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| Ford Falcons: Biante vs. HW | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jul 2 2010, 08:45 PM (4,889 Views) | |
| Atencio | Jul 2 2010, 08:45 PM Post #1 |
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Station Wagon
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Finally I can compare the XB Falcon from Biante with someone else. So lets begin Biante vs HW, or as I like to call it: The 1927 Yankees vs the 1962 Mets ![]() The Front ![]() The Biante is very detailed. Matching painted bumper new for Ford. The GT, hard to see is painted red in the grill. The Hood ![]() Biante was able to do something that no one else even Kyosho was able to do; make a decent looking Nasa style hood scoop. The Sides ![]() I have read many people complaining that the HW Falcon rear quarter panel looks weird, too big. Compared to the Biante they look basically same size. I think the chrome trim on the Biante around the bottom, rear wheel well and windows makes it look not so large. The HW sits a little nicer to me. Meaner stance with lower front end. Also, I am not sure why Biante didnt include the rear flutes (is that what they are called?) in front of the rear wheels. The Rear ![]() Don't care for wing that HW added to the car. Looks a little Buisck GSX looking to me. Nice exhaust tips on the Biante The Undercarriage ![]() Nothing comes close to Biante in this area. Hanging exhaust, painted engine, front suspension. Beautiful. Cost Well The Biante cost me $11.00 and I had to buy all 6 cars from Biante plus a good $30.00 for overseas shipping. The HW was $0.97 at Wal Mart The HW version is great for what it is. Bonus points for stock looking paint job and no tampos. Not a big fan of the color yellow especially in diecast cars but the HW is a decent yellow. The Biante shows why it is on top of list of my favorite diecasts. |
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| Swifty | Jul 2 2010, 08:50 PM Post #2 |
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The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
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I have got to have the Biante. I have a few, but this is not among them! Beautiful color to boot! How recent a release is this out of curiosity, and what are the other cars in this set?
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| Atencio | Jul 2 2010, 09:49 PM Post #3 |
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Station Wagon
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I think I got the set about 3-4 years ago if I had to guess. The set included 2- XA Falcons, 2- XB Falcons, 2- XC Falcons I have only seen race versions in later releases. XA ![]() ![]() XB ![]() ![]() XC- Cobra ![]() ![]() XC- Cobra Option 97 ![]() A later car, not in same set XB race car ![]() ![]() ![]() One nice about Biante that you cant see in the pictures is that they paint the side mirrors to simulate glass. Nice touch. |
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| Swifty | Jul 2 2010, 10:03 PM Post #4 |
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The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
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I'm in love. Those are gorgeous. I'm going to have to start seeking out the (many) missing Biantes in my collection.
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| craftymore | Jul 2 2010, 10:11 PM Post #5 |
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Support your local demo derby.
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Sweet write up Greg on the Falcons. The Biante one knocks the ball out of the park detail wise. Of the 3 Biantes I have, which are all Fords including the white and blue Cobra pictured, the dash and gauges are typically painted. The undercarriage detail is tops among all things in my collection. The HWs is a good effort from Mattel. I think the oversized rear tire might make the rear fenders look off or at least enhance that perception. |
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| ivantt | Jul 3 2010, 03:23 PM Post #6 |
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New casting? Quick! Take it apart!
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I think Crafty is right that the overly large wheels makes the rear quarter look bulky. This occurs on a lot of HW castings-----when you put smaller wheels on, the car suddenly looks more correct. The HW version is the perfect choice for doing customs, especially at $1 or less. I see that this casting has won over a lot of collectors at HWC.com (Mattel site) and the customizers can't wait to get enough. I found two in the "L" cases, full U.S. card, in the All Stars series as expected. Nice writeup and photos, Atencio I love the overall detail on the Biante's and they should be left stock.Wow, a comparison of a diecast company that I have never seen vs. a Mattel version of a popular Aussie car.....would would have "thunk" it??? Diecasts are certainly moving in different directions, especially the last ten years or so. A great time for collectors, especially the DLM's. |
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| gunn | Jul 3 2010, 04:18 PM Post #7 |
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Station Wagon
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i belong to the biante's web site and club. xb falcons from biante bring a good chunk of change plus shipping. dont get me wrong i love all there cars. i just dont have the money to buy them. i think for a first xb by hw and at only a buck. thay did a great job. i got lucky today and found one on a short card. i need 6 more. lol biante is well known for high detail and i belive true 1/64th scale while hw and others are well under 1/64th scale. but us customizers love the 1 dollar price tag for chopping. those are some great cars you posted i love all of them. thanks for posting them
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| DaWeber | Jul 4 2010, 07:51 PM Post #8 |
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Station Wagon
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My memory seem to recall that someone , sometime ago indicted Biante models were made by AUTOart ! Am i correct? Maybe Pat " diecastdingo" can pipe in? |
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| Atencio | Jul 5 2010, 09:25 PM Post #9 |
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Station Wagon
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From the Biante Forum Website: "Under the old brand of UT Models, Paul Lang of Minichamps, Kelvin Kwan of UT Models and myself from Biante decided to make models for each country run by the country agent under the UT Brand. ie,, UK would make and pay for 6 UK cars, Japan same, Australia same etc etc. We commissioned and paid for the XY and then came the big split between UT and PMA. As PMA didnt make any 1:18ths in their own right and UT did, Paul, Kelvin and I decided to press on with the XY as a UT item. Those of you lucky enough to have the first few XY's will know they come in "Manufactured by UT" boxes. This model was made exclusively for Biante and all subsequent models have had the same parentage. Biante inhereted some tooling that was in its infancy and we started another program with another manufacturer who now makes AU, BA, VR, VS, minicars etc exclusively for us. For expediency, we needed a Sierra, so we asked PMA to make to our specs. So, in answer to the question, we are 3 seperate companies, making Australian models purely for the Australian and NZ markets, exclusively distributed by Biante" It is very difficult to shift through all the story but Biante, AutoArt, and MiniChamps have some common history. UT(Unique Toys) appears to have done castings for Biante but has since been adsorbed by Gateway Global parent company of AutoArt. So Biante has had castings done by an assortment of different manufacturers from the best I can tell. What is interesting is that if AutoArt was doing the Falcons, the detail between them and regular AutoArt is strikingly different in the undercarriage. |
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| WoloMan | Jul 10 2010, 09:01 PM Post #10 |
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Midsize
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Thanks for the great comparison. I'll have to keep my eyes on Biante, those are some really sweet rides. I'm hoping some new cases of HW come to my local stores as I've only see one Falcon but passed because of a bad tampo. I'm surprised that Biante thought showing the pumpkin on the underside wasn't important--it's painfully obvious next to the HW. Another interesting note is that the HW has an aftermarket exhaust with a Bassani x-pipe.
Edited by WoloMan, Jul 10 2010, 09:04 PM.
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| Firehawk73 | Aug 21 2010, 06:19 AM Post #11 |
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Holy Cow!!! Those are awesome! I going to have search the web for biante diecast. I never heard of them before. |
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| 69Stang | Sep 12 2010, 05:06 PM Post #12 |
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Station Wagon
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I enjoied the info and photos very much....you know that Cobra and racer just knocked me out! |
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| diecastdingo | Dec 7 2010, 04:28 PM Post #13 |
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Minivan
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Sorry - piping a little late here. Yes, Biante used AutoArt to make the tooling and I have a Holden FJ Sedan in an AutoArt box. Though I've heard suggestions that they've moved to someone else - probably due to cost. Their production runs are quite small, so they'll never be cheap. Re the "rear flutes" (not sure what they are called either) - not all XB and XC coupes had them. It depended on spec and trim level. By the way, a well known XB Coupe lover is actor Eric Bana. His first car was an XB coupe and he still has it. He's re-built it three times before entering the Targa Tasmania race where he promptly ran into a tree and nearly totaled it. He is now rebuilding it again. He even made a small budget doco about it called "Love the Beast". Worth checking out, it is very entertaining. This is his car (before the accident):
Edited by diecastdingo, Dec 7 2010, 05:38 PM.
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| Dragnet_Supporter | Dec 8 2010, 11:13 AM Post #14 |
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SUV
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The HWs version certainly is nice for a buck. But those Biantes are amazing. I don't have any of them, but will probably look into a few when finances permit. |
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| Rickardo | Jul 30 2012, 01:04 PM Post #15 |
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Compact
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Well of course Biante is better done, but Hot wheels are cheaper and by far more easy to get. Besides you could make a XA Falcon coupe conversion easily |
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| gregac124 | Aug 8 2012, 02:57 AM Post #16 |
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Fullsize
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The effect of oversized rear 1/4 panels is partly a visual illusion caused by the entire front of the Hotwheels forward of the windscreen being too short and sloping down too sharply. It's still a killer car for the cost of a Howheels though. |
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| GeorgeT | Aug 8 2012, 04:53 AM Post #17 |
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TomkatGeorge
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The Biante does it for me. Being an Aussie and a petrol head at the time these XB's hit the road, the Biantes are much closer to the real thing than the HW. There were so many variations in these models from Ford, that I doubt there would be two on the road with identical details. The "flutes" were supposed to be cooling vents for the rear brakes, but in reality were little more than an odd cosmetic touch. As mentioned it depended on the options the purchaser wanted as to what was included on the car. These were a beast to drive and have , rightly, become a classic car of choice for those with good taste. The Eric Bana story is worth a look if you stateside guys can get hold of it. It's a true indication of what us Aussies think of our classic cars....... |
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| Atencio | Aug 11 2012, 08:17 PM Post #18 |
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Station Wagon
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I think the hardest part would be the hoods. The XA hood reminds me of a 68-70 Ford style found on Torinos and Mustangs with the 69 Shelby scoops while the XB has the 71 era Mach I hood. |
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3:13 AM Jul 11
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Beautiful color to boot! How recent a release is this out of curiosity, and what are the other cars in this set?










I'm in love. Those are gorgeous. I'm going to have to start seeking out the (many) missing Biantes in my collection.


I love the overall detail on the Biante's and they should be left stock.

Another interesting note is that the HW has an aftermarket exhaust with a Bassani x-pipe.



3:13 AM Jul 11