Just over a year ago, the DiecastSpace Magical Weekend of Cars rolled into the Swan and Dolphin Hotel at DisneyWorld in Orlando, Florida, and we were fortunate to have Jake and the crew from Tail Fins and Chrome at the event to capture some of the atmosphere and personalities at the convention.

The episode aired on RTV and TUFF TV on May 1st, but the Tail Fins crew has made the full episode available for those who missed it! Segments from the convention include interviews with me, die-cast author Mike Zarnock, die-cast designer Eric Tscherne, DCS Staffer Jason Bennett and female collector, Katerina. As an added bonus, the episode includes a great segment from the Hot Wheels room at the Peterson Automotive Museum.

The convention segments are sprinkled between some cool footage of a pretty impressive police car (1:1 scale!) collection, so make sure you watch the whole episode to see everything from the Magical Weekend!

Be sure to check out the Tail Fins and Chrome website to catch more full length episodes or to see if the show is available on cable TV in your area.

The next Magical Weekend of Cars will be rolling into Anaheim, CA in the Summer of 2012, but there are plenty of great events to attend in the meantime. Check out ToyCarConventions.com for a complete listing of all the DiecastSpace events nationwide.

There’s just a few weeks left until the Collector Experience rolls into Nashville from June 16th thru the 19th, and from the looks of things its going to be one heck of a convention! Collectors who have never attended a DiecastSpace convention before will see first-hand why these events are truly an “experience” and not just cookie cutter show. There’ll be something for everyone in Nashville no matter if you collect Hot Wheels, Matchbox, Johnny Lightning, Greenlight or M2 Machines. All brands of diecast are featured at the Collector Experience!

The three main days of the convention are packed full of great activities like Diecast Bingo, Diecast UNO, Downhill Racing, in-room trading, autograph sessions and vending machine pull sessions featuring the debut of the DiecastSpace Vending Machine that will be packed full of all sorts of goodies and special surprises. Add in the RAOK Party, Legends Dinner and Charity Auction and you have the recipe for a fun filled couple of days.

A variety of special guests are scheduled to attend the Collector Experience as well! Diecast personalities include Hot Wheels Designers Larry Wood, Eric Tscherne and Wayne Scott as well as Diecast Authors Mike Zarnock and Bob Parker. Ben “Cooter” Jones from The Dukes of Hazard is also set to make an appearance, so be sure to bring your General Lee castings for the autograph sessions! You’ll also find several of your favorite Pro Diecast Customizers like Bryan Pope and Chris Walker in attendance with some special limited edition diecast pieces for sale.

Of course, the main reason to attend a convention is for the cars, right? A wide selection of custom convention cars have been created for the weekend. Collectors attending the premium events such as Bingo and UNO will receive their special cars for those activities during the events themselves. Those attending the convention under a general admission ticket will still have the ability to browse and purchase any of the Collector Experience branded souvenir cars. Here’s a sneak peek of come of the various cars that have been created. Click on any image to see a larger version.

If all this weren’t enough, Liberty Promotions will be giving away a FREE VW Drag Bus to anyone who books three or more nights at the convention hotel on the trading floors! Information about tickets and accommodations can be found on ToyCarConventions.com, or you can book your hotel directly by calling (615) 259-2000 and using the group code “DIECAST.”

We hope to see you there!

Dips in the economy aside, its a really good time to be a diecast collector. There have never been more options to attend a live event and connect with fellow collectors for some fun in this hobby that we all know and love. This year features large events that will definitely peak your interest no matter what brand or scale you collect. Here’s a quick rundown of each in order of occurrence including links out to their respective sites to get more information:

The Nashville Collector Experience – June 16-19, 2011 – Nashville, TN

Diecastspace returns to their “Collector Experience” style convention that will include special presentations from sponsoring manufacturers as well as your favorite standard events like the Legends Dinner, Camaro Bingo, the RAOK Party, Diecast UNO, In-Room Trading,  Charity Auction, the Customs Contest, Downhill Racing, in-room trading and much more. This convention also marks the debut of the Diecastspace Vending machine which will be packed full of amazing diecast surprises.

Special Guests for Nashville include Hot Wheels Designers Larry Wood, Wayne Scott and Eric Tscherne, Hot Wheels Author Mike Zarnock, Tom Zahorsky from Johnny Lightning and Ben “Cooter” Jones from the Dukes of Hazzard TV Show.

The Canada Convention – July 13-17, 2011 – Toronto, Canada

The Canadian Diecast Convention returns for its second year at an all new location in Toronto. Mattel will be in attendance with the Hot Wheels Live Tour Trailer featuring awesome Hot Wheels displays and exclusive Hot Wheel merchandise that will only be available on the tour. The Official Hot Wheels Vending Machine will also be on hand which is always a blast. Other events will include the Legends dinner, RAOK party, downhill racing, Diecast UNO, Diecast Bingo, the customs contest, a Redlines seminar, in-room trading and much more. Sears will also be sponsoring a special event thats not to be missed!

The Special Guests for this event are still to be announced.

Lightning Fest - July 15-16, 2011 – Dyersville, IA

Lightning Fest is the main event to attend for the die-hard Johnny Lightning collector. Held each year at the RC@ Outlet store in Dyersville, Iowa, this FREE two day event is packed full of great family-friendly activities. Such activites include Gravity Racing, a customs contest, daily raffles, a Design forum, Diecast Bingo, charity auctions, a full-scale car show and in-room trading. The Diecastspace vending machine will laso be on hnad and stocked with lot s of great JL products and surprises.

A yet to be announced special celebrity guest from the Dukes of Hazzard TV show is also planned for the event.

KustomKon – August 4-7, 2011 – Dallas, TX

The Diecastspace KustomKon returns to Dallas this summer and features activities for diecast customizers and regular collectors alike. The focus of the conference will be a series of seminars for those who have never customized before all the way up through the advanced customizer. Regular collectors will enjoy in-room trading, the Legends Dinner, the RAOK Swap, limited edition convention cars and the Sunday toy show. All of your favorite professional diecast customizers are set to attend.

Special celebrity guests George Barris and Little Daddy Dennis Roth will be in attendance as well.

Hot Wheels Summer Smash – August 25-28, Warwick, RI

The Summer Smash returns for its fourth year and is New England’s ONLY diecast convention for 2011. All of your favorite activities are scheduled including a Customs Show for kids & adults, the Sunday Toy Show, Sizzler Racing, the Bob Parker trivia contest, the Liberty Promotions Treasure Quest, a Charity Auction and Dinner, Room to Room Trading, a Saturday Car Cruise, Down Hill Racing for kids & adults, an Interactive Customs Seminar by East Coast Real Riders and more. The Diecastspace vending machine is also scheduled to be on hand.

Special guests schedule to attend include Hot Wheels Designer Larry Wood,  Jimmy “The Box Man” Chavez, Tom Zahorsky from Johnny Lightning, Hot Wheels Author  Mike Zarnock, Hot Wheels and Matchbox Author Bob Parker,  Lee Pearlman from Liberty Promotions,  Chris Walker “Night Stalker”, Vince  V-Man Mosely, and Dave Chang

The Midnight Racing has become one of the more popular events at the various Diecastspace conventions and attendees of the 2011 Diecastspace Super Convention will have the opportunity to participate in a extra special version of the race. What will make the event special is the limited edition set of Hot Wheels Muscle Tone castings designed by Eric Tscherne.

Not only did Eric create the actual First Edition Muscle Tone casting for Mattel back in 2000, but he’s also selected the colors and come up with an all new graphic design for the cars that will be available for the race.

Eric has been releasing the e-sheets for the car on Facebook over the last few weeks. Collectors who are able to snag one of these beauties will truly have a great souvenir commemorating both the Super Convention and Eric’s induction into the Diecast Hall of Fame.

Be sure to visit the ToyCarConventions.com for information on tickets and accommodations to the 2011 Super Convention being held in Las Vegas, Nevada on February 24th through the 27th.

There’s just about a week to go, until the start of the 2010 Magical Weekend of Cars in Orlando, Florida and things are ramping up to bring this event to a whole new level. This time around collectors will get to interact with whole new set of vendors like The Franklin Mint, BBR Models, Spark, Minichamps, LeMans Miniatures and Kyosho – and these new vendors are all in addition the traditional brands that sponsor and attend each DiecastSpace convention.

In addition to the new vendors, Hot Wheels Designer Wayne Scott has been added to the guest lineup which already includes the likes of Big Daddy Don Gartlits, Phil Rhielman, Eric Tscherne, Mike Zarnock, Lee Pearlman, Chris Walker and Bryan Pope. Eric Tscherne recently posted this little teaser of the artwork that he’s preparing for the show that features renditions of himself and Chip Foose done up Pixar Cars Movie style!

The general admission has also been expanded to 30,000 square feet to accommodate upwards of 18 full scale hot rods. Rumor has it that two of those cars will be creations from the popular TV show Overhaulin’.

While most add-on events have sold out, there are still tickets available for the Liberty Promotions Drag Bus Breakfast. General Admission tickets for $60 (with a convention car) or $25 (without a car) are still available until Friday, June 18th. Additional rooms have also been added to the convention room block and are available of a first-come first-served basis. Please visit the official convention page on ToyCarConventions.com for more details.

Every now and then I’m amazed where the hobby of collecting diecast cars has taken me. I’ve had the opportunity to travel to some great places and meet some of the coolest people in the hobby. One of the folks I’ve been fortunate enough to be-friend over the course of the last few years is the talented and very down-to-earth Eric Tscherne. If you aren’t familiar with Eric or any of his many accomplishments in the diecast industry, then I suggest you check out the Saturday Nitro interview we did last year. Its a great listen and will definitely get you up to speed.

Diecast designers come up with a tremendous number of designs that unfortunately are never selected to become real castings. Its been many years since Eric moved on from his design position with Mattel and the Hot Wheels brand, yet one of his original designs has seemingly come back to life as part of the 2010 Hot Wheels line-up. Eric recently sent me his account of how this design has come full circle and is now becoming a reality. I’m sure you’ll agree, its a really interesting read. Enjoy!

The new Dodge Charger Drift Car that Hot Wheels is producing as a 2010 New Model is actually one of my designs! I originally designed the car at Mopar’s request. BJ Birtwell, then with Chrysler as a youth marketing person, called me up on behalf of Shaun Carlson and NewFormz to design their new drift car. This was in 2005. The guys, including driver Samuel Hubinette, wanted to do something with the Charger to make it more aggressive and unique. Originally they had asked for a wide body design which you can see in my drawings. Through that process however I kept coming back to the SRT-8 body and especially the hood. The 2005 show car was before the release of the SRT-8 so things like the hood were unavailable for the 2005 build.

The NuFormz team eventually migrated over to an SRT-8 body but the paint scheme remained. Shaun Carlson had raced for Mopar for years dating back to his Dodge Neon front wheel drive dragster (a Hot Wheels car I worked on while at Mattel). He had recently been running Pro-Stock for Mopar for Don Schumacher’s team with legends like Allen Johnson. Shaun had expressed bringing over the cool Colored camo designs of the Pro-Stock cars asking for something a bit different and in Mopar Blue. I designed a camo that had Mopar script and "M" icons interlaces with a traditional camo print.

At the time when I was designing the show car, I was also working on the Foose diecast line. At toy fair I was with Chip and we were talking about various projects and I found out that Chip was going to do the wheels on the Charger show car. It was mind blowing to me that we had both been working on the car but unaware of the other’s involvement even though we had been working on the diecast line for months! Some of the build of the show car was captured in a documentary, Drift The Sideways Craze that aired on Discovery’s HD Theater and TLC.

At the Super Convention Phil Riehlman and I got to talking and he told me Jun Imai had handled the Charger project for Hot Wheels. Jun is super talented and it shows in his work. The Charger came out beautiful. It is really cool to see my design end up in the Hot Wheels line some 5 to 6 years after I left. I now know how it must feel for other artists, designers, customizers and race car drivers to see their design turn up on a toy store shelf when it wasn’t the original intent. It’s a honor and a privilege.

- Eric Tscherne

This time around we sit down with diecast and toy designer, Eric Tscherne. We’ll learn about about how Eric got into the business and has built a diverse career that has spanned Mattel, Jada Toys, RC2, and Upper Deck. We’ll also find out about his current and upcoming projects now that he’s freelancing as ET Designs.

Listen to the recorded show from the audio widget on this page or check out the catalog of previous shows on the Saturday Nitro page.

This time we have a special round-table style, two-hour re-cap of the DiecastSpace.com Hotlanta Collector Experience with special guests Joe Altieri, Lou Tanahara, Eric Tscherne and Joe Kelly Jr. Each guest brings a unique perspective to their experiences at the convention. We even devote some time talking about the potential the next Collector Experience will have in 2010 at Walt Disney World, Florida. Enjoy!

Listen to the recorded show from the audio widget on this page or check out the catalog of previous shows on the Saturday Nitro page.