Hot Wheels and Matchbox Customizing Thread

  • Thread starter CodeRedR51
  • 9,231 comments
  • 1,300,264 views
Well, haven't been able to do any customizing lately, what with work and all. And next week I'm going to Europe for a week! But before I go, I wanted to share a couple things I plan on working on when I return home. Especially the Pagani. A little sloppy, but ok.
image.jpg
image.jpg
image.jpg
 
Well everyone, it's been a couple days since I mentioned the corvette that I was going to be painting, and well, I decided to go a little further than a one-color paintjob so I decided to paint on a white stripe, and well, here is the result: (Keep in mind this is my first time doing any sort of hot wheels customization and painting on such a small scale)DSCF0523.JPG
 
Yo forget your stretches. I don't think many people have thought of making micro cars!

Other than the wheelbase needing to be a tad larger, the proportions on the Bonneville are pretty much spot on!


Question though, how did you deal with the interior piece? I'm sure that had to get changed too.
 
Lol, cute Bonnie.

Also, I managed to do up the Citroen decently enough that it won the contest I built it for. I don't think it deserved it though, there were other two cars at least that I would have chosen over it.

We'll have the contest report in the blog by tonite, I hope.
 
After working a 68hr week, i had a couple of days off so i decided to do some more to my Hot wheels MK1 Escort. Unfortunately, i managed to damage underneath the front grill, when i hastily drilled some holes near the bumper... :banghead: (no pics of it but it's in the process of being repaired.)

Anyway, i recently picked up a no name brand (made in China) 'Fiat X1/9' at a car boot fair. It wasn't in too bad a shape and it only cost me 50 pence, and i thought it would look nice with fresh paint and a wheel swap.

(How it was):



Anyway I'd recently nominated the 'Fiat X1/9' in one the cool wall threads, and i remember @niky mentioning the 'Fiat X1/9 Icsunonove' So i thought it would make a nice custom subject.

(This is what they look like, for those who don't know):

3.jpg


I managed to start it today and this is what iv'e done so-far: (still lots to do..as usual :lol:)



I'm tempted to lower it as it would suit it better, but at the moment it has sprung suspension like a Matchbox/Majorette etc.
 
Last edited:
Awesome 👍 looking very forward to it. Maybe in a year and a half or so.

I also have one in the works. It was a Zylmex car in very bad shape that I drilled appart in a whim because it had just one rivvet to try out a new paint color, so it was just a quick respray and a set ot Hot Wheels BBS-style wheels. But I forgot to paint a part of the chassis that included a part of the body and thus should be body color, so I'm there right now. Wll post when done... but obviously your project has a lot more going for it. I might peruse something like that in the future, I have like 3 different castings of that car including a ginormous Corgi one, so I might go that route with one of them!
 
Cano
Awesome 👍 looking very forward to it. Maybe in a year and a half or so.
Click to expand...
:lol: That time-frame's a bit too ambitious.. double then quadruple it. :)

The Corgi (with opening engine bay) would look awesome! as a Dallara/Icsunonove. Do it! Also looking forward to see the BBS wheeled one. 👍
 
Nessy
no name brand (made in China) 'Fiat X1/9
Click to expand...

Now that I'm looking at it, I think that's the exact same casting as my zylmex, which could be because after their debacle, Zylmex/Zee kenpt on doing their cars unmarked, and the wheels match the era.

Three hints: Was the glass rivetted to the roof?
The rear bumperettes were also "rivetted" to the body?
pic of the base, does the plastic have a weird, giraffe-like pattern?
 
Cano
Now that I'm looking at it, I think that's the exact same casting as my zylmex, which could be because after their debacle, Zylmex/Zee kenpt on doing their cars unmarked, and the wheels match the era.

Three hints: Was the glass rivetted to the roof?
The rear bumperettes were also "rivetted" to the body?
pic of the base, does the plastic have a weird, giraffe-like pattern?
Click to expand...

Yes to all three. Cheers for deducing the origins of the cast 👍, you're like a diecast detective. :lol:
 
AOS-
Yo forget your stretches. I don't think many people have thought of making micro cars!

Other than the wheelbase needing to be a tad larger, the proportions on the Bonneville are pretty much spot on!


Question though, how did you deal with the interior piece? I'm sure that had to get changed too.
Click to expand...
I love this one! so cute :P btw, yeah! i had a tough time with the interior. i had to cut the front seat out and glue the dashboard with the backseat to make it! it fits nicely now :D (will post photos)

Cano
Lol, cute Bonnie.
Click to expand...
Thanks :D
 
first post, hello all, collector since 97 ,4500+ cars.also into customizing because I paint cars,harleys for a living. have done probably a hundred over the years. NOW THE BIG QUESTION? how do they get flame jobs and such on car after repainting. I could do it on real car/bike. how do they do it so small. dont tell me airbrush, tried. PLEASE HELP
 
finishmaster1
first post, hello all, collector since 97 ,4500+ cars.also into customizing because I paint cars,harleys for a living. have done probably a hundred over the years. NOW THE BIG QUESTION? how do they get flame jobs and such on car after repainting. I could do it on real car/bike. how do they do it so small. dont tell me airbrush, tried. PLEASE HELP
Click to expand...

Welcome, please stay around and show us your work! As for the flames, enjoy spending money:

http://www.flamemasks.com/zshop/


Apok
:D
Click to expand...

Oh, come on :lol::lol::lol:
 
I need some of that stuff too, have some flares to make on a Miata to cover up those nasty fender lines from the original casting. :yuck:
 
With regards to 'Milliput', iv'e used the 'silver grey' one and the 'Superfine white' one. Out of the two, i'd go with the Silver grey as it's easier to sand/file, also i can't recommend enough, that it really needs a full 24hr curing time once applied. Also when sanding/filing, let the tools do the work, try not to press/force too hard, especially if the bonded surface area is small, as there's a possibility the putty could break off.

From what iv'e read, the 'Tamiya' epoxy putty is a bit easier to use, i'll definitely try it at some point.
 
AOS-
I've used Tamiya's polyestor putty. Works. Not particularly difficult to work with.

Nessy uses Milliput.
Click to expand...
Nessy
With regards to 'Milliput', iv'e used the 'silver grey' one and the 'Superfine white' one. Out of the two, i'd go with the Silver grey as it's easier to sand/file, also i can't recommend enough, that it really needs a full 24hr curing time once applied. Also when sanding/filing, let the tools do the work, try not to press/force too hard, especially if the bonded surface area is small, as there's a possibility the putty could break off.

From what iv'e read, the 'Tamiya' epoxy putty is a bit easier to use, i'll definitely try it at some point.
Click to expand...
That's what i was looking for! it takes a long time ive used local putty but they took over 72 hrs to dry but the bond was rock solid and a bit tough to sand/file. was looking for easy solution. thanks guys for the heads up :)

Any suggestion for bare metal/chrome finish/polish/hand polish?
 
I think the putty you used may not have been tailored for hobby use. :lol:

If you have access to an automotive section of a store, look for metal polish.




edit: Got nothing else to post, will post this:

Chevy+Corvette+Grand+Sport+(paintjob).jpg


Blue-anodized finish. "It looks better in person!"

%5BOO%5D+Chevy+Corvette+Grand+Sport_3.jpg


%5BOO%5D+Chevy+Corvette+Grand+Sport_4.jpg


%5BOO%5D+Chevy+Corvette+Grand+Sport_1.jpg


Dumb paint cracked on me when I laid down the clear. Must've went too heavy. But despite the impression from the photo, it's close to a spectraflame finish. Closer than this:

%5BOO%5D+Wild+Thing_4.jpg
 
Last edited:
I like those Majorette basics getting nothing more than the mud treatment, but those realistically can't win a contest.

Saw all those trucks and thought: "How basic. Where's all the liveries at?" Then I scroll down to yours. Holy moley. You sure you didn't spend too much time on that? :lol: It's on a completely different level than the rest! Great job!
 
AOS-
I like those Majorette basics getting nothing more than the mud treatment, but those realistically can't win a contest.

Saw all those trucks and thought: "How basic. Where's all the liveries at?" Then I scroll down to yours. Holy moley. You sure you didn't spend too much time on that? :lol: It's on a completely different level than the rest! Great job!
Click to expand...

Thanks dude. The Majorettes were done up by Ahmed, he found them competely chipped up and trashed, so he just masked the windshields, mudded them up and made some antennas. Of course he knew they wouldn't win, butthey gave the selection some variety, because aside from those and my Citroen , all the other entries were trucks or jeeps of some sort. They were the only "cars" there, so to speak.

As for the Citroen, thanks a lot dude (: I put a couple hours in the livery, it wasn't as complex as others I've done, the problem was that it had to be very, very precise in order to clear the door handles, but in the end it came out well enough. It has other elements to it, you'll have to wait for the full feature to see them.

Even so, there are cars in there that have way more in them than meets the eye. I don't want to fully disclose them yet because we'll have several of them in detailed features in CDM eventually, but I'll lay down a quick example: the black/silver Blazer in the pic I posted above is made off one of these:

83_chevy_silverado_2011_blue.png


So it's no repaint either. That one should have won, it has TONS of work done to it, and of very high quality. Same with the yellow Chevy with the flag, loads of work on the thing.
 
Last edited:
I see. I figured when the topic was "off road", everyone would've hopped on rally car liveries for cheap quick appeal. I imagined that would've been the easiest way to draw the most attention. :lol:
 
AOS-
I see. I figured when the topic was "off road", everyone would've hopped on rally car liveries for cheap quick appeal. I imagined that would've been the easiest way to draw the most attention. :lol:
Click to expand...

Well, most of the guys that participate in custom contests over here don't know crap about doing stuff on a computer, let alone such a complex livery that also has to take into consideration how you will cut it so it will actually fit in the car without trouble. Hell, most people still doesn't mess with tampos, let alone designing their own tampos.

They also haven't figured out a way to properly measure a car's proportions in order to do up exact liverys like the Citroen's, or stuff like the Toyota 2000 GTs we've done, or the Porsches. That is one of our greatest advantages right now, that we have developed a method that allows us to design liverys that are precise to the last milimeter.

And well, to be sincere, your average joe doesn't have the eye to design a custom livery out of the blue (: in that I cannot not take credit. The entire graphics treatment in the Citroen came out of my little head.
 
Good stuff in that case! I had another look at the Stealth Cobra I gave you. It's pretty surprising to see someone literally one-upping your work. I really love what you've done with it. Great job again!
 

Latest Posts

Back