Hot Wheels and Matchbox Customizing Thread

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This was a military WWII jeep that Matchbox put out. I re-wheeled it (took some effort to get the wheels to roll) and did some detail painting. Think it came out pretty cool! I got a lot of compliments on it already.

Needs more detailing (shovels are not all the same color, for instance) and I think you went overboard with the wheels. They look goofily big on such a small, stock-looking casting.
 
What to do, what to do, thinking yellow...

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Impossibly better 👍
I agree. I wanted it to be more or less the same as what it originally was, but it's actually even lower than that and can still roll. I would have adjusted it more so it was more like the original, but I got fed up with working with it and I may just leave the ride height like it is now.
detail it up with care! Why leave it half Unfinished? Go all out, it's already halfway there.
I have been thinking about it lately and while I originally intended to keep it a bit more original, you said it yourself, this casting isn't common at all, only the 2nd one I have ever seen and those wheels have not been easy for me to find either. (in fact I haven't seen them again since buying them) That said, it's not likely I get to do another of these anytime soon, so I may as well go all out!

Luckily I bought some painters pens recently that are perfect for the job!
 
Needs more detailing (shovels are not all the same color, for instance) and I think you went overboard with the wheels. They look goofily big on such a small, stock-looking casting.
I honestly was going for more of a "goofy" look to the Jeep, like those old t-shirts with the cars with huge tires. It looked odd with the stock little tires. As far as the implements on the side, they were all the same color as the vehicle. I painted them with the lighter color so they would stand out and you could see them. i painted the hood catches, the windshield, and other molded in parts as well to give it a bit of contrast.
 
I have a question as a newbite in wheelswap. Where do you find all those beautiful tires i see in pictures of custom Hot Wheels? I can’t see my widebody BRZ with that standard tires!
 
Newest Batch of cars:
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Christine from the movie, the Devil Z and Blackbird from "Wangan Midnight" anime

Christine was the first full custom I have ever attempted. Aside from the paint job, i changed the tires and lowered it. That car was a learning experience.

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Discovered Hot wheels use the same interior part on the Skyline as they did on the red GReddy Z car (note the tail lights). I did fashion a custom exhaust for the car....another first.

I have a question as a newbite in wheelswap. Where do you find all those beautiful tires i see in pictures of custom Hot Wheels? I can’t see my widebody BRZ with that standard tires!
I bought some tires and rims online to try them out. I am happy with the way they look and the price is not too bad. link here: https://shopmonoblock.com . The rims on the Blue z (Devil Z) are from that company
 
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Newest Batch of cars: View attachment 771959 View attachment 771960
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Christine from the movie, the Devil Z and Blackbird from "Wangan Midnight" anime

Christine was the first full custom I have ever attempted. Aside from the paint job, i changed the tires and lowered it. That car was a learning experience.

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Discovered Hot wheels use the same interior part on the Skyline as they did on the red GReddy Z car (note the tail lights). I did fashion a custom exhaust for the car....another first.


I bought some tires and rims online to try them out. I am happy with the way they look and the price is not too bad. link here: https://shopmonoblock.com . The rims on the Blue z (Devil Z) are from that company

One question about the monoblock Tires. How did you fix the axle at the end?
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I have a question as a newbite in wheelswap. Where do you find all those beautiful tires i see in pictures of custom Hot Wheels? I can’t see my widebody BRZ with that standard tires!

There are now several aftermarket wheels like in Cofee's Z, but the easiest and sometimes cheapercway to do this is still ripping them off other cars.

Newest Batch of cars:
Christine was the first full custom I have ever attempted. Aside from the paint job, i changed the tires and lowered it. That car was a learning experience.

Next time you have to do something like the Belvedere's white line, use masking tape to outline it! Cut it lengthwise with a ruler and a sharp knife so that you can use that edge instead of the 'original' one, as it tends to have rough bits all over it and the paint will come out 'bitten'. Or if you plan to keep doing this custom thing, invest in Tamiya tape. Works awesome.

One question about the monoblock Tires. How did you fix the axle at the end? View attachment 772165

At least what I would do, as I haven't used such wheels, is to press down the axle edge with pressure pliers to form a small 'lock' at its end.
 
The wheels were purchased from https://shopmonoblock.com .

They have all sorts of designs and styles and are pretty resonable in the prices. i got 5 sets of rims and tires for 20 bucks. Those tires made the Z car.

As far as how I crimped the end, for the first one i clamped it in a vise with just a tiny bit sticking up and peened it over with a hammer. Then I slide the wheels on, held the axle in a pair of pliers as I peened the other side. of course, the axel was measured and cut to fit the car.

Yeah, that strip on the 57 Fury.....that did not turn out like I envisioned. I will use striping decals from here on to do that. i am working on a 1970 Chevelle station wagon and will use decal strips on it when ready.
 
At least what I would do, as I haven't used such wheels, is to press down the axle edge with pressure pliers to form a small 'lock' at its end.[/QUOTE]

i do not like the look of that 'flat' end on the rims. i peened the ends in a vice with a hammer and a punch. Came out looking fantastic.
 
At least what I would do, as I haven't used such wheels, is to press down the axle edge with pressure pliers to form a small 'lock' at its end.

i do not like the look of that 'flat' end on the rims. i peened the ends in a vice with a hammer and a punch. Came out looking fantastic.[/QUOTE]

Ah, well yeah, but a vice isn't exactly common to have :/
 
Had to change the rubber since it was a bit too thin for the car. Still wondering whether i should paint the wheels black or not.
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i do not like the look of that 'flat' end on the rims. i peened the ends in a vice with a hammer and a punch. Came out looking fantastic.

Ah, well yeah, but a vice isn't exactly common to have :/[/QUOTE]

Go to your local hardware store...Harbor Freight, Menards, whatever, and get one. A small vice will set you back less than buying 5 sets of wheels off monoblock.
 
Man i hate metal bases. Makes it hard to open the car like this one.

Just got this junk Supra from Matchbox. Will need to find more wheels for it since it is a tad bigger than the usual Hot Wheels/Matchbox.
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The wheels are from monoblock. The stripes? Thank you. The skinny middle one was added after it just looked "dull" and needed something to make it "pop'.

Ah, that's why I fidntd recognize them. They look really cool! I'd love to afford a set lol
 
Thanks Andy. Very cool stuff. 👍

WTF, man.... WTF(I still don't know how you tag me with different names lol).
You can edit the text within the username tag BBcode. If you're quick, say within a couple minutes, the post won't be marked as having been edited.
 
You can edit the text within the username tag BBcode. If you're quick, say within a couple minutes, the post won't be marked as having been edited.

Another way is to go to the user's profile page and copy the number in the address bar (iirc, it's the user's member number) and then add the user tags around it. Example [ user= 251216 ] @ RexyTex [ / user].

@RexyTex.
:lol: Took you long enough.

No comment. :P :lol:

And thanks for the link, very interesting. 👍
 
It's not exactly a custom, but these car culture edition hot wheels are actually pretty good. They definitely took a lot more care in the paint process than the regular hot wheels. Which is good since they are 6 times more expensive.
I have just the Merc 190E 2.5. I am going to go back and pick up the other two they had at the store, the BMW M1 and Audi R8 LMS.

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Those wheels!!!!
 
For now this is just a simple wheel swap and I really like the results. Unfortunately there's a tampo slide error on the other side of the car so I'll be stripping this one and repainting it. I haven't decided on a color yet. Before is on the bottom, after/in progress is on top.

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