The collecting “dye” was cast for Tim Phelps when he was 5 years old. It might have been the gift of diecast cars at Christmas. Or maybe it was his brother’s 1930 Model A Ford.

“As a young boy growing up in Indiana in the early sixties, I fondly remember riding with my oldest brother in his red 1930 Model A Ford with its white primer spots and white spoke wheels,” he tells Playthings.

Riding in that car may have been the inspiration for another of Phelps’ passions: flame painting. Today, he is not only an avid collector of “little cars,” as he calls them, but an avid flame-painter of them as well.

“Hot rods and customs are my most favorite diecast cars. I take great pleasure in flame painting my own miniature hot rods with an assortment of styles,” Phelps says.

And he’s accomplished that by using the past 50 years of hot rodding for inspiration.

“Crab-claw, Seaweed, Traditional, Cryptic, Tribal and Streamer are all names given to varying forms of graphic fire,” he explains. The individual styles are painted with automotive and model paints sprayed with an airbrush, and outlines are pinstriped with fine sable striping brushes loaded with sign painter’s enamels, he says, further explaining the intricacies of the process.

Phelps says it is not unusual for him to have from five to 10 miniature cars in production at one time. “An idea for one flame job will spark ideas for other project cars,” he says. “Flame shapes in different configurations combined with a varied palette of colors fuels my active imagination and energy,” he adds.

His metal and plastic “canvases,” as Phelps describes his cars, include Mattel’s Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars; Playing Mantis’ Johnny Lightning; and cars from Maisto and SpecCast. “Most recently,” he says, “one of my favorite diecast companies is Jada Toys.”

All told, he has flame painted over 400 cars in scales from 1/64—which are about three inches—to 1/24, which are about 8 inches.

And although he’s created a number of commissioned flamed pieces, Phelps maintains that it is the “emotional value” that is probably the most rewarding. “I have always created my miniature flamed pieces for my enjoyment.”

Frankly, it’s hard to determine which gives Phelps more pleasure—the diecast cars or the artistic endeavor.

“Collecting little cars still brings happy memories of my very first Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars, which I played with for hours from grade school until high school in the sandbox and on the living room floor,” he reminisces. “I have been collecting and enjoying little cars since my grandmother gave me my first diecast treasures for Christmas when I was 5 years old.”

But on the other hand, the artist says he is totally engrossed with the flame painting.

“I am thoroughly enjoying this hobby—taking a walk on the wild side of the 'Kounter Kustom Kulture.’ It has has been a lot of fun uncovering the history of flame painting, its originators and colorful characters in a time of our history considered offbeat or beatnik,” Phelps says, adding that “Rodding’s popularity, now, is at an all time high for big and little kids at heart.”

The duality of his hobby—collecting diecast cars and flamepainting—has also given rise to yet another passion.

“My extreme interest in the flame art form has allowed me to author a book on some of my heroes—18 famous flame painters who are creating art at full scale on real rods and customs,” Phelps tells Playthings.

His book, in the works at Motorbooks International, Osceola, Wis., is due to come off the press next year and is expected to hit shelves in June 2006.

But all things considered—collecting, flamepainting, authoring—Phelps says his greatest joy “would be to be hired by a toy company to design flame graphics for their line of diecast. Some kids never grow up!” he quips.

Are you an avid collector of toys and have a story to be told? Please e-mail Maria Weiskott at: mweiskott@reedbusiness.com.