Hot Wheels and Matchbox Customizing Thread

[e36Earl]

Do you have problems with them globbing paint on or do you just make sure that you don't put much on the tooth pick to start? I feel like I am overthinking this and just need to have a steady hand...

 

[titomonteiro]

After reading all the pages I was more than tempted to try to do some customs , bought some cars to restore , let's see how it goes . thanks for all the teachings that have been shown up in this thread !

 

[e36Earl]

Made an exhaust (looks crooked but I assure it is straight)


I then added the silver



Then the transparent red/semigloss black



The last thing I did was the headlight "lenses"


I want to touch up the black around them since I had to scrape them into shape with a toothpick. Maybe the tamiya cotton swabs would work best?

Other than that I need to find transparent orange for the corner lights, clear the car, and then add the semi gloss black trim and center of the grille

 

[DUBer]

Made an exhaust (looks crooked but I assure it is straight)


I then added the silver



Then the transparent red/semigloss black



The last thing I did was the headlight "lenses"


I want to touch up the black around them since I had to scrape them into shape with a toothpick. Maybe the tamiya cotton swabs would work best?

Other than that I need to find transparent orange for the corner lights, clear the car, and then add the semi gloss black trim and center of the grille

Looks good

 

[nathan8856]

found a beat up e30 m3 and figured i had to restore it, paint didnt come out very well but i like it overall. also lowered, removed decals and detailed the civic. im unhappy with how shaky my detailing looks, i need to practice more, i have tried thinning the paint but it doesnt seem to help.
before:

after:

honda civic (the bottom was lose in this picture but i got it on tight shortly after taking these pictures.:

 

[Ericonwheelz]

Just finished , took about 4 hours total. Callin it the RhinoVette. Ground it down and went over the details with a Gundam pen. Blue seats , silver/grey interior and gold steering wheel and dash box. Wheel wells have been extended quite a bit. Trimmed down the rear window frame and also added a strip of blue as a front grill. Nitro ,wheels , engine , blue translucent strip and spoiler all came from different cars. 4 in which are shown. The one that the spoiler came from didn't make it.

 

[Ericonwheelz]

Used to be this.

 

[CodeRedR51]

Quickie wheel swap and flash enabled cell phone pic because why not.

 

[Ericonwheelz]

Quickie wheel swap and flash enabled cell phone pic because why not.

View attachment 434998

Nice wheelz! , any chance you know where the custom compitition is? Lol does my Vette have a chance?

 

[CodeRedR51]

Nice wheelz! , any chance you know where the custom compitition is? Lol does my Vette have a chance?

No idea.

 

[AOS-]

View attachment 434767 Just finished , took about 4 hours total. Callin it the RhinoVette. Ground it down and went over the details with a Gundam pen. Blue seats , silver/grey interior and gold steering wheel and dash box. Wheel wells have been extended quite a bit. Trimmed down the rear window frame and also added a strip of blue as a front grill. Nitro ,wheels , engine , blue translucent strip and spoiler all came from different cars. 4 in which are shown. The one that the spoiler came from didn't make it.

Very cool! I like that you're putting fantasy cars to use to built what you imagined. Good work.

Nice wheelz! , any chance you know where the custom compitition is? Lol does my Vette have a chance?

There is no competition here. We like to use this place to gather hobbyist.

2015 Trick bots Side Draft (one you will probably never find in the future), changes into this:

What's the list of changes? Allow me to go through them.

Stock ride height and wheels. I wanted to finally give coloured wheels a try since this is an original car. I later decided not to when I found the black body and green windows looked like a badass car for a superhero, so now I needed it to look really good which meant green wheels were off the list. The ride height also will not do. This car's body is angular and aerodynamic. It should have a less ground clearance for less air resistance. So here's how low it sits now:

I probably should have removed portions of the front wheel wells to lower it more. That would have also addressed the upward-slanted splitter and helped made the car look even lower. I was very close to putting on MC5 wheels for a change, but PR5 still has the sportier look as always.

This one was the biggie. The rear panel design. It has potential, but whomever had approved this design did something bad. The panels vertical and horizontal contours don't line up well with the body's sloped lines. Here's what I did:

I cut a section of the base and tilted the panel upward. Now there is no horizontal or vertical lines. The primary corner lines up with the top panel's corner, and this may be a stretch, but now it's reminiscent of a Lamborghini Murcielago.

I'm most proud of this part of the custom.

Kinda similar?

 

[Cano]

I like that because no one would ever give that thing a second look but you.

 

[e36Earl]

I found an ae86 and an evo at the store last night if anyone has been looking for either one. They seemed pretty common to modify so I figured I would snag them for anyone that would want them=)

 

[e36Earl]

I fixed my headlights and painted the corners orange on my e36 this afternoon. I just cleared it but am quite concerned. I was told to dust it on but it seems to be whitish and "grainy ". Is there any way to repair this without stripping everything and doing it all over again? Am I just being paranoid and it'll dry just fine?

 

[nathan8856]

I fixed my headlights and painted the corners orange on my e36 this afternoon. I just cleared it but am quite concerned. I was told to dust it on but it seems to be whitish and "grainy ". Is there any way to repair this without stripping everything and doing it all over again? Am I just being paranoid and it'll dry just fine?

i havent clear coated a hotwheels as of yet, i have painted alot of other things however. if it is very grainy you have probably applied to much, you need to spray with nice light even coats. to fix it being grainy try lightly wet sanding it with 1200 grit and then work up to 2000 grit. then buff it and polish it.

 

[e36Earl]

I was misting it very lightly from far away while turning it, just like how I painted it. I am thinking that the clear was drying in the air and might have gave me a dry spray. Whats the best way to buff out the clear?

 

[nathan8856]

I was misting it very lightly from far away while turning it, just like how I painted it. I am thinking that the clear was drying in the air and might have gave me a dry spray. Whats the best way to buff out the clear?

that is very possible, i actually made the same mistake with the matte black that im painting on a tahoe. im not really sure about how you would remove it without damaging the paint/detailing underneath it. what i would try is wet a paper towel with paint thinner and lightly rub the clear coat and stop as soon as you see it start to disappear. keep checking the towel to make sure that no color is getting on it.

 

[CodeRedR51]

i havent clear coated a hotwheels as of yet, i have painted alot of other things however. if it is very grainy you have probably applied to much, you need to spray with nice light even coats. to fix it being grainy try lightly wet sanding it with 1200 grit and then work up to 2000 grit. then buff it and polish it.

Too much would make it run, not grainy.

I was misting it very lightly from far away while turning it, just like how I painted it. I am thinking that the clear was drying in the air and might have gave me a dry spray. Whats the best way to buff out the clear?

Probably too far away. Also: half-fill a sink with hot water and put the can in there for 5-10 minutes (keep the nozzle out of the water), shaking it every couple minutes or so. The warmth will help the spray pattern.

 

[e36Earl]

Thanks for the tip. I checked on the car this morning and it seems to have dried clear. Would you guys recommend throwing more clear on top or wet sanding/buffing this coat to see how it comes out?

 

[e36Earl]

I threw on more clear and it worked out great. I started to add the satin black details now.




Will acetone work for removing any accidental drips without eating through the clear and paint?

 

[nathan8856]

I threw on more clear and it worked out great. I started to add the satin black details now.




Will acetone work for removing any accidental drips without eating through the clear and paint?

looks great! as long as the clear has cured it shouldnt be an issue. what i have been doing to correct errors is wetting the tip of a very fine brush with acetone and then i brush the error very lightly and instantly soak it up with a paper towel it hasnt removed paint so far. but im very new to matchbox car detailing so you may want to wait for someone more experienced to reply. if you dont mind telling me, im going to start an e36 very soon, how did you make the exhaust?

 

[e36Earl]

I used 1/16th aluminum tubing and reamed it out with a .0435 drill bit. I polished it before hand and then cut it to the size I needed.

 

[nathan8856]

I used 1/16th aluminum tubing and reamed it out with a .0435 drill bit. I polished it before hand and then cut it to the size I needed.

Thanks! i think on my e36 im going to cut the wing off not sure yet.

 

[TVR27]

My red Kinsmart 2006 Ford GT 1/36 I got it years ago.

I'm now looking for a blue Kinsmart 2006 Ford GT 1/36 like the one in this photo will pay about $10 for one.

Because I want to put it next to my red Ford GT.

 

[e36Earl]

I was debating that as well. I left it for this one and may do another in the future with it removed.

 

[nathan8856]

I was debating that as well. I left it for this one and may do another in the future with it removed.

yeah, not much of a wing guy myself, i need to practice my filling with jb weld first this was the first one i tried to use jb weld on..... as you can see on the roof it didnt work out to well .

 

[e36Earl]

You shouldn't need to fill anything on the e36 if you remove the spoiler. Just take it slow removing it with a dremel and then sand it out with varying grits of sand paper.

 

[nathan8856]

You shouldn't need to fill anything on the e36 if you remove the spoiler. Just take it slow removing it with a dremel and then sand it out with varying grits of sand paper.

Hopefully not, but me with my unsteady hands will probably cut a few grooves in the trunk.

 

[nathan8856]

finally found a place that stocks matchbox vehicles in my area and picked up an f350 with the dump bed, bmw m5 police car, porsche cayman, and a 68 mustang. problem is they already look so great i dont know what to do to them

 

[AOS-]

Hopefully not, but me with my unsteady hands will probably cut a few grooves in the trunk.

That's what putty is for!

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