Did Sombody Order Fish'd & Chip'd?

Even before I put my fingers to the keys today something dawned on me.  I may have inadvertently made February, Fraser Campbell month.  Not that that is such a bad thing, at least his name begins with the letter F.  But for the record, this was all just a bit coincidence.

I recently came across the 2011 Hot Wheels Heat Fleet version of Fraser Campbell's Fish'd & Chip'd.  I love the overall look of the car and the interior has some great details that really add some character.  The satin blue paint with the red flame-job is very tastefully done and other than the red windows I find little fault with the car. 

Though Fish'd & Chip'd is a British car, the hot rod paint scheme just screamed for a set of mag rims.  I happened to have some Johnny Lightning wheels with some mag rims and after making some new axles she is rolling in style.

I plan on swapping out the windows at the earliest opportunity, but until then, what do you think?

Hammering down the Fast FeLion

Introduced in 2009, the Fast FeLion quickly became one of my favorite castings.  With modern styling that heralds the famous Jaguar E-type it is not hard to appreciate the Fast FeLions sleek, aggressive beauty.  Who would expect anything less from designer Fraser Campbell, the man behind other favorites such as Fish'd & Chip'd, La Fasta, and the Fast Fish.

I have always liked road racing, so one day I got the idea that I would try to make a Touring Car version of the Fast FeLion.  The first place I looked to start was a nice big spoiler.  This presented a bit of a problem for me, as I haven't tried anything as ambitious as this before.  And to tell you the truth I was a bit nervous about ruining my casting.  I know they only cost a dollar, but hey, it's my neurosis.  Anyway, after a bit of sifting, I felt I had found a donor car with the perfect wing, the Nerve Hammer.

I quickly set about dissecting both cars.  After sizing up where I wanted the wing located, I took some masking tape and marked off where the holes for the posts would go.  Then came the fun/nerve-racking part.  I unboxed my Dremel, loaded up the 191 High Speed Cutter, donned eye and ear protection and set about cutting away material from the inside of the casting.  I was careful to stay in the area I had masked off, only taking a small amount of material at a time.  It is important to use the top speed on the Dremel to prevent 'zinging' the casting or worse, your hand. 

After a few minutes of patient cutting I began to get small convex divots on the outside of the casting.  At this point I switched over to my hobby knife to perforate the divots and open up the new holes.  After a test fit it was clear that the holes were not quite big enough, which is good because I still needed to square them up.  I went manual with a triangle file to finish up the opening, going slowly, and test fitting frequently.  Once I was done with the casting I made some modifications to the plastic interior to hold the spoiler posts.  I then reassembled the car, added a couple of machine screws and viola!

Phase one is now complete and I could not be more pleased with the result.  Next on the order: a nice big air dam.

Blow Fish - this Fast Fish just got faster!

From its debut in 2008 I have been a huge fan of Hot Wheels Fast Fish.  The sharp lines and hockey stick graphics offer insight into a likely source of creative inspiration - the Plymouth Barracuda.  While Plymouth may not be around to put the modern muscle twist on the 'Cuda that didn't stop Fraser Campbell from giving it a go.  Campbell really hit a home run, and the Fast Fish looks fast just sitting still.

After something of a hiatus I began looking for some cars to put under the knife.  Normally the Fast Fish, among others, would be safe from my Frankenstein-like tendencies, but I happened to have found a particularly beat-up specimen that needed a little love. Mad scientist love, to be exact.

What was born from the high-pitched whine of my Dremel - the Blow Fish!

Sure, she still looks a bit crude, as I really made no effort to tidy up her bruised form, but I did give her some power.  Massive power.  With a new supercharged engine donated by non-other than Johnny Lightning himself the Blow Fish is ready to take on all comers!