Behind Closed Doors At Hot Wheels
Hot Wheels

I’ve been playing with Hot Wheels diecasts all my life. Ever since I can remember, I raced them around till the paint was completely chipped off.

Now as a Speedhunter, my relationship with these little toy cars has changed quite a lot

Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_02

My visit to Hot Wheels actually started a few years back when I featured a certain Datsun 260Z on Speedhunters that belonged to head Hot Wheels designer Jun Imai, AKA Kaido House.

Larry_Chen_2017_Speedhunters_Hot_Wheels_Tour_80

Since then we have kept in touch; I often see Jun at car events and meets in Southern California, and of course we are both Z bros at heart. For a long time he suggested that I come visit the Mattel Hot Wheels Design Center, and recently I took him up on that offer.

Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_03

Before you even step foot inside the former airplane hangar located just a few minutes from Los Angeles International Airport, it’s obvious that this place is special. There was a metal orange track setup right on the stairs with a bucket full of cars to play with; I knew it was going to be a good day.

Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_04

Along with Hot Wheels, this Mattel Design Center also is home to Barbie and a few other iconic toy brands, hence the sign at the front desk.

Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_07

It’s quickly evident that this place is unlike any other corporate office. In the lobby there were a few full-scale custom cars on display, some of which have been previously seen at the SEMA Show.

Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_08

What really piqued my interest however, was a massive Hot Wheels track that goes through six loops.

Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_12

If your diecast survives, there’s a chance it will make into a box at the end of the track and maybe even score a perfect 100-point run.

Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_09

Here’s Jun showing me how to play with some of his amazing creations.

Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_14

I quickly choose two cars out of the bin and made my way up the stairs to have some fun.

Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_15

I am a sucker for orange cars, and I figured the wings on both of these would help keep them planted.

Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_18

I was wrong; none of my cars made it, even with a hard push down the track. Trust me, it’s actually a lot harder than it looks.

But enough toying around, I wanted to see where the magic happens…

Design
Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_19

It was hard for me to stay focused as there were awesome things everywhere I looked, many of which I could not photograph. It’s such a simple concept, but all toys and media designed for kids are made by adults, or in Mattel’s case, big kids. It was incredible to see how passionate these people are about making a quality product.

Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_22

Before I stepped into the actual Hot Wheels design studio there was a display showing the process from concept to finished diecast.

For each and every diecast the process takes about nine to 10 months; I was amazed to see how much work goes into making a toy car that costs less than a dollar.

Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_27

Parked in the center of it all was a full-size version of the iconic 1/64 scale Hot Wheels Volkswagen Bus, Beach Bomb. This one has been modified into a gaming center.

On display nearby was a replica of the famed pink VW Beach Bomb diecast prototype from 1969, surfboards hanging out the back and all. It’s amazing to think that the real thing is worth as much as a house.

Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_29

Alongside the 1:1 scale Bus was another track setup, but there is something special about this one.

Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_32

It’s used for actual testing, specifically to see how far individual Hot Wheels diecasts will roll. This is a standardized rolling resistance setup that exists at Hot Wheels facilities all over the world.

Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_33

Just for fun, one of the engineers developed a model with ball bearing wheels, weights and an aerodynamic shape to see how long it would roll back and forth more than a few times. Talk about dedication.

Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_59

It’s interesting to think about, because up until this point I had no idea that rolling performance or Hot Wheels track performance was even a thing that needed to be measured. It’s pretty cool that it is, though.

Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_60

While many kids can’t even wait to get to the checkout before tearing a Hot Wheels package open, being an adult and a car culture enthusiast, I never do – I always leave them in their packaging. I love everything about the product, and that includes the design and graphics on the card.

Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_62

Ultimately, there is no greater value for money in the car culture world than one of these little diecast models. I can remember saving up my pennies to go to the Tokyo Auto Salon for the first time over 10 years ago, and there I bought a Nismo jacket for around $200. It was the most expensive article of clothing I owned at the time and I was even afraid to wear it.

Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_56

The fact that you can own a scale model of Sung Kang’s FuguZ for much less than a price of a regular coffee at Starbucks blows my mind.

Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_35

The car culture aspect does help in terms of Hot Wheels being the #1-selling toy in the world, but it’s only a small fraction of why it’s so popular. So much goes into every single diecast, and behind that is a very passionate team of designers.

Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_38

Remember Jun’s Datsun 510 that I have yet to feature? Well, here’s the color swatch for his inspiration. The fact that they paint all of these diecasts just to see how they look under different lighting conditions and with different body styles shows how much detail they go into.

Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_41

There is inspiration everywhere you look. Check out Mad Mike’s Mazda REPU (Rotary Pickup) and how about the awesome display for the design of the Volkswagen Kafer Racer.

Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_42

They started with cutting up other bits and pieces and bolting it onto an existing VW Bug to see how it would look, just as a real custom car shop would do to a full-size vehicle.

Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_43

3D printing has become a big part of the process for the Hot Wheels designers and they have machines running all day long making new parts and prototypes. Do you recognize the wheels on that Porsche?

Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_46

Collaborating with guys like Magnus Walker, the Hot Wheels brand gets to make authentic pieces that speak to the Speedhunter in all of us.

Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_47

Jun could not have put it in a better way, because how crazy is it that you can walk into your local Walmart or Target (for those of us in North America), and buy a very authentic bosozoku car and dekotora truck. Most people don’t even know what these are, and to the average kid they just look cool to play with, but true enthusiasts know how much went into planning these toys.

Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_50

The spare parts and little bits and pieces lying around would give any real Hot Wheels fan a heart attack.

Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_51

Unpainted and unmounted bodies were everywhere I looked.

Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_52

The contents of this box would probably look like a bunch of junk to any normal person, but just check out how many 3D-printed and weird variations of cars are inside.

Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_53

I asked if I could have some and Jun graciously gifted me this 3D-printed 993 (which later we picked out wheels for) and an unmounted 934. He also gave me a prototype, but I can’t show that one until next year.

Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_54

Almost all the Hot Wheels designers went to Art Center College of Design for automotive design. While there are many cars in the Hot Wheels diecast line-up that are scale copies of real-world vehicles, the team design just as many original cars.

Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_55

Pretty much every vehicle is created like it could actually exist in full-size form, which is why Jun has real car designers on his team.

Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_61

It also explains why all of the designers are car fanatics themselves. Quite a few of the team’s personal cars have been modeled into Hot Wheels diecasts too.

3D modeling
Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_74

The next area Jun took me to was where a lot of the magic happens. It’s also where things are 3D printed. While Hot Wheels diecasts used to be modeled with clay, the designers now use computers that mimic the original process.

Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_75

One of the designers let me try out the program, and it was amazing. With the pen, you can physically feel the texture and the shape of the model; you can punch holes through the clay and shape it how you want just like you would in real life, but with none of the mess.

Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_78

I stepped outside to check out a few more of their full-scale cars on site and came across two gull-wing machines from totally different eras.

Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_79

Pagani had actually stopped by for a visit, and one of the Hot Wheels designers who owns the DeLorean figured it would make a great photo-op. There’s never a dull moment at the Hot Wheels Design Center.

Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_81

Parked nearby was a selection of historic Hot Wheels full-scale projects.

LAR_9474

My favorites are the ones that Tanner Foust and Greg Tracy drove in the Double Dare loop, which I covered a few years back.

By the end of my tour I was left amazed by just how much Mattel invests in making authentic cars that cater to us enthusiasts. While it would be so easy to just make shark and dinosaur cars or vehicles with cartoonish features to sell to kids, it’s the effort that they put into making cars that we actually want to go hunt for that makes a fan for life, like me.

Larry Chen

Instagram: larry_chen_foto
larry@speedhunters.com

Cutting Room Floor
Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_84
Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_85
Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_86
Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_87
Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_88
Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_89
Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_90
Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_91
Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_92
Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_93
Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_63
Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_64
Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_65
Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_66
Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_67
Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_69
Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_70
Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_71
Speedhunters_Larry_Chen_hotwheels_design_tour_2017_72
ADVERTISEMENT

Comments



Comments are closed.

31 comments

by Oldest
by Best by Newest by Oldest
1

I asked for hot wheels and you deliver. Thanks man, great story.

2

Of course, you ask, I listen.

3

A small part of my "JDM" collection. Got about 100 cars in the box, saved for next generations :)

And - a very nice article, really cool to see where the dreams are made :D

decom_6dab46bff32721c1e44473a595b41e43_594ea3e3eb6a7.jpgdecom_6dab46bff32721c1e44473a595b41e43_594ea3e3eb6a7.jpg
4

Lol I think you chose the wrong pic

5

Or the right pic?

6

DECEPCIONEZ made it to Speedhunters!
Congrats love your work

7

My girl busts my balls all the time for picking up hotwheels and the Stop&Shop lol. Last time I got a Tesla S, this sweet castrol-livery BMW 3.0csl, a lambo Estoque (too cool), and this weird shakotan silhouette style streetcar. Hey, it's better than spending $2 on a lottery ticket or something. amirite?

I feel like I could fall down the rabbit hole again like I did when i was little. I had the giant carrying case and all that shit lol.

Author8

It's a little bit of joy in the form of a small piece of plastic and metal.

9

Small child.. in me :D

10

You and I both keep them in their packaging, but I have noticed with very little research that a lot of hotwheels collectors like to keep them out of the case. Very strange for a collector as far as I am concerned.

11
Justin Jadunath

I open all of mine, with certain exceptions, like the ones where I got Nakai-san to sign the cards. I have a rotating selection that I keep on the shelf above my computer, and I love to take them down and look at them, drive them on the desk, and enjoy all of the little details and graphic work that go into them. Keeping them in the package is not part of my ethos. It is for some, and that's all good, but just not for me.

Author12

Yeah, It just doesn't feel right to open them if you are planning on collecting them versus playing with them.

13

Great article! I've been collecting Hot Wheels since 2001. I always open the package if it's just a regular car that you can find everywhere. (i still keep the packages). Exclusives, hard to find ones i like to keep in the case, and supers ofc. (if i find two, one has to be opened to take photos). As a photographer and a car enthusiast i like to make miniature worlds and bring those cars to life. It's totally worth it. I don't think about the value or if i happen to sell them, which is not going to happen. No regrets, just true love.

14

Got to buy two of each..one to collect,one to race

15

Because they look better out of the package. You can take in the details and angles. The Mazda Repu for example has different livery on each side, can't see that in the packaging. But I do understand why you don't crack em open, the artwork is great nowadays. Keep up with the hot wheels posts Larry.

16

I was always sad that Jun's 510 build disappeared from Ratsun, would love to see a feature on that.

Author17

I'll work on it.

18

Awesome Article Larry! One day hope to have some originals made as well :)

19

Really great story ! I have just bought the black 180 SX this week it's funny. Like always great picture !

20

Extremely jealous! Looks like an awesome place to visit! I have the white Falken version of the Bosozoku car too :)

decom_e13c3c73d4f91dc6632e43d8175d1640_594f3a3c0f991.jpgdecom_e13c3c73d4f91dc6632e43d8175d1640_594f3a3c0f991.jpg
21

I cant wait to get Magnuses book and the other porsche, i picked up the 934 for £1! nice post!

22
Jay Soh Tsu Chung

Wow... Urban Outlaw wheels...

And is that Sung Kang's 3D printed Project Underdog I see?

23

OML I cry every time I see this new Thrust 962! I want it so badly! I ain't even sure is it available in Russia...

24

It also sad that cars here aren't cost $1, but can cost up to $5 in some places...

25

awesome post Larry! Very cool to see where all my treasures come from

26

My friends and I used to use sewing machine oil to make our Hot Wheels scream down those plastic tracks. What a great job it would be to make toys like that.

27

When it comes to looping and jumping I've learned from my son's toys thst the stadium trucks seem to perform the best

Art imitates life I guess.

28

Love it!!

I open mine but keep the cards as a backdrop for the display :)

29

I love that colour-swatch boards (Not sure what it's called tho).
And the fact that different factories (Mattel Bangkok and Mattel Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. respectively) produce different colour schemes is just mind-blowing.

decom_2792838a8372f685c920a1f84b074f0e_595453147ecd7.jpgdecom_2792838a8372f685c920a1f84b074f0e_595453147ecd7.jpg
30
decom_7076856a812776cad280ed710ae77e5c_598b51a8c8099.jpgdecom_7076856a812776cad280ed710ae77e5c_598b51a8c8099.jpg
31

I Still have my Hot Wheels from the 1960s and the carrying case. Great times.

OFFICIAL SPEEDHUNTERS SUPPLIERS