20th Hotwheels Convention - Garden Grove, CA

Most of the pics are from all over California, not just the convention.  I bring the whole family along when I go out there, and we have a good time. I will start with the customs Show first since that is what most people love to see.   Hope you enjoy the pics.

We landed at LAX Tuesday morning.  Went straight to the hotel, checked in, got through registration, and it was off to Palm Springs to the Tiki Party.  No. 5 this time around.  It was a blast.  IN the pics you can see my wife Marcia, her mom Cathy, My brother Steve, his wife Sheri, and their son Casey. 

 Customs Car Show. There was some great stuff here.  And it keeps getting better each year. These were taken by Dan Douglas "t3cochise"  Used with permission.  Thanks bud!!!

Finally at the convention.  I didn't get as many pics as I wanted to.  had too much fun.   My brother Steve posing with the Twinmill.  Then got a few pics of all the Buses I scored in the various rooms.  I got 146 total.  Shipped 100 home in a flat rate box to save on weight in the luggage.

Fri night was the RLC party.  I opened 12 RLC red VW Drag Buses.  So we made a clock in the middle of the floor.   We thought some people were going to have  a heart attack.  Saturday was the Custom Contest.  I won 3 trophies and met Chojiro.  One of the kings of Japanese customization.   We brought home 4 trophies.

Fri night Amy and Ted from Shelby showed up to premier some of the new Shelby products.  The 64th scale line was a huge hit.   As was her Shelby Series One car she brought to the hotel.

Thursday after the dinner we held the 4th Custom Bash.  I missed the first 30 minutes due to some business I had to tend to.  It was fun though.  And the cherry on top was getting Neil in a funny pic.  He is always the one behind the camera, and never goofing off.  This time he got caught having fun with the cans in the bathtub.  Don't ask. lol

Some of the customs I brought along.  I won 3 trophies with them. 1st Place Diorama - The Bomb 1st Place pro Mild - NS Fuels Rockett Oil.  2nd place Large Scale - "Flying Customs" 25th Scale Drag Bus.      I also brought..   - Rusty Notchback,  - Hot Pink Notchback, - Drag Qombee,  - Vintage Racing Porsche, and  - "Bad Attitude" Rat Rod 1932 Ford Truck 1 of 6

No trip to Anaheim CA, is complete without a stop at Coast Airbrush juts a few miles down the street.  If you are into making customs or anything with custom paint, this is your place.  They also have the TIKI Lounge in the back with some unbelievable stuff. I made sure to pick up some very useful supplies.  Enjoy the pics.

Next on the stop was the Peterson Automotive Museum.   Another must see place if you are into custom cars.  From the new Foose display, to Ed Roth, to Night Stalker, you can.. wait a minute.. Night Stalker?  Yup.  I have some of my work displayed there in the Hotwheels section.  I had heard and seen the pics, but this was the first time I got to go see it in person.  A very good feeling.  And of course, the ever popular Mach-5 from Speed Racer.

We also took a few minutes out to stop by and see another custom guru.  Jesse James of West Coast Choppers.  He was there but in a meeting.   Also on display was the Hummer from the Iraq Monster Garage build, as well as the Rat Rod car, and some very cool choppers.