Tag: Ryu Asada Designs
Ryu was a Designer at Mattel from 2004 until he died of colon cancer in 2021. Born and raised in Osaka, Japan, he came to the United States in 1997 to attend the University of Oregon. Upon graduating in 2000 with a degree in English and Physics 2000, he pursued a degree at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. This was the same design school where Phil Riehlman, Mark Jones, Bryan Benedict, Jun Imai, and lots of others went to.
Upon graduation in 2004, he started he started his professional career at Mattel as a Matchbox designer where he designed and worked on (what he estimated to be) about 150+ diecast cars, among other things, over 8 years with the Matchbox team (2004-2012).
His very first Hot Wheels design was the Gearonimo (a 2009 New Model), which he design while still with the Matchbox team (working as a guest designer). He went on to produce three more Hot Wheels castings while still working for Matchbox: Formula Street (based on one of his school project at Art Center), Honda S2000, and HW Jump Truck (both full size and 1/64).
In 2012, he joined Hot Wheels team and started to manage basic cars. His very first Hot Wheels project as an official HW designer was ‘67 Chevy C10 (a 2013 New Model). His death in 2021 hit many involved with the hobby hard as Ryu was very passionate about his craft and always great person to talk to. He will be missed as his designs live on. Below are his vehicles we’ve featured on the site.
14 years before Hot Wheels even came into existence, Mattel released its first car: the Mattel “Dream” Car. Sold in 1953 for $1.98 the 1:24 scale “Dream” Car was Mattel founder, Elliot Handler’s vision of the future of the automobile. The Hot Wheels #Mattel Dream Mobile celebrates that […]
Here is a Hot Wheels casting that I’ve been wanting to showcase for you guys since I first laid eyes on it back in October: the #Manga Tuner. For once though, it is not because I am a huge fan of the casting, its roots, or even its […]
There was a time where I didn’t collect premium Hot Wheels — so, I get it. Not all collectors, collect all Hot Wheels lines. Us, as collectors, are a very diverse group ranging from all types of backgrounds and varying levels of collecting. Being as immersed in the […]
Today is the day that I quit collecting Hot Wheels. Say Whaaaat? Let me rephrase that: Today is the day I was supposed to quit collecting Hot Wheels. See, back in the ’90s, when I started collecting Hot Wheels, I recall saying to a friend: when Hot Wheels […]
The latest wave of Hot Wheels iD hit Amazon on Thursday, and less than 24 hours later, the cars were in-hand. Some collectors were underwhelmed by the four vehicles — two of which were #Unlicensed Hot Wheels. Me? Well, I was excited to add yet another #”15 Jaguar […]
Back in March, the Hot Wheels Design Team — better known collectively as @hotwheelsdreamteam on Instagram — shocked the Hot Wheels world, announcing the return of #Bugatti to the #2019 Hot Wheels mainline. Collectors had clamored for another Bugatti since the Bugatti Veyron last appeared in 2010; and […]
When Hot Wheels makes mini-vans, they make them cool. This wave of modern #Vans differs from the paneled vans of years past. Rather, today’s Hot Wheels vans are either slammed, racing vehicles like the ’14 Honda Odyssey OR they are heavily-modded, 4×4 #Off-Road Vehicles. The #2019 New Models […]
The first month of #Hot Wheels iD is in the books, and we are officially two waves into this new line. I have yet to take a close look at any of the cars here on OTD, so I am giving you a dose of my favorite thus […]
Its been all #Hot Wheels iD this week. Rightfully so, as I can’t remember a Hot Wheels product launch this big. The cars and the track set are truly impressive, but I think the part that most collectors care about are how to integrate them into their collections. […]
The #Red Line Club Exclusive: #’17 Ford F-150 Raptor is here! It seems like forever since the Red Line Club team at Hot Wheels unveiled the 3D-Printed model at the RLC Party in October of 2017. If you’re counting, that was over 15 months ago. Suffice to say: […]