July 27th, 2019 - Mid-Summer Night's CR-X Dreams and Creating a CR-X Exclusive tribute from a Hot Wheels

July 27th, 2019 - Mid-Summer Night's CR-X Dreams and Creating a CR-X Exclusive tribute from a Hot Wheels 


First, I must apologize for not keeping up with this blog. Almost 8 months is a long time between posts, but honestly I haven't done much with the CR-X since last year, and what I did in 2018 wasn't very remarkable.

Sadly, due to some personal challenges, the CR-X will not be registered, appraised or insured for the 2019 season. I'd hoped to be able to take her out for a few runs and work on her a lot but it's not looking like that's going to be happening this year, or any time soon for that matter.

Recreated my CR-X in GT6

Recreated my CR-X in GT6

In the meantime, I have been playing some Gran Turismo and buying Hot Wheels CRXs with plans to make some custom cars from them. I've also been preparing my receipts for my next appraisal, scanning what I had printed (and subsequently deleted) from emails, and scanning the receipts for non-online purchases. I also began adding on to the spreadsheet of installed parts and prices from my last appraisal to include anything else I'd added in the last 5 years. 

In some follow-up posts, I will go into more detail on the things I've been doing directly related to my build.

I installed a security camera with motion sensor capability to watch over my baby. With the economic downturn, crime has increased and I just want to do my best to help keep her safe.

Sometimes when I'm at work, I'll log in to say "Hi" lol

As I stated in a previous post, this past couple years have been phenomenal for the 2nd gen CRX die cast replicas. Previously, only the Fujimi 1/24 scale models had been available and the line of 1/43 scale MiniChamps and Ebbro die casts. Hot Wheels made a 1/18 scale "Tunerz" CRX but it was heavily influenced by the Fast and the Furious tuner fad, as the name would imply and wasn't great for those who wanted a more OEM-looking display.

Collection of Ebbro and MiniChamps CRX 1/43 die casts

Johnny Lightning came along with a 1/64 scale and Modifiers in 1/43 scale back in the early 2000s (without much fanfare, in my opinion) but then it seemed to dry up for about 10 years. And all of a sudden the floodgates opened with Hot Wheels, Johnny Lighting and Hobby Japan all releasing 1/64 die cast models. Companies like OTTOMobile and OneModel made 1:18 scale EF7/ED9 replicas and Mark43 even released some EF7 1/43 scale models, some with Mugen wheels.

But by far, what made me the most excited, was for the first time ever, the CR-X EF8 was available in a die cast. Mark43 created a 1/43 scale replica of the SiR... and they are soon coming out with a 1:64 scale version.

Mark43 EF8 SiR die cast in 1:43 scale

What is it about those red cars that they always seem to get pulled over?

Collection of 1:64 scale CRX die casts

Custom Christmas Tree Ornaments

Some "garage cars" next to my toolbox

Creating a CR-X Exclusive tribute out of a Hot Wheels "CR-X".

CR-X Si Exclusive. Only 350 ever made. Available only in the Japanese market
with camel leather interior and glasstop.

As I stated, I wanted to get in to customizing Hot Wheels' latest model, the 1988 Honda CR-X (LHD). Since this is my first real foray into die cast customizing, I wanted something relatively easy to start with. Drill the rivets out, paint the interior, swap in some new wheels, drill and tap some new threads, and reassemble the car. I never wanted or intended to convert this to RHD or whatever. I just wanted something simple, and something I hadn't seen done on the die cast customizing forums/sites/Facebook pages I was a part of.

I think the end result was pretty good for a first-time effort. 

Final assembly

Button screws on the base to make an OEM Hot Wheel 'look'
Exclusive on the Left, untouched Hot Wheels CRX on the Right

Tools of the trade.

Remember, this blog was written in chronological order so, you will need to click OLDER POSTS to move forward in time, and click NEWER POSTS to go backwards.