Custom Hot Wheels: Ken Gushi's 86

A 1:64 scale replica of Ken Gushi's 2019 Pro Car

This was another exciting build since it has something to do with one of the motorsports I do love and appreciate, drifting! Thanks to Jonathan Wong... YES! The Jonathan Wong! I was able to present the finished custom to Ken during one of his breaks on Qualifying Day for Round 1 of the Formula Drift Championship in Long Beach, CA on April 5, 2019. This was one of my most exciting, exhausting, and stressful builds that I had ever put together; but it was all worth it when it all came together.

First epoxy session

Cut out the back for the radiator

Wastegate dump pipes

For the front end, I did not want to leave it the way it came out of the blister pack. I wanted to make sure I replicated Ken's car as best as I could and since it was a Rocket Bunny V2 with a TRD front end, I went all out and cut the grill off, shaped the epoxy, and even added extra styrene for the lip and accents.

Extra styrene

Shaping the TRD front end

After hours of making sure the fenders were the perfect shape it was finally time to apply the primer and base layer before applying water-slide decals and hand painting the rest of his livery.

Some Kreauto Exotics to pose as Rays GramLights 57 CRs

The decals are from one of, if not the best in the customizing community, @nezto_kuztoms. He does amazing work and resizes brand logos to make sure your custom looks as close to whatever replica you are making.

Organizing the tiny decals

It was about 3:00 AM at this point

Hand painted 21 on the roof

And here it is, fully painted and detailed with Ken's current sponsors.

I've mentioned it time and time again but I am extremely grateful to Jonathan Wong for helping me present this custom to Ken Gushi. Thanks to him and few of our mutual friends, I was also able to hang out at Ken's pit for the majority of the day. I had the privilege of getting a first hand look at how a team owner/driver operates behind the scenes and it was beyond amazing.

Modifications:

-Stripped, repainted, and detailed complete with water-slide decals from @nezto_sustoms
-Rocket Bunny V2 Kit w/ TRD '17-19' 86 front end
-Wheel swap with @kreauto wheels (as close to GramLights 57CRs)
-Lowered about 1-2mm
-Fitment made possible by @hotwheelsworks wheel spacers

More customs of pro cars coming soon.

You can see the finished custom on and much more on my Instagram: @pd9customs

-Paul Dalusong