Customized VW Drag Bus

With a flat sheet of metal as his canvas, custom designer Dave Chang hand-painted each decorated side panel of this Customized VW Drag Bus in 4:1 scale. After hours of meticulously creating the artwork, which features one of Chang's signature tribal-inspired flame designs, Chang turned the sheet metal over to Hot Wheels design to be scanned at maximum resolution. The files were then sent to the Hot Wheels production facility that specializes in the graphic fusion process, where heat-transferred and microscopically thin decals are applied by hand to each vehicle.
The factory then re-scaled the artwork while adjusting for the distinctive surface shapes and bodylines of the Drag Bus. By capturing the artwork in 4:1 scale and then shrinking it down to fit the vehicle, the end result is artwork that appears to be hand-painted, yet would have been impossible to execute by hand in such a small size.
With the artwork now scaled to fit, Chang selected the finishing touches for the vehicle by adding Real Riders five-spoke wheels for the front of the bus and a full suite of detailed paint operations for the headlights and turn signals. White "Kustom City" script, Chang's nickname for his custom shop, was added in white tampo to the edges of the tires on both the front and rear wheels. Finishing it off was the addition of Chang's autograph, tampo printed on the wing of the bus in silver as if the vehicle was signed by hand with a silver autograph pen.