When I was a kid, my Hot Wheels cars were my prized possessions. However my interests inevitably turned to other things. I grew up.

Decades later, I was reminded of Hot Wheels and how they made me feel when I held them in my hand to examine their details. It brought back simpler times and a childlike excitement I hadn’t felt for many years.

With the skills I’d gained as an adult, I re-imagined the cars I loved as a child and made the models shown below – which I named “Galaxion Spyder” and “Custom Toronado”.

“Galaxion Spyder” was inspired by early ‘60s show cars and some of Hotwheels designer, Ira Gilford’s original designs. The early Gilford designs shared a sense of futuristic optimism that was prevalent in the sixties – that anything was possible and that things couldn’t help but get better as “progress” took us in a brighter direction. After sketching up several “retro-futuristic” ideas, I settled on a design that had a forward and upward thrust to it – as if it’s going so fast it’s just about to get airborne.

“Custom Toranado” is an homage to the very first Hot Wheels cars that were made in 1968 – essentially designed in the distinctive style of the originals, but in a body style that was never actually produced. My own version is executed to a much higher level of precision and finish.