![]() ![]() Cheung gave us each a turn to poke holes in the virtual clay before sending us off to the model shop to see how the prototypes get printed. It uses a wireless "scalpel" that gives physical feedback to the artist or budding doctor. ![]() "Riley's car took me about 60 hours total, and if we need changes they are much easier to make." The program they use was originally designed for training medical students. "It used to take two to three weeks to make a wooden buck," said Cheung. "They even got the ducts in the window," he said with surprise.įrom design, we followed sculptor Manson Cheung to the 3-D modeling lab, where we saw how he was able to take a CAD model of a stock Firebird and transform it into Stair's car using a virtual modeling program that replaces the old clay and wood methods. Stair picked them up and rolled them slowly across his hand, marveling at the little header pipes and the detailed recreation of the engine bay. On top of the pages were a few 3-D-printed prototypes as well as the green test car we'd later send through the loop the loop. Vetuskey led us to a table spread with sketches and renders showing different versions of Stair's car with notes about colors and details, possible mold-making concerns and suggestions for areas that could be highlighted for better accuracy. "That's where your car will go," he told Stair, who looked startled and then stared at the glass, envisioning his Pontiac behind it. As we walked past the Legends wall, designer Brendon Vetuskey pointed out an empty cubby. Every wall has model cars on display, every desk and cubicle has something parked beside the keyboard. An orange Hot Wheels track dives from the second-story staircase. There are little cars everywhere-and big ones too. It's like Willie Wonka's chocolate factory without any German kids drowning in the candy river. Forget plastic surgery and antioxidant meal planning, if you want to feel younger, visit Mattel. To get there, we walked through the lobby of the Mattel design HQ. There are more than 2500 people working around the world in Mattel's small-car toy empire, but it all starts in the El Segundo, California, design department. They also had a much larger team to do the work. While it took Stair 18 months to build the 'Bird-and he's still making changes-the Hot Wheels team had half that time to make the scaled-down version. Check Out Rare Hot Wheels 'Pink Beach Bomb' VW Bus.Hot Wheels Is Going Electric … with a Bike.These Are the Most Valuable Hot Wheels Cars Ever."I wasn't planning on taking the hood off." "That was a friend's suggestion," Stair said. In fact, Ted Wu, Hot Wheels global head of design, pointed out that it was the sight of the engine bay, with its geometry lesson's worth of intersecting triangles and tangled curves that first made the car stand out in the judging. The Firebird is most impressive with the hood off. If you wanted to get a lower ride height, you'd have to dig a hole. Wide and low, it sat on the pavement with predatory intent. The Pontiac wasn't the only slick ride in the parking lot-it wasn't even the only sweet Pontiac-but nobody could look away from it. Our tour began outside the design center, where the Firebird took prime parking in front of a backdrop replica of a Hot Wheels backing card. Getting to see Stair's car in person was a treat made even sweeter by the promise of ending the day with a look at its Hot Wheels version-something even Stair had yet to see. (Our compatriots at Road and Track took part in that in 2020 and again this year). Stair is the third winner since the competition began and the first to have the additional challenge of winning over the judges virtually, since the 2020 tour was done via video. It's a build contest where professional and amateur fabricators from all over the world put forward their rides in hopes of having them shrunk down and sent hurtling off tabletops to the delight of small children (and no small number of adults). The Hot Wheels Legends Tour started in 2018. Stair was visiting Mattel's design center to see the unveiling of his most famous build to date- a wide-body, alcohol-burning, tube-chassis 1970 Firebird, recreated in 1:64 scale. Maybe I should take a closer look at what they did on the model." The 29-year-old Stair also designs cars, but his machines are full size and the loops they're built to take are of the road-course variety. "The real car won't even clear most driveways. "I didn't think it would, it's so low," Riley Stair said. Benedict is the design director of Hot Wheels and Matchbox die-cast at Mattel, and he had just demonstrated a very important test in any new Hot Wheel car's life: Can it clear the loop? It's just a blur of green and the hiss of tires against track. ![]() The only sound in the room is a slight whir from the launcher at the base of the ramp.īryan Benedict lines up the Pontiac Firebird, and it shoots forward, up through a loop and over.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |