The Daxtermobile: a PlayStation 2 race car, rebuilt as a die-cast collectible
Limited Run Games and Naughty Dog asked me to reimagine a low-res vehicle from the original Jak X as a high-definition die-cast car for the game's PlayStation 4 special edition. I designed the car, seven editions of it, and all of their packaging.
- Client
- Limited Run Games, with approvals from Naughty Dog
- Timeline
- Late 2018 to November 2019
- My role
- Product, variant, and packaging design. Technical lead with the factory.
- Result
- All seven editions sold out, the six main ones within 48 hours
01 / The brief
Start from a low-res game car. Finish with something people collect.
The source material was the original PlayStation 2 game model, some of the game's concept art, and screenshots. At that resolution the model leaves a lot to interpretation, and many of its parts are suggestions more than real components.
Every design had to be approved by both Naughty Dog and Limited Run. They cared most about the detail on each version, and they wanted every colorway to be fun and clearly different from the others.
02 / What I did
From reinterpretation to a factory-ready car.
I designed the high-definition car, the seven editions, and all of the packaging. My in-house 3D partner produced the renders, and a CAD specialist built the models for die-cast manufacturing. I was the technical lead with the factory through quality control.
Redesign
HD reinterpretation of the game model
Editions
Seven themes / Paint and finish
Package
Card and blister for all seven
CAD
Manufacturing models, with a CAD specialist
Factory
Technical lead / Quality control
03 / Seven editions
Seven themes, each with its own paint, finish, and package.
The standard Daxtermobile shipped only in the game's collector's edition. Five more went to retail. The seventh, the Precursor edition, was a PAX exclusive sold separately. I painted it copper to match the Precursor Orb from the original Jak and Daxter. Each one went to the factory with a spec sheet that called out every Pantone color, finish, and transparent part.
04 / Decisions
Three calls that shaped the product.
01
Design the parts the game never showed.
A game camera hides a lot. To work as a physical object, the car needed body parts a player never sees, designed so it could still be manufactured at a reasonable cost.
02
Build a collectible, not a toy.
This sits closer to collector die-cast than to a Matchbox car, so the detail had to hold up on a shelf. The parts also had to survive handling. Early in production we thickened a couple of pieces to make them sturdier.
03
Make every edition worth owning on its own.
Naughty Dog and Limited Run wanted every colorway to be fun and clearly distinct. Each edition got its own theme, paint, finish, and packaging.
05 / Result
Sold out, and the next project followed.
The six main editions sold out within 48 hours.Almost 3,000 units of each. The Precursor edition, sold separately at PAX, sold out as well.
Each project led to the next. Smaller Jak 1 to 3 pieces and the SIGIL statue led to the Jak X work, and Jak X led to the Streets of Rage 4 statue.
06 / More editions
Statues, replicas, and packaging for other releases.
Streets of Rage 4
Product design and 3D modeling for the polyresin statue.
SIGIL Beast Box
John Romero statue from concept illustration through clay sculpt, silicone mold prototypes, and pewter production.
Marvel Cosmic Invasion
Packaging and product design, 3D modeling, and CAD, for Dotemu and Rock It Games.
Also: Croc Collector's Edition for Argonaut Games and Rock It Games, Red's Ring for the Transistor Collector's Edition, and the Precursor Orb and Morph-Gun replica for Jak and Daxter collector's editions.