A Northland man was left shocked after it was revealed a custom car he designed would be turned into a Hot Wheels diecast. <\/p>\n
Chris Watson entered his 1990 Mazda Mx5 into the Hot Wheels Legends Tour a contest for passionate petrol heads to have a chance at seeing their vehicles in toy form. <\/p>\n
Watsons roadster, nicknamed Chimera, is based on the cyberpunk genre of science fiction and drew inspiration from movies like Bladerunner, Akira and Ghost in the Shell. <\/p>\n
Chris Watson's custom Mazda Mx5. (Source: Supplied) <\/p>\n
That all sort of inspired me to go for something really unique with my build, Watson told 1News. <\/p>\n
I follow a lot of designers on Instagram that make some insane computer renders of these sort of cyberpunk-styled cars, but nobody was trying to make anything like that in real life, so I sort of decided that I would give it a go. <\/p>\n
Watson said it's a \"cosmetic only build\", describing it as a \"full-sized model kit or something like a film prop like the DeLorean from Back to the Future\". <\/p>\n
The car features a custom carbon fibre shark fin spoiler, LED rear light bars and fender flares Watson designed. <\/p>\n
Inside the car, you can find a mounted cyberdeck on the passenger seat. <\/p>\n
A \"cyberdeck\" inside Chris Watsons custom Mx5. (Source: Supplied) <\/p>\n
Watson said Chimera was probably the most ambitious exterior project I'd tackled. <\/p>\n
Since starting the project, Watson hasnt slowed down constantly adding different features to the car. <\/p>\n
I wanted this car to be a constant evolution because I never really liked the idea of building a car once and then just never touching it again, so I'm always looking at this car and thinking, what can I change? <\/p>\n
I've actually already started on the next iteration of the car, and so I've torn off the entire rear end and started mocking up a new front end as well. <\/p>\n
The custom fender on Chris Watsons cyberpunk Mx5 Mx5 (Source: Supplied) <\/p>\n
He said it was unbelievable to find out his car was being turned into a toy. <\/p>\n
I think it's so cool to have this car made as a Hot Wheels because it's got a really different style to what most cars have, and I think it's just got heaps of interesting little details on it, I always loved those sorts of things as a kid. <\/p>\n
Watson also said a mini version of his car would help when designing new additions. <\/p>\n
Having it made as a Hot Wheels is actually going to be so awesome because, for years, I've wished that I could have a little mini version of this so I can test out all my ideas on a small scale before trying them on the actual car. <\/p>\n
So I'm probably going to end up buying a dozen of these things and testing new paint jobs, new spoilers, wheels, front bumpers, all that sort of stuff. <\/p>\n
Chris Watson's custom Mazda Mx5 is set to be turned into a Hot Wheels diecast. (Source: Supplied) <\/p>\n
He hopes his design will attract more budding designers into customisation so that maybe one day theyll have their creations turned into a Hot Wheels car. <\/p>\n
If this was around when I was a kid and I heard there was a way for me to build something and then have it made as a Hot Wheels, I definitely think that wouldve given me more motivation to work on cars and come up with really interesting designs. <\/p>\n
Ted Wu, vice president and global head of design for vehicles at Mattel, said Watsons car embodies what this tour is all about. <\/p>\n
Chris journey from rural New Zealand to securing a spot in the Hot Wheels Garage of Legends is truly inspirational, he said. <\/p>\n
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Northland man's custom cyberpunk car to be released as Hot ... - 1News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A Northland man was left shocked after it was revealed a custom car he designed would be turned into a Hot Wheels diecast. Chris Watson entered his 1990 Mazda Mx5 into the Hot Wheels Legends Tour a contest for passionate petrol heads to have a chance at seeing their vehicles in toy form Continue reading