Hotwheels 2024
This year marked our third year as coveted judges for the Hotwheels Legends Tour Detroit leg, and we were beyond pumped to introduce the next gen of judges to the event with our friend Jumping Jax Draws.
Come May I usually get a text from our incredibly talented friend Vinny Russo for Hotwheels recruitment. This year we had our sales team Allison and Spanky represent at the show, but we also got with the Brobst family to see if their son Jax would be interested in judging as well.
We met Jax a couple Hotwheels earlier when we had the Bronco with us, and he came specifically to show us his work inspired by it. Man, he had to have been maybe 9 at the time? Since then he has competed and won divisions of Sketchbattle Jr. (hit the link for that article) and progressed his portfolio with the help of leading design mentors. So, with Allison, Spanky, and Jax on the board of judges, the crew set off to collect their intel on the best of the best that was brought out.
I’ll admit, I came a little later to the event because I got back around 1am from Goodguys the previous day, so I didn’t get the full scope of vehicles that were there. I will say a lot were recognizable from years prior and local shows through the summer, but the attendance was the highest we’ve seen. Hotwheels mania is for all ages, and the beauty is getting to experience the wonder and awe from a small child and a grown man punting kids out of the way for collectables! Or at least that’s what I imagine, I know there’s been no casualties at these events hehehe.
Typically the Judges will run through once and meet up to introduce themselves to the attendees. The Hotwheels crew looks for certain qualities when it comes to a feasible design per contestant. It has to fit the parameters of what they can achieve in a small scale, have a story, and it doesn’t hurt to have most of the work done as a solo garage build. This years winner was Demon and his wicked Monte Carlo boasting a massive blower. I remember seeing this at Autorama this year, pretty sure he won an award there too from the basement crew!
Jax was so excited to be there, and he really took advantage of the connections available through the Mattel team and the Big Three designers that served as his peers onstage. He made sure to bring his portfolio with him and show the progression in his design work.
Allison and Spanky had an awesome time hanging out with everyone and checking out all the rides. They really are just incredible people to work with and call family. From my office I can hear most of the calls that come in and it’s always cool to eavesdrop on how geeked out they get with whatever car or truck they are getting set up on our wheels.
Count us in for Hotwheels Legends Tour 2025, and check out all the winners on their website!