In the hot seat: we meet Hot Wheels' design boss

Is designing miniature artifact cars the champion occupation successful the world? “There’s nary possibly astir it,” says Hot Wheels’ originative chief, Craig Callum. “In the artifact plan world, we make amusive for kids.

We’re reasoning connected a regular ground astir what would a kid love, what would marque a kid blessed and what would make them. Working with each that successful caput is truly rewarding. There’s thing connected world that kids’ laughter isn’t the medicine for.”

Callum channels the playful cognition that sparked Hot Wheels into life. Launched successful 1968 arsenic the brainchild of Elliot Handler (whose woman Ruth brought Barbie dolls to market), the precise archetypal illustration was a bluish customized Chevrolet Camaro, portion of the archetypal ‘sweet sixteen’ line-up affluent successful muscular American flair. 

The portfolio is present acold much diverse: a emblematic scope contains astir 450 cars, astir fractional of them caller that year, ever divided betwixt manufacturer-licensed existent models and wackier Hot Wheels Originals, which envisage everything from pie-in-the-sky supercars to wheeled toilets. “Still with the proportions of a pick-up truck, though,” grins Callum.

So however does a young antheral from Sandy, Bedfordshire, extremity up designing toys of the aboriginal astatine Mattel’s Californian headquarters?

Callum’s emotion for cars started aged 5 during the schoolhouse tally successful his mum’s Citroën 2CV: “A clump of students were hanging retired the extortion of a 2CV alongside, cheering and laughing erstwhile they saw us. I was like: ‘Wow, cars tin make this benignant of absorption successful people.’”

He was soon sketching cars of his own. “I’d plan wacky hotels connected wheels with chopper pads, things similar that. Mum said: ‘You could beryllium a car designer.’ I knew consecutive distant that’s what I wanted to do.”

After an automotive plan people astatine Coventry University, Callum worked connected full-scale vehicles for respective years until a occupation connection from Lego (a puerility emotion of his, alongside Matchbox and Hot Wheels) arrived.

After 9 years there, during which clip helium introduced the Speed Champions line, Callum moved to the US to enactment arsenic Hot Wheels’ plan manager successful precocious 2022, his eclectic collection of classical cars dilatory pursuing him over.

He enjoys aboriginal entree to caller sports cars and supercars – an indispensable privilege erstwhile Mattel’s ain plan process takes 12-18 months and its toys motorboat successful adjacent alignment with the products to which they wage tribute.

Piecing unneurotic a Hot Wheels car isn’t simply a lawsuit of shrinking a existent 1 down to a 1:64-scale mould; the plan squad indispensable excavation profoundly into the quality of the car they’re making to successfully enactment its proportions astir their banal instrumentality sizes, each portion keeping the extremity merchandise irresistibly affordable.

“Making a perfectly close 1:64-scale car for $1 is simply a large challenge,” affirms Callum.

The designers progressively utilise AI and 3D printing, the second rapidly popping a metallic die-cast prototype into their palms, acceptable for rigorous investigating connected those iconic orangish tracks. “We marque definite they’re susceptible of doing a loop-the-loop truthful we cognize they’re each wholly capable connected track,” says Callum.

"It’s not ever pugnacious work, then. “All designers are striving to clasp connected to that five-year-old’s joyousness and creativity,” helium smiles. “We’re trying to not turn up arsenic overmuch arsenic possible.”

Still, the institution astir him indispensable mature arsenic the propulsion for sustainability amplifies. “I deliberation the astir sustainable happening we tin bash is nutrient a artifact that lasts everlastingly and is handed done generations.

"But we’re people looking astatine materials and their recyclability. Our packaging squad is truly connected that, too. At Matchbox [another Mattel artifact car brand], the packaging is already changing, and that’s coming to our suppliers soon.”

Callum volition beryllium a justice connected this year’s Hot Wheels Legends Tour erstwhile it rolls into the UK successful August, allowing folks with customized cars to vie for theirs to beryllium turned into a artifact sold worldwide. “I ever emotion this limb of that tour,” helium says, “because I deliberation the UK conscionable gets it. It brings truly refined designs.”

Callum’s full-size car postulation includes an array of blistery rods and the 1970s Mini he’s had since passing his trial aged 17. Is determination a temptation to sneak those into a blister pack?

“I’m holding retired for arsenic agelong arsenic imaginable earlier I unit my cars into the range. Our Legends designs are each overmuch amended anyway! I would beryllium doing them an injustice if I compared the enactment they bash connected their cars to my own.”