For the last few years, he has been delighting clients and car lovers everywhere with his highly-detailed custom-made miniature car models.
The jovial KL-born photocopier technician, better known as Jai, started this unusual pastime after being introduced to the world of Hot Wheels cars in 2017 by his friends.
“I stopped collecting after a few years because of the cost. But I was always interested in customising Hot Wheels cars. I’ve seen some amazing work from artists in Thailand and Indonesia,” Jai, 40, told FMT Lifestyle.
“I wanted to do that too, but never had the time,” he said, adding that the pandemic changed all that. “And since I was so free, I customised some models and put them on Shopee.”
To Jai’s amazement, his miniature cars were snapped up quickly, making him realise he was sitting on a potential business opportunity.
Since then, he has crafted over 900 cars under the online handle jdm164_custom. These highly intricate miniatures have been sold to customers around the world: US, UK, and Singapore.
Each car takes about two days to complete, with Jai usually working on a number of models at the same time.
Jai is perhaps most known for his highly-detailed models of Malaysian vehicles, such as the Perodua Myvi, Proton Wira and Proton Saga. According to him, he started making these in 2023, after realising there was a gap in the market for them.
He takes big pride in his work, infusing every miniature model vehicle he makes with the utmost care and precision.
“I’m drawn to things which are very detailed. My favourite part of this process is when I paint in the car headlights. People ask if I use decals, when I say no, they’re hand-painted, they’re very impressed. When you manage to make them look real, the feeling is just… ‘wow’, he said.
The father of three’s favourite cars to craft are the Japanese makes: R34 Skyline GT-R, Toyota AE86 and Nissan Skyline R32. The Malaysian icons, meanwhile, are the Perodua MyVi, Proton Wira and Proton Satria.
When he began, Jai mostly used Hot Wheels cars as the base for his creations, later progressing to die-cast models and eventually 3D resin prints.
His painting techniques also evolved from aerosol sprays to pen brushes, and now, actual automotive paint for the miniature bodies complemented by acrylics for the finer details.
Car connoisseurs form his main customer base, although there were also many average customers who bought his models as birthday gifts for their spouses, or to remember their old vehicles which had been sold or destroyed.
For Jai, working on these models is a true labour of love: one that demands significant time and energy. He already has 90 orders lined up for the rest of the year, and while he currently pursues it part-time, he hopes to one day turn it into a full-time venture.
To him, cars are more than just machines taking people from point A to point B. They carry their owners through milestones, adventures, and everyday moments that eventually became cherished memories.
Jai recalled how his wife had once been moved to tears when he showed her how he made a miniature of their old Perodua MyVi, which they used for family errands.
“Once, a customer asked me to make a model of a Proton Satria which belonged to his late wife. It had many memories for him. I made it, and posted it on TikTok. The post was very popular, with many people saying reading it made them feel sad,” Jai recalled.
“You might feel some emotion, looking at a photo of your car. But when you have a miniature, which you can hold in your hands…the feeling is very different. The memories feel closer,” he said.
For more information, visit jdm164_custom on Instagram.