This Fanatic Is Crafting Custom Toy Cars Hot Wheels Refuses to Produce, From Nothing

During the day, Shaffer serves as an engineer for a firm that designs playground equipment. Nevertheless, during his spare time, he is busy constructing miniature cars in large quantities—each one representing a wide array of makes and models, as evidenced on his Twitter profile. The Honda CR-X Del Sol LM Edition from the initial two Gran Turismo games. The Volkswagen Phaeton. The imitation sixth-generation Civic Si from the iconic PlayStation 2 game Midnight Club II. Even the Tom’s Angel T01, a concept almost as small as an Autozam from the mid-’90s that was designed to tease a sports car for production from the Toyota-affiliated racing team and tuning firm.

Moreover, his creations exude quality. If you were to provide me with a 3D printer and introduce me to modeling software Blender, these are the types of creations I would desire to undertake, although my attempt would likely resemble the projects I crafted out of clay in art class during sixth grade. My profession primarily involves writing, so you can imagine the outcome of those endeavors.

According to Shaffer, crafting custom Hot Wheels is actually a “relatively recent endeavor.” For nearly six years, he has been designing personalized car bodies for XMods, a discontinued brand of remote-controlled vehicles that were retailed through RadioShack in the 2000s. This eventually evolved into 1/64-scale models as well as Choro-Q-inspired duplicates, reminiscent of Tomica’s series of exaggeratedly-proportioned pullback cars.

“I typically prefer to first transform [a car] into the XMod because, as you’re aware, a Hot Wheels car doesn’t precisely adhere to a one-by-one-by-one scale ratio from all angles,” Shaffer explained. “From what I’ve observed, they’re generally wider and slightly taller than their OEM [equivalent] would be. If they were to be truly to scale and length, they would resemble boats.”

When Shaffer designs a Hot Wheels car, he starts from scratch. “In Blender, I have designed a Hot Wheels template, which includes the alignment pins and a chassis featuring axle slots, which can be adjusted for length and then printed using a rather dense material that provides sufficient weight.”

Since embarking on this journey, he has amassed a great deal of knowledge, especially in the realm of Blender. Regrettably, this newfound expertise has resulted in a gradual decline in his pace of creating cars as he dedicates more time to perfecting the minutiae. While this shift is positive, he fondly reminisces about the days when he could effortlessly craft an entire car in just 90 minutes.

During the initial stages of his creative process, Shaffer humorously downplays his Blender proficiency as he reflects on past experiences. He confesses, “I often jest that my expertise lies not in Blender, but merely in automobiles. I abstained from adding textures or refining my work—I simply fashioned the vehicle, applied ‘subdivide,’ and clicked ‘print.’ This approach, however, led to the ruin of several car models, as they became cluttered due to an excess of data. The resultant blemishes, like creases caused by data overload, illustrated my lack of knowledge on purposeful creation of sharp features.”

Among his treasured personal projects are his meticulous replicas of the Citi Turbo and Saikou XS, mirroring the distinctive designs of two cars from Midnight Club II. These creations bear striking resemblances to the Civic Si and A80 Toyota Supra adorned with an Abflug body kit, respectively. However, translating these virtual models into tangible 1/64-scale renditions demands far more complex techniques than mere extraction and importing of digital assets from game archives.

“Ordinary video game models, even those of high quality in contemporary games, typically consist of a modest 500 to 5,000 triangles,” Shaffer elucidates. “Conversely, when I export my models, they weigh in at around 20 megabytes, equivalent to approximately 200,000 triangles. Consequently, upon completion, the printed replicas exhibit a seamless finish devoid of visible triangular artifacts.”

While Shaffer has painstakingly crafted numerous vehicles for personal enjoyment, he has recently begun accepting custom orders. However, during my conversation with him in early March, he had yet to dispatch any orders—and for valid reasons.

“This delay is twofold: A) Winter conditions make painting a challenging task. B) I prefer batch painting, so while all cars are primed, the clear coating is still pending. This is due to my extensive 2K auto setup, complete with a full gun and compressor. Configuring this for a single Hot Wheels car, followed by cleanup, is impracticable. My optimal productivity typically involves painting around 16 cars simultaneously, which coincidentally aligns with my current number of commissions,” Shaffer explains.

The quality of Shaffer’s creations speaks volumes. Some of his authentic automotive replicas exhibit superior realism and intricacy compared to those produced by Mattel. Additionally, their resin composition signifies increased fragility. “Resin tends to be brittle,” Shaffer observes, underscoring the susceptibility of RC car bodies to endure wear and tear. Nevertheless, sacrificing durability for an accurate rendition of one’s favorite car display piece—a vehicular marvel that otherwise wouldn’t grace your shelf—is a trade-off worthy of consideration. As I contemplate requesting a Renault Espace F1 model while writing this piece, I envision Shaffer’s probable enthusiasm for the challenge, not solely due to its prominence in Gran Turismo 2. Ultimately, his passion lies in perpetuating his craft by fabricating more vehicles.

“My motivations for accepting commissions possess a hint of self-indulgence,” Shaffer confesses. “Suppose a customer places an order for a Honda Beat—among my initial endeavors. In that case, I fulfill the commission while simultaneously creating a duplicate for personal collection. As a result, an unpainted Honda Beat XMod body awaits painting on my desk, ensuring the client receives their Hot Wheels rendition of the Honda Beat. This arrangement satisfies all parties involved.”

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