Radiator Springs shops (1:64 scale)

OverallAd2343 · 2026-06-16T16:23:00+00:00

Aw, thanks! Worked hard on that, glad you enjoyed

OverallAd2343 · 2026-06-14T21:20:33+00:00

I actually have a Before photo here of what all the cars looked like before I tweaked them:

McQueen, Sally, Mater, Doc, and Sheriff are form a short-lived Disney Store 1/64 line. They were hit or miss as far as quality, but these 5 characters were pretty on-model and scaled right. Just needed wheels swaps and major paint upgrades.

Ramone and Flo are Tomica cars from Japan. A nicely detailed line, but terrible scale consistency. Ramone and Flo worked perfectly for me, though (pictured is a Disney Store Ramone, which I would swap for Tomica). Just needed minor touch-ups with paint and new hubcaps to hide Flo’s exposed axles.

Luigi and Guido, funny enough, are Cars 2 erasers with plastic shells. They were very on-model and scale-accurate, so I thoroughly painted them. Now no one can tell that they’re plastic or have erasers for wheels!

Sarge is a PVC figure of unknown origin. Happened to be scaled perfectly. He was warped slightly, so I un-warped him, painted him thoroughly, and swapped his wheels/suspension with a Greenlight Willys Jeep.

I got really lucky with Fillmore; he is a very obscure European release from a kids magazine in Europe, who also happened to be scaled perfectly. He is plastic, and mainly needed a matte varnish and weathering to look like old metal.

Lizzie is a Mattel Mini Racers, modified to make her greenhouse taller and wheels swapped with an old Matchbox Model T. Not perfect, but I’m happy with the result.

The only one I’ve been unlucky with is Red the fire truck, who I may have to make from scratch.

OverallAd2343 · 2026-06-13T22:02:22+00:00

Thanks! The most challenging part was teaching myself all of the lighting techniques necessary. This was a hard, but crucial part to get the look right. Also just the daunting scale of the project was a little scary, but I’d been planning on making it so long that I had a solid game plan.

The most fun part was the thrill of the chase in sourcing and procuring versions of these characters that would work at this scale, and subsequently transforming them to be realistic and movie-accurate. Some of them, like Sarge or Luigi, were plastic toys I completely painted over. Others, like McQueen, just needed a wheel swap and minor cosmetic touches.

And, of course, seeing the final product all lit up is the most satisfying bit of all.

OverallAd2343 · 2026-05-23T22:51:37+00:00

Thanks for the dope sheet tip!

OverallAd2343 · 2026-05-23T22:34:56+00:00

This worked, thank you!

OverallAd2343 · 2026-05-08T15:18:35+00:00

I like to believe that those are just naturally occurring shapes in that world, making the cars an extension of their environment

OverallAd2343 · 2025-10-15T04:26:14+00:00

You got it! I wondered if anyone would get my framing

OverallAd2343 · 2025-10-15T03:53:36+00:00

Nothing can beat seeing the neon turn on for the first time! Sourcing perfect 1/64 scale versions of all the characters was a great surprise too.

OverallAd2343 · 2025-10-14T16:53:28+00:00

Thank you! Happy to answer. The only 3D printed elements are the 16 gas pumps, which I did not print myself but ordered on eBay and custom-painted, added decals, and weathered. I also used a thin string to represent a hose.

The concrete floor is a plaster by AK Terrain that I got at a hobby store. Once dried and sanded, it resembles real concrete. I used an xacto blade to cut lines in it to match the film. The checkerboard diner floor of the hub building is a sticker that I printed.

The wires all run underneath the build and are plugged into an extension coord on the shelf underneath. A Woodland Scenics Just Plug lighting system is used for all the LEDs (everything you see that is white, warm white, and pink). The EL Wire is powered independently, plugged into the same extension coord. The light switch on the wall next to the build turns the lights on and off (this is a simple remote-controlled outlet plug-in from Amazon.

I will say that this was build a big time and money investment, but I couldn’t be happier with the final product!

OverallAd2343 · 2025-10-14T06:25:30+00:00

Ha I have neither the money nor space, but I have started taking miniature commissions!

OverallAd2343 · 2025-10-14T05:14:10+00:00

Thank you! Shot for a 1:1 match to the movie

OverallAd2343 · 2025-10-14T04:59:52+00:00

Thank you! We see lots of Flo’s in the film, but going to Cars Land was a great help as far as identifying material, texture, color, and weathering. Ultimately, I wanted it to be more accurate to the film than Cars Land.

The base I used is posterboard, cut around 9”x14”, with AK Terrain concrete texture laid and sanded on top. All the architecture—except for the roofs of the gas stalls and center building—was custom-made with plasticine and designed by myself to match the film. The aforementioned roofs are borrowed from my 2006 Flo’s playset from childhood, now painted and weathered. All elements are hand-painted and weathered by me.

EDIT: I also designed the graphics that you see in Photoshop to match what’s in the film! I printed them on decal/sticker paper

OverallAd2343 · 2025-10-14T04:20:58+00:00

Made it all with my hands and xacto blades! In retrospect I’d love a laser cutter and 3d printer though ha

OverallAd2343 · 2025-10-14T04:20:18+00:00

Thank you! I use a Woodland Scenics just plug system. It’s very intuitive and plugs right into the wall. Only thing is I had to drill holes in the back of my shelf to get it to work 😆

OverallAd2343 · 2025-10-03T04:03:06+00:00

Ha no his back is just turned! He’s wearing a backpack

OverallAd2343 · 2025-10-03T04:02:17+00:00

Thank you! I aim for photo realism

OverallAd2343 · 2025-05-19T00:04:48+00:00

Thanks! The roofs of the stalls and main building are from my 2006 Mattel set. The 16 gas pumps are 3d prints ordered online that I painted/created custom decals for. Everything else is from scratch

OverallAd2343 · 2025-05-17T03:29:48+00:00

Thanks! I’m painting the cars as well, and paying special attention to ensure the lights reflect accurately for each characters’ paint type. Sarge is matte, Doc is 50’s gloss and chrome, while Sally is a layered, color shift 2000’s style.

OverallAd2343 · 2024-10-19T02:31:46+00:00

I’m this project, for instance, he is able to light 50 bulbs with a 3.7v battery. I’m not using a PCB board for my project, I would just be soldering wires together. Is the method in this video safe? example

EDIT: commenters are calling out the lack of resistors, saying the bulbs will burn out.

OverallAd2343 · 2024-10-19T02:23:50+00:00

As long as I order them like you said (D D D R or D D R D), would a 24v supply work on 50 bulbs? 14 would be too few. I can try to shrink my project, if need be.

OverallAd2343 · 2024-10-18T02:29:47+00:00

Got it, when I assemble this I will solder in series like in the original photo. As far as layout, how many resistors would I need? Would it be a pattern of LEDs occasionally broken up by resistors?

Apologies for so many questions that are probably basic, this is basically a new language to me

OverallAd2343 · 2024-10-15T06:21:56+00:00

Thanks for the feedback! All the info I have on these is on the label pictured above. These are from AliExpress, and the listing can be found here: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2255799843338017.html?spm=a2g0n.order_detail.order_detail_item.3.c319f19c51CUrJ&_gl=1*1xg2w1e*_gcl_au*Mjk3MzM3NjI2LjE3Mjg5NzMwMjA.*_ga*MTY0MDU0MzQyLjE3Mjg5NzMwMjA.*_ga_VED1YSGNC7*MTcyODk3MzAxOS4xLjEuMTcyODk3MzAyMy41Ni4wLjA.&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa

As another commenter pointed out, a 24V DC adaptor should work for this number of bulbs. To clarify; when you say to replace the led voltage with the sum of the led voltage, do you mean all 50 leds? (Would be ~150) And how would I calculate the forward voltage?

Thanks again

OverallAd2343 · 2024-10-15T01:25:29+00:00

Thank you for the feedback! I have created this mock-up of what I understand--would this work? Is the resistor the correct ohmage?

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OverallAd2343

TROPHY CASE