In theory, creating a toy version of a car sounds pretty simple. You just need to shrink the size and that’s it, the right? Yes, after checking Hot wheel design center, General Science There’s an answer: building those tiny cars is a lot more complicated than you think.
See, each car starts with a sketch, just like its life-size counterpart – but there’s so much more to it, writes Bradley Iger:
Hot Wheels designer Brendon Vetuskey said: “If you take a life-size car and just shrink the wheels it will look too small, the hood will look too big and a lot of important details will be lost.” “We had to exaggerate and adjust those details so that when you look at the car in 1:64 scale, it still looks good. You have to fine-tune the proportions and characteristics of the car to make it look right for that size.”
Vetuskey uses 2020 Legend League winners Riley Stair’s 1970 Pontiac Trans Am as an example. “We had several model files of another Trans Am and modified them based on the unique details of this vehicle. Things like the open engine bay, side exhausts and extended fenders were applied to that model and adjusted so that the ratio would make sense at 1:64.”
For the Hot Wheels design team, they often go into defining the elements that make up the vehicle’s visual personality — the things that make up a vehicle’s appearance. cool—And emphasize those elements while sacrificing less important details due to the limitations of diecast production.
It’s an interesting thought to consider: you’re not creating a real focal point as much when you’re transferring the most important design element of a vehicle to a smaller form factor. The English major in me treats this entire design process like translating a language. Sure, you can make a direct, one-on-one translation, but what context are you missing when choosing one word over another? Is there any implication that you should choose “own” instead of “have it?”
However, the design process of Hot Wheels goes through many iterations, not just a sketch design. There are computer-based models and sculptures. There is testing on the road, just like a real car. And there’s a whole marketing plan that has to be put in place to make sure people buy these cars. I will let the people stay General Science gives you the details – but I’ll say it’s an interesting story.
