Friday, February 22, 2013

New Project - Custom Backing card

So I tore apart another one, and have another project on the way, but decided to try my hand at a graphic for a new backing card for this one.

Cobbled this one together using some differnt images and filters in Photoshop.
Not really a design expert when it comes to making this sort of thing, but I really like the look.


Fist custom backer card
Its a little fuzzy here when I blow up the JPG file, but you get the idea.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Custom Kombi for Valentines Day

Enjoyed the last custom Kombi so much, I decided to bust open another one, and did it in a little more "Valentine's" paint scheme.

Hotwheels Kombi painted for Valentines
Custom Kombi for Valentines


Hotwheels custom kombi
Custom Kombi for Valentines

Got one more in the works yet.
Just can't seem to get enough of this little casting.

Monday, February 11, 2013

More Hotwheels Repaint

Okay, so I have been bitten by the Hotwheels customs bug, and have now torn apart a couple more over the weekend to repaint them.

First up is simply a Dodge Viper GTS-R concept vehicle. I didn't like the paint that Mattel put on it, and decided something more along the lines of the vehicle that Dodge rolled out would a be a fairly easy update.



Viper Custom

Next I had this Torino that I liked the body shape and the stance of the car, but it was painted in a bright orange and yellow combination.

Decided something more along the lines of the Torino from the movie Gran Torino.
Dark green with a yellow green stripe down the side.
The stripe wound up a little larger than it should have been to be accurate to the body, but I like it.
Also tried  a simple fade from the lime to silver, just like the graphic on the real car.


Custom Ford Torino

Lastly, found this new casting that Hotwheels has come out with. (or at least new to me)
They call it the Volkswagen Kool Kombi.
Original in the package
Not really a Volkswagen fan, but thought this one was pretty "cute" with it's proportions.
Have a green one just like this already in the collection, so thought let's make a Kustom Kool Kombi.

Had a couple (just a couple) of cans of paint around, and found two colors that I thought would work well together, and stay with the vibe of the Volkswagen Van.

A little paintwork
I liked the idea of the two purples in my head when I was trying to come up with a fun combination.
Then when I got all done, I slipped it back in to the package, and glued the "bubble" back on to the card just to see if I could make it look good.

The only problem is that it makes photographing a little more difficult through the packaging...

Back home in it's packaging



Monday, February 4, 2013

Hotwheels cars - Custom paint job

So these are the smallest scale of any car that I have ever worked on.
Hotwheels cars are 1/64 scale diecast cars.
They come in these little packages on cardboard cards. Most stores have them for right around 99 cents each.
I picked up this Roanoke Fired Department Corvette Grand Sport, and liked the looks of it, but decided to do something a little different.

So I decided maybe I would change the color. So out comes the electric drill, and had to remove the "head" from the small rivet like clasp on the bottom of the car. Once that is removed, you have 4 parts. The chassis with wheels and axles attached. The interior "tub" piece, the body, and the clear plastic "glass" all come apart.

On this one, since I was only planning to change the color, the chassis, interior, and glass all get set aside while the chemical stripper comes out.
After just the 10 minutes, like advertised, the paint is all starting to bubble up and come loose.
A little light scrubbing with a soft brush, and just about ready to be cleaned up and primered.
It's hard to see, but I make sure to wear gloves for this point.

So I missed a couple of pictures in between with the process on this one, but a quick wash and it's all cleaned up. Then a little work with a small diamond file to clean up some of the parting lines from the molding process, and a light sanding had the whole thing ready for primer.
I use an automotive grade primer for this step as it is going straight on to the metal.

When all said and done I chose a Chevy Citrus Green color that I had in my paint cabinet and thought would look good.
A little detail paiting of the headlights, taillights, and it was all ready to be put back together.
I little bit of superglue holds the whole thing together.

Done a couple of these as little "time waster projects" in between waiting for other parts to dry or set up.

Done a couple and enjoying it greatly.