Hot Wheels and Matchbox Customizing Thread

[CodeRedR51]

Looks that way immediately after printing.

 

[Cano]

Yay new page! Dibs.

Here is one of the dead bodies Andy sent me all the way from moose land, this Lincoln Continental from this year (along with everything else in the pic of course):


We all know it looked like this before AOSTina blew it away for it's tires:


I was thinking about picking one up myself to customize but since one came in the Canada package I just waited for it. Once here I looked around for wheels and found these Johny Lightning wire wheels that were off a trashed Cobra I picked up at the Mexico convention last year precisely because of the wheels; here it is along with the other projects/donors I picked up that time:


As it was going to be a pretty simple wheel swap, I went a bit ahead and painted the interior a nice caramel color, then added some chrome that looks way better in real life, really:



The axles were the perfect size, I didn't have to modify a bit. The end result looks bad-ass:


I detailed it where it could be detailed, the headlamps were painted white thouh it's hard to see in the pics, the tailights were done with Tamiya clear red, a paint I am just now testing and it looks pretty cool against a silver/chrome background, and again I chromed up the window frames. I also tried to delete the HW logo on the trunk but I was taking off the green paint with the acetone, and the silver of the logo wasn't even moving, so I left it there lol.



Ssssstance:


More to come from Andy's stash in the future, several cars from there are already done.

 

[AOS-]

I like that actually. I was about to say to lose the tampos but the more I look at it, the more I'm okay with it. It probably was just the 10SPs that killed it.



If you can keep up the good work, I'll give you some donors as a complimentary gift.


So who wants donors from me now?

 

[Cano]

Nooo the tampos make the car, it makes a good impersoantion of kinda the Watson "freeway" scallops of the late 60s that led to the lowrider/kustom culture of the 60s and early 70s. It just needed good wheels (:

And when you see the Cobra you're not gonna give me dead bodies, you're gonna give me entire cars!

 

[Sonygamer455]

Looks that way immediately after printing.

Yep that's how mine were. My printer is a inkjet printer, a very expensive one too. They don't get much higher than what I have. To be honest, I noticed the black ink in my printer (my decals im printing are black) was about half way gone. That could be the problem.

 

[AOS-]

You know you take this hobby too far when you start buying stuff from the automotive section....today I bought myself some Turtle Wax polishing compound, Meguiar Ultimate Polish, AND a can of Dupli-Color Clear EFFEX spray can for glitter finish). Hoping I may get metallic/metalflake finishes with this.

Oh. I also got myself a Gundam marker for detailing black parts.



edit: dbltake, your red camaro got featured on lamley's blog. You should hurry up and list it on that post. Someone already complimented it too.


edit: Tried out the Turtle Wax on a flat black finish and now the body catches more highlights, but it definitely doesn't shine like candy. I'm just testing to see the limits of that and the Meguiar polish so I can get a sense of what possible outcomes I can expect from each product. In other words, I want to find a way to make even dull objects have a glossy finish. Guess it already has to be glossy or I might need to use some other product because these merely restore.

Now it's a matter of how much shine that glittery clear will give me.

edit: Okay. I just tried it and while it does do its job, it not what I really wanted. It looks fine indoors:

I get the glitter finish as expected, except when I take it out in the sunlight:

This was previously a flat black finish. Look at all those colours!


I'm going to try making a double-layered mosquito net screen and use it as a filter.. Maybe then I can keep a gloss finish with a iddy bitty glitter for the sparkles.... but it'd be even more awesome if I could somehow mix it with the gloss paint. Maybe if I did them in light coats back and forth. So in other words, I could do a shot of colour, shot of glitter, then colour and repeat until desired effect is achieved.


So if you ever want this kind of finish, you can buy this thing:

 

[Nessy]

Cool 55, Andy, the wheels suit that a treat. 👍

Excellent Camaro, doubletake. 👍

Great Conti, Cano, dig the new shoes on that. 👍

Thanks Spacegoat. 👍


[EDIT]

Flickr is not working well for me today.. hence small pics. Have at last finished the 240Z (just one more coat of clear, when weather permits). It's not perfect (orange peel effect and other little things) but i'm really pleased with it. (first ever finished custom).

 

[CodeRedR51]

Yep that's how mine were. My printer is a inkjet printer, a very expensive one too. They don't get much higher than what I have. To be honest, I noticed the black ink in my printer (my decals im printing are black) was about half way gone. That could be the problem.

Mine were brand new and same deal. So it's not that.

Flickr is not working well for me today.. hence small pics. Have at last finished the 240Z (just one more coat of clear, when weather permits). It's not perfect (orange peel effect and other little things) but i'm really pleased with it. (first ever finished custom).

Dude.

 

[Cano]

Have at last finished the 240Z

:0 amazing thing! All the custom parts and the detailing blend awesomely together, the stance is awesome, and I love the exhaust really really cool, man. And what a job for your first custom. Amazing 👍 easily some of the best stuff I've seen, period.

I'd be happier with bronze wheels, but even chromed ones look awesome.

 

[McZachenF1138]

Lamley Custom of the Century right there. 👍
Top notch work bud, great job.

 

[AOS-]

Is it really your first, guy?

Really your first?



Looks great. That 240z decal make it that much better.

 

[Spacegoat]

Doctor, I refuse to believe that's your first custom.

Brilliant job with it. 👍

 

[a6m5]

Took really long time, but time sure wasn't wasted. I thought the car looked great even when it was primed gray! Great job dude. 👍

 

[Apok]

edit: Tried out the Turtle Wax on a flat black finish and now the body catches more highlights, but it definitely doesn't shine like candy. I'm just testing to see the limits of that and the Meguiar polish so I can get a sense of what possible outcomes I can expect from each product. In other words, I want to find a way to make even dull objects have a glossy finish. Guess it already has to be glossy or I might need to use some other product because these merely restore.

You should be able to make a flat finish glossy just fine. But first you should polish and later wax. Polish works in the same way as sandpaper, as it has many microscopic pieces in it which 'scratch away' the imperfections. Wax should only be used when you have a polished surface as it fills up any scratches left and dries in them.

Or something like that, but basically first polish then wax and you should be able to make anything shine like a mirror.
Of course if you have an uneven surface from a sloppy paintjob (orange peel) you should first sand it with fine sand paper and use the polish later or else you'll just be wasting time.

 

[VspecZR1GT2RS89]

Flickr is not working well for me today.. hence small pics. Have at last finished the 240Z (just one more coat of clear, when weather permits). It's not perfect (orange peel effect and other little things) but i'm really pleased with it. (first ever finished custom).

http://www.flickr.com/photos/34812175@N04/8758805161/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/34812175@N04/8759939172/

👍

Dude.....I'm liking that 240Z you got there At 1. Can't believe it's your first custom completed! But good job bro.

 

[AOS-]

You should be able to make a flat finish glossy just fine. But first you should polish and later wax.

Thanks for the tip. Though they're both polish; one's a gel and one's a compound paste.

 

[Nessy]

Thanks for all your comments guys (i'm quite overwhelmed by the positive responses). 👍

Just to be clear, it's not my first custom attempt, the black and white Mini was, but that's unfinished (going to re-strip that and start again).

I plan on doing another 4 Z's (got the donors already), and i'm going to invest in a Dremel soon, so i can speed up the process, expect to see them in 2023.

 

[AOS-]

Just to be clear, it's not my first custom attempt, the black and white Mini was

That's what it was! I've been suspicious this whole time, Mr. Wite-Out.

 

[Cano]

expect to see them in 2023

I'm calling maybe on that one

 

[AOS-]

See anything different?

Of course you don't. Here's why.

There's probably a few more cars to reassemble in my bin of donors. I probably won't get through all of these wheel-less castings in the next 8 years. Probably best to sell them off than make a crushed junkyard stack. Save your money if you want to get at it.

[/color]

 

[a6m5]

That Aston Martin's tight. 👍

 

[McZachenF1138]

When are you gonna get to customizing man? I thought you had all your supplies lined up!

 

[a6m5]

When are you gonna get to customizing man? I thought you had all your supplies lined up!

I was going to at least try wheel-swapping. I got too busy buying & too lazy looking for right screws, axle shaft & whatever else hardware that's needed to get going.

Now that I've slowed down(ordered like ten cars tonight XD) buying, maybe I'll get around to it.

 

[McZachenF1138]

Yeah, hopefully when you're not too busy not collecting, you'll find the time.
You just better not take as long as Nessy Ford there.

 

[a6m5]

At least he gets his started.

 

[Cano]

hopefully when you're not too busy not collecting, you'll find the time.

Haha, pure gold 👍

 

[Spacegoat]

Nice job with the Aston & Nova, Andy.👍

Yeah, hopefully when you're not too busy not collecting, you'll find the time.

Ha, Burn! 👍!!

 

[a6m5]

You guys are priceless. I'm gonna quit collecting, I'm gonna stop coming here, too!

 

[Nessy]

See anything different?

I don't ever remember that HW looking that good, i had to check your blog to see what you did. Superb execution of subtlety there Andy, it's transformed the appeal of it, for me. The car was lacking something, and you've hit the nail right on the head. 👍

You just better not take as long as Nessy Ford there.

Here at Nessy Ford, we like to think that when it comes to customizing diecast, it's like making love to a beautiful woman... these things simply can't be rushed.

(Have now updated the Z pics in previous post to higher res.)

[EDIT]

Anyone manage to enter the Lamley police car comp? I was really hoping to get something in on time, but due to being really busy at work, i was unable to get something done.
Anyway, thought i'd show a quick rough (and crappy) photoshop mock-up of what i wanted to build.. And i'm sure it would come as no surprise, that i wanted to do a Datsun 240Z police car.
I only got as far as cutting the front of the donor car (no pics), but here is what i was kind-of hoping to do (eventually )

Straight 12 tturbo HS Pursuit:

 

[AOS-]

I think the original casting was fairly good already. If anything, it's a tad small and it is noticeable when you put it beside the DBS. Still baffles me how some castings are proportionately smaller than others.

Anyhow, glad you guys notice the change and like it. I'm actually surprised at the level of positive reactions this received!


but Shinji, you won't need axle tubing if you can find wheels with the desired axle length already (talking wheelswaps here). Or you can do something as simple as lowering the cars like I just did. All you need is a flat hobby set file. I think I should go ahead and lower that Kyosho Porsche. I didn't notice how high it rode until my cousin pointed it out.