For Redcat to work with someone outside of the company who they didn’t know much about, and who also lives in a different country was a challenge for them. But Redcat seemed more serious and they already made hobby-grade RC cars and trucks so I was curious to see how far we could get with this project. I had been approached by several companies in the past and I had become somewhat hesitant about working with yet another company. They had seen my work online and asked me to collaborate on a 1/10 scale RC lowrider. I first heard from Redcat about four years ago. Many would ask me where they could buy one, but I always had to tell them “I’m sorry” as it takes too much time to custom build one. I traveled all around the world from the US to Japan showing my hopping RC lowriders at shows and events and the crowd loved the fact that they can hop like the real thing. I collaborated with artists from California and Indonesia to paint the ‘64 and ‘67 Impala bodies in a style that reflects lowrider trends. Nowadays I create hundreds of different styles-1/25 scale sets by hand for lowrider model kit builders and 1/12 and 1/10 scale wheels for the RC enthusiasts out there After I built several 1/12 scale RC lowriders I started using more and more hobby grade RC parts while still creating 90-percent from scratch to improve on the hopping and overall functionality of the cars. To get that look I started making my own custom 13-inch wheels early on, cutting spokes from other wheels, adding them to smaller 1/18-scale Big Foot rims to get the desired look, and using rubber plumbing sockets for tires and sticky vinyl for the white walls.Īs 3D-printing technology evolved, I finally ended up designing the 13-inch wheels and 520 tires in 3D and had them printed at Shapeways so I could create silicone molds and cast them in polyurethane resin and rubber. While lowriding started out using mostly 14-inch classic wire wheels, deep dish Cragars, Supremes, and the like, that all changed in the ‘80s and early ‘90s where to cruise low and slow you needed to have 13-inch Dayton wire wheels and 520 Premium Sportway or Coker tires. Having the right wheels is very important as well. The choice of colors, patterns, murals, pinstriping, gold accents, engraving, etc.-those things turn these rides into one-of-a-kind creations. Lowriders look like no other custom cars out there they are the ultimate expression of one’s personality, taste, and lifestyle. I cut and changed the plastic chassis and added all kinds of low-cost materials I found at my local hardware store to end up with a big-scale RC lowrider that could hop, pull into three-wheel motion, and pancake back to the ground again just like a real lowrider car. The desire to create what I pictured in my mind was what motivated me and finding ways to get it done with a minimal amount of parts and material is probably something I inherited from my dad. Making that 1/12-scale car hop was the first thing I wanted to do so I learned everything I could about modifying the circuit boards, adding MOSFETs and relays, hacking servos, etc. I came from a model kit world with no prior knowledge of RC cars, parts, or electronics whatsoever, so my first big-scale RC lowrider was a toy ‘67 Impala made by Radio Shack. He sat down to share with us the peculiar path that led to this involvement with Redcat and this exciting new release. Nevertheless, he has been passionate about the genre for nearly 30 years and his custom RC masterpieces formed the inspiration for the new Redcat SixtyFour. Editor’s Note: Dutch native Jeroen de Vries-better known as “Jevries” in RC circles-might seem like an unlikely creative force behind precision scale models of a uniquely American automotive subculture like lowriders.
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