Gee's Garage

Collection: Hot Wheels '09 Corvette ZR1 & Ford Mustang Fastback

2011-01-30T22:01:00.003+08:00

The Corvette ZR1 is basically the car that is made to go faster than the car its based on, the Corvette C6. Like an E63 AMG to a regular E-Class, or the 430 Scuderia to the F430. Capable of going 0-100km.h in 3.3s, its pretty quick. What I like most about this car is that its able to go round corners as impressively as its straight line speed, which earned the 2009 Performance Car of the Year from Top Gear.

Which is impressive I must say, for an American car. American cars are only known to be good to go quick in the straight lines, and are rubbish round the bends. Which brings us to the other car that gave rise to this reputation, the Ford Mustang Fastback.

Mustangs are exceptional for going in straight lines, and this one is no different. Labelled the Fastback because of the shape of the car by Caroll Shelby, this car was also meant to be the high performance version of the original Ford Mustang.

I got most of these cars of the pegs, which wasn't too hard and the exclusive recolours off a trade with a collector from Singapore.

Collection: Hot Wheels Nissan Skyline

2011-01-22T10:00:00.000+08:00

Keeping with the JDM theme from the last post, I will be featuring the Nissan Skyline this time around. One of the first few castings that lured me into collecting Hot Wheels, this casting is a thing of beauty. This car needs no introduction, and if you do not know this car, you should really not call yourself a car enthusiast.

This R32 casting made its debut in the Hot Wheels line in blue and white along with racing tampo, and a huge APT across the side. For the next recolour in the basic car line, Hot Wheels was on top of its game producing the casting under the Dropstars Series. And as if that was not good enough, the Treasure Hunt version one year later was even more fantastic. Orange, white and a very well detailed racing design has made it a huge hit amongst collectors, notably those on the east side of the world. Unfortunately, the flame tampo in black and gold recolours after that was less attractive.

I managed to get most of these R32s by means of trades and buying them off other collectors. I think being in a community of other collectors has helped me expand my collection greatly. I have yet to obtain the T-Hunt$ for the Skyline, can't wait to get my hands on one!

Collection: Hot Wheels Honda Civic Si

2011-01-14T10:00:00.000+08:00

The Honda Civic Si, one of Japan's many automobile icons. Now in its 8th generation now, the car is still popular as ever if not more. This line of cars under the Honda badge has served as a race car, a rally car, making it into a popular drift cartoon and simply a family car ferrying people from point A to point B. Hot Wheels made this new casting to replace the older Honda Civic Si casting from 2001.

I have completed my First Editions of Honda Civic by Hot Wheels nearly a year ago, together with the three All Star recolours in 2008. This casting has also been customized by me twice already, another testament to its popularity. Ironically, it was this casting that got me started in customizing 1/64 cars.

We all know that there is a SEMA version of the green FE Civic. Since I couldn't afford nor find one off the racks, I decided to make my own, spraying the hood and bonnet flat black.

Now that the Honda Civic Si has evolved from this model, perhaps Hot Wheels should follow Matchbox or Tomica and update its Civic too?

Collection: 2003 First Editions Enzo Ferrari

2011-01-11T10:00:00.001+08:00

To be honest, I am an avid First Editions collector. I have this obsession for being first, I guess. : P

Anyway, this came in the mail today, courtesy of a click and a few keystrokes online. I enjoy collecting Ferraris and First Editions, so seeing this one a good price was too good to pass up. I have been looking on and off for this piece for a while now, and prices have been pretty high. I'm pretty happy I got it at less than half the prices listed. : )

So thats another Enzo off my list. Joy.

On a side note, Hot Wheels do make a lot of red Enzos don't they?

eBay Watch: Hot Wheels 2011 Happy New Year VW Drag Truck

2011-01-07T10:00:00.001+08:00

On the last eBay Watch article I wrote about how a peg warmer can increase in value over time. In that case, the Chevy Silverado took more than 3 years before it appreciated in value. As collectors, besides the value of your collection appreciating, we also look out for bargains. And on eBay, we always hunt for bargains.

And in this 2011, are you looking to step up your game and start collecting those collector chase models?

Like, say a VW Drag Truck?

2011 Holiday Hot Rods Chase: VW Drag Truck (image from southtexasdiecast.com)

A highly sought after model and a chase piece in the series, one would imagine the price to be pretty high. Surprisingly, that's not always the case. Looking at the prices that this VW Drag Truck has been selling, they have been sold from as high as US$10 per piece (equivalent to RM31) to as low as US$4.46 (equivalent to RM13.70). Not too expensive, considering that the Ecto-1 First Editions are going for US$10 (equivalent to RM30).

So keep an eye out for pieces like these on its initial release, when they are still on the pegs they go for a pretty reasonable price and increase in value over time pretty rapidly. As I write the Buy It Now prices for these are around US$8 and the bids are holding steady at that amount too. If you are looking to start collecting VW Drag Trucks, that piece may just be the starting point for you.

P.S.: There are even cheaper VW Drag Trucks if you look hard enough, such as this and this and this and this.

eBay Watch: 2007 First Editions Chevy Silverado

2011-01-04T10:00:00.006+08:00

Here's a new column that I will be adding to my blog. We all know that one of our favourite spots to purchase our Hot Wheels online is eBay (or also known as evilBay to some of us). People look at eBay to find those cars they cannot find on the pegs, be it Walmart/Kmart Day Exclusive Recolours, Super/Regular Treasure Hunts, other series not available locally, older basic cars no longer in production or simply cars that are supposed to be on the pegs but they are no where to be found.

Today I will be featuring a car that I have seen regularly on the pegs back home in Malaysia two years ago when I just started collecting: 2007 First Editions Chevy Silverado.

Hot Wheels Chevy Silverado (image from southtexasdiecast.com)

The Chevrolet Silverado is a popular pickup truck in America, selling in excess of 800,000 units worldwide yearly. I would imagine the sales figures would be hard for Hot Wheels to replicate since I have seen many of these on the pegs. Hot Wheels have manufactured this model with a motorbike model on the rear trailer in four colours: Dark Orange, Dark Red, Black and Blue.

Over the last two weeks, this First Editions Chevy Silverado has seen a rise in price. The Dark Orange variation was sold for US$6.50 (equivalent to RM20) to US$8.50 (equivalent to RM26), and the Black variation sold for US$5.50 (equivalent to RM16.80). The lowest of which is now equivalent to a majority of regular T-Hunts on the market, and a whopping 500% gain in value from retail price. Not bad for a local peg warmer two years ago, I'd say.

Currently, eBay sellers are selling these starting from US$4.88 and there are active bidders for it on the market.

Do you have a 2007 First Editions Chevy Silverado in your collection? Share your thoughts with me in the comments section!

Happy New Year from Gee's Garage.

2011-01-03T15:19:00.002+08:00

Happy new year you guys, to those who has been visiting this sit for the last 10 months and found this site dead: I'm sorry! I decided to take a year's break away from Hot Wheels collecting and customizing since I lack time due to commitments. Also, I felt that I was a bit burned out on ideas and the 2010 line of cars weren't really exciting to me. I guess that happens when I don't pace yourself in collecting, and see too much of the cars.

Anyway, this year I hope to be able to bring more customizations and share more of my collections here. I have a new column in the works as well, I'll trial it out and see how it goes from there.

I have been shopping the past few days and got myself up to speed with the latest cars and got those that I missed out last year. A lot of places are having sales for these basic cars over here in Australia, with Big W selling AU$1 for one basic car (this equates to RM3.15) and Crazy Clark selling AU$1.60 per basic car (equivalent to RM5). So I got a couple for collection and another few to be ripped apart later for customizations.

That's all from me for now. Happy new years to everyone, and especially those who still visits!

Cheers,
Eugene.

Collection: Hot Wheels '65 Volkswagen Fastback & Volkswagen Drag Truck

2010-03-13T21:44:00.004+08:00

Sorry for the long hiatus! I have been busy moving house and settling down in my new home. I just recently got internet (hurray!) and I'm able to update a little more on my collection.

I have previously blogged about my VW Fastback collection and I am happy to have included another VW Fastback for 2009. It is from the Hot Wheels Garage Series, under Phil's Garage. Designed by Phil Riehlman, this car also sports the new 5-spoke rims which can be found in the 288 GTO and super TH Chevy Camaro.

The other one as per title is the VW Drag Truck. A definite favourite amongst collectors, due to its weight and funky design. It is quite good amongst customizers too, since there is a lot of space to work with. Despite debuting only in 2004, it has already been reproduced under the RLC Club Car, Japan Custom Show Car, made it to Mail-In Offers twice just to name a few.

Collection: Hot Wheels Ferrari 288 GTO

2010-02-20T16:27:00.003+08:00

I am back in Australia! Since the beginning of the year, Mattel has followed up the highly successful Larry's Garage series with Hot Wheels Garage. This is a series of cars that feature designs by notable Hot Wheels designers Wayne Scott and Phil Riehlman on top of Larry Wood.

One particular car that really caught my eye in this lineup is the 288 GTO. First debuted in the First Editions as the Ferrari GTO, it was originally red and then had two recolours: yellow and copper. The 288 GTO appears again in 2010 under the Phil's Garage, and everything about it is awesome. The new rims, the paintjob, the detailing, everything!

So after seeing fellow collectors in Australia purchasing the model, I managed to get one myself after I came back. Enjoy the pics!

Collection: Hot Wheels '65 Volkswagen Fastback

2010-02-15T23:38:00.002+08:00

Since I posted the touch up on the VW Fastback, I have received quite a bit of comments on the casting. In my personal collection, I have these three. The casting itself, has been pretty well done on the outside and inside. Details, tempo and flamework on the exterior, the interior has a roll cage, engine, one bucket seat (with seat belts), fire extingusher, etc.

They put so much effort into this casting, that when it was distributed into the cases there was only ONE piece in 72. That's as rare as a Treasure Hunt! The weight (everything except roll cage is metal), the history of the VW Fastback, and the limited numbers made this casting a very sought after piece.

Right after the initial First Edition release in 2008, the VW Fastback was a Toys R Us Mail-In promo item in the US for 2009. I was fortunate enough to have received help from a fellow collector to get my hands on it. In 2010, the VW Fastback has been reproduced under the Hot Wheels Phil's Garage, but is a US Target exclusive. Anybody has got an extra to trade? : )

Kustom Restoration: '65 Volkswagen Fastback

2010-02-13T15:40:00.003+08:00

Just a small touch-up in the interior for this one. A friend of mine had recently acquired a Hot Wheels VW Fastback with a faulty wheel so he swapped it with rubbers. When he shown it to us at our local Friday gatherings, I couldn't help it but to ask him if I could detail the interior and exterior for him.

So yeah, I did. The rubbers wheels and the casting would not be justice without detailing, full stop. The interior was very well moulded, with an engine attachment, roll cage, fire extinguisher and bucket seat amongst others.

Time for pics!

Collection: Hot Wheels '09 Corvette ZR1

2010-02-10T16:31:00.005+08:00

It's been a while since I updated my collections! However, I find that with the low figure and promotions in Australia, I have swayed a bit from my original aim in collecting. I initially aimed to collect First Editions/Premiere/New Models of cars I fancy, be it supercars, japanese imports or american muscle.

Today, I will feature the Corvette ZR1 by Hot Wheels. Released initially in the iconic metallic light blue colour, Hot Wheels has since produced 3 recolours for the 2008 FE (metallic red, silver and a K-Mart exclusive yellow) and 2 recolours for the 2009 FTE Series (copper & green). As I collect primarily First Edition cars, I have skipped the FTE recolours since they do not offer anything more than just an extra black hood.

Currently one of the fastest and most powerful production vehicles in the world, the ZR1 was designed to be a high performance version of the Z06. Initially codenamed as the Blue Devil within GM, it does not disappoint. Featured in one episode of Top Gear, Jeremy Clarkson's joy in driving this machine speaks volumes for this supercar.

Kustom RideZ: Lamborghini Murcielago

2010-02-04T14:18:00.004+08:00

It's been another long hiatus, but I have been travelling a lot and also helping out the very first Hot Wheels Club Malaysia (HWCM) dinner and custom competition! We had some massive fun during dinner and also judging the custom competition with my friends danielh and enyomic. Kudos to HWCM!

Okay, back to the topic. This custom was made for cham2020, as he suggested an exchange custom. We will both do a Lamborghini Murcielago custom and then we will swap once we are done. He has completed his custom ages ago, whereas I just finished mine today. Sorry bro!

The highlights of this custom would be the wing from a Lotus Esprit and the front bumper from a Lamborghini Gallardo. This casting of the Murcielago was when it still had the old-fashioned bumper and nowadays the intakes in front are slightly more squarish, ala Reventon. This is evident in the Murcielago LP640, Gallardo LP540/4, F430 Scuderia.

Holes drilled for the wing.

Erm, this part is rather embarassing. Unfortunately, I have accidentally wiped out the other production photos for this custom. I thought that I have saved them somewhere, but turns out I didn't. Many apologies! : ( Do feel free to ask me any questions, as usual, and I will try my best to get back to you.

So, fast forward to the completed photos then! The custom Murcie is pictured together with a hauler, the original card and cham's exchange custom Murcie that he has completed and sent to me.

Cheers! : )

Kustom RideZ: 2009 Nissan GT-R (again!)

2009-12-18T01:03:00.003+08:00

The second part of the Nissan GT-R is completed! For this GT-R, the key parts were the hood and front bumper modification. Besides that it was the usual disassembly, paint strip, repaint and wheel swap.

The hood modification; parts fabricated using the card from the original hot wheels car

Some parts of the front bumper chopped off.

The bonnet is raised using putty.

Some more bodywork using card and putty on the chassis.

And the rest they say, is history! Here are the completed photos.

Hope you like! Leave any comments or questions in the section below. :-)

Kustom RideZ: 2009 Nissan GT-R

2009-10-31T19:01:00.005+08:00

Two weeks since I put up a work in progress notice, and the GT-R is done. I have had less time due to preparations for my upcoming exams next week. I have been customizing as a method of destressing. :-)

Anyway, as I mentioned this was a co-custom build with danielh. My plan was to build a street version of the GT-R, whilst he builds the track version. In this version, I used putty heavily to mould a wide body kit.

I started off by paint stripping the GT-R, then proceeded with cutting off the rear wing.

The next step was moulding the putty to get the shape that I wanted for the body kit. Basically, it was:

1. Knead.
2. Shape.
3. Let it sit.
4. Sand.
5. Repeat.

Then repeat until you get the desired shape. I used a dremel and the sanding stone attachment to get shape the putty into a smooth and flat surface. Then I use sandpaper to further refine the surface.

Then next step was to fit the replacement wheels I got from Maisto for it. Since the rear wheels are larger, I had to make a larger wheel well.

The following steps should be elementary if you have followed my customs so far. Primer -> Paint -> Decal + Detail -> Gloss. If you need more info, click on the Kustom Methods tab located on the right sidebar.

I detailed the interior, painted the rims, painted the chassis fabricated parts and painted them.

And then, voila! The end result!

This is not the last of the GT-R customs, danielh and I will be rolling out another one each after this! Stay tuned!

Work In Progress: Nissan GT-R (Co-custom build with danielh).

2009-10-13T17:09:00.003+08:00

After my recent foray (albeit quite unsuccessful) into 1:24 scale modelling, I'm back to customizing 1:64 cars! This time, I have decided to be slightly ambitious and I'm going to do the Nissan GT-R.

Check back soon for updates, or you can track my progress on the HWCM thread as always. Cheers!

P.S.: This Nissan GT-R customs will be part of a joint venture with a fellow customizer danielh. You can follow our builds on this thread in HWCM.

Fujimi Subaru Impreza (M20b Tommy Kaira Tuned)

2009-10-06T01:30:00.001+08:00

Greetings! Thanks to a lot of poison (mostly from Cham), I have decided to start on plastic model kits. Hence I purchased three kits for me to start my model kit journey. The first of which I want to work with is this: the Subaru Impreza WRX. This is one of my favourite cars, and I see it as no better candidate to start.

2/09/09: As this is the first kit, I decided that I should build it out of the box with a little changes in terms of colour in parts. The first thing I noticed was that the rims which was supposed to be gold, was a little dull. So I sprayed the rims with a brighter shade of gold. Then I proceeded to paint the front brake disc and calipers.

Then I painted the front suspension springs. I wanted to paint only the rings red, so I cut 1mm masks using a knife to tape the insides. I was once told that the longer you spend to mask, the shorter your touch up work later on.

After the paint has dried, the masks are removed. Then I glued both the wheels and suspension onto the chassis.

While the glue dries, I have begun work on the body. I sanded off the mould lines and washed the body. Then the body is sent to primer, and left to harden for a week.

3/09/09: Painted the rest of the brake calipers and discs, then fitted the exhaust, muffler, rear axle and wheels onto the chassis. Proceeded to detail the chassis.

After the silver has dried, i weathered the chassis by washing the silver with smoke and using cotton buds to rub thinner on the black areas of the chassis.

9/9/09: The primer have been sitting on the body for a week now. Wetsand tomorrow and then spraying the colour on! Haven't got much time for the interior, university group assignments are eating up lots of my time.

13/9/09: Sprayed Tamiya TS-7 (Racing White) onto the body, giving it a milky off-white colour. Turned out pretty good, except for two or three spots with specks of dust. Its pretty darn dusty here in Australia. :-\ But anywho, still pretty happy with the end result! Will proceed from here by detailing the exterior bits before decals and gloss. I'm missing a few colours too, like clear orange and clear red for the lamps. I shall let the paint sit for a few days, while I work on the interior and get the colours I need. :-)

14/9/09: Did some work on the bucket seats today. I painted the wings (is that what you call it?) near the shoulders red and made a template for fabric using masking tape. First, I masked the area I want to cover in fabric, using strips of masking tape. Be careful not to crease the tape, the idea is to use small patches to go over the uneven contours.

Then, using a hobby knife, I cut out the excess using the side contours of the seat as guides. Then the same step is repeated for the top half of the seat. This masking piece will serve as a template which i will stick on the fabric.

After obtaining the template, I purchased this iron-on-mender from a local grocery shop for $3. I stick the masking on the fabric and cut it into shape. Then I glued the two pieces onto the seat, using PVA glue. I chose PVA glue because it will become clear when dry and thus leaving no stains. An alternative glue is white glue, though I don't think it will clear when dry.

Then for the floor of the interior, I flocked it with bicarbonate soda, or simply known as baking soda. Flocking is simply sprinkling the bicarb soda on the interior after you have put glue on. Here, I again chose PVA glue, which i laced the bottom with and then sprinkling bicarb soda to give it a carpet effect. I will leave it to dry and harden overnight, before I do touch-up and paint over it.

18/9/09: The bicarb soda completely dried, and so I painted the soda with flat black acrylic paint. It turned out very nicely.

Looks quite like a carpeted flooring, I would say. Although it must be noted that it is very rough, I shall aim to make the flocking smoother next time round.

Fitted the dashboard together, nothing major here. Just small detailing and decals for the tachometer.

Once everything has dried, the interior is glued together. And with that, the interior is completed! Work on the body will be up next, and the car will be done. We're almost there.

6/10/09: I know its been a long while, but I got some time on my hands to continue work on this Subaru. And today, I rushed it all! Painting the window frames, lamps, radiators and holes, washes, decals, everything! As a result of that, I botched up quite a number of jobs. :-( Some of the decals were accidentally touched, the body was slightly scratched when masking the window frames causing the black paint to bleed, some washes was too light and some washes were washed over. Looks like I have quite a lot of touch up on my hands. So basically the things left to do:

1. Touch up.
2. Gloss.
3. Assembly.

Then I should be done. I hope. :-)

12/10/2009: I have pieced the whole car together, without the gloss coat. The thing is there were some smudges after I painted the window frames, and I cannot touch up the white paint without masking everything again. I also couldn't paint a small area since the racing white was not available in acrylic. And I tried masking up to spray some areas with white but apparently even that is too thick. Moral of the story? Buy an air brush or use paints that are available in acryllic.

Also, I stuck the decals for the headlamps upside down. Gosh. Never will I rush again,

Here are the final pictures, although it is highly likely I will redo the exterior.

The pictures below shows the final car, and closeups on my flawed exterior. Do leave any comments or suggestions!

Kustom RideZ: Tri & Beetle Me

2009-08-17T21:44:00.004+08:00

Hola! Welcome to Gee's Garage! I am a Hot Wheels customer and I also like to customize my Hot Wheels. In this attempt, I used two castings: Hot Wheels Custom Volkswagen Beetle and Hot Wheels Tri & Stop Me. Actually the Tri & Stop Me was an accidental purchase, and I wanted to customize the VW Beetle for a long time but didn't know what to do with it!

Initially I intended to custom both together, but as I fiddled around with the pieces it struck me. They both fit really well together! Since I have just recently bought a second hand cordless Dremel, I decided to make full use of the cutter.

Cut the front portion of the chassis and rear boot lid off. I liked the mould of the rear engine, so I decided to use that as part of my emphasis. Chopped off the rear exhaust pipe, made some room at the bottom of the beetle interior so it sits on the tri & stop me chassis.

Test fitted the interior and chassis, fabricated floorboards and filled the gaps in between with putty. While the putty dries I worked on the bodyl stripped the paint and sprayed primer.

I then painted the interior to bring out the details from what I thought was a very good mould (why did they make the boot lid stuck shut to cover this detail in the first place, i wonder). I googled a picture of a vw beetle turbo kit attachment and using that as reference, I scratchbuilt it with leftover guitar strings. Once the putty had dried, I painted some portions of it flat black. I didn't paint it smooth to try and create a worn texture.

Painted the body two tone colours: Flat black and faded green-yellow. Put on some decals, attached a hinge for the body shell and chassis, then it is complete: The Tri & Beetle Me.

Work In Progress: Tri & Stop Me, VW Custom Beetle

2009-08-10T10:13:00.002+08:00

I have disassembled the VW for a while already, and I have got no ideas as to how to custom it. The name already says its a custom beetle haha! Ah well, I got an idea now so I'm gonna work on it along with the Tri & Stop Me. Check this space for the completed work, or go to HWC Malaysia to check out the WIP thread!

Kustom RideZ: Canyon Carver

2009-08-07T12:00:00.001+08:00

Greetings from the land of Australia! If you have noticed, since the turn of the new year I haven't been up to much customs. The last set of customs I did was for the HWC Malaysia; I had to spray paint the body of 80+ VW New Beetle Cups for the purpose of distribution as their club cars.

So that was my last custom work before I jetted off in a nutshell. I have not seen the completed VW New Beetle from HWCM since, hopefully they'll get to distributing it soon!

Now to the main event, the Canyon Carver. This was supposed to be a group build on HWCM, the title being Hot Wheels Originals. I chosen the Canyon Carver because of one custom I saw of a Honda bike, and I decided to do one myself.

Sweet looking piece of custom yeah? Inspired by that photo, I set out on my own custom Canyon Carver.

As usual, the removal of rivet and paint stripping is the beginning.

Next is the primer coat, then followed by the main colours. Initially I chosen yellow on the front shield, flat black for seats/handles and blue for the main body colour.

Next was tempo work, I used some 1/12 Honda RC211V-05 Movistar decals (whichever that could fit) and carbon fibre decals, both from Crazy Modeller. The decals were very high quality, both in terms of transfer and print. Because the yellow didn't really match the body well, I repainted the front shield blue.

So yeah, that was about all the work that was done on it. The completed pics, enjoy!

Work In Progress: Canyon Carver

2009-08-05T16:07:00.002+08:00

Hi! After (another) long layoff, I'm back doing customs. This one was supposed to be for a group build in HWC Malaysia, themed Hot Wheels Originals. However, the deadline was the 15th last month since the group build started a month before that.

No matter, I'll do it anyway since I haven't done something in a while :-)

Kustom Method: Tempo

2009-06-06T14:13:00.005+08:00

In this post, I hope to be able to cover as much as possible for tempo on your cars. As before, there are various ways to produce tempo for your cars. I found that, I am usually limited by two things:

1. Money.
After spending so much (for paint, wheels, tools), how much more are you willing to spend for tempo? Sometimes, a clean looking car with detailing is good enough.

2. Availability.
Customizing your die casts, as you found out by now, has no hard and fast rule to go about doing it. Nor is there a detailed step by step process to do one thing after another (like building a Lego set). Some materials are available in certain countries, and with some scouting and hunting, you will be able to find the thing that suits your needs. For example, decal paper is not available in stores locally back in Malaysia so I had to make do with other alternatives.

With that, many people use many alternatives to put tempo onto their cars. One method I have seen on a forum is using temporary tattoos (which is a pre-printed decal paper). Basically, you transfer the tattoo onto your car just as you do onto your skin, and then spray a layer of gloss on top of it.

Looks pretty good, doesn't it? If you happen to spot some nice temporary tattoos, you can make them a permanent tempo for your car instead!

Another method is just simply painting on the tempo yourself! Provided you have the skills and some extra paint lying around. Just whip up your paintbrush and start painting away! While browsing through the Flickr photos, I found that this was an impressive job since its hand painted.

Credits to Sjors Trimbach for this image.

From my previous works, you may have noticed that I am a fan of tuner decals. I love dressing up my cars with company logos, and I have been asked many times how do I do it. So here goes, I hope you guys can come away with something that will help you on your way in designing tempo for your cars.

First of all, I always google up some logos I want (eg. ADVAN, HKS etc).

Usually, I'd pick one that has a white background. This makes it easier for me to edit later on. Then, on Adobe Photoshop, I'll put them all together, resizing them so that they are almost the same size.

Once I am satisfied with the size and position, I will print it. As I mentioned above, I couldn't find decal paper but I found a good alternative in my local stationary shop: transparent sticker film. So I print on the film, cut it out and then stick it onto my custom.

As for printing, you will want to grab a ruler and measure roughly how big you want the printed decal to be. This is the beauty of photoshop, you can specify the image size before you print. Just click on File, then Print with Preview.

Once in the settings, look under the "Scaled Print Size" and set it to the size you want. Usually, it is very tiny and for this one I set a height of 1 cm. Also, a tip to save paper, you may want to put your print to the top corner so you can reprint using the same paper again next time, but different position since you will be cutting out the part you printed. :-)

Then just click OK!

Usually, since my paper is a sticker, all I have to do is cut the shapes out and stick it to the appropriate places. It's that simple! The same method probably applies for decal, but you may have to reverse the wordings since it is transferred upside down.

Cars after detailing and before applying tempo.

The tempos are printed out on transparent film, and cut out.

Finally, stick them on the car and you are done!

There are many more ways to apply tempo onto your car. Do you have one? Please do share with me! Also, feel free to drop any comments or any questions in the comments box. Cheers!

Next post: Reassembly
Previous post: Wheel Swap

Kustom Method: Wheel Swap

2009-04-26T02:25:00.002+08:00

After a long layoff, I hope you haven't abandoned your customs but have been trying out some of your own ideas. Anyway, I am back with this post and although I haven't been doing much customs here, I hope that with pictures that I have previously will help me help you in your die cast customizations. :-)

Okay! So the order of today would be wheel swapping. So the bulk (or almost all) of my customs have been for Hot Wheels die casts, and through my experience I have discovered a few things:

1. Not all wheel axle lengths are the same.
2. Hot Wheels die casts' wheels are pretty much the same, so you may have to end up buying a more expensive brand just for the wheels to make your custom work. Sometimes there are better looking wheels that are cheaper, so if you can find those all the better then.
3. You may end up locking the wheels on the first time trying. I did. Its normal, and it doesnt mean you failed.
4. Die casts with metal base are a pain in the butt to swap wheels, try to avoid them unless you have proper tools.

What tools do I need, you ask? I will first tackle on the matter of removing wheels from a die cast with a plastic base. Assuming you have removed the rivets (by hook or by crook), and got the base open, you will need just a normal blade cutter.

Then simply just use the blade to cut off the plastic tabs holding the car in place.

Here's another example, I removed the wheels off a Dairy Delivery:

By now you may or may not have noticed this method will not work for a die cast with a metal base. So for example, if I wanted wheels from a 16 Angels Super T-Hunt for the Dairy Delivery, how will I remove the wheels?

I would recommend you to use a rotary tool with a cutter for this, which is ideal since you can grind away at the metal tabs. However, I do not own a rotary tool of my own, so here's my best suggestion: Use a small handsaw or the blade of a handsaw. It is much cheaper, but you will have to get a bit creative on how to saw the metal tabs.

This method is a lot harder, since it will take some patience and a lot of effort to get the metal tabs off. However, if you have no rotary tool, this is the next best thing that I can recommend to you.

Now, the point of wheel swapping is to give your die case a better or more realistic wheel. Just keep your eyes peeled for various wheel sources in your local toys department. You do not always have to get wheels only from Hot Wheels or Matchbox. I have used wheels from various brands: Jada Toys, Maisto, High Speed. Granted, they may be more expensive than the Hot Wheels basic car that you bought, but investing in the right wheels will take your custom to the next level!

Here are some of the wheel donors for my previous customs:

Wheel source: Maisto.

Used for custom: Honda Civic Si.

Wheel source: Jada Toys.

Used for: VW Golf GTI

Here's how a simple wheel swap can drastically improve the look of a die cast. I simply swapped the worn out wheels with a Jada Toys' wheels for this Dairy Delivery.

Before.

After.

Already looks better, don't you think so?

Now, when you look for other wheels besides Hot Wheels wheels, you may have noticed that they are not the same. Wheels can be generally categorized into two types:

1. Free-wheeling wheels.
This are the type of wheels that you can find on Hot Wheels, Matchbox and Tomica die casts. They are independent of the axle and can rotate freely even when the axles are locked in place.
Pros: Easy to work with, available everywhere.
Cons: Many wheel axle variants, hard to adjust axle widths to suit the base.

2. Anchored wheels.
These wheels are locked onto the axles, and rotate as the axle rotates. Basically the whole wheel system rotates together (both wheels and the axle). Most of other toy cars besides those mentioned above carry these type of wheels.
Pros: Axle widths are easily adjustable.
Cons: Wheels may not be able to rotate after reassembly.

As mentioned above, there are problems with both wheel types. If possible, for free wheeling wheels, try to get donor wheels of the same axle length. If they fit, simply place the wheel back into the channel and glue where the metal tabs used to be. I would not recommend using superglue for this, for reasons I will explain below. If the axles do not fit, I have a solution, but it is not really recommended. However, in real life nothing is ever ideal so this is my best solution to the problem.

What I do is I cut the axles into half and trim them until they fit. Then i suspend the base high enough while I glue both parts of the axle back on the base. Make sure as the glue is drying, the base is suspended in such a way the wheels are aligned straight. This is because when the glue has not harden, the axle may tilt and move. For glueing wheels back into place, I recommend using Epoxy, not superglue. This is because superglue tends to run and it may seep to your wheels and end up locking the wheels on the axle. Epoxy will take a longer time (5-8 hours) to harden completely, but it is much stronger and it doesn't seep or run down the channel.

As for anchored wheels, shortening axles is easy. You just have to remove one wheel, cut the axle to the appropriate size then replace the wheel back into the axle. If the axle is too short, you may have to find some metal bits that will replace it as an axle. I use paper clips to do this, as I bend the paper clip straight and cut the length I need for the axle. If the channel is too small for the axle, you may have to saw it using a handsaw or sand it using a low grit, rough sandpaper. Since the wheels are anchored you do not glue the axle to the base. Hot Wheels die cast, in my experience, are usually made in such a way that when you have glued the base back onto the casting, the two pieces usually clamp the wheel axles. So you simply have to glue the car back together for this type of wheel. This does not apply for all cars so do remember to check out both your custom and donors' wheels and axles before deciding on what type of wheels to use.

Unfortunately I do not have photos to show these processes, and I apologize. Usually it takes quite a bit of concentration and precision so I always forget taking photos. Feel free to ask any questions in the comments box though, I will gladly answer them. Cheers. :-)

Next post: Tempo
Previous post: Painting (Interior)

OZ land.

2009-03-24T14:27:00.002+08:00

Okay, first of all I apologize that I have been away for a long time. Well, since I have been away for about a month or so I have shifted locations. I was based in Malaysia but then I am currently in Victoria, Australia to further my studies. I would like to thank you guys for all the support in my segments so far and I'd like to be able to contribute in some way here in Australia as well. :-)

As far as I can be sure now, I will not be doing customs for a while since I do not have the equipment readily available as it is when I am back in Malaysia. However, I will try to complete the Kustom Methods segment to those of you who have been following it thus far.

I will however, continue to collect and share my passion for Hot Wheels cars. The basic 1:64 range is focused mostly due to budget and space constraints. As usual, leave any comments that you wish for me or anyone else on this blog to read. I always love to hear from you.

As you know I am mainly a Hot Wheels collector, and since Australia does not have Tomicas in stock I will pause the collection of Tomica Limiteds for now. Here's the stuff I have purchased in Australia to add to my collection.

More to come in the future, till then cheers!

BRB

2009-02-21T07:57:00.003+08:00

Which way Twister by rt44man

This blog will be put on hold for the time being as the author of the blog has recently moved and needs time to settle down in new surroundings. It will be back soon enough, check back in a month or so. :-P

Kustom Method: Painting (Interior)

2009-02-06T01:00:00.006+08:00

Welcome back to another segment of Kustom Method. Today I will be covering on painting the interior of a die cast. Cham once said that scale modellers bring out the detail of a model kit. It is the same case here; painting your interior is with the motive that it will bring out the details of the interior. If there are no details to bring out, fabricate it yourself (eg. seatbelts)!

I have so far used two methods to achieve this:

1. Masking and then spray paint.
2. Modelling acrylic paint and marker pens.

Honestly, you can paint the interior with a combination of those methods above. Get creative! Use different things to fabricate interior parts, like seatbelts and such. I must admit, there are a lot more possibilities that I have not explored yet to take the customization to the next level.

But for now, I will share with you my past experiences. When I only had spray cans, I just simply painted the interior the same way I painted the exterior. I masked up bits that I did not want painted, and then proceeded with spray painting it.

The first picture above shows the interior of this Mustang GT custom I did when I first started customizing. In that Mustang GT custom I wanted to keep the chrome but paint the seats red. So I masked up everything except the seats, and then sprayed red all over. Remove the masking and voila! You get the red seats that you see in the second picture above. The amount of work is quite tedious, but if done right it looks fabulous. If a small mistake is made, it can get a bit frustrating since you have to remask and spray all over again. :-)

After I have some more money, I started investing in Tamiya Acrylic Paint and a paint brush. Its a modelling paint, and the paint brush is a fine tip paintbrush. You will need a paintbrush with a fine tip as the things you will be painting are about 64 times smaller than original!

The first picture above shows the acrylic paint and the paintbrush I am using, the second picture shows the paint markers I use and the third picture shows some stationary pins. Hmm. Why stationary pins, you ask?

From my experience, if you are simply detailing the plastic interior with paint markers or acrylic paint, the paint does not stick on properly after it has dried. So, I use the stationary pins to remove small paint smudges and drips. It is a small touch-up tip that I use for my interior customs everytime. This method does not work, however, if you have sprayed a coat of paint or primer on your interior. (Edit: It does work if you want to remove paint seeps after you have removed your mask after spraying paint. It just won't work if you are trying to remove paint that is on top of another paint coat. You will end up taking out both coats of paint.)

There is one thing I have noticed about acrylic paint tubs. Once you open the cap, you dip your paintbrush in the paint, the paint is watery. But if you leave the paint tub open, the paint gets thicker and thicker. Eventually the paint on your paintbrush tip solidifies and it gets too difficult to control the paint. What I usually do is rinse the brush tip with water, close the cap of the paint and shake it so that the thinner mixes with the paint and it becomes watery again.

Ok enough talk, that is all I have to cover I think. Basically, just grab your paintbrush and paint, and start painting away! Remember, get creative! Explore more options and methods that I have shown and talked about here. Below are few examples of the interior before and after painting. Enjoy! :-)

Before

After

Before

After

Next post: Wheel swap
Previous post: Painting (Enterior)

Kustom RideZ: Toyota AE86 Corolla

2009-02-04T01:36:00.004+08:00

Previously, I did a body restoration of an AE86 into one that is similiar to the Fujiwara Tofu Delivery Car in Initial D. A fellow blogger, scale modeller and friend, Cham, liked it and so he sent me his unit to be customized. Being a plastic car modeller himself, he spotted a few of my mistakes and notified me about it.

This was the condition of the car when I first received it from Cham. It was quite obvious he attempted to do a customization of the AE86 before. ;-)

So, I set about customizing the car. I used Googled pictures and the manga as references for the car. Also, it involves the usual steps I have mentioned in my Kustom Methods segments. Drilling, paint stripping, painting, detailing and then reassembly. The only thing I want to highlight in this custom is the masking. I sprayed a base coat of white, then proceeded to mask the white bits out before spraying on the black.

For the edges, I used Tamiya Masking tape. It is a brand of masking tape for hobbyists, which is significantly better than industrial/commercial ones as the lines that are masked will turn out razor sharp. You will not get jagged edges like those when you use industrial/commercial ones. The edges are masked with the Tamiya Masking Tape, and the rest are covered with a commercial masking tape.

There were some mistakes with the AE86 in the past, such as unpainted window outlines, unpainted fenders, mistakes on the rear lamps, overly thick fender lines, etc. I hope to have corrected it with this custom. Unfortunately though, towards the end of my custom I kind of rushed it. The paint and gloss coats did not turn out as smooth as I preferred. Sorry Cham!

Finally below, is the picture of the completed car, along with some shot with a Tomica D1 Drift AE86. Enjoy the pics, and do let me know if you have any comments or questions!

Cham has taken some photos after receiving his car, and I photoshopped two of it. He has posted this customization on his blog, go check it out to see his collection and works too! :-)

Collection: Tomica Limited 0045 Skyline Silhouette

2009-01-23T12:28:00.002+08:00

I acquired this rare TL model from loon, a friend from Penang and forumer at HWCMalaysia and LYN. He had a good deal to ship in 6 of these, so he rounded up another 5 interested people to pool our resources and ship them in. Thanks bro!

Apparently this model is based on the R31, which like most Skylines, have been used for racing. Seen here this model shows off its racing livery and body kit. I'm glad to have got this model, it isn't even listed on ToyEast or eBay anymore! :-)

Pictures of this Skyline below are together with my Lancer Evo VII Rally custom.

Kustom RideZ: 2006 Honda Civic Si

2009-01-16T00:00:00.002+08:00

The Honda Civic Si custom that I have used for illustration purposes in the Kustom Methods segment is done! :-)

This is actually a request for a simple customization from a friend, addrick. He wanted the Civic casting to mimic his real life Civic in terms of colour and styling. So here is the final product! To some of you guys who have been following the Kustom Methods segment do not worry, I will continue to post on methods to help you complete your customs.

Enjoy the pictures!

Kustom Method: Painting (Exterior)

2009-01-13T14:00:00.007+08:00

On this post we will tackle painting. If you have prepped the body properly, there shouldn't be too much problem painting. First of all I must let you know this method of painting is using a spray can. I have not used airbrushes, therefore have zero experience in it. :-)

From left to right: Primer, Colour & Gloss Spray Cans.

So, first of all there will be the list of things you need:
1. Paint Primer - Spray Can
2. Paint - Spray Can
3. Gloss/Clear Lacquer - Spray Can
4. Paint Stand
5. Masking Tape (Optional)
6. Hair Dryer (Optional)
7. High grit sandpaper (About 1500 - 2000)
8. Water
9.. Your die cast (Optional... no wait, this is compulsory!) :-P

In this blogpost I will be using pictures from my past customs to illustrate my point.

A Mustang GT die cast on a paint stand.

Right then, first of all you will have a your die cast body stripped of all its paint and sanded smooth. When spray painting you die cast, here are a few guidelines to help you get a nice coat of paint:

1. Spray on a sunny day, you will need the sun to help you dry the paint.
2. Pick an open area, do not spray in an enclosed area where you may be poisoned or spray colour/primer/gloss onto things you did not want recoloured.
3. Heat up the die cast on the paint stand with a hair dryer before spraying the primer. This is to make the paint dry up faster and more evenly, especially in areas that are in the shadow when put under the sun (Thank you Yeo for this tip). Alternatively, you can leave it out in the sun for about 10-20 minutes before spraying.
4. Hold the spray can about 20-25 cm away from the die cast at all times. Your paint on the die cast should be a moderate coat. If you see paint drip/buildup in some areas then your coat of paint is too thick.
5. When spraying, go consistently in one direction (front to back, or vice versa).
6. After a coat of spray, leave it to dry for about 10-20 minutes before spraying the next coat. Make sure your current paint coat is completely dry before spraying on another.
7. After every coat if you find that the paint is uneven, you can smoothen it further by wetsanding the paint. Simply dip your sandpaper into water and gently sand it over the body. Make sure your sandpaper is always wet and your paint coat completely dry. Do not apply a lot of pressure, and only wetsand the paint if it is not your last coat. Usually wetsanding is to smoothen the current coat so that the next coat that goes on top will not carry the same defects.

Spraying primer upside down.

Spraying primer right side up.

When you start spraying, I usually start by turning over the die cast and spraying the bottom first. The spray coat that comes out of the can will coat the die cast from top. The areas curved towards the bottom or facing downwards will not get any paint. So in order to get paint over the areas where the spray cannot reach when it is right side up, I start by spraying it upside down. Then after that I proceed with spraying it right side up.

Areas in pink and pointed by the arrow shows the areas the spray will not reach if sprayed right side up. Spraying upside down covers these areas.

Then the same applies for your base colour. Spray one coat upside down, and then proceed with as many coats right side up until the die cast is covered evenly with the colour you chosen. I usually go with two to three coats of paint. The point is to have an even coat of paint all over the die cast without compromising the details on the die cast mould. If your paint is too thick, the details will be covered. Try experimenting with the number of coats if you are painting for the first time to see how many coats is the optimum for you.

Custom Mustang in white after base colour coats.

From here, you can proceed to spraying a gloss (or clear lacquer) coat over the car to protect the paint. For gloss, just one coat is sufficient and there is no need to spray it upside down. You can, but I would suggest you not to.

If you would like to take it to another level, Add a black hood or racing stripes! Right after your base coat, follow up by masking the die cast with masking tape and then spraying one or two coats of paint over the body before glossing. Below are some examples of masking that I have done previously.

Ford Mustang GT racing stripes.

VW Golf GTI's black hood, radiator grills & head lamps.

I know this post is quite long, so if you have any questions along the way feel free to ask in the comments section. Do suggest better methods too if you have discovered some, so we can all learn together! :-)

Happy painting!

Next post: Painting (Interior)
Previous post: Pre-paint Preparations (Part 2)

Kustom Method: Pre-paint Preparations (Part 2)

2009-01-08T00:50:00.003+08:00

Okay, today we go back to some custom tips! After all your putty has hardened, shaped and sanded, it is time to prep the rest of your die cast body for painting. What we will cover in this blogpost, is basically sanding out the body so that your paint job will be smooth and removal of mould lines and seam lines (thanks cham for teaching me on this).

In this prep, you will need:
1. A low grit sandpaper (About 100-200)
2. A high grit sandpaper (About 1200-1500)

For this post, I will be using the Civic Si custom as illustration. And if you remember, after paint stripping on the body, there was still bits of paint and the surface was not smooth as you can see from the picture above. So we are going to iron those issues out.

Let's tackle the mould lines and seam lines first. What are they? Mould lines are lines protruding out of the die cast body which is not part of the car's body structure. They usually run from top to bottom, and are found at the corners of the body. Seam lines are like a gutter that run across the body, and is opposite from mould lines. Instead of protruding, they look like they are dug in.

How do we deal with mould lines and seam lines? For mould lines, we usually sand them off since they are extra bits of metal sticking out. As for seam lines, you will have to fill them using putty as I have described in part 1 of the pre-paint prep, and then sand off the excess putty till it is smooth.

Let me show you an example of a mould line. In the Honda Civic Si custom that I am doing, mould lines can be found at all four corners of the die cast. Look at the picture below:

See the vertical line running from slightly above the rear lamps all the way to the bottom of the bumper? That's a mould line right there. To remove it, I first use a low grit sandpaper (I used 180) and then smoothen it using a high grit sandpaper (I used 1200).

This is another example of mould line, running from the top of the hood till the bottom of the front bumper. Again, I sanded them off using a low grit sandpaper, then smoothened the surface using a high grit sandpaper.

After sanding, this is what the rear and front looks like.

Notice the rear mould line is not completely gone. The bit above the headlamps is a bit too rough so i just sanded off as much as I can. Perhaps I was not hardworking enough. As for the front, the mould line is almost invisible. After a few coats of paint, it will be covered and invisible.

To smoothen the rest of the body, simply use a high grit sandpaper (I used 1200, again), and sand all over the body until you can feel that it has become smooth. If there are stubborn bits of paint, simply use a lower grit sandpaper and sand it off before smoothening it with a high grit sandpaper.

After you're all done, the body should be like in the picture above. No mould lines or seam lines, and the metal is smooth and shiny! To be honest I actually sanded the body first then filled the holes, but I blogged it the other way round. Both ways are alright, just do whichever that suits your style. :-)

Hope this post has been of help! Once again, any questions or comments just fire away in the comment section. Cheers!

Next post: Painting (Exterior)
Previous post: Pre-paint Preparations (Part 1)

Kustom Restoration: The Demon

2009-01-06T12:40:00.004+08:00

Recently a good friend nicknamed demonicle requested I do a simple custom for him. Since his nickname was demonicle, he handed me a car named "The Demon" to be customized. He wanted The Joker tempo from Batman: The Dark Knight since his avatar on the forum was exactly that. So he passed me the carded car which looked like this:

image from southtexasdiecast.com

Initially, I just did some sticker fabrication on the sides and back.

After looking at it, he said he wanted a wheel swap and a revised tempo at the side too. I agree, the plastic wheels, despite the red line, won't look as good as rubber wheels. So I got a donor, and swapped wheels for it and fabricated new side tempos for it. :-)

That looks better! The eyes are more visible, so from quite a number of angles the Joker's eyes look as if it is looking at you. Plus, the rubber wheels made it look a bit more menacing yet classy. And add a final touch...

Kustom Method: Pre-paint Preparations (Part 1)

2009-01-04T09:15:00.003+08:00

Welcome back to this segment for the new year! I will be picking up where I left off, which is the process of preparing the die cast body for painting. This will be a two-part post, as this part will be covering on the putty work and the next part will be on sanding.

When we last left the body, the paint has just been stripped. What's next?

For this Civic custom, my friend has requested that the rear wings to be removed and left flat, so there are two holes at the back of the car to be filled. Sometimes, there are other holes that you would like to fill, such as the hole in the headlamp in the Nissan Skyline custom. To fill up the holes and make a smooth surface, I use a multipurpose epoxy putty. I will knead the putty, then use it to fill up any holes, and finally sand it into shape. Get it?

Let's begin.

You will need:

1. Multipurpose Epoxy Putty (I used Selley's Knead It)
2. A blade
3. Your die cast

As I have mentioned before, we are to fill the two holes left by the rear wing that has been removed from the body as shown in the picture above.

First, just slice out as much putty as you need.

Then place it above the area you want filled. Then shape or take off the putty bit by bit until it is fits the shape of the body. You have about 3 minutes from the time you knead the putty to do so before it hardens. I have done it for both the holes, it should look like the picture below.

I don't know if you can see it from the photo, but the area filled by the putty is still quite rough. However, we cannot sand it yet. The putty must be left to dry for approximately 5-10 hours so that it hardens. Once it is completely hard, you can sand it so that it becomes flat and smooth, blending it together with the body. I used a 1000 grit sandpaper to sand it flat, then a 1500 grit sandpaper to smoothen the surface.

As you can see from the picture above, the putty has been sanded and it is now flat. After all the filling is done, you are ready for the second part of the pre-paint preparations!

Questions? Comments? Use the shoutbox or the comment link below. Thanks for looking! :-)

Next post: Pre-paint Preparations (Part 2)
Previous post: Paint stripping

Kustom RideZ: Lancer Evolution VII

2009-01-02T10:47:00.003+08:00

Happy New Year to you! What better way to start the new year, than with a custom! I customized a Evolution VII casting from Hot Wheels, which a number of forumers in LYN has complained of the bad paintjob and less than satisfactory tempo. So I customized my own rally version! Drawing inspiration once again from Sifu JDMike, I turned this (many thanks pydrummerboy!):

to this:

Oh no, wait this one is not right. This is the Evolution X custom I did previously. So sorry.

What is the car behind? Let's take a better look.. Oh yes, thats the right one!

I have to apologize since there are no process and work in progress photos for this custom. Feel free to drop a comment or leave a question and I will gladly answer!

Happy New Year 2009, from me at Gee's Garage!

2008-12-24T18:43:00.002+08:00

The owner of Gee's Garage will be away for the holidays! So there will be no posts on this site until the new year. Do look forward to the continuation of Kustom Methods, more collection pictures and definitely more customs come the new year!

Gee's Garage wishes you a Merry and Blessed Christmas, and a very Happy New Year!

Kustom Method: Paint Stripping

2008-12-19T00:10:00.002+08:00

Alright, now that you have learnt drilled the rivets off. Assuming you managed to separate the body and case off cleanly, you would like to change the colour of your car. Merely respraying just won't do, since the coat of paint may not stick and another coat on top of it will make the colour coat too thick.

So, the logical thing would be to take off the paint. How?

There are two ways:
i. Immersing the body in brake fluid for a day and then brushing off the paint with a wire brush or toothbrush. (CAUTION: Brake fluid is corrosive and must be handled with gloves)
ii. Applying paint stripper on the body, and then brushing off the paint with a wire brush or toothbrush .(CAUTION: Paint stripper is corrosive and must be handled with gloves)

This is also why you need to remove the body from the base, as both brake fluid and paint stripper have chemically corrosive properties. If you are modding a die cast with a plastic base, plastic wheels, and plastic interior, these parts will melt or deform rendering them useless and leaving you with a car that looks like it has been through a lava pool.

So, sounds easy right? Let's begin.

I usually use paint stripper to take off the paint. I will be using the Honda Civic Si as an example, yet again. So hopefully it will inspire you to follow along with this posts and come up with a full custom of your own together with the Honda Civic Si by the end of this set of posts. :-)

Firstly, the tools you will need are:

Paint Stripper

Gloves

Paint Stand, Paint Brush & Tooth Brush (Wire Brush is the second option)

Put on your gloves. Sit the body on the paint stand. Start by using the paint brush to apply the paint stripper all over the body of the car. Apply a fairly thick layer, but spread it evenly over the body (like buttering Keira Knightley's bod...I mean, a piece of bread).

Then let the paint stripper sit for a few minutes, about 10 will be good. The stripper will react with the paint, making it bubble and giving a texture that looks like this.

Then start brushing off the paint with your toothbrush, running it thoroughly all over the body. If there are any stubborn paint left, apply the paint stripper again on the spot where there is still paint, let it sit for another 10 minutes, and try to brush it off again.

As you can see from the photos, after the first layer of paint stripper, there were still some leftover paint. So I applied it a second time and then brushed again. Finally, once all or most of the paint is removed, wash it with water and wipe it dry with a cloth.

Then your die cast body is ready for the next step of repainting!

Next post: Pre-paint preparations (Part 1)
Previous post: Disassembly

Kustom Method: Disassembly

2008-12-17T23:15:00.003+08:00

Okay, so you want to do a full-blown custom job on your Hot Wheels or Tomica. You want to change the colour, swap the wheels, tint the windows, detail the interior... but you will first need to find a way to take the car apart. Unlike JadaToys or Maisto, you can't just pull out a screwdriver and unscrew the base chassis off the body. In fact, if you turn your Hot Wheels or Tomica upside down, you will usually see this.

Yup, its a metal rivet. In order to separate the base and body, you will need to remove the rivet head (the metal ring). How do you remove it? Well, there are various tools and ways to do it. The first is the traditional cordless/electric drill.

Image from cordlessdrills.us

The good thing about using this tool is that it is cheap and usually can be found in your house since you would have needed it for DIY jobs. It is also portable, means it can be done anywhere. The downside is that it is not stable, so while you are drilling, if the drill slips off the center of the rivet while drilling you may dig into the base and make it really ugly or complicate matters during reassembly.

The second method is using a drill press.

Image from Industial Marketplace

I have access to a drill press in my university and I have used it to drill off the rivet head. I find that it is really good, because you are able to align the drill bit to the rivet properly before drilling. The drill is very secure and stable, meaning you will get a very clean and quick drill job (as you can see from the Lancer Evo and VW Golf GTI custom pictures). The downside about this machine is that it is expensive, and can not be easily found unless you own an industrial factory or repair shop of some sort.

The final solution that I can offer is using a rotary tool.

Image from mytoolstore.com

If you feel like investing a bit of cash since you would like to be serious in customizing, then the rotary tool is definitely the way to go. The rotary tool can assist you in various customizing jobs, and drilling off rivet heads is one of them. Computer customizers also most likely own one of these.

But whichever tool you choose above, I cannot stress this enough, please use the right drill bit. In the market, there are various drill bits available; some to drill wood, concrete, steels, etc. Pick the one that can drill steel.

Image from northerntool.com

It looks like the one in the picture above. Believe me, you do not want to be using the wrong drill bit to drill the rivet head off. I have used a drill bit meant to drill concrete, and after half an hour of drilling, the rivet head was still not even close to being removed. :-P

As for the size of the drill bit, anything between 4mm - 5.5mm is okay. It is okay to use a 5.5mm even if the rivet head size is 4.5mm, just as long as you are able to remove the rivet head.

If you remember, I will be using the Honda Civic Si as reference, and here it is.

And this is what it looks like after the rivet heads have been removed.

As you can see, the rivet head (ring) has been drilled off. This will allow me to separate the body from the base.

I hope this post has been informative for you and will help you take your first step in customizing! Do leave a comment if you have additional questions or comments. :-)

Next post: Paint stripping

Kustom Method: Honda Civic Si

2008-12-16T10:55:00.005+08:00

This post is my blog's 50th post! And it is quite fitting that I announce that there will be a new segment in this blog.

It is called Kustom Method.

What is it? Well, since I have started customizing die cast cars, I have used other customizer's blogs as guidelines to customize the cars. They do serve as a good guideline, but they do not answer many questions that I face along the way. This is not saying that the other blogs lack information, but I believe that with each car customization comes a set of unique problems faced along the way.

So, you still have not answered the question. What is Kustom Method? Okay, okay. You will have noticed how I post my customizations now. A work in progress, then a blogpost showing the whole process and final outcome pictures. In between there will be a big gap where you will be waiting to see the final outcome of the customizations. So now, Kustom Method will be a set of blogposts showing my progress in the customizations. Also, it will list out any problems I faced along the way together with the solutions I adopted. With this, I hope to cover all bases in terms of providing answers to questions related to customizations and also serve as a more in depth guideline/resource for new customizers or people just interested in finding out how customizations are done.

Hopefully you are quite clear by now. :-) Okay, so as you probably have guessed from the header that I will be debuting this segment using a Honda Civic Si. If you did, then you are right! I will be customizing a Honda Civic Si for a friend and his car will be the first to be used for this segment. Ironically, the Honda Civic Si was my first customization under the Kustom RideZ segment. :-)

Of course, along the way if you disagree with anything or have any questions... just drop me a comment or leave a message on the chatbox.

Next post: Disassembly

Kustom RideZ: Mini Cooper

2008-12-15T09:15:00.004+08:00

Recently I have been commissioned to customize a Tomica casting of a Mini Cooper (see picture below) for Yeo, a fellow collector and friend. He requested the Mini Cooper to have stripes on the bonnet, a white roof, and detailing which was lacking in the regular casting in comparison to the limited. The emphasis was on the detailing of the body. And that was what I did.

The custom job sounds simple, since it didn't require paint stripping or full body mod job. However, it wasn't as easy as it sounds. The white stripes had to be precise, the shape of the roof complicated things a bit. Plus, the detailing required more than a bit of patience. So I would say it was simple but complicated! :-P

Picture taken from World of Tomica.

This is the first collaboration between us, and you can find his take on my customization in his blog. I hope that this is the first of many more collaboration to come! Do visit his blog, which I find is has excellent reads for die cast enthusiasts and collectors. :-)

The pictures of the final outcome of the simple but complicated Mini Cooper customization can be seen below. Enjoy!

Kustom RideZ: Nissan Skyline

2008-12-13T00:45:00.001+08:00

Yes, you seen it right! It is finally done! Firstly, many apologies because I have been busy going on holidays and organizing quite a few things so I haven't been able to work on this custom for quite a bit. Nevertheless, it is done. :-)

So, I used a 2008 Hot Wheels Stars Nissan Skyline casting this time. Why? I believe the casting had a few flaws, notably the hole in one of the headlamps. To do a full mod job, I drilled the car open to separate the body, chassis, windows and interior.

Despite the small flaws in the body, the interior and chassis is pretty well done. The interior has been moulded to 3-point harness seatbelts, a roll cage in the back, and no backseat but stripped bare to reveal the chassis. The undercarriage is also quite detailed, so I did not have to fabricate new parts for the chassis and interior.

First of all, I tackle the body as it requires the most work. I used the usual method of paint stripping: apply paint stripper, let it set in for a few minutes, then brush it off with a toothbrush to get down to the bare metal.

If you notice on one of the sides of the body kit there is something that looks like a pipe sticking out. I didn't like that so I sanded it with 800 grit sandpaper till it is flat, then smoothened it by sanding it further with a 1500 grit sandpaper.

I intended to do a drift version of the car, so I removed the stock rear wing. Because of that, there were two holes, so I filled it with epoxy putty and then sanding it to smoothen it out. The headlamp with a hole was also filled out and sanded flat.

As you can see here the picture on top shows the bulge and the putty has been filled in the holes. The bottom picture is what it looks like after sanding.

After the refining work, I proceeded to spray primer on the body. I also found a donor rear wing that I wanted, and sprayed primer on it too. Once both the primers dried I glued on the rear wing onto the body.

Then it was time for colouring! I picked blue, as it is quite a popular colour for the Skyline. The only other car which I can think of that has a lot of blue would be the Subaru Impreza WRX. However, I went with the two tone blue with silver tempo for this one. I must admit it I took some ideas from the Fast and Furious Skyline. So I sprayed on the base coat blue, which is the lighter shade of blue.

I then did some masking and some painting. Then some masking and painting some more. And then some touch up. I did not take pictures of these cos I did it these in small parts, little by little in between long periods of time. This was when I was quite busy and was just posting my collection photos. :-P

The Skyline ended up with a tempo that looks like this below. Once I was done with the tempo I sprayed on a coat of gloss to protect the paint of the car.

As for the interior, I detailed the dashboard, seat belts, gearstick, steering wheel, chassis and roll cage. As I have mentioned before, both the interior and chassis carried a lot of detail so all I had to do was paint it to bring out the details.

I fabricated two exhaust pipes and painted them silver. Then I glued them on the back bumper, along with two rhinestones in the front bumper. I also got donor rubber front wheels from two different Treasure Hunt$ cars, and painted the rims black. Finally, I fabricated some sponsor logos and then the car was glued back together.

Enjoy the pictures below. Do leave a comment and let me know which areas I can improve or do better, I'd love to hear from you. :-)

Kustom RideZ: Nissan Skyline (Preview)

2008-12-12T16:53:00.002+08:00

It is finally complete, after 10,000,000 years in the making. :-P

Look out for the full blog and pictures tonight.

For now, here's a sneak preview. :-)

Stay tuned!

Spotted: Hot Wheels Drift King Wave

2008-12-10T17:15:00.002+08:00

On my recent trip to Toys R Us I purchased this car. This '69 Ford Torino Talladega was previously not avaliable here. After checking with Desmond (who recently scored a Super Drift King) from LYN, he has confirmed with me that this car belongs to the Drift King T-Hunt wave. So lads, yes the Drift King wave is in town! Another friend of mine, Khai Min also spotted it in a Tesco outlet.

Notable cars in this wave:
- Drift King (Treasure Hunt)
- Volkswagen New Beetle Cup (Team Volkswagen)
- Camaro Concept Convertible (Blue w/White Stripes)
- Corvette ZR1 (Red)
- Tesla Roadster (Red)
- AMG Mercedes CLK-DTM (Brown)
- Saleen S7 (Yellow)
- Cadillac Sixteen (Silver)

Still recovering from the previous Funny Car wave from the 7E promotion? Better find some cash quick. Sell your blood, sell you kidneys, because from what I hear, this wave is quite limited.

Collection: Tomica Limited 50th Anniversary Skylines

2008-12-08T00:10:00.002+08:00

Takara Tomy released a special set of Skylines in the Tomica Limited range to commemorate their 50th Anniversary in November last year. These models do not have the running model number but instead have a 50th Anniversary logo on it.

The four models are:
1. Skyline GT-R VSpec II N1 (BNR34)
2. Skyline GT-R VSpec LM Limited (BNCR33)
3. Skyline 2000 Turbo RS-X (KDR30)
4. Skyline 2000 GT-R (KPGC10)

I have recently managed to complete the four models. I got models 3 and 4 through a trade with Tom 2 months back, and recently found models 1 and 2 in a hobby shop. Oh joy!

I have pulled in the TL0099 Nissan GT-R into the shoot as well, since it is the latest incarnation of the Skyline. :-)

Collection: Tomica Limited 0081 Toyota Mark II-L Hardtop & 0087 Mazda Cosmos AP Limited

2008-12-05T14:53:00.003+08:00

Just last weekend, after reading a post on a restock of TLs from a a fellow collector Mr. Yeo, I decided to make a trip down to the local Tomica distributor's shop in the city center to grab some of the Tomica Limiteds to add to my collection.

Unfortunately, the rare models were long gone when I arrived. However, there were other models on the shelf that I did not have and I did not want go home empty handed. So I purchased these two models. Even though they were released sometime back, the boxes were still mint and I am rather happy with it.

Collection: Tomica Limited 0090 Nissan Primera & 0048 Porsche 911 Turbo

2008-12-02T15:39:00.003+08:00

In this post I bring you, more Tomica Limiteds! This time I'll feature the TL0090 Nissan Primera released December last year, and the TL0048 Porsche 911 Turbo released..uh, quite a long time ago. (Psst! Anyone wanna fill me in on when the 911 Turbo was released?)

The Nissan Primera is a replacement model for the Nissan Bluebird, both of which serves as a four-door saloon targeted for the European market, primarily the UK. Which explains the boxy shape and the european styling for the Primera.

The Porsche 911 Turbo (Type 930) is the first turbocharged 911. In North American Regions it was sold as the Porsche 930. First produced in 1974, it sold in excess of 4.2k units in its introductionary year alone. The production figures for the basic 930 soon qualified it for the FIA Group 4 competition. The type 934 was produced and many private teams raced with it and won multiple races.

In 1979, Porsche decided the long-term future of the 911. It was due to be replaced with the new 928, but sales for the 911 was still so strong that Porsche decided to revise its strategy for the 911 editions. The type 930 finally made way in 1989, for the new type 964. The success of the 911 (Type 930) was so immense that the 911 is still in production today, with the current version being the type 997. When comparing the type 997 and 930, there are many resemblances in terms of styling that has survived through till today, as such is the timeless look of the 911.

Collection: Tomica Limited 0074 Honda City Turbo II & 0093 Toyota Corolla Levin

2008-11-27T22:33:00.003+08:00

I managed to get this pair of cars on one of my rare rounds to Puchong. Although Puchong is relatively near, I don't make a trip there as often because there is a need to pay toll everytime you go and come back to my area.

However, the one time I decided to make a trip there I was not disappointed. I got two pieces of Tomica Limiteds that I did not have to add to my collection, and they were not found near my area.

The Honda City Turbo II is not like the one you see on the roads today. It was nicknamed "The Bulldog" and its not hard to see where it came from. According to wiki, this car is produced from 1983 till its retirement in 1987. This casting my Tomica includes a little motorbike (which I mistaken for a radio at first) at the back when you open the back door, which is not detachable from the car though. :-P

The Toyota Corolla Levin is the brother to the more famous Toyota Corolla Sprinter, both of which are called the AE86. They are differentiated by their headlamps: the Levin with the fixed rectangular and the Sprinter with the pop-up. The AE86 was a choice model for both rallying and circuit races when it was in production, which kind of shows that it somewhat has a racing pedigree. Today, the AE86 can be found on drift circuits due to its FR configuration.

Collection: Tomica Limited 0059 & 0060 JGTC Supras

2008-11-26T13:00:00.000+08:00

I managed to purchase these exquisite pieces of Tomica Limited Japan Super GT Series from Mr. Jonathan, a collector that I have mentioned many times on my blog I believe. So much so that I can say that a portion of my collection comes from him.

Since a few months ago, I have switched my collection focus to Tomica Limiteds. True, I have been featuring Hot Wheels collection sets, but they lost their appeal due to lack of detailing. Plus I have managed to complete the models I am looking for, so I would leave the Hot Wheels to be used for customizations as they are cheaper. :-)

So then, these are my first two JGTC Tomica Limiteds. The TL0059 and TL0060, Esso Ultraflo Supra and the Yellow Hat YMS Supra. The JGTC cars are special compared to other Tomica Limiteds in the sense that even though they follow the running production numbers of other Tomica Limiteds, they have a slightly longer box, better design and drivers pictures on it. And of course, the cars are all better detailed as you will see from the photos below.

There are 105 Tomica Limiteds produced up until now, and I have 9. Looks like another 96 to go! :-P

Spotted: Hot Wheels Hot Bird Wave

2008-11-23T22:33:00.002+08:00

The Hot Bird wave has finally arrived. Managed to grab this from a local TRU and a similiar wave was spotted at another TRU. Others have spotted them in Giant outlets too.

However, the cars in this wave that is new is only the Hot Bird T-Hunt. Other cars included in this wave are those we have seen before: Tooned Enzo (Black), Lotus Esprit, Nissan Skyline (Gold), Nissan Z (Silver), etc.

So for the 2008 line up, Malaysia still has Rockster, 16 Angels, Qombee, Camaro, and Drift King waves to go. There are 12 T-Hunts in a year, supposedly one wave and T-Hunt for each month. We have one month to go and 5 more waves left to collect.

Well done, Mattel. Well done.

Kustom RideZ: Hiway Hauler

2008-11-21T18:00:00.001+08:00

The hauler is done! It is owned by Mutt, whom I previously mentioned was a forumer and friend from LYN. According to the base chassis on this truck, it is first casted in 1992. Since its first appearance in the basic cars line up in 1992, then in 1994 and subsequently in 2002, it has never made it back to the basic cars line up. However, it has been produced under other series, such as last year's Holiday Rods and various 5-Packs.

When Mutt handed me this truck to be customized, I was quite lost as to how to go about customizing it. He didn't give any specific instructions as to how he would like it to be customized, he just simply told me to use my creativity.

Mind you, this was my first time customizing a truck. So I decided to play it a bit on the safe side.

First off, the usual process of drilling off the rivets and paint stripping for the hauler cab. Then the hauler cab is sprayed on a coat of primer. While the paint stripper is used for removing paint, thinner can be used to remove tempo. Just a splash of thinner and a bit of elbow grease helped me remove the tempo on the container. However, try not to scrub too hard or too long, because if you are not careful the plastic will be scrubbed out as well.

Next is selecting the wheels for the truck. I have requested for Mutt to source for the Custom Chevy Super T-Hunt wheels to be used for this truck. I adjusted the axles to suit the truck, and the rims and container were sprayed chrome silver.

While the chrome dried, I proceeded with parts fabrication. Using metal wires, floppy disc and ball point pen ink tubes, I made the exhaust pipes, spot lights and rear lights.

Next, painting the cab. I sprayed two coats of red (one thick and one mist), and then another coat of clear to protect the paint. After the chrome paint dried, I also produced the tempo for the container. I chose red for the cab because it goes well with the Spitfire logo, and the Spitfire logo was chosen because that is Mutt's avatar picture in LYN. :-)

The fabricated parts were painted next, and while it was drying, the chassis, wheels, body and container were glued together. The fabricated parts were glued on thereafter, along with a bit more tempo and detailing. My apologies as I do not have the production photos for these processes as it was late at night and I did not have my phone or camera nearby as I was working on it. :-|

So finally, it is done and the pictures of the final product are below! I took out the previous custom VW Golf and the restored DD to join this photoshoot. :-)

Kustom Restoration: Toyota AE86 Corolla

2008-11-20T18:35:00.003+08:00

Surprise! I know the next custom is supposed to be the hauler, but hear me out. A friend of mine, told me to help him finish up detailing his AE86 in exchange for a favour, as he helped me drilled out the rivets off the cars.

When I asked what he wanted me to do, all he said when he handed the body to me: "Tofu car."

To those Initial D fans, I guess you already know what it is. To those who don't, Initial D is an anime that revolves around the world of drifting on mountain passes in Japan. Go Google it up. :-)

So all I had to do was detail the body and add the black bits on the AE86. So I began by masking up where the white bits of the body are supposed to be.

Then black paint was sprayed on, and left to dry for a day. After that, the masks are removed.

Then details such as the rear lamps and indicators are painted on. It wasn't easy, because there are many small areas to be painted, it was a real test of patience. And then some more paint touch up is done because the masking tape that I used has produced jagged edges, which was quite annoying. >:-|

2 layers of clear coat (one thick, one mist) and a tempo addition later, its done! Ready to be shipped back to my friend for him to finish up the rest of the car. :-)

But before that, I took some photos of it along with the Tomica Limited Corolla Levin and Tomica D1 Trueno Sprinter. Enjoy the pictures, and I hope to do a full Tofu Car custom in the future.

Spotted: Hot Wheels 5-Pack

2008-11-19T23:30:00.006+08:00

Two new 5-Packs have arrived on our shores! The Top Speed GT and Customizers Corner Shop have been spotted in a number of places I went round today. That means only the Ferrari GT 5-Pack is the only one left that has not graced the racks and shelves of our stores.

The Top Speed GT 5-Pack is a racing themed pack with 4 cars and a blimp. How is it that a Blimp that has no wheels made it into the production for "Hot Wheels" still remains a mystery to me until today. The contents of the pack include:

- Mitsubishi Eclipse Concept
- HW Prototype 12
- Cadillac LMP
- Dodge Viper GTS-R
- Blimp

The Customizer's Corner Shop 5-Pack has cars' which have designs that are slightly outrageous and funky. They are made to stand out, yell in your face "I'm different, special and one of a kind!". And indeed they are different, with an elongated pickup, tricked out drift machine and a low rider. However, them being produced in mass means that they are not really one of a kind. Still, this pack will make a great addition to my garage. :-)

This pack contains:

- '32 Ford
- Blast Lane
- 24/Seven
- Customized C3500
- Steel Flame

I spotted these at my local Parkson and Toys R Us, which seem to have stocked up with these new 5-Packs. Interested? Go grab yours today. :-)

Perhaps some "Basic Wear" too along with the basic cars. ;-)

Hot Wheels Treasure Hunt / T-Hunt

2008-11-18T08:08:00.002+08:00

So, assuming you have read the previous post, you very well know what the Treasure Hunt Series is. This post will concentrate on pointing out the differences between the "Super" and "Regular" Treasure Hunts.

First, here's more historical bits on the Treasure Hunt Series. As I have previously mentioned, the initial Treasure Hunt Series was started in 1995, with 12 cars produced in limited numbers that are specially detailed, has rubber wheels and special rims.

In 2007, Mattel decided to expand this series (which in return, makes more money. Brilliant, right?). They divided it into two; the "Super" Treasure Hunts and "Regular" Treasure Hunts. Rumour has it that the production numbers for the "Supers" are significantly less than the production numbers of the previous Treasure Hunts and the production numbers for the "Regulars" are higher.

What are the differences, then between the two?

Take a look at the pictures below. Try and see for yourself the differences between the two.

Yup, the differences between the two is quite obvious isn't it? The Enzo on top is the "Super" and the Enzo below is the "Regular". Immediately, the most obvious difference will be the paint job. The "Super" has a spectraflame paint job on it, which looks richer and shiner. Its is new in this series on account that the Treasure Hunt Series previously did not have it. It also has rubber wheels (with treads) and chrome rims.

When put together with other Enzos, the "Super" clearly stands out, whereas the "Regular" blends in. So then, it can be safely concluded that the "Regular" has a normal enamel paint job and has normal plastic wheels similiar to the other Enzos from the basic car series. The only difference the "Regular" Enzo from the other Enzos is that it is produced in a more limited number, or a consolation prize since you did not find the "Super".

So, to summarize:

Treasure Hunt$ (Super) has:
- Spectraflame Paint
- Chrome Rims
- Rubber Tyres

Treasure Hunts (Regular) has:
- Enamel Paint
- Standard Rims
- Plastic Tyres

Here are other pictures for you to make comparisons.

Hot Wheels Treasure Hunt$ / T-Hunt$

2008-11-17T01:57:00.006+08:00

Whenever you walk into a toy store or toy section in a departmental store to buy Hot Wheels, there would be one colour that would make your heart beat faster, your steps quicker, your muscles tighten and maybe even sweat on your palms.

Green.

Yup, an educated Hot Wheels collector will always jump whenever spotting a card with a green strip on the side, representing the Treasure Hunt series. Sometimes, on an even rarer occasion, the green card has a '$' symbol on it, making the person jump even higher.

Here comes the bit of history. The Treasure Hunt series was first produced in 1995 with 12 cars that are produced with specially detailed paint job and rubber wheels on a limited run. These cars were sold at retail on stores, but generally have a high resale value due to the limited numbers it was produced. In 2007, this series was split into two, the "Regular" and the "Super" Treasure Hunt series, the latter being identified with an extra '$' symbol printed on the card.

The "Super" Treasure Hunt series, was in some ways similar to the initial Treasure Hunt series. It sports rubber wheels, special rims, and a spectraflame paint job. The pictures in this post below are to depict the quality of the "Super" Treasure Hunt series cars. Look at these pictures, then take out a regular Hot Wheels car you own and compare the two. See the differences? The Treasure Hunt$ in this post are the Enzo and C6R of 2007, both of which I have recently acquired (and subsequently sold).

This series is rumoured to be produced in a more limited number than the initial Treasure Hunt Series. Thus, the resale value for this is much higher than the initial Treasure Hunt series. On eBay, a Super will typically cost you anywhere from US$15 up to US$55 for some rare models.

The resale value varies between countries. For example, here in Malaysia a Drag Bus is generally valued higher than a "Super" Treasure Hunt. In the US, the two are considered to be of similiar value.

The next post will cover the differences of the "Super" and the "Regular" Treasure Hunt. Until then, enjoy these photos. :-)

So, the next time you see a green card with a '$' logo, you know what to do. Take it off the rack/shelf, walk casually to the counter, pay the retail price and smile, because you have just bought yourself a car that is rare and may fetch 10 to 20 times the price you just paid for.

Collection: Ferrari GTO

2008-11-14T21:35:00.002+08:00

The Ferrari 288 GTO (or simply known as Ferrari GTO), was built to compete in a Group B race series against the Porsche 959 (or known as the Porsche 961). However, the lack of other competitors means that the Group B race series was scrapped, and the Ferrari GTO never raced.

Still, this car was designed to race. It has racing DNA all over it, having a mid-engined 2.8 litre V8, twin turbocharger, intercoolers, and all the racing bits. It does 0-60mph in under 5 seconds. Pretty quick, considering the fact that since this car was produced in 1984.

Hot Wheels were a bit slower than Ferrari thought, with their version of the Ferrari GTO making it into their 1:64 line-up this year (24 years later, if you're interested in the math). Produced in only two variants, it sports a 40th anniversary logo on the card, which supposedly means the cars have a slightly better paint job than the average cars. I would agree to this, as there are a bit more detailing on the car, also Ferrari logos and embelms littered across the car; on the engine cover, sides and hood, just like the real thing.

The red variant just arrived in Malaysia not so long ago (as I posted in the "Spotted" column), and if you're lucky enough you can see them on the racks. As for the yellow, I owe it much to Mr. Jonathan again. Two more pics below!

Kustom Restoration: Dairy Delivery

2008-11-12T19:15:00.006+08:00

This Dairy Delivery casting belongs to Mutt, and he has requested for me to restore it. Looks like there is no problems with it, right? Well on the surface the body is still in quite good condition. Only when you look under the body you can see what needs restoration.

Eww. What happened here? Looks like the DD has been rescued from a BBQ session, or picked up from a pot of hot water.

Damage assessment: The chassis looks twisted and distorted by the heat, and the tyres are also out of shape. The windows too, looks like it has been exposed to too much heat and have been distorted into a shape beyond use.

What can be used: Chassis (barely).
What goes to the trash: Wheels, Plastic Windows.

The interior looks alright, thankfully there was not much damage or deformation. Its just dirty, so that can be cleaned up. If it was deformed then the work for it would be a lot more complicated.

So to work then! First of all lets take care of the exterior, I wiped the exterior clean of any dirt and grime with water. Then I waxed the body to bring out the shine. Can you see how shiny it is now? I think I can see myself in there! :-)

The chassis work involves some bending with brute force and some putty work to patch up and smoothen out the edges and bumps.

Next was looking for suitable wheels. I got these wheels off a Jada die cast. Since the axles were too thick and long, so I used another Hot Wheels axle and cut it to an appropriate length. Then the rims were glued onto the axle.

After the putty dried, I sanded out the excess areas, and at the same time smoothen the surface. Then I sprayed flat black onto the chassis and detailed it with chrome silver paint.

As for the interior, after some cleaning I detailed it with shades of red, black and chrome silver. And then I fitted a new steering wheel, which is also sourced from a Jada. For a finishing touch, I used clear plastics to fit as new window panels for the front windscreen and rear door windows.

Put the DD back together and then its done! All the completed pictures are below. :-)

Collection: Porsche Carrera GT, '07 Shelby GT-500 & 2008 Lancer Evolution

2008-11-10T21:22:00.005+08:00

I managed to acquire the final pieces needed to complete the sets for three cars in the space of four days. Three days ago, a package came in from Penang which contained a silver Porsche Carrera GT, traded with a collector from Penang, Cheong Wai. I have purchased an item from him on eBay previously before I joined the forum, but I don't think he remembers, hee. Mr. Cheong Wai, if you're reading this thanks for helping me complete my set! :-)

Both the Shelby GT-500 and Lancer Evo sets were completed after obtaining the final pieces, both of which were the blue variants from a local collector living near me. However, these pieces were not purchased nearby or anywhere near Malaysia, as Mr. Jonathan went over the seas to a mysterious "lubang" which mesmerized him so much that even as we met, he was still dreaming of his wonderland. Kudos Jonathan, you certainly made my day yesterday. :-)

The grey Lancer Evo is also not local, as it was part of a trade with Tom, a Vietnamese collector. It still has the price tag from a store in Vietnam and everything, haha. The red Shelby was purchased from a LYN forumer, and the rest were purchased by myself during my rounds in stores.

That's all I have to say, the usual pictures follow.

Alrighty then, back to the workshop to tend to my custom projects. Ta! :-)

Work In Progress: Custom Skyline, Custom Truck & DD Restoration

2008-11-08T13:09:00.002+08:00

The Kustom Garage is back! This week (or two), I will be working on three projects simultaneously. First, it is a custom Nissan Skyline by Hot Wheels. Yes, yes, it is another JDM car but hey! If you're bored look what else I'm doing..

The second work in progress is a Hot Wheels truck. This is a request from Mutt, and it is my first time customizing a truck, so it presents a different set of challenges altogether. However, there are many possibilities when we were brainstorming how customize this truck, so lets see how well it turns out in the end.

Lastly, it is a restoration project on a Hot Wheels Dairy Delivery, also a request from Mutt. There wont be any radical mod jobs on this DD, just some touch up and restoration works. :-)

Here's to hoping that all will turn out well, till the next post! :-D

Collection: Ferrari FXX & Acura NSX

2008-11-07T11:26:00.002+08:00

With the recent wave, I managed to complete my 2008 FE FXX and NSX sets. Yellow variants of both models came in with this wave and I'm glad it did, so that I don't have to look overseas to get it.

The rest of the FXX and NSX variants were products of my own hunts, with the exception of the white NSX which was purchased off a LYN forumer when I just started collecting back in July. With the year end reaching, I should also be completing my 2008 sets. However, due to the slow wave that we normally get here, it will mean that some sets will be incomplete or that I will have to source it out overseas.

Meanwhile, do enjoy these pictures!

Hot Wheels like releasing their colour variants in sets of 3, don't they? So I collected my FXX variants in sets of 3 too, hee! Well, I'm keeping them and using it as trade items in the future. Or maybe I'll just give it to a friend, who knows? :-P

FXX anyone?

Spotted: New Hot Wheels & MatchBox Wave

2008-11-06T00:04:00.002+08:00

Over the weekend, there was been new waves of Hot Wheels and MatchBox sighted!

Excited?

You'd better be because we have been starved of new waves for two months, the last waves of Hot Wheels that came in was the wave with Plymouth Road Runner T-Hunt in promo packs and Mustang GT T-Hunt.

The new wave of Hot Wheels sighted is the Dodge Challenger Funny Car T-Hunt wave. Where to find it? Go hit your local Giant and see if they brought it in. Word has it that some Giant outlets have brought it in and some haven't. The Giant outlet near my area has, but everything has been wiped out now. No surprises since other than the T-Hunt, this wave contains: Grey Evo X, Yellow FXX, Red GTO, Red Tooned Enzo, White Mustang Fastback, White Aston Martin, Yellow Acura NSX, Carbonator. That's a whole lotta goodies!

What? So no more chances to get these? Don't sweat just yet, have you noticed that Parkson is having their annual Grand Sale? They have too, brought in some of the Funny Car wave. Again, it is only selected outlets and not all of them have. To my surprise, I found some new MatchBox waves too.

Pictures (credited to respective owners) below show the hauls from the new wave of HotWheels and MatchBox by various collectors and I.

(Picture courtesy of demonicle, LYN)

(Picture courtesy of sinclairZX81, LYN)

(Picture courtesy of sinclairZX81, LYN)

(Picture courtesy of mutt, LYN)

(Picture courtesy of mutt, LYN)

(Picture courtesy of mutt, LYN)

(Picture courtesy of deblyrie, LYN)

(Picture courtesy of deblyrie, LYN)

(Picture courtesy of deblyrie, LYN)

(Picture courtesy of deblyrie, LYN)

(Picture courtesy of deblyrie, LYN)

So what are you waiting for? If you haven't already, go raid your nearest Parkson or Giant today. Happy hunting! :-)

Guest Customizer: Prisz

2008-11-03T23:09:00.005+08:00

Prisz is a Hot Wheels collector and customizer that hails from Indonesia. I found him while surfing at indodiecast.com, a die cast community for Indonesia. His customizations are undoubtedly very original and nothing short interesting. He does not only add details and parts to a vehicle in his custom job, he sometimes takes a few moulds and make a totally new model out of it!

In my opinion, Prisz is skillful and because of that he is well respected within the indodiecast community. He has graciously allowed me to use his pictures to be posted here, thanks! :-) When I communicated with him he is very friendly throughout, and was very eager to help. I find his works a joy to see, and I would like to share with you a custom job he did way back in 2007 using three die cast moulds, a masterpiece he calls The Qombee Transporter.

I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking. Enjoy. :-)

Kustom RideZ: What happened?

2008-10-27T23:12:00.003+08:00

Wonder why there have been no customs of late? Well, that is because this blog's author has exams!

When Kustom RideZ segment returns, it will be back with a minor makeover in terms of logo, as shown below. Look out for more car customizations in about two to three weeks time, till then hope you have been enjoying the posts! :-)

Collection: Volkswagen Golf GTI & Datsun 240Z

2008-10-26T00:00:00.000+08:00

Recently completed my set of Hot Wheels First Edition 2007, after a direct swap of Hot Wheels with a forumer in LYN, Guyy. I swapped a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup for the blue Golf GTI, which to my dismay, Guyy reported that the A-Pillar on the 911 GT3 was broken. He was kind in the sense that he didn't ask for a refund or return. Such a nice guy, and I'm glad too because in this die-cast community, I have been fortunate to meet a lot of generous people. Thanks Guyy!

The white variation was one of my first purchases when I started collecting back in July. Was absolutely thrilled to have found a Golf GTI on the racks, and never looked back since. Now this set has only two colour variations and its not so hard to complete yet. But better complete it before its hard to find. :-) I have also customized one of this model, as shown on the banner. Check it out if you haven't already!

The second completed set featured here is the Datsun 240Z. This set is 2006 First Editions, and as you can see the two colour variations was produced in the middle of a blister card design change. The white variation was one of the last batches to carry that old card format and the yellow variation was one of the first batches to sport the new card format. There will be another overhaul in card design in the coming 2009 cars, look out for them. It looks pretty interesting. :-)

I obtained the white variation via trading with another LYN forumer, and since we have sale threads and gatherings, it makes it easier for us to trade or buy/sell each other stuff. The yellow variation came together with the purchase of a HotBox. :-) There is a KMart grey, but again its almost impossible to obtain here unless via eBay.

Spotted: Hot Wheels Desert Race 1000 5-Pack

2008-10-25T00:10:00.001+08:00

Looks like our local Jaya Jusco have started bringing in more 2008 5-packs. Previously, we were still lacking three 5-packs from the 2008 line-up: Desert Race 1000, Top Speed GT and Ferrari GT.

This Desert Race 1000 pack was spotted in the Sunway Pyramid Jaya Jusco, there was only one on the racks. I didn't see any of the other 2 mentioned above. The cars in this pack are: Propper Chopper, ATV, Off Track, Da' Kar, and Power Panel.

Hopefully this will mean that we will be seeing more 5-packs in the near future, especially the highly anticipated Ferrari GT 5-pack. Although having said that, this was the scene for 5-packs at another local Jusco.

Yeap, this outlet is still flooded with the current range of 5-packs. If they are not moving, then I don't think we will see new ones. :-|

On another note, it seems that Jusco and Parkson are also restocking their MatchBox on the shelves...with the same batch of stocks. I found two VW Bus T2 on the racks, and some other nice stuff from that wave: Audi R8, Porsche 911 GT3, Baja Bandit, Bentley Continental GT, etc. Of course, the models that are harder to find like Volkswagen 4x4 and the London Routemaster Bus were nowhere to be seen when I was there.

Still, don't give up just yet. Go visit your nearest Jusco or Parkson and see what they have to offer on the racks! :-)

A package arrives.... (a post to Tom)

2008-10-24T00:20:00.002+08:00

...from Vietnam! :-D

About two weeks back, I made a swap of die cast cars with Tom, a fellow die cast collector from Vietnam. We sent pictures of our die cast hunts back and forth, and then agreed upon a swap. I was very happy to see this package arrive! Since it was a deal with another collector, I made a new friend and got to know Tom better.

Unlike most of us who are mostly into supercars/sports cars; Tom is a unique collector, he concentrates on mainly the Jada ForSale Series and VW Bugs. I knew of him from another collector's blog, Yeo. Their respective blog links can be found at the end of this post and in the links menu on the right.

Tom is a collector at heart, throughout our dealing discussions he never compared prices too much between one item to another. We posted on the same day, I'm glad he received the items one day before I did. Oh, and after he received my package, he was worried until I received his package. Thanks for everything Tom, I appreciate it. I hope you are happy with your items sent to you! :-) Also, sorry for misspelling your name on the package and making you search in the post office for an hour. Felt so bad, sorry Tom. :-(

The contents of the package will be covered in a future post, till then! :-)

Tom's diecast blog: A Saigonese Toy Cars Collection
Yeo's diecast blog: Toy Cars Collector Malaysia

Collection: Tomica Limited Evo X, Civic Type R, GT-R

2008-10-22T10:40:00.004+08:00

The Tomica Limited (TL) set of cars are produced by Takara Tomy, designed and aimed for Tomica collectors. The scale of the cars are around 1/64, and the features of the cars are the high detail, rubber wheels and plastic rims. Most TL models are a detailed version of the regular box, whilst there are others which are produced exclusively for the TL line-up alone, such as the Toyota AA and New Mini Cooper. However, in the case of the New Mini Cooper, it was later produced in the regular box line two years later.

Each model in the series have a series number, starting with 0001. Each model is produced for a certain period of time, and once another model is produced, the production for the previous model is ceased. Every model produced will increase in value over time due to the limited production, and thus given the name, Tomica Limited.

I fell in love with the Tomica Limited series since they produced the TL0097, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X. When compared to that of the regular box and Hot Wheels, the amount of detail is awesome. So it was from then on I decided to start collecting the Tomica Limited set. I fell in love with the attention to details and how realistic the models look. And also, being a supercar/sports car enthusiast, the subsequent TL models after the Evo X were the Civic Type R and GT-R.

And so, predictably, here are my first three Tomica Limited purchases:

TL0097 - Mitsubishi Evolution Lancer X

TL0098 - Honda Civic Type R

TL0099 - Nissan GT-R

The Tomica Limited line as mentioned above, pays attention to detail and high quality finish. That said, the recent TL models have been subject of criticism. The Evo has wheels that are slightly too small, the Civic Type R and Nissan GT-R's quality control have been quite appalling. The Civic Type R unit that I purchased has a missing spot on the front Honda badge, and etches on my Nissan GT-R hood and boot.

That said though, they are still great models to own. Even with the slight defects, I didn't regret getting them. :-) Currently, my TL collection is 3/99. Another 96 to go! :-P

Oh yes, haven't got your Nissan GT-R yet? Do not fret, because the word out is that stocks for the GT-R has arrived on our shores into our local distributor, Litt Takk. It will be available for sale this Friday in their shop in Sungai Wang. There are only limited number of units available, so be quick and get it before it runs out, as previous experience with the Civic Type R tells me.

Happy hunting!

Collection: Ferrari 599 GTB

2008-10-21T00:27:00.003+08:00

I got a pleasant surprise last Thursday, when this arrived in my mailbox.

It was sent by Percivale (aka Starscream). Thanks bro, I owe you one. The card got slightly creased, and the blister slightly dented in the mail, but its all good. This particular FE model of the 599 GTB is surprisingly rare in the Malaysian market, compared to the black and yellow variants. With this acquisition, I have completed the FE Ferrari 599 GTB set!

That's another set up for display, hee! When I first started collecting Hot Wheels back in July, I stumbled upon four of those yellow 599 GTBs. Not long after, I sold off the extra 3 as the demand for them are quite high, which is quite normal for most Ferrari models. I then managed to negotitate a trade deal with a Penangite, for the black 599 GTB. And now, the red one has arrived.

Have you got your set of Ferrari 599 GTB yet? It is a 2007 First Edition, and its almost the end of 2008. ;-)

Cheers!

Kustom RideZ: 2008 Lancer Evolution

2008-10-16T23:52:00.005+08:00

The Evolution X. No need for any introductions when you hear this name. Apparently, this is a hot favourite amongst you guys too, since this car has won more than 50% of the votes in the choice of the car to customize.

So when we last seen the Evo, it was whisked off to the custom shop to be stripped down and customized. If you have already forgotten what the Hot Wheels Evo X looks like, here're pictures to remind you how the car most of you voted looks like. ;-)

Although this car's best colour is the stock red painted, I wanted to do a colour that has has not been produced by any toy car makers before. So first thing's first, paint stripping! A note about this car's paint: Hot Wheels has used a high quality paint and finish for this car, evidenced by the metallic shine of the dark red. Among all the cars I have paint stripped, this Evo's paint has so far been the hardest to strip.

Then I proceeded to cut the rear wing using a jeweler's saw, as I wanted a very aggressive tuner Evo look, which was suggested by my friend Cham whom I talked to quite elaborately about ideas for this Evo mod. Throughout the process of this customization, I checked out JDMike's Evo customizations from his blog. They are a great source of reference, and I learnt a lot from them. A word of thanks to the both of them, thanks guys! :-)

After removing the wing, it was fabrication, fabrication and more fabrication. As mentioned before, I wanted a very aggresive tuner look for the Evo, so I had to fabricate various additional parts, most of which involves additional body kits around the car.

For the front diffuser, side spoilers, hood and grille mods, I fabricated them by cutting out the shapes I wanted from an old floppy disc. JDMike has mentioned you can fabricate loads of stuff using the floppy disc, and he was right. :-) As for the exhaust pipe, I cut out the small cylinders off an ink tube of a ball point pen. Also, after cutting the rear wing, the boot area was uneven so I smoothened it out using putty, sandpapering it and then made grooves for the boot lid.

I managed to obtain a donor rear wing off another Hot Wheels casting, but I found the stand to be too short. So I cut off the stands, and fabricated new ones myself using, surprise surprise, floppy disc. :-P I noticed there was an part inside of the floppy disc that has grooves. So I cut it out and used it as a intercooler to be placed in front of the grille.

After those were done, the body was sprayed a coat of primer and left to dry for one full day. While the primer was drying, I continued to work on the chassis. I got donor wheels from a Jada, and the axle was substantially bigger than Hot Wheels' axles, so I used the jeweler's saw and sand paper to widen the axle area for the new axles to fit. :)

As most of the fabrications were done, the most time consuming part is next: painting. For my colour choice, I selected white. This is because I noticed most tuner Evo X are in three colours: black, white or the standard red. I went with white because grey has already been casted by Hot Wheel and was close to black. I mentioned previously that I wanted it to be a colour no toy car maker has produced, so white it is. I thought it white was never produced, until recently JDMike's post showed a white Evo X by Kyosho.

Darn it.

Ah well, back to the customization process. The white body kits and grille are sprayed white, along with the body. And then everything is left to dry for another day.

As these parts dried, I also fabricated the flaps the the rear diffusers using the good old floppy disc. But since there are flaps and exhaust on the chassis already, I used sandpaper to sand it down flat before sticking the new longer flaps on. I proceeded to spray the chassis and rear wing flat black, and gold for the new rims.

After the white has dried, I glued on the hood's mod pieces on. The whole body is then clear coated and lefto to dry for another day. The exterior body and interior was detailed, and the grille too. I kept the grey in the interior because I felt it suited the colour scheme and just detailed the interior black, and painted the racing seats in a black/grey colour scheme. The back portion of the windows was tinted black and the chassis was detailed too.

The last part of this customization would be gluing the whole car together. Started with the chassis, interior, body and wheels first. Then the new body kits and finally the rear wing. Add some decals, then two plate numbers and the car is finally done!

So, my long winded story about the customization of this Evo comes to an end. I'm sorry if you have already fell asleep reading, but if you made it all the way here congrats! If you scrolled all the way down here for the final product photos, here they are... together with group photos with the Hot Wheels and Tomica Limited castings.

Enjoyed this post? I did! :-)

Project started: 9th October 2008
Project completed: 16th October 2008

Spotted: Hot Wheel Ferrari Racers & Hot Wheels 3-Packs

2008-10-14T21:27:00.006+08:00

A new wave of Ferrari Racers featuring the #24 Ferrari 575 GTC (Grey with Spider Web tempo) has hit the Malaysian market. There were fears that this year's Ferrari Racers will be similiar to last year's Ferrari 60th Anniversary Racers where one wave did not make it into the local market. But collectors can rest easy now that this recent wave will mean that all of 2008 Ferrari Racers can be bought locally.

The outlet responsible for bringing in this wave is Cold Storage. That's right, so if you are a Ferrari Racers collector, quickly head on down to your nearest Cold Storage outlet to grab your Ferrari Racers!

Ferrari Racers in this wave:
F430 (White)
F512M (Purple)
F50 (Red)
330 P4 (Red)
Dino 248 GT (Red)
575 GTC (Grey)
599 GTB Fiorano (Yellow)

pic provided by Guyy

Also, if that is not enough to dry up your wallet, another interesting Hot Wheels wave spotted are Hot Wheels 3-Packs. The most sought after combination in this 3-pack wave is the Red 'Tooned Enzo Grey 2008 Lancer Evolution, and one unknown car.

Carrefour have just started displaying them on the racks and they can be picked up for RM24.90 per pack. If you think that it is not worth paying so much then wait till Friday. The promotion for these 3-Packs start and you can get them at RM12.90 per pack, a massive 50% discount!

Again, these packs are already up on the racks. So, if you wait till Friday, the good ones may already be gone. Decisions, decisions... ;-)

Below are other combinations you can find in this 3-Pack wave:

As you can see, those cars that are not available here (Black Civic Si, Red Camaro Concept, Grey Cadillac Escallade) are available in the packs. And if you have missed out on the Metallic Blue Cadillac Sixteen, here's another opportunity to get it.

As always, happy hunting! :-)

Kustom Restoration: Volkswagen Golf GTI

2008-10-12T22:35:00.003+08:00

After receiving some feedback for my last custom, quite a few have commented on the decal of the VW Golf. Words on a black box, they don't work. So I set about redoing the decal for the VW Golf, which did not take long but it looks much better now.

Some pictures below, thank you for the feedback on my customs guys. Keep them coming! :-)

Waaaait! What happened to the Evo X that you guys voted to be customized? Don't worry, its still in the works. Here's a preview to my progress thus far..

Do check back soon to see if its done! :-)

Work In Progress: Evo X (Kustom Candidate #1 Winner)

2008-10-09T00:00:00.000+08:00

The winner for this round of Kustom Candidate is the 2008 Lancer Evolution! Thanks for all your support, and the Evo X has obliterated its competition by winning margin of 35%! Therefore this car has been uncarded and sent to the custom chop shop. :-D

Results of Kustom Candidate #1:

2008 Lancer Evolution: 59%

Porsche Carrera GT: 26%

Dodge Viper: 15%

Total votes: 27

On another note, since I cannot build dioramas as yet, I decided to photoshop my customs into a photo instead. Enjoy this photo while waiting for the Evo X to be customized! :-)

Kustom Restoration: Audi R8

2008-10-08T02:58:00.007+08:00

I bought an Audi R8 loose from my friend Cham as he wanted to clear his loose cars. Whenever I looked at the casting of HotWheels or Matchbox, they always seem to miss out a few small details (interior, engine bay) and one big detail (side panels) for the R8.

image from www.southtexasdiecast.com
I forgot to take a photo of the car before, so this will do. Notice how the side panels behind the door are left black?

When I received this Audi R8, it was worn but no dents. So while I was waiting for the poll to end, I decided I will restore this R8 and touch up a few minor details that it is lacking. The Audi R8 is quite a strange casting because it has a plastic body but a metal base. Funny, isn't it usually the other way around? :-P Maybe it is to ease the detailing which was quite well done for the front grille, Audi logo, headlamps, rear lights and plate numbers. :-)

This is the fastest custom job I have done thus far, since there was not major paint job involved. The work done on this car includes polishing the body, painting the interior & engine bay, wheel swapping, painting details on the exterior. More photos below.

As always, hope you enjoyed this post! :-)

Oh yes, also tomorrow the winner of the Kustom Candidate will be announced! Check back soon!

Kustom Candidate: Who is in the lead?

2008-10-07T00:15:00.002+08:00

Lancer 2008 Evolution: 60%

Porsche Carrera GT: 30%

Dodge Viper: 20%

As things stand currently, looks like the Evo X is the prime candidate to be customized. There is still time for it to change, have you voted yet? :-) Poll closes on Wednesday, 11:59 P.M. (+8:00 GMT)

Kustom Candidates

2008-10-02T01:00:00.002+08:00

Porsche Carrera GT

Vital Statistics:
Model: Porsche Carrera GT
Engine type: V10, 5733cc
Power: 612bhp @ 8000rpm
Torque: 435 lb ft @ 5750rpm
Transmission: Six-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Acceleration: 0 to 62mph: 3.9sec
Top speed: 205mph

Excerpts from Jeremy Clarkson's review:

"...the most refined, most planed away, most astonishing engine I have ever encountered is currently to be found sitting in the middle of Porsche’s new Carrera GT. This is 100 years of human achievement crammed into three cubic feet of titanium, magnesium, aluminium and raw, unadulterated, visceral, screaming power."

"The Porsche engineers talk about the clutch pedal as though it’s the trigger for a nuclear bomb. It may as well be."

"The result is an extraordinary lightness. The targa-style roof, for instance, lifts out in two panels, each of which is light enough to be carried away by a strong ant. The seats weigh less than a bag of sugar. This car is so light I would be loath to leave it parked in a high wind. Certainly, you’d feel guilty driving it after a big lunch."

"Now we have seen this kind of blood and guts stuff before, from Ferrari and McLaren and even some of the new boys like Pagani and Koenigsegg. But the Porsche feels different than any of them.

It feels finished. The quality of the body is as good as you’d expect from a Toyota Corolla and inside there’s exactly the right blend of luxury, style and weight saving. Ferrari just tends to nail a speedo to the dash and leave it at that. Pagani uses too much chintz. The Carrera is perfect."

"It looks like the result of a liaison between Henry Moore and Isambard Brunel. It is engineering at its artsy-fartsy best."

"And there is no doubt that from any angle it is utterly beautiful. I had a long discussion recently with a friend about the difference between art and design. And without wishing to sound like Alan Yentob, the Carrera seems to sit at a point where the two disciplines meet. "

- Vital statistics and excerpts of Jeremy Clarkson's review from timesonline.co.uk

Engineering and artistic perfection, all blended into this masterpiece called Porsche Carrera GT. HotWheels decided to cast this masterpiece in a black exterior, all-red interior and 5-spoke rims. Does it look like an engineering or artistic perfection to you? If you want to make this European supercar the next choice candidate to be customized next, cast your vote for it! Now that you know all three choices, you have time to decide before a poll is posted up tomorrow. A poll will be posted up and the car with the most votes after a week will be customized! :-)

Kustom Candidates

2008-10-02T00:45:00.005+08:00

Dodge Viper

Vital Statistics:
Model: Dodge Viper (Dodge SRT-10)
Engine type: V10, 8277cc
Power: 500bhp @ 5600rpm
Torque: 525 lb ft @ 4200rpm
Transmission: Six-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Acceleration: 0-60mph: 3.9sec
Top speed: 190mph

Excerpts from Jeremy Clarkson's review:

"...it’s the new Dodge Viper; one of the worst cars I’ve ever had the misfortune to drive. And one of the best."

"What was it like to drive? Well, if you’ve ever tried one on your Gran Turismo game, you’ll know. It’s like trying to wrestle with a tiger in an out-of-control nuclear power station."

"It is an idiotic engine that uses fuel like it’s coming from a fire hydrant, but the torque is sensational, and the noise coming out of the side exhausts sounds like Beelzebub barking."

"You could compare the new Viper with any Porsche, Ferrari, BMW or Mercedes. You could even compare it with the new Corvette, and it would lose badly. As a driving tool it is just as wayward and just as hopeless as its predecessor.

You know what, though? I don’t care. It’s as fabulous as an epic piece of weather — a huge thunderstorm or a hurricane perhaps. If I may liken the Euro cars to Dire Straits and Phil Collins — technically perfect and beautifully produced — the Viper is like George Thorogood and the Destroyers — loud, proud and bad to the bone. "

- Vital statistics and excerpts of Jeremy Clarkson's review from timesonline.co.uk

So, the Dodge Viper. It is not the best car in the world in terms of most things, but it does have a soul; albeit a fabulously bad one. But does this HotWheels version of the Viper live up to that reputation? If this American bad boy is your choice to be customized next, you know what to do, vote for it! Be patient though, there is another candidate yet to be introduced before the poll is put up. Think carefully which car deserves to be uncarded and customized! :-)

Kustom Candidates

2008-10-02T00:30:00.003+08:00

2008 Lancer Evolution

Vital Statistics:
Model: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X FQ-360 GSR
Engine: 998cc turbo, four cylinders
Power: 1 354bhp @ 6500rpm
Torque: 363 lb ft @ 3200rpm
Transmission: Five-speed manual
Fuel: 19.9mpg (combined)
CO2: 328g/km
Performance: 0-62mph: 4.1sec
Top speed:155mph

Excerpts from Jeremy Clarkson's review:

"...you couldn’t get more attention even if you were Jade Goody and you stood on a bridge over the M1 motorway and had full sex with a cow."

"The previous nine Evos were always exquisite to drive, nicer even than their great rivals from Subaru. But they were also woefully flimsy, stylistically challenged and hard to the point of hopelessness. For one lap of the Nürburgring, you’d use an Evo every time."

"The Evo X, on the other hand, looks fab. Peel away the bulges and all that carbon fibre flotsam and jetsam – all of which gives other road users an impression that for you driving may be a hobby, like trainspotting – and the basic shape is very good. And then . . . Oh. My. God. There’s the way it drives."

"The heart and soul in question was its ability to remain composed and absolutely controllable in a lairy, tyre-smoking four-wheel drift. No other car I’d driven was able to do this, even slightly. It was exquisite."

"The new car is even better because when you turn into a corner it’s the back that steps out of line. This means that even the portal through which you must pass to get at the meat and veg is full of hair-tingling joy."

"Then there’s the speed. Yes, a Ferrari 430 is full of brio and passion but get an Evo X on your tail and I guarantee that, unless it’s being driven by a complete spanner, you will not be able to shake it off."

- Vital statistics and excerpts of Jeremy Clarkson's review from timesonline.co.uk

This is the Evolution X. Arguably one of the best incarnations of the Evolution ever. However, does HotWheels do the Evo X's real life counterpart any justice with this casting? If you want this exquisite Japanese tuner machine to be the next up to be customized, vote for it! How to vote? A poll will be posted up after all three candidates are revealed, look out for it! :-)

Spotted: Subaru Impreza WRX STI, Nissan GT-R Racing Car & Mazda RX-8 Patrol Car

2008-09-30T23:11:00.004+08:00

Jusco and Toys R Us have received new shipments of Tomicas for Raya. Amongst the interesting models spotted in Jaya Jusco Sunway Pyramid is the #11 Subaru Impreza WRX STI, a new adventurous hatchback which has surprised many Impreza purists. An even more interesting model is the #50 Nissan GT-R Racing Car, which is the Yellow Hat sponsored Japan GT contender, which recently competed in the Sepang leg of the Japan GT Championship.

Also spotted is the #44 Mazda RX-8 Patrol Car for you police car collectors out there. If you already have the RX-7, then the RX-8 is a must have. Its pretty nifty looking in the police livery and definitely more worth your money than the regular red RX-8. This Tomica Regular #44 was spotted in Toys R Us Subang Parade.

Happy hunting! :-)

Collection: Matchbox Car Carrier

2008-09-29T23:00:00.004+08:00

Finally, I managed to acquire my first car carrier! :-) This one is a Matchbox Car Carrier, traded with deblyrie on the local LYN forums. A very nice fella, who was very generous in helping me haul some Tomicas recently.

The Car Carrier is built to, as its name implies: to carry cars. It has a ramp that is extendable and also able to tilt downwards in an angle to allow the car to drive up. A nifty little piece of die cast, this. :-D

I wanted this car carrier because it will give me something to throw in when taking photos of my collections or custom cars. :-D The Car Carrier knew this, and it couldn't wait to get out of its card! So it just busted out on its own! :-P More photos of the Car Carrier breaking out of its card, and carrying the customs are below.

Oh yes, which of the customs did you like best so far? Or do you hate them all? If you liked a particular one, what made you like it best? Is it because of the country the car is manufactured? Is it because of the colour? Or do you have another reason?

Why am I asking so many questions? Because I want you, yes you, to decide for me which cars to custom next! :-) How is it done? So far I have 3 cars in mind, one Japanese tuner, one American muscle and another European supercar. I will create a poll and you will vote for which car to custom, and the car with the most votes will be customized! Look out for more details in the coming post. :-)

What will be the next car custom? You will decide. :-)

Kustom RideZ: Volkswagen Golf GTI

2008-09-26T01:50:00.006+08:00

The VW Golf GTI falls under the hot hatch category and is a direct rival to Honda's Civic Type R, Renault's Megane R26 and Ford's Focus ST. A very capable car in real life then. Appropriate for my custom project too, since the previous car modded was an American Muscle Car and the one before that was a Japanese Tuner. It only seems logical that I add a European Hot Hatch to my list of customs. :-)

The car chosen this time is the Hot Wheels casting of the Volkswagen Golf GTI. I find that Hot Wheels took it a bit too far and overdid the Golf, with the somewhat disgusting wide body kit and holes in the hood. So I decided to mellow down the Golf GTI slightly to make it less aggresive but yet keep the edgy, tuner look.

Routine processes first: drill the rivets and take the car apart. As you can see from the picture, the Golf GTI is in an ugly shade of dark electric blue and wide body kit with really squarish and sharp cornered edges.

The body's original paint job is stripped down to the bare metal. Then using a small hacksaw, or a jeweler's saw, the wide body kit is trimmed off the die cast. This is done because like I mentioned before, the edges are a bit too squarish and I would like for the Golf GTI to look more streamlined. The square-ness of the original casting made the Golf GTI look box-like.

Next, the holes in the hood were filled up as I preferred a smooth hood, once again removing sharp corners and box-like shapes from the car. Then this is followed by a coat of primer, then the base paint job. I chosen red because it looks a lot more striking than the dull electric blue. :-) I wanted the car to have a semi-black hood, not entirely black as it seems to be the trend in modding this Golf GTI in real life. I liked it, so I decided to adopt that paint scheme. The areas that aren't black are masked up and then flat black is sprayed on top.

While the exterior body's paint coats dried, I shifted work to the interior. I fabricated 3-point harness seatbelts for the driver to make it look like he has a bucket seat in the driver's seat. Then I fitted and calibrated the wheels to match the chassis, and brake discs are also measured and fitted onto the chassis. As a finishing touch I painted the interior, giving it a chrome silver dash and console.

After the paint job was completely dry, the maskings were removed and detailing work followed. The front and back VW badges and plate number areas were painted and decals were applied onto the front, side and rear. The chassis was also painted and then detailings for the headlamps, rear lights and fog lights were attached and painted before the whole car was put back together and left to dry for the last time.

Then its complete! :-) Pictures of the custom Golf GTI below and I also took out the previous two customs; Mustang GT and Civic Si for the photoshoot. Enjoy the pictures below and I hope you had a good read! :-)

Project started: 16th September 2008
Project completed: 26th September 2008

Work In Progress: VW Golf

2008-09-18T22:29:00.004+08:00

I have started on my third custom! :-) It will be slower this time around because I am nearing the end of my university semester so more time is dedicated to studying.

Anyway, back to the car. No further introductions needed for any this already a very famous car I think. It has been touted by Jeremy Clarkson as being able to fetch your kids to tuition and still have fun on the way back. 'Nuff said. I am once again trying out new techniques on this model so lets hope it turns out good. :-) Look out for it soon!

Carded or Loose?

2008-09-16T01:10:00.003+08:00

Ah, yes the never-ending debate. Some collectors, like me, like to have our cars carded and mint on card. This is so that it can easily be stored and cleaned, without having to clean out the dust inside the car that are hard to reach. The resale value for the car is better when they are carded, and plus, they wont be damaged when they are still sealed in the card.

So why will collectors choose to uncard their cars?

Some argue there is no point in leaving the cars carded. They are hard to display, you can't play with them as much and photography with the model is pretty difficult since you are restricted to one angle. If you, as a collector, are collecting the model, why would you worry about the resale value in the first place? By uncarding it, you can display it nicely on shelves, racks and also take superb pictures with it on dioramas and custom made backgrounds.

As for me personally, I have a set of carded cars and a set of uncarded, most of the uncarded which I personally hope to customize. I keep some carded because I don't play with them, or have not have a place to display or made dioramas as yet. Hopefully this will change in the near future. :-)

Most 1:64 die casts cars are valid in this arguement: Hot Wheels, most Matchboxes, Jada Toys, etc. However, there are exceptions to the norm. Tomy Tomica cars usually are packaged in a box, allowing collectors the option to take them out and still be put back into the box for storage. I think that's pretty nice, gives flexibility for both types of collectors. It is also worth noting that there are cars that are sold in acrylic cases such as Kyosho and Hot Works, which you can unscrew the car loose and then reattached back to the casing once you are done with it.

What do you think? Do you keep your die casts loose or carded/boxed? Let me know. :-)

Spotted: GT-R & Evo X

2008-09-13T14:32:00.005+08:00

Jusco has brought in Takara Choro-Q Nissan GT-R and Tomica Limited Evolution X on the shelves. These have been spotted in Jusco Sunway Pyramid. However, units are very limited so grab them quick! There were only 4 pcs of GT-R and 2 pcs of Evo X. I passed them on because I already have the Evo X and I don't collect Choro-Qs.

Hope this helps you Takara Tomy collectors, especially in the wake of the Tomica Limited Civic Type R shortage.

Happy hunting! :-)