Pablo Maida
Santa Monica, California
To model a project car in progress, Pablo scratchbuilt the internal door structure on the driver’s side, engine bay, transmission, jack and stands, and hood hinges for AMT’s 1/25 scale 1965 Buick Riviera. After applying base layers of rust shades, he used the hairspray technique to weather the body color.
Wes Salazar
Wentzville, Missouri
Wes turned a Galaxie 1/25 scale 1947 Chevy Fleetline into a traditional bomb-style lowrider by lowering the suspension and adding details from Lowrider Model Car Parts. He also machined some engine parts and dressed them with photo-etched metal emblems. Mazda Eternal Blue and Gray from Splash finish the ride.
Dedrick Brady
Dallas, Texas
Taking cues from Jesse James’ bikes, Dedrick stretched the forks on a Revell 1/12 scale Custom Chopper. He reshaped the rear fender and added details before painting the freehand flames with True Fire Pagan Gold over Pearl White.
Aaron Robinson
Anna, Texas
While the stunning Testors Gloss Yellow and Wet Look Clear finish on Aaron’s 1969 Chevelle is what catches your eye, it’s the details he poured into the 1/25 scale Revell kit that impress. Those additions include a blower from his spare parts box, a Morgan Automotive Detail wired distributor, a header from an AMT Pro Nova, and wheels and tires from Revell’s Fast & Furious Charger.
Bill Koff
Shreveport, Louisiana
To build a concept pickup that might roll out of the workshop of Top Secret, a Japanese tuner company that specializes in modifying Nissan Skylines, Bill fitted a Hasegawa 1/24 scale Sunny with parts from a C1 Models transkit. But the heart of the transformation is the full drivetrain and subframe from an Aoshima Top Secret Skyline R34.
Justin Hart
Saginaw, Texas
Justin improved Revell’s 1/25 scale ’68 Chevelle SS 396 with scratchbuilt details including the battery, oil-check stick, Protec air cleaner, sparkplug wires and boots, ignition coil, fuel and brake lines, aluminum exhaust tips, and flocking carpeting inside. Over Tamiya Gloss Black, he applied two layers of Gravity chrome followed by four layers of Zero Electric Candy Blue and three coats of Gravity 2K clear.
Jesse Walker
Hallsville, Texas
Umm, what is this now? It’s a 1960s Volkswagen Bug Le Mans endurance racer, something Jesse says he wanted to own. So, he grafted the body of Revell’s 1968 VW Beetle onto a Tamiya Toyota Gazoo.
Peter Smith
Bermuda Dunes, California
Going big, Peter gave an AMT 1/16 scale ’57 Thunderbird a lowrider makeover including a sharp custom paint scheme applied using enamels, Createx acrylics, and plenty of hand-cut tape masks.
Jeff Brown
Cedar Hill, Texas
A self-described fan of Toyota Previas, Jeff built an Aoshima 1/24 scale kit and added 3D-printed neck cushions and a dash table to give it VIP styling. He painted the van with Tamiya spray-can Gloss Black for the top and Dupli-Color Metalcast Blue over Tamiya Mica Silver on the lower body.
Gary Curry
Wichita Falls, Texas
“This concept was based on a pair of Air Jordans I have, a white shoe with a red sole,” Gary says. He converted Revell’s 1/25 scale Corvette C7R race car to a street-legal ride by adding the passenger seat, then painted it with Splash lacquers.
Scott Henkes
Denton, Texas
Like many full-size rat rods, Scott’s 1/25 scale Revell ’32 Ford has a bunch of hand-made parts, including scratchbuilt front torsion-bar suspension and bomber seats. He achieved the worn appearance by wrapping the body with Bare-Metal Foil and then painting it with thinned acrylics.
Willard Moon
Arlington, Texas
Believe it or not, Willard’s Nissan 35R started life as a Hot Wheels die-cast toy. In addition to replacing the wheels, he stripped and repainted the body and applied decals representing the anime series Demon Slayer. And all on a 1/64 scale car!
Gavin Roberts
Osaka, Japan
In addition to the stunning Gaia Base Color Notes Flesh Pink finish, Gavin’s lowrider ’60 Chevy pickup features Herb Deeks photo-etched metal spokes on the wheels and a chrome-plated chassis. He polished the paint on the 1/25 scale kit from AMT with God Hand micromesh sanding sponges.
Ramiro Hernandez
Heartland, Texas
Ramiro customized a 1/64 scale die-cast metal Ford F350 pickup with RPX1 wheels. The finish on the tiny truck is House of Kolor Brandywine Kandy lacquer over a base coat of Orion Silver.
Seth Steen
Haslet, Texas
Among the show’s small contingent of Gundam entries was Seth’s hard-hitting Bandai 1/100 scale Master Grade Death Scythe hovering over a custom base complete with 3D-printed skulls and LED burst effects. He customized the big mecha’s finish with lacquers.
Sara Smith
Bermuda Dunes, California
Layers of purple, including upscale upholstery, made Sara’s big 1957 Chevy Bel Air convertible stand out on the tables. She airbrushed the finish with acrylics and used nail polish to paint the engine.
Carlos Olvera
Waco, Texas
Bringing a lowrider aesthetic to classic 1950s Detroit design, Carlos added Pegasus wire wheels to Revell’s 1/25 scale 1955 Chevy Bel Air convertible. The two-tone finish features rose pearl and candy purple.
Daymond Gordon
Houston, Texas
Rolling on 28-inch resin wheels from JPD Customs, Daymond’s 1971 Impala convertible features a metallic blue finish with lighter blue accents on the rocker panels and around the headlights. The 1/25 scale model started life as a promo.
Chester Smith
Houston, Texas
According to Chester, this is a fully modified build with every panel touched as he combined a Formula 1 racer with the classic lines of a ’63 Corvette from a 1/25 scale AMT kit. Components of the latter came from a Ferrari F360 Modena with scratchbuilt details to round things out before he painted it with Vallejo military aircraft shades.
Noe Sanchez
Midlothian, Texas
Noe customized AMT’s 1/25 scale Chevy C1500 454 SS pickup with extensive framework, a custom interior, bodywork, a big-block motor, and custom wheels before painting with Testors colors.
Terrance Turner
Dallas, Texas
AMT’s 1/25 scale 1986 Chevy El Camino got the Dub treatment from Terrance, including custom wheels, a small-block LS9 engine, custom interior, and nitrous setup. He painted it with Tamiya spray-can lacquers.
Marc Wilson
Houston, Texas
Marc had fun dressing MPC’s 1/25 scale 1979 Pontiac Trans Am with Scale Shop resin Forgiato rims — 24 inches up front and 26 inches in the rear. He also applied aftermarket Firebird logos to match the Scale Finishes 2017 Corvette Blue paint he applied over a pearl base with his Paasche H airbrush.
Philip Cox
Derby, Kansas
After building a Revell 1/25 scale Mercury out of the box, Philip painted it with Testors One-Coat lacquer straight from a rattle can and applied kit decals.
David Bayon
Denton, Texas
“I just wanted to do something not commonly seen,” says David about why he built Monogram’s 1/24 scale 1969 Camaro as a ’70s style lowrider. Before painting with Scale Finishes lacquer, he detailed the pony car with photo-etched metal details from Model Car Garage, and wheels and a chain steering wheel from Lowrider Model Car Parts.
Rich Singer
Dallas, Texas
Rich added aftermarket seat belts and a carbon fiber dashboard to a Tamiya 1/24 scale Mazda MX-5 Miata. He then painted it with Tamiya Metallic Red, topped with clear, and polished with Tamiya Buffing Compound and S100 Motorcycle Wax. Washes on the body panel lines and a little pigment weathering underneath turn it into a daily driver. “I drive this car,” Rich says.