that's collector focused.
(18:11):
I think I looked like a deer in headlights because
I was like, these guys are going to know way
more than me, and being I collect a lot of
sports memorabilia and sports cards and things like that, I
get how passionate people are with this stuff. And I
didn't want to come off as the guy that didn't
know anything. So I tried to do a crash course
and die cast in the first month of my job,
(18:33):
and I knew I wasn't going to get at all,
but loving the automotive industry, I was really really excited
to go. And the one thing I learned is if
you're open and you want to talk.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
This is not.
Speaker 7 (18:46):
A collector space where there's a lot of people that
are like mean to each other, right, There's a lot
of care and I really really enjoyed that. In fact,
one of my customers when I was out there, was
set up right next to us and he was like, Hey, man,
if you don't know the answer to a question, just
just ask me, or or just tell the customer, Hey,
I'm not really sure on that yet, what do you think?
(19:08):
And a lot of these guys want to be heard,
And so I think I fell in love with it
when I got back from that first one, and then
you know, some collectors were shooting me an email saying, hey,
I hope you had an awesome time.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
Hey, here's a few ideas that I have. What do
you think?
Speaker 7 (19:24):
And and that was the type of relationship that I
really value and I wanted to continue so throughout my career.
I started out as a sales guy and then just
kind of had the opportunities open up to me. And
the more and more, you know, I learned about the industry.
It's funny because it's not just a lot of people
(19:44):
are like, oh, you get to play with cars all day.
I get to look at item numbers and crunch numbers
and make sure that would be profitable and we're able
to produce.
Speaker 5 (19:52):
More cars, you know.
Speaker 4 (19:53):
So it's really Went's playing with the cars.
Speaker 7 (19:55):
You Went's playing with the cars and making designs. And
you guys are lucky that it's him and not me,
because I'd open up him as a paint and it
would look terrible.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
So yeah, I mean, and it's to me.
Speaker 7 (20:10):
When I would walk down the die cast aisle, I
didn't know how much work went into producing one car.
I mean, you know, and now I know, and so
it's really really cool. And I think that's what really
has kept me interested in this industry for so long
and and and why I don't want to leave. And
so I am truly blessed to be in the position
(20:30):
that I am. And and you know, I told this story
last year at the super convention. I quit my job
with this filtration company and didn't have another job, and
I did only and I had only applied to green Light,
So I took a little leap of faith and uh,
and all of a sudden boom, it happened so you know,
it's it's one of those stories that could have turned
(20:52):
out very differently, but for for luckily, for me, it
went the way that it did. So, uh, definitely count
my blessing every day I get to come to work.
Speaker 3 (21:01):
Clint. You you mentioned already that you came from a
kind of baptism and motor oil type upbringing. But you know,
going from the big cars to the tiny cars, how'd
you get from there?
Speaker 2 (21:12):
To hear?
Speaker 5 (21:14):
Yeah? That also that came to me.
Speaker 10 (21:17):
I wanted to get into print design, so that was
kind of my focus in school. So after I graduated,
I was working at a print shop just kind of
like learn more about it, you know, so I understand
how to print things. When you're designed for printing, you
need to know that. So I'm working there. I've been
there for a couple of years, and the like the
green light A given those green light they had contacted
(21:39):
the school that I had gone to, so they called
me with this job and asked me if i'd be interested,
and I was interested. I mean they hired me there
as you know, basically lead designer there doing all the
packaging art work in the car work and all that
stuff and being a car guy.
Speaker 5 (21:55):
And being a designer.
Speaker 10 (21:57):
It's like two of my passions come to get there
and I get to make money off of it.
Speaker 5 (22:02):
It's just really been kind of amazing.
Speaker 10 (22:03):
You know how many people get to do exactly what
they want to do with the skills they have, you know,
so I feel blessed in that. But yeah, then I
moved just sort of like by necessity, I moved into
the product development there. So I've got probably about ten
years of experience in that.
Speaker 5 (22:21):
So yeah, I know I'm doing I like it.
Speaker 3 (22:25):
And humble too. I love it.
Speaker 6 (22:29):
Watch Out World, all right, yep, all right, so we
have to go ahead, sorry, go ahead, Mark.
Speaker 8 (22:35):
To pig to piggyback off of you know, going to
the conventions and going to different places like that. What
what should collectors expect to see from IXO America at
the die Cast Con in Las Vegas upcoming weeks here?
Speaker 5 (22:49):
What?
Speaker 8 (22:50):
What what are you guys going to have for them
if you can give them any kind of information?
Speaker 2 (22:55):
Yeah?
Speaker 7 (22:55):
Absolutely, First and foremost, I just want to give a
big shout out and thanks to Steven CJ.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
Once again.
Speaker 7 (23:02):
I mean that show I was talking to you about
nine was the very first super con.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
It if you could see what it was in nine
compared to what it is.
Speaker 7 (23:12):
And I went last year in twenty twenty four, it's
night and day and they've done a bang up job
and something that I'm super super happy and excited about
attending again. So I can't say enough good things about
those guys. So what we're going to do is we're
gonna have two one hour long sessions where we're up
on stage kind of talking about things. That's where collectors
(23:33):
are going to be able to see the first releases
that we're going to come out with. So we're going
to have our a couple of castings that are in
development right now. We'll show those off and kind of
discuss why we chose those castings and hopefully what type
of schemes that we're going to throw on them and
everything like that. There's also going to be a launch party,
(23:53):
because we are treating this convention as kind of our
launch into the US market because like a lot of
you guys, maybe you don't know about it, so and
that's that's not I mean, that's okay because they haven't
had a big presence in the United States. So it's
going to be a lot of education but we're gonna
have a lot of fun. And the big thing that
we want to do is get customer feedback. We want
(24:16):
to learn from the collector. We want to understand what
did you like about this casting, what didn't you like
about that casting. Another cool thing is is we've got
an ex Show exclusive that we're bringing out and we're
only limiting it to two hundred and sixty four pieces.
So what we're going to do is that you got
to come to our booth. We're gonna we're gonna make
(24:38):
it one per customer for the first two days, I think,
to allow everybody to try to get one, and then
you know, maybe on day three if we've got any leftover,
hey what you know, what, whatever you guys want, But
we really want a lot of people to get their
hands on this. Clint did the entire design on this thing.
He did the casting selection. Tiny little details like front
on the top of the front windshield it says first
(24:59):
edition in on it, so you'll know that, you know,
it's the very first thing that we came out with
ISAACS so America. So it's just going to be something
you know, that that collectors can have in their collection
for years to come and kind of think back to
that twenty twenty five super Con and and and again,
like we were talking earlier, we want to understand what
people's expectations are on this Chase program. So it's I'm
(25:22):
I'm really really excited, uh that that we have an
opportunity to showcase there.
Speaker 4 (25:29):
We're we're excited to meet you in person.
Speaker 8 (25:33):
Yeah, absolutely, to see to see all these and I'm
gonna try to sneak in early and get in line
to get one of those cars, you know, get behind
somebody if.
Speaker 4 (25:41):
I have to.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
Well what Clint didn't tell you was in a former life,
he was a bodyguard, so you.
Speaker 6 (25:45):
Know you may need to oh boy, well yeah you've been.
Speaker 3 (25:50):
There might be some elbows thrown af after they see
what's what's coming out. So so we've we've kind of
answer aund this a little bit. But can we talk
a little bit about the the initial lineup of cars
that has been selected, what where, what we can be expecting.
I'm sure there might be some surprises along the way too.
Speaker 1 (26:12):
Don't touch the dial. Die Cast Breakdown will be right
back after these messages. Die Cast Breakdown is produced in
partnership with twice die Cast and driven Dreams, or go
on YouTube check out their channels in the video description,
and subscribe for more epic die cast content.
Speaker 5 (26:30):
Hey, this is Larry wood May.
Speaker 4 (26:31):
This is Derek from Honest Dickcast, and this is a
chattering from Round two. This is Mike from gas.
Speaker 3 (26:35):
Las s rt JO Vita Shows is Champion DJK.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
You're watching die Cast Breakdown.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
And now the thrilling conclusion of this week's episode of
die Cast Breakdown.
Speaker 7 (26:53):
Yeah, yeah, definite surprises. We're actually waiting until our announcement
at the.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
Superw Okay, we really want to be.
Speaker 7 (27:00):
Out in front of the collector when we announced this
stuff kind of see their reaction, like face to face,
take active customer questions, things of that nature. And what's
really cool is is we've kind of ranked the first
batch of cars that that Clint has created. So it
was you know, boom boom boom, boom boom. We went
through the list and we rated them. But that ranking
(27:22):
can change, right based on what customer feedback is. And shoot,
maybe there's a car out there that that a customer
suggests that we don't even have on our list, that
maybe it's like, hey, this is so good, we want
to bump it up to the next in the queue.
Speaker 3 (27:35):
So like a nineteen sixty four Plymouth Valiant two door Sedan, Perhaps.
Speaker 6 (27:41):
Perhaps I would be to Chuck Chuck's bait right there.
Speaker 5 (27:45):
You'll have to.
Speaker 6 (27:46):
See some pictures.
Speaker 2 (27:47):
We'll show you some pictures and send you to send.
Speaker 4 (27:50):
He'll send you some paint chips.
Speaker 8 (27:52):
Clint'll eat them, use them, use them.
Speaker 10 (27:56):
Yeah, I had I had a sixty four Plymouth savoid
A fourridor in high school and I loved it.
Speaker 3 (28:04):
Yeah, mine was my car in high school too.
Speaker 5 (28:07):
I've had it.
Speaker 3 (28:07):
I've had it for over twenty five years.
Speaker 6 (28:11):
So hey, can we just say, Clint, you killed the
show car. The twenty nineteen Challenger Hellcat SRT is out.
Go to the Diecast super Consite, but also go to
Diecast Media Network. We've got awesome pictures of that, Clint.
That thing is amazing and a heck of a introduction
(28:34):
to the line, to the brand. I think you guys
hit a home run right out of the gate. So
can you, Clint, Maybe from a production side, it's really
interesting for us to hear, you know, not the whole process,
but you know, maybe the bullet point and how that
goes from your head to a blister pack.
Speaker 10 (28:54):
Yeah, that's not a very easy questions, right, So yeah,
I mean, so it goes from like the idea like
in my head, and then I put it down and
I try to determine like what all can be done
with it, because I want to be able to you know,
maximize the mold. So I want to be able to
(29:15):
do as much as possible, you know, So instead of
focusing on you know, I don't know, like a let's
say the sixty nine GTX, I'll do the sixty nine
and a sixty eight because it's so similar.
Speaker 5 (29:28):
You can get you know, all that out of it.
So that kind stuff. I like to do that.
Speaker 10 (29:32):
So I'll kind of like make a list of all
the things that can be done. I'll go through and
i'll you know, find out the colors all cross index.
We know what years and what colors, and you know,
get all that, put all that together and just basically
put together like a little I don't know, we call
it a job bag, but it's just all the all
the information, you know, the dimensions again, all the different
(29:55):
bits and pieces that make it what it is and
can make it more, you know, and then just kind
of like you know, pass it along to the people
who developed the molds, and then go through all that
and you know a little bit of back and forth
getting them to look good, you know, getting right, and
then you know, then I'm moving to the design stage
where I'm gonna, you know, whatever the you know, if
it needs a logo for the package or where the
(30:16):
package is going to look like. You know, if you
if I'm gonna like sort of tie in some sort
of like history to it or some sort of like
there's some a meaning to this car, so here, you know,
put that on the package and then you know, that
just all kind of gets tied up and produced and
then it out of my hands at that point.
Speaker 6 (30:32):
But yeah, fair enough, after everybody's owing and aweing in
Vegas and throwing their money at you, when do we
think we might actually start getting cars in hand? Any
idea on that?
Speaker 7 (30:47):
Yeah, So, David, you brought up a good point about
the one sixty fourth semi trucks that you saw. I
know exactly which customer you were at, good guy, So, uh,
we cool. The cool thing is is, you know, working
with Axo Model Cars, they've already got these licenses locked up,
so you know, we don't really have to hunt for
any you know, oem licenses, which is a fantastic asset.
(31:12):
I mean, I can't tell you how difficult it is
to obtain some of these licenses. So it's it really
is a great advantage to be working with these guys.
So we do have some multi fourth scale semi trucks
like the KENWORTHZ and the Max and things like this
available for pre order on our B to B website
(31:34):
for our wholesale and distributor network. So you guys may
have seen some of these out there and not realize
these Rixol America things. They haven't been delivered yet, but
we're anticipating those to be here in early Q two.
So the container is you know, getting the production is
getting wrapped up, the containers being put together, all that
good stuff, and the cool thing is is there you know,
(31:56):
exclusive US paint schemes, so you know, even though it
might be a casting, it's something that we're doing a
little bit different, which is really cool. So that stuff
will be out at the beginning of Q two. The
new one sixty fourth scale vehicles, those should be out
towards the end of Q two, beginning of Q three
of twenty twenty five, So that's when you should be
(32:19):
able to start start seeing some of that stuff out
in the marketplace.
Speaker 2 (32:24):
Awesome, great, very cool.
Speaker 3 (32:27):
Alrighty, so we got that the rollout coming, You've got
all this stuff coming out, Like what about the die
cast for people who haven't been, and that's a lot
of a lot of people. What is die cast super
con to you? And what about it? Would you tell
(32:49):
somebody to encourage them to go.
Speaker 7 (32:51):
It's just a bunch of like minded people that enjoy
the same thing getting together, and it's kind of like
a family reunion. I've seeing the same collectors every time
I've gone, and they they remember me, and I remember them.
I may not remember their name. But it's funny because
one guy comes around and I just know him as
the camaro guy, like I know that he collects camaros
(33:13):
and so, and if I see him, I'll remember where
I put you know, a certain car and I'm like, hey,
do you have this one or something like that. So
it really is a time to just celebrate the hobby
and enjoy time together. And what's really cool is I
mean they sell out the entire hotel, so you're not
you know, you're not fighting with you know, other patrons
(33:35):
that are there on vacation to just drink for three.
Speaker 2 (33:38):
Days and you know, gamble their life away.
Speaker 7 (33:40):
You're there with people that are actually wanting to be
involved in the show and wanting to be on the
show floor. So it's just really cool because you don't
have any outside distractions.
Speaker 2 (33:53):
So if you're a die cast nerd, that's the place
to be.
Speaker 5 (33:58):
Very well said, agree for sure.
Speaker 2 (34:01):
Yeah, I mean, Clint, do you have any any other feedback?
Speaker 10 (34:04):
No, I would say that that's exactly accurate. Last year
was my first time going, so I was I was
really impressed by the way it was put together.
Speaker 5 (34:14):
It's such a professional event.
Speaker 10 (34:16):
You feel welcomed and like Jeff was saying, everybody there,
they're just like you, so there's no conflict, you know.
Speaker 5 (34:25):
It's yeah, yeah.
Speaker 7 (34:28):
On One other cool thing I've seen is a lot
of collectors try to help other collectors out by like, hey,
I know you collect these things.
Speaker 2 (34:34):
You know, you've got your completists.
Speaker 7 (34:36):
That want everything, and then you've got your guys that
focus on a certain make, model, year, or just you know, hey,
I collect everything, Challenger, you know, something like that. There's
a lot of guys that I know, and you know,
with you guys, you were talking about donating twenty thousand cars.
Speaker 2 (34:51):
That's absolutely amazing.
Speaker 7 (34:53):
I've seen guys that have like ten, twelve, twenty cars
that they've saved up for their buddy over the last
year and they just show up and they give them
to them, and I'm just like, man, there's not a
lot of hobbies out there that people would show this
type of kindness.
Speaker 2 (35:06):
So that's really cool to see too.
Speaker 7 (35:10):
So that that's just something that you know, if you're
on the fence about going. It's in the connected world
we live in and so many Facebook groups and Instagram
pages and all this stuff, it's it's easy to find
the like minded people. And you know, it's just super
cool to see the community come together at an event
like this and and a lot of folks just helping
(35:32):
each other.
Speaker 6 (35:32):
Out, no doubt.
Speaker 11 (35:34):
Yeah said, yeah, I have no hesitation saying, you know,
I found the best hobby, the best hobby for me,
And really it's just a really overall.
Speaker 6 (35:50):
Cool, chill group of dudes. We you know, we all
have that common bind. It doesn't matter who we vote for,
it doesn't matter where we go to church on Sunday
or if we go it all, it doesn't matter. We
all cars. We all like four wheels, sometimes three or
two for those weirdos out there, but for the most part,
we all love car. We all grew up loving cars,
and we all, you know, we all had that brand
(36:13):
with the flame in our hand when we were kids,
you know, running it down a track or building little
shoe box cities in our bedroom. So you're right, we
all that is such a like minded community, and it's
it's it's helped a lot of us, I don't know,
just enjoy life. But I don't know why I'm rambling.
I was asking you. Now that we know when cars
(36:35):
will actually be in the packaging and ready to buy,
tell the people where they will be able to buy them.
Are you going to see these in big box stores
or are these going to be through online marketplaces? How
is Ixo America going to get their cars into the
collector's hands.
Speaker 2 (36:52):
Yeah, so at the beginning, it's going to be.
Speaker 7 (36:56):
Through our you know, wholesale and distributor network, through online
shops and things like this. Actually, one of our sister
companies is Fairfield Collectibles, so they're going to have everything
that we make you know, readily available online there. But
there's a lot of other companies that we're working with.
Speaker 2 (37:16):
You know.
Speaker 7 (37:17):
We we've got a really solid network. And what's amazing
to me is, you know, we reached out to a
lot of people that I've known for a number of
years and then some that I've never heard of before.
All of a sudden, boom and email will pop up
in my inbox and I was like, oh, hey, you
know what site do you run. You show me your
(37:38):
business and I'll go check it out. We'll get them
set up as long as they meet all the criteria
and we're good to go. We're really focusing on getting
these into the hands of the hardcore collector first and
foremost before we start about, you know, thinking about expanding
into the mass retail arena and everything like that. So
(37:58):
it's it's going to be a homegrown process. But I
think that's how you can adapt quicker if you launch
that way, as opposed to just going straight to mass retail.
So that's the strategy, and we're gonna roll with it
and do the best that we possibly can with it.
Speaker 6 (38:16):
They're gonna eat them up, Okay, guys, when we start
to see these things online, and we want to know
where to go to get them. Give us the name
of the website so that we'll bookmarket and collectors can
go to it. And then I've got a follow up
question after you tell us about that website.
Speaker 7 (38:32):
Yeah, so the best site to search for is ixomodels
dot com. That will take you to the XOL Model
Cars homepage where they update everything EXOL America for US.
Speaker 6 (38:44):
And I did see if I could just real quick
when I went on that site earlier today. There's some
big news on there about being the official brand for
one of the biggest sporting events in the US. So
tell us about it, Jeff. What other news is XO
America got for that?
Speaker 7 (39:01):
Yeah, it's something close to my heart, and I know
Clint's heart and another guy that we work with being
here in Indianapolis. You know, EXOL Medal Cars the official
manufacturer and supplier for the NTT Data IndyCar Series, and
we're super excited about it. If you've never been to
the Indy five hundred, making a bucket list thing, because
(39:23):
it's you and three hundred and fifty thousand of your
closest friends jammed into this motorsport park and it's a
thing of beauty. But we're making one eighteenth and one
sixty fourth scale replicas, both super speedway and road course.
In both scales, it's the road course in sixty fourth
has never been offered before, so that's something brand new
to the industry and something that we're really proud of.
(39:46):
So you're going to be able to see the road
course liveries on road course tooling as opposed to trying
to fit it onto a super speedway.
Speaker 2 (39:55):
But I mean, what's there not to like.
Speaker 7 (39:58):
It's thirty three cars going over two hundred and twenty
miles an hour. I mean, it's it's it's incredible. I
don't know if any of you have been, but I've
been over a dozen and no matter how many times
I've gone, I still get goosebumps when I walk through
those gates and you sit down you see record. I
have a group of guys that I see one time
(40:20):
per year, and that's on carb Day, the Friday before
the race, and they have the last practice before the
five hundred and then they have a pit stop competition.
Speaker 2 (40:29):
It's just incredible.
Speaker 6 (40:31):
Yeah, I think we have an indie race here in
Birmingham at the Barber Motorsports and I've been and it's
it's an awesome sound to have rigging in your head,
you know when you drive home.
Speaker 7 (40:45):
Yeah, absolutely absolutely, I mean, and what's really cool is
they just signed a contract with Fox Sports starting in
twenty twenty five, so it's going to be a heck
of a lot easier for fans to find races on TV.
And they've they've put a lot of effort into pushing
the series and the Indy five hundred, and to be
(41:05):
a part of something like that to offer up the models,
it's super, super cool, and I love working with the league.
I love working with the teams. There's a lot of
really cool people that are involved in the series, and
it's it's just so much fun to be a part of.
Speaker 6 (41:21):
Yeah, what a good get for ixso America.
Speaker 1 (41:25):
Man.
Speaker 7 (41:25):
Yeah, we're super proud, super happy, And like I said,
I can't wait to see these things on the shelves
in the speedway because it'll be kicked off for the
NDY five hundred, So that's the first time you're gonna
be able to get the XO model cars. Die cast
is at the Indy five hundred, and then all the
races at.
Speaker 3 (41:44):
So Cool that's awesome and you know, really cool to see,
you know, something that's been around for a while reinvent
itself a bit and then you know, take on these
new licenses and and bring in these new lines, and
you know, bring it all here in the US and
then take it out back to the world. That is
super duper cool and really counting the days now until
(42:06):
I can be out in Vegas and see y'all and
see the announcement. I can't wait to see what you
got lined up. So for people who want to know
and want to follow and all that stuff, what are
the best ways that they can find follow, get in
touch with you guys all that good stuff.
Speaker 7 (42:22):
Yeah, if you go to theixolemodel cars dot com, they've
got links to all the social media's and there's a
really good Facebook presence, really good Instagram presence. They you know,
there's a guy that his specific job is photography, social media,
video production, things like that. So you're going to see
a lot of really cool content coming up, specifically for
(42:42):
the exo America.
Speaker 6 (42:43):
Clint, did you want to give up your cell number
for people to send in their suggestions?
Speaker 3 (42:48):
I was going to say, you're going to get some requests.
I'm afraid they Yeah, it's one.
Speaker 5 (42:54):
Hey, i'd love you.
Speaker 3 (42:57):
You can you can you can request the new you
can request a car at like five hundred dollars a
minute on this one.
Speaker 2 (43:04):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly, exactly.
Speaker 7 (43:05):
No, But but where we really are, you know, looking
forward to meeting a lot of people, and like you said,
count down the minutes until Vegas. We are too, I mean,
we're we're super pumped and it's going to be the
first time that we're going to be out in the
public Aacso America. We've got a trade show coming up
next week in Nuremberg for the Germany Toy Fair.
Speaker 2 (43:23):
So we'll be over there.
Speaker 7 (43:25):
But when we're back, we're we're in Vegas and it's
the first time that we're going to be doing a
collector show.
Speaker 2 (43:30):
So we're we're amped.
Speaker 6 (43:31):
Now, did you guys, did you guys do any of
the in room trading? Did y'all walk the halls at
night and see all the selling going on in the rooms?
Speaker 2 (43:41):
Yeah, I think it's hard to avoid.
Speaker 7 (43:43):
Hey, exactly, Yeah, yeah, exactly, I mean, it's uh, it's
it's interesting. You know, there's there's people that have stuff
from I mean just years ago, and and it's stuff
that I haven't seen forever too. I remember working on projects,
and you know Clint too. You know, you'll see something
(44:05):
and my brain will instantly be taken back to, oh,
I remember working on this, right and and you know,
if it was especially a lot of the promo projects
and things like that, and hey, how'd you get your
hands on that? These were only sent to these guys.
There's always a way, right, there's always a way that
that that the collector gets their hands on these things.
So it's it's really interesting to hear the story because
(44:27):
I remember working on those projects. Hopefully in another twenty
years I'll be seeing the the ixo America stuff and
you know we can we can reminisce about about tonight too.
Speaker 6 (44:38):
Right there you go, there you go.
Speaker 8 (44:41):
Yeah, I just like to reiterate to everyone, if you're
watching this, go to Vegas, try it out, get the
time on work, quit your job, all right.
Speaker 6 (44:51):
Hey, well don't don't tell your job.
Speaker 8 (44:54):
No, it's it's but seriously, it's like we didn't we
weren't able to make it last year. I I had
my little girl last year, so it was you know,
she was just newborn, so this year, we're bringing her,
bringing her with. She's gonna turn one on the way back,
so it'll be fun to have her there and have
her see all that. So she loves die cast cars,
(45:15):
messing with them. But it's it's a really fun thing
because it's we all have the same passion whether it's
little cars or big cars. Anyone that collects little cars
likes big cars. Anyone that has big cars likes little
cars because you can always hand them out. So it's
we all understand each other. But yeah, I'm excited. I
think when we went there was the toy show, right
that was like the second day or something like that,
(45:36):
but that's not a thing anymore. So it's all die
cast all the time. You can meet some of your
you know, the designers. You can meet Clint that's making
these cars. You know, he's gonna be your new favorite designer,
so you know, get his autograph now. But it's it's
just really worth you and because you know, my wife
and I have been looking forward to going and we're
(45:58):
taking some time off and even all the worries behind
and just going to have fun and meet people. So
it's worth checking out. It's not even if you make
it out for like a day or whatever, you know,
just to see things rip through it. So I just
encourage people to go check it out. Meet Joe, Clint,
meet us, get your challenger. Yeah that's right, challenger.
Speaker 3 (46:22):
All right, well cool, Well again, Jeff and Clint, thank
you so much for being with us today on Didcast Breakdown.
Of course, folks, you can find the links to everything
down in the description below, and while you're down there,
make sure you're hitting the thumbs up and like the subscribe.
The share button is a really good one. If you've
(46:45):
got some friends that you think would like to know
some more about Ixo America or just tiny cars in general,
a great way to inform them and help this show
out is to share it with your friends and your
Facebook groups and wherever it is that tiny car are
discussed and loved. And again, we want to thank you
for making it to the end of another episode of
(47:05):
Diecast Breakdown. Make sure you leave a comment saying you're
part of the shutdown crew for Diecast Breakdown. We always
like seeing if people make it to the end or not,
that they give us a little nod and we like
to respond and thank them for sticking with us. And
again thank you to our patrons that make the show go.
You can learn more about that of course again at
(47:26):
dicastbreakdown dot com and of course driven Dreams dot org.
Speaker 2 (47:30):
Check that out.
Speaker 3 (47:31):
We're gonna really knock it out of the park this year.
We've had a lot of really great response over the
last couple of years that Mark's done this, and I'm
really excited for what's ahead for that and we're gonna
make a lot of kids real happy.
Speaker 2 (47:43):
So check that out.
Speaker 3 (47:45):
And as always, we want to thank you for coming
along with us for the ride. So until next time,
stay fresh, cheesebags.
Speaker 1 (47:51):
Thanks for listening to die Cast Breakdown. If you enjoy
today's show, please rate us five stars on Apple Podcasts
and tell a friend to listen in Finds Breakdown on
your favorite social media platforms, or visit diecastmedianetwork dot com
to learn more about this and our other projects. Die
Cast Breakdown is a presentation of Flying Valiant and the
(48:14):
Diecastmedia Network.
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