Captain Hat
@captainhat.bsky.social
Just a weird neurodivergent lefty nerd trying to be a decent human being and make, modify & fix things. What kinda things? More or less anything. Art, models, games, cars, society. You know, things. He/him/his (mostly).
If extreme aero is your thing you might also want to check out modern Time Attack cars, which are optimised for the highest possible speed over a single lap of a racing circuit. It's like "what if qualifying was the entire event" with very few other rules (depending on racing class):
Blown Away At The 2024 World Time Attack Challenge - Speedhunters
It’s not every day that lap records are shattered while the wind tries its best to sweep everything off the track. But then again, this isn’t just any day – this is the 2024 Yokohama World Time Attack...
www.speedhunters.com
November 10, 2025 at 9:21 PM
If extreme aero is your thing you might also want to check out modern Time Attack cars, which are optimised for the highest possible speed over a single lap of a racing circuit. It's like "what if qualifying was the entire event" with very few other rules (depending on racing class):
The Mid Night Club are arguably less aesthetically interesting but there is a certain subtle language to the style of the cars- if you know what you're looking for, all of these cars have been heavily modified under the hood for raw power and they often have subtle aerodynamic smoothing too:
The Mid Night Club: Japan's Most Infamous Street Racers
Operating from 1987 until 1999, the Mid Night Club was one of the most notorious and highly respected street racing clubs ever - The Back Roads
thebackroads.co.uk
November 10, 2025 at 9:01 PM
The Mid Night Club are arguably less aesthetically interesting but there is a certain subtle language to the style of the cars- if you know what you're looking for, all of these cars have been heavily modified under the hood for raw power and they often have subtle aerodynamic smoothing too:
Kanjozoku reference:
A Deep Dive Into Japanese Kanjozoku Cars & Culture | Low Offset
Japan is at the forefront of automotive subcultures. Some are cringe worthy & others shaped the global car scene. Learn about the Kanjozoku in this guide!
low-offset.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Kanjozoku reference:
Apart from the fact that "bosozoku" more properly refers to motorbikes, Kaido and Boso styles are essentially the same thing as each other.
November 10, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Apart from the fact that "bosozoku" more properly refers to motorbikes, Kaido and Boso styles are essentially the same thing as each other.
often with fully stripped interiors and racing roll cages.
November 10, 2025 at 8:55 PM
often with fully stripped interiors and racing roll cages.
Mid Night Club cars are typically supercars and hypercars- Porsches, NSXs, Lambos, Supras and so on- which are tuned to within an inch of their lives for absolute top speed, while Kanjo cars are typically smaller, lighter and more nimble "hot-hatch" types like the Mk6 Civic Type R,
November 10, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Mid Night Club cars are typically supercars and hypercars- Porsches, NSXs, Lambos, Supras and so on- which are tuned to within an inch of their lives for absolute top speed, while Kanjo cars are typically smaller, lighter and more nimble "hot-hatch" types like the Mk6 Civic Type R,
(outlaw racers on the Kanjo highway loop around Osaka) are IMO arguable between Miyazaki and Maxxine in terms of how the rules represent them.
November 10, 2025 at 8:53 PM
(outlaw racers on the Kanjo highway loop around Osaka) are IMO arguable between Miyazaki and Maxxine in terms of how the rules represent them.
There's also the underground street racing & drift scenes of the 90s to think about for Miyazaki in particular. I think the Idris rules fit the Mid night Club (rich businessman & skilled tuners obsessed with extreme high speed and proud of their safety record) better, but the Kanjozoku
November 10, 2025 at 8:51 PM
There's also the underground street racing & drift scenes of the 90s to think about for Miyazaki in particular. I think the Idris rules fit the Mid night Club (rich businessman & skilled tuners obsessed with extreme high speed and proud of their safety record) better, but the Kanjozoku
Since "Grachan" is a bodywork style and "Itasha" refers only to the paintwork it is completely possible for a car to be both at once, too! I don't know how common that is but I'm sure there are a few...
November 10, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Since "Grachan" is a bodywork style and "Itasha" refers only to the paintwork it is completely possible for a car to be both at once, too! I don't know how common that is but I'm sure there are a few...
As for Itasha, here's a piece from SpeedHunters with some really nice photography of a whole bunch:
Itasha Tengoku: A Celebration Of Anime Art Cars - Speedhunters
A few weeks ago, I headed to Odaiba to check out the 2024 edition of Itasha Tengoku (Itasha Heaven). This annual event sees well over 500 vehicles, their owners, and anime fans, all come together to c...
www.speedhunters.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:37 PM
As for Itasha, here's a piece from SpeedHunters with some really nice photography of a whole bunch:
The "Grachan" style cars are also often called "Kaido Racers."
This page explains it better than I can:
This page explains it better than I can:
What is a Kaido Racer? - Kaido Racer
A "Kaido" or "Highway" Racer is a vintage car subculture in Japan. Between the late 1970 and early 1980 Japan's counter-culture youth started customizing their cars similar to race cars at the time.
kaidoracer.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:36 PM
The "Grachan" style cars are also often called "Kaido Racers."
This page explains it better than I can:
This page explains it better than I can:
"Itasha" I *believe* translates roughly as "loud car" & was originally a nickname for imported Italian supercars but later got applied to the extremely "loud" paintjobs people would put on their drift & show cars, typically incorporating a lot of manga-style artwork across the cars in lurid colour.
November 10, 2025 at 8:34 PM
"Itasha" I *believe* translates roughly as "loud car" & was originally a nickname for imported Italian supercars but later got applied to the extremely "loud" paintjobs people would put on their drift & show cars, typically incorporating a lot of manga-style artwork across the cars in lurid colour.
chin and tail spoilers, huge extended wheel arches and ultra-low suspension. They also took at some point to attaching large, exaggerated exhaust pipes either pointing straight in the air or arranged in complex artistic shapes.
November 10, 2025 at 8:32 PM
chin and tail spoilers, huge extended wheel arches and ultra-low suspension. They also took at some point to attaching large, exaggerated exhaust pipes either pointing straight in the air or arranged in complex artistic shapes.
So Bosozoku are typically bikers, but the "Boso" style is also applied very often to what are called "Grachan" or "Grand Champion" cars with exaggerated body kits and elongated silhouettes that caricature the racing body kits of the old Japanese Touring Car series. Hence the massively extended
November 10, 2025 at 8:30 PM
So Bosozoku are typically bikers, but the "Boso" style is also applied very often to what are called "Grachan" or "Grand Champion" cars with exaggerated body kits and elongated silhouettes that caricature the racing body kits of the old Japanese Touring Car series. Hence the massively extended
(I'm also thinking about a Kanjozoku-inspired Maxxine team of Hondas, and a Mid Night Club/Idris team of hypercars)
November 10, 2025 at 8:23 PM
(I'm also thinking about a Kanjozoku-inspired Maxxine team of Hondas, and a Mid Night Club/Idris team of hypercars)
That's cool :) I do love the freedom of a Gaslands build; the fact that I'm going to be scratch-building a lot of the detail anyway is a kind of license to go wild.
Do you know much about Japanese Boso(zoku), Itasha or Grachan styles? I think you might find them... interesting :)
Do you know much about Japanese Boso(zoku), Itasha or Grachan styles? I think you might find them... interesting :)
November 10, 2025 at 8:20 PM
That's cool :) I do love the freedom of a Gaslands build; the fact that I'm going to be scratch-building a lot of the detail anyway is a kind of license to go wild.
Do you know much about Japanese Boso(zoku), Itasha or Grachan styles? I think you might find them... interesting :)
Do you know much about Japanese Boso(zoku), Itasha or Grachan styles? I think you might find them... interesting :)
if it doesn't make me joyful first, you know? That might come off as selfish I suppose, and maybe in some ways it is, but it's the raw essence of my desire to create and if I wasn't building for myself first I don't think I could build for anyone.
Sorry, I'm rambling again. Hopefully makes sense?
Sorry, I'm rambling again. Hopefully makes sense?
November 10, 2025 at 7:34 PM
if it doesn't make me joyful first, you know? That might come off as selfish I suppose, and maybe in some ways it is, but it's the raw essence of my desire to create and if I wasn't building for myself first I don't think I could build for anyone.
Sorry, I'm rambling again. Hopefully makes sense?
Sorry, I'm rambling again. Hopefully makes sense?
because I'm not making things *for* the competition even when I'm making things *because* of the competition. I make things to pelase an audience of one, and that's myself; if other people like them too, that's lovely and I sharing that joy is one of my favourite things but it's not shared joy
November 10, 2025 at 7:32 PM
because I'm not making things *for* the competition even when I'm making things *because* of the competition. I make things to pelase an audience of one, and that's myself; if other people like them too, that's lovely and I sharing that joy is one of my favourite things but it's not shared joy
but the others didn't even place as far as I could tell in spite of being one of the highest-effort builds in the competition, and I will probably enter high-effort builds again in future and I will probably fail to place in future but none of it will matter
November 10, 2025 at 7:30 PM
but the others didn't even place as far as I could tell in spite of being one of the highest-effort builds in the competition, and I will probably enter high-effort builds again in future and I will probably fail to place in future but none of it will matter
and I did an ultra-detailed British light industrial unit set up as a rundown but professional racing garage last month because I wanted to build an ultra-detailed British light industrial unit set up as a rundown but professional racing garage.
One of those won its competition
One of those won its competition
November 10, 2025 at 7:29 PM
and I did an ultra-detailed British light industrial unit set up as a rundown but professional racing garage last month because I wanted to build an ultra-detailed British light industrial unit set up as a rundown but professional racing garage.
One of those won its competition
One of those won its competition
You can kind of see that attitude in the MotM entries I've made, I hope; I did a Dune-themed Marine in January because my army is Dune-themed, I did a pair of Pride-themed Stormcast with multiple lines of colour-inversion symmetry the other month because I was fascinated by the technical exercise
November 10, 2025 at 7:27 PM
You can kind of see that attitude in the MotM entries I've made, I hope; I did a Dune-themed Marine in January because my army is Dune-themed, I did a pair of Pride-themed Stormcast with multiple lines of colour-inversion symmetry the other month because I was fascinated by the technical exercise
MOST IMPORTANTLY THOUGH, build what you *want* to build, aye?
Don't feel pressured by the grounds on which a competition is judged to make something for the competition at the expense of making something for yourself. I personally think Tanaka's R33 is excellent, and I hope you still do as well!
Don't feel pressured by the grounds on which a competition is judged to make something for the competition at the expense of making something for yourself. I personally think Tanaka's R33 is excellent, and I hope you still do as well!
November 10, 2025 at 7:25 PM
MOST IMPORTANTLY THOUGH, build what you *want* to build, aye?
Don't feel pressured by the grounds on which a competition is judged to make something for the competition at the expense of making something for yourself. I personally think Tanaka's R33 is excellent, and I hope you still do as well!
Don't feel pressured by the grounds on which a competition is judged to make something for the competition at the expense of making something for yourself. I personally think Tanaka's R33 is excellent, and I hope you still do as well!
but I think you would have got a better reception from the Car Nerds with either a full-on "Itasha" (literally "loud car") style bright pink and white anime girl livery or even more restraint to realishm on the weapons, if that makes sense?
November 10, 2025 at 7:23 PM
but I think you would have got a better reception from the Car Nerds with either a full-on "Itasha" (literally "loud car") style bright pink and white anime girl livery or even more restraint to realishm on the weapons, if that makes sense?