HK GRAB BAG!!!!

so we came back from the Memorial Day weekend and low and behold several boxes for us to go through. awww yeah! everyone got excited to peep what kind of freshness awaits us this week. let’s take a peek! looks like the Street Troopers are out in force!

boxes and boxes of Street Troopers…ready to rid the streets of some SCUM!

here’s a closer look at PT-808, this bad boy transforms from vehicle to robot attack mode at the push of a button! he’s kind of cute…in a deadly, killer robot, kind of way!

here we have b-rad going through the boxes trying to find something dope and dimex telling him to get his hands off his booty! (booty in a pirate treasure kind of way.) b-rad is carrying a crapload of different 1:24 scale color schemes for the HUMMER® HX™. who’s that thug in the background? who let him in the design department?

oh yeah that’s ralph, and he’s found a special package of 1:64 scale AllStars Red.

b-rad faints cause he’s been waiting for something good. see how happy we get when the good stuff comes in? ok maybe he’s overreacting a little.

ooooooohhhh!!! colorful, plastic wrappped, die-cast metal goodness!

“whoop, whoop!!! that’s the sound of da police!”

it’s possible you may have found these already on the pegs and it’s also possible these are totally brand new to you, so keep your eyes peeled. sometimes we don’t know until we find ‘em ourselves!

some days my job just does not suck… part 2

so the long awaited day came – i headed out to burbank airport on wednesday for the short flight to lv and the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 media event. on arrival, they picked us up in one of their sister co.’s audi q7 (note, 1 FINE suv). took us to the hotel, as in THEhotel. hard to forget that one… they (Lambo) have been doing this for about 3 weeks, this event for dealers, media, and suppliers. i was in the supplier group. they gave us a goody bag of swag at check-in…

an unbelievable dinner followed that night, kind of hard to describe – they had us in a tent outside of a hotel,

opening speech from Stephan Winkelmann, president of Lambo., and then in between 4 unreal courses we had incredibly exciting videos and music on 6 different massive projector screens accompanied by, at different times, dancers, acrobats, a fashion show, and an opera singer. right on the table in front of us. amazing. all for a total of about 30 of us.

before we knew it, the morning came. they boarded us on a bus early, took us out to the las vegas speedway. 20 minutes of introductory info. 5 minutes (maybe) of track instruction. and then a walk to the track to get in one of about 20 different lamborghini gallardos. brand new. by ourselves. why do they trust us – what were they thinking???

hmm, what color goes best with what i am wearing…

a couple of other beauty shots…

more, including a video, after the jump…

Another Win For Maisto!

Another big win for Maisto in the Pinecrest School’s Newton’s Scooters competition. The Team of DoubleCDG posted a victory in the contest which pits teams of middle schoolers against each other as they try to power their home-made vehicles the furthest distance using non-electrical powered means.

CCDG used a quasi-slingshot method and took home the grand prize – a drink and snack of their choice from 7-11!
What does this have to do with Maisto, you might ask?
Take a look at those rims, my friend, famous Giovanna brand from our own 1:10 scale RC and 1:18 die-cast.

CCDG took the hint of taking the rubber of the rims, thereby giving the vehicle the extra boost it needed to take home the gold. Way to Go CCDG!

2009 GT-R, a look from above!

May 22: Nissan made a GT-R available to licensees for an hour each. Despite crazy weather with hail, torrential rain and even a few tornadoes around Los Angeles it was bright and sunny at the shoot site in Torrance. You can see a shadow of yours truly up on a 16-foot ladder capturing the body shape from above. The air scoops are an interesting detail. Set into slight bulges on the hood, their NACA-duct shape and contrasting color make them stand out. Underneath the hood, a duct (yellow arrow) from each scoop directs air into the engine.

some days my job just does not suck…

Lamborghini is my favorite luxury performance car company. if i could afford it, i would buy one. a real one, not the reventon that sits on my desk. i mean it. and now, they proved once again why i love them so much.
a week or so before i headed out to hong kong last month, our owner received an email from stephan winkelmann, the president of lamborghini. he was inviting her to a global media event in las vegas for the lamborghini gallardo lp560-4, which was launched at the geneva auto show in march.

she forwards the email to me, no note, just forwarded it. i replied to her that she should go, and to get pictures, so we could of course post it on the double d.

while i am in hk the boss tells me no, she is too busy to come out for this type of event. she asked if i could advise lambo for her, and see if they would extend the invite to me. TO ME!

did i mention that one of the features of this event is track time with this 560 HP beast? probably with a driver, but still. so I advise lamborghini the owner can’t make it, they graciously extend the invite to me, come on out, we’d love to have you, and so wednesday i am off to vegas to hang out with my close, personal friends from Sant’ Agata for a couple of days. for sure i will have some beauty shots for you.

i swear, this job does not suck.

So screw it, let’s ride

That is the newest statement from Harley-Davidson. Here’s the full text:

“Over the last 105 years in the saddle, I’ve seen my share of conflict in the world, but every time this country has come out stronger than before. Because chrome and asphalt put distance between me and whatever the world can throw at me. Freedom and wind outlast hard times. And the rumble of my engine drowns out all the spin on the evening news. If 105 years have proved one thing, it’s that fear sucks and it doesn’t last long. So screw it, let’s ride.”

The latest Maisto 1:18 scale Harley-Davidson® models are at stores and some H-D dealers now. In Series 23, the 2007 XL 1200 N Nightster in Vivid Black is an all-new tool. Here is how Harley describes it: “The dark recesses of the Sportster® soul are still intact. Check out the old school fork gaiters. The drilled metal pieces. The rear fender is chopped and clean, thanks to new stop-turn tail lights and a side-mount license plate. A low suspension puts the seat at just over 25″, right for prowling back alleys. And because a clenched fist hits only as hard as the muscle behind it, the Nightster™ gets the 1200cc Evolution V-Twin engine. Rubber-mounted in the narrow, nimble Sportster® frame and finished with shades of dark. In other words, it’ll put the edge back on a blade.”

In Series 24, the Maisto 1:18 1952 K Model is all-new too. Resplendent in its Persian Red paint, the K Model was a new lightweight design featuring a 750cc side-valve flathead motor. Hydraulic shock absorbers on both wheels were a first for a civilian Harley bike. Years later, the Sportster® evolved from the K Model.

So, ignore the bad news and add these to your collection.

Kickin’ it Old Skool!

So here is another look at my son’s first visit to the San Diego Wild Animal Park. It was warm that day and the kids were playing in the “cool off” zone, a little play area with water fountains and what not. They had some music playing and well, Jake wanted to show off his battle skills. He challenged the girls to a “dance off.” It was the highlight of the day. OK, the theme music was added in, but the rest is all Jake!

From Start to Finish!

Here’s a closer look at the Cacho Customs ’50 Merc. If you get a chance to see this ride in person, it is to die for! Suede black, chopped, dropped, and customized beyond belief! They don’t call it “Misfit” for nothing!

That grill is mean muggin! And some clean pinstriping to top it off.

Now that is just Cool!

That’s what we call “Layin’ Frame!”

Here is the front view of the tooling sample. It’s not quite as low, but hey, it’s gotta roll right?

And here’s the back, I think she’s got some junk in the trunk!

And here is the final product. Well, one of them, it will be produced in various colors, including one that is identical to the real “Misfit.” Keep an eye out for this one!

Jake’s first Safari!

So yesterday I was called upon my duty as a parent to go on a field trip to the San Diego Wild Animal Park. We have twins (a boy and girl) that were both going on the field trip, but on separate buses. Our little guy though (Jacob), it was his first time at a place like this. He’s always talking about animals, he loves watching anything on discovery, and he loves sharks, tigers, and lions in particular. So we started our journey on a Monday morning, the fog was back, along with the traffic.

Here’s Jake, ready to go, hiding behind the sign after we entered the park.

Things look so much bigger and cooler from his point of view!

He’s on top of the world!

This little momma was swinging around with her little baby clinging to her. It was so cool! She stopped right in front of us and cheesed it up for our camera!

The girls (including my daughter) wanted to cool off, and were playing with this thing that dropped water randomly and when they pulled the ropes. Here they are scattering when an unexpected drop of water came down, and little Jake got caught in the melee and fell to the ground, losing his shoe! Crazy kids!

As we were walking the rigorous up and down paths, we heard a roar. When we heard it, we happened to be walking on a dirt trail with trees on each side, the girls freaked out thinking something was coming after us. Well, we found the tiger’s area, and Jake wanted to get a closer look.

After that we saw some elephants and everybody was pretty tired from all the walking, including daddy CASTRO, a.k.a. “Tour Guide CASTRO”.

And with that…Jake said…”I’m Outta Here!”

You may wonder what this has to do with Die-Cast or Toys for that matter, well, NOTHING! This is just a day in the life of a CAPD designer, and it’s experiences like this that keep me creating and enjoying life! Till next time!

Not quite a live one

Here’s another “Maisto out of the closet” item. Not a new product (we used to make a line of 3″ military die-cast) but instead a different sort of packaging. This was one of many ideas supplied to us by an outside toy development firm about eight years ago. We didn’t use a single one of their ideas.

But it definitely was “The Bomb!”