If you missed Part 1 of this customiser spotlight, be sure to check it out first…. don’t even think about sneaking a peek here until you’ve got to know Thomas a little better and come to appreciate the cleanliness of his customs… only then will you truly appreciate the talent this man possesses, taking these customs (among others) and placing them in scenes that, let’s be honest now – look almost real!

Let’s recap with a quick introduction as well as listing some of the helpful tips Thomas shared with regards to his tactics and methods for creating these incredible 1:64 scale diorama pics you are about to drool over…

I have known Thomas Chu aka @64wheelers for a few years now and whilst we have never met, we live realtively close to each other. Actually we are about 1000km away from each other but in the grand scheme of this global community, I reckon that’s pretty bloody close. Anywho – I came to admire his work early on, enjoying the  cleanliness of his builds and being quietly jealous of his diorama scenes – even more so of his ability to capture the moments with such detail and realism, editing in headlights, rain and using filters where appropriate to really make the scenes pop – turning his small 1:64 scale world into something seemingly much larger. We’ve already enjoyed his customs and whilst I was initially going to include the diorama pics in the same post, you’ll soon see (and hopefully agree) that they deserved their own post. So… on with the show I guess 🙂

How long have you been customising hotwheels and diecast cars?

Around 3 years now, before that I had been doing RC cars mainly.

How or What Got You Interested in Hot Wheels in the First Place?

Price is affordable, and comes with many variety, from real car model to fantasy cars.

Any tips you can share on how you make your diorama photos look so real?

Perhaps I always try to imagine the scene as to how I will see it from my own eyes. Hence I tend to shoot at eye level angle for most of my shots. The best lighting source is always material lights, so be brave to take the setting to your backyard for some natural shots. The key to diorama photography is keep exploring lights and angles, for indoor shootings, try using multiple support lights as well as different angles where to position the camera, they sometimes create a result you may not have expected!

What Camera and Settings Do You Use?

I am using Nikon DSLR paired with a Macro 60mm lense. Most of the shots do require a tripod or something to hold the camera in good stable position. This is important because most of the shots are indoor, and to achieve certain brightness, the camera has to keep the shutter open for a long time, some shots could be up to 30 sec exposure time.

So without further ado*
*It should be noted that Alex LOVES further ado. Almost as much as he loves referring to himself in the third person, but I digress** 
**Alex loves to digre…. oh you get the point, on with the show aye

I know right?! Just Wow.

Be sure to give Thomas a follow on Instagram @64wheelers and be sure to hit that Share button (somewhere around here) and leave me/us a comment.

Stay tuned for the next Customiser Spotlight where we will be staying in Australia to show you some of the work of another good customising mate….but first I’ll be perusing through Instagram to find the 100 tastiest customs this month and sharing them with you guys (who knows, maybe you’ll see your own epic build on this page next week)

 

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