As I’ve mentioned before, for the past 3–4 years, I’ve been creating custom die-cast cars for the people I work with. What started as a fun little surprise for my faculty and staff has snowballed into a full-blown tradition. These tiny, one-of-a-kind gifts now grace shelves and desks across campus, proudly displayed as if they were awards from a miniature car show.
I make it a point to incorporate something I’ve learned about each recipient over the year into their car’s design—a fun or quirky tidbit that’s just too good to pass up. Maybe it’s a phrase they said that stuck with me, or some unique personality quirk begging to be immortalized in die-cast form. Nothing too embarrassing, of course—just enough to make them wonder, “Wait…is this what people think of me?”
It’s a labor of love…and gentle teasing.
Some of the best designs I’ve come up with in the past five years have come from this little tradition. Along the way, I’ve had to pick up all kinds of new skills and experiment with materials I didn’t even know existed. Gluing dried flowers onto die-cast cars? Making a playset with teeny-tiny photo figurines? Yeah, turns out those are advanced-level crafting moves no one warns you about. Who knew being a hobbyist meant doubling as a part-time engineer and magician?
This tradition is actually what led to the larger editions and series I create and sell now. Back when I was churning out 20+ cars on a tight deadline, I had to become a master of logistics—ordering materials, hunting down the right castings, sourcing the perfect wheels, and hoping my printers didn’t give up on life halfway through. It was chaotic but also the perfect crash course in managing bigger projects. So, in a weird way, all that frantic crafting turned out to be great training.
At the end of the day, though, these cars are really about celebrating the past year. They’re just a fun, quirky way to say “thanks” to the people I work with while giving them something to laugh about or cherish.
This post might get a little lengthy because I want to show off each car, explain the inspiration behind the designs, and share the 2024 collection with everyone. The best part of this tradition? Watching everyone marvel at (or mildly covet) each other’s custom cars. It’s like a die-cast version of a red-carpet event—minus the fashion critics, but definitely with more glitter.
Kim: Most Daisy’d Toy Ever
Alright, let’s dive into the car with the most over-the-top, flower-power backstory: Kim. Kim has been part of my OSUIT journey since day one, and if there’s one unshakable truth about her, it’s this—she is the undisputed queen of daisies. Seriously, her love for daisies is so intense that anything you make for her without a daisy is basically doomed to a B-grade rating. You could sculpt the Mona Lisa out of gold, but if it’s missing a daisy? Meh.
It took me a few years to catch on to this floral obsession, but once I did, I thought, “Why fight it?” This year, I decided to go full daisy overload. I didn’t just add a few daisies for flair—I went all in. This car is practically a bouquet on wheels. Daisies on the sides, daisies on the roof, daisies probably blooming in the engine block. It’s like someone crossbred a Hot Wheels car with a flower shop explosion. If daisies could file for copyright infringement, I’d be in trouble.
So here it is, folks: the daisiest die-cast car to ever grace the planet. It’s so aggressively floral that bees might mistake it for a moving hive. Kim, if this doesn’t make you happy, I might have to resort to gluing an actual daisy plant to the roof next year.
Now, here’s where things get really interesting—and by “interesting,” I mean a complete train wreck in the art of tiny car design. Yes, the car is technically covered in daisies… but once the design was sealed, the flowers kind of melted. Yep, melted daisies. Imagine a gold-sprayed, flower-covered masterpiece that somehow morphed into something resembling a particularly aggressive tumor. Spoiler alert: it was not what I had in mind for the world’s daisiest toy.
To make things worse, I’m not even convinced these were real daisies. I think they were some kind of mystery weed I plucked from the side of the road. (Which, in hindsight, might explain the “tumor” situation.) Determined to salvage this disaster, I had an epiphany—why not gather some proper daisies from campus? I heroically spent a sunny afternoon picking flowers from the lawn, only to discover that the drying process destroyed them too. Weeks of effort, and I still had nothing but crispy weeds and dashed hopes.
After months of staring at this blobby flower fiasco, I finally admitted defeat. “Alright, self,” I thought, “time to stop trying to win the ‘Floral Experiment of the Year’ award and just do the thing right.” I went back to square one and designed a custom daisy decal pattern. You know, the kind of thing I should have done from the start.
So there you have it—the final version of Kim’s car. It’s the daisiest, least tumor-like die-cast vehicle imaginable, thanks to a completely unnecessary side quest through DIY flower hell. Lesson learned: decals are a gift from the design gods, and real daisies should probably just stay in the garden.
The final design looks a lot better (I think). Will be happy to finally give this one away…it was one of the first I started on and the last to be finished.
Trudy: Gold on Gold with Life’s Lessons.
Trudy has an extraordinary talent for sharing her thoughts in the form of a story—one that leaves absolutely no mystery about how she feels. It’s like listening to a bedtime tale… if bedtime tales included biting sarcasm, vivid analogies, and the occasional side-eye. This car design was inspired by one of her legendary story-sessions, and let me tell you, it practically designed itself.
The card art is based on a Willie Nelson song, and the car design is inspired by a Trudy experience that’s strangely similar to the song’s vibe. It’s all very meta if you think about it—like some kind of creative inception, a rabbit hole of art and stories.
Oh, and this was also one of the first times I managed to get gold foil to stick to a water slide decal. Let me tell you, it took a lot of experimenting (and a few moments of pure frustration). But after enough trial and error, I finally cracked the code. Now I use the same technique to apply logos to the packaging cards, so all those “learning moments” were totally worth it!
Desirae: Everything Needs More Ducks!
We use a lot of 3D-printed ducks in our marketing materials, and since Desirae is the mastermind behind all the cards and paper designs for our duck-themed swag, it only made sense that her car be…duck-themed!
I went with a duck wrestling theme. Why? Honestly, no clue. It just seemed as absurd as putting ducks in our marketing materials—and sometimes, absurd is exactly what we need!
Tony: Wizard Frog Cat…and Hoppy!
Tony is our newest instructor. During his first few weeks here, I introduced him to a few different AI image creation tools. After some trial and error (and maybe a few too many late-night coffee runs), he came up with a frog-cat wizard, and we were all very proud of it. Here’s the original pic:
I figured I’d build on the Frog-Cat Wizard story and give him a car to drive around in Frog-Cat World. I used Tony’s original image as inspiration for the colors and designs—because, obviously, Frog-Cat Wizard needed to look as magical, feline and anphibiny as possible. Also, I should mention that Tony LOVES Legos, so it only seemed right that Frog-Cat Wizard would drive a car made entirely of Legos. I mean, who doesn’t picture a wizard zooming around in a Lego car? It’s practically the wizarding equivalent of a sports car!
Kim: Exclusive Duck Collection.
Kim (we have two Kims in the office, so let’s specify this is the Kim who raises cows, not sheep). Kim is always first in line for any new duck color that Desirae and I release. She’s a true duck enthusiast!
So, I decided to make her a few special one-of-a-kind ducks for her collection. Each one had a different process involved. That little one….was a pain! The wheels were an absolute nightmare. They were either too big, too small, or would just randomly fall off. But after some very creative problem-solving (and possibly some duck therapy), I welded the wheels in place. Because really, what’s a duck without its wheels?
This one doesn’t come with a card. I used an old Hot Wheels display case.
Lise’: Viva La Burro! Nosotros Prevaleceremos!
You might remember this donkey, Lise’ saved him from a closet, I fixed him up and gave him a new look.
I figured he should have a backstory.
He actually spent time in Mexico, living amongst the native chihuahuas, learning their customs, fell in love, formed an army and overthrew a government.
He came back, he still lives in Lise’’s office. Yes, I added an extra “‘“…if you know, you know.
Heather: Polytech-It! (Polytech-It Playset Collection)
Sometimes you just have to brute force training programs into existence!
Remember the “where’s the beef?” Campaign…I think it was from Burger King. What if you applied the same “in your face” aggressive marketing to a polytech startup? I bet it would get you attention. May not be the right kind of attention, but people would know your product.
Polytech-It Collection (edition of 6)
Some folks get part of the series…and there is always a series. This year we get the “Polytech-it” series, which is my toy maker world is part of the Polytech-it play-set.
I used a Custom Otto for the casting. There are three different cards, the car is the same for each.
I think the back description says it all. I don’t expect many will understand, but those who get a car will very much understand. Sometimes, you just have to Polytech-it!
Trey: Polytech-It Playset (Polytech-It Playset Collection)
This year, the Main Boss gets a playset. Because, let’s be real, that’s kind of the Boss’s whole job—keeping everything neat, tidy, and running like a well-oiled machine. The Polytech-it playset comes with a mini Provost figure (because who doesn’t want to have a tiny version of the Boss around?), a chair for those endless recruiting trips, and an encouraging mascot figure to keep everyone hyped about Polytech—because nothing says “we’re excited” like a tiny cheerleader! Oh, and don’t forget the mini car—it’s perfect for a quick snack run to the corner, all while still marketing the program, of course. Because even when you’re driving for a snack, you’ve gotta represent.
Every kid, Provost and Director will want one for Christmas, the hottest toy on the market.
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