Archives for February 2019

I finally finished the custom Hot Wheels VW T2 Bus. I’m not totally satisfied with the end results, but overall, it’s not that bad. This custom took a lot longer than I thought it would. I ended up restarting 3 times during the process. I just couldn’t get the look that I was going for in certain areas. I’d like to do this one again some time in the future, it’s a great casting to custom. To finish, I detailed the base/display for the bus. I used a standard 1/64 scale display case, added some joint compound for the terrain, added 2 coats of light tan and brown flat paint on top of textured tan paint, then added some foliage for detail. When you get to this point, you can be as creative as you want. Use what you have, make it look the way that you want it to. I used an old shop rag wrapped around a q-tip, then soaked in stain, for the tarp rolls, glued some crushed parsley to the bed to simulate fallen leaves, then added a last layering of details with some pastel chalks. Again, I’m only about 80% satisfied with the final product, but it was fun to make and that’s what it’s all about. This will be my last custom using rattle cans. I finally invested into a nice airbrush kit that I’ll be using from now on. I just need to practice with it and learn as I go. It’s a nice learners kit and once I get the hang of things, I’ll probably upgrade the airbrush gun to something more professional. But for now, I have a lot of learning to do and this will work fine. Enjoy the video, be sure to like and subscribe, they’ll be more customs coming your way very soon!

So, I’d say that the Custom Bus is about 95% complete now. The headlights still need some attention, I need to make a custom tarp roll, then I need to create the base (1/64 scale die cast holder) with a bit of scenery. But the bus itself is pretty much complete. This has been a very trying custom to do. I’ve changed my mind during the process 3 times and started from scratch. I just couldn’t get the look that I was going for, but in the end, I’m about 80% satisfied with it and ready to move on. It’s nice, not my best. A lot of parts were custom made, I think I went a little overboard with the rust, but for the most part, I’m happy with it. I’d like to do this one again in the future. I’ll no longer be using rattle cans for paint and primer, I have my new airbrush system set up and I hope to start practicing with it very soon. I do love the way that the wheels turned out, the pizza pan design is perfect and I’ll be using this technique again in the future. Hopefully I get the base/display built this weekend, then I’ll call this one 100% complete. I’ll release a video soon detailing the weathering and rust technique as well as other finishes I applied.