MINICARS: This 1:150-scale Toyota Crown is one of the smallest R/C cars we’ve ever seen

There are minicars and then there are minicars. A Japanese radio controlled car builder has constructed one of the smallest R/C cars we’ve ever seen. It’s based off of a 1:150-scale Tomytec Toyota Crown, but all its guts have been replaced with a custom motor and steering mechanism. The work, much of it done with needle-nose pliers assembling custom-fabbed parts, is incredibly creative and requires painstaking patience.

The creator, who goes by the name diorama111 on YouTube, created almost everything that runs this tiny car, about the size of a quarter, by hand. Steps involved include programming its infrared transmitter and receiver, modifying cellphone vibration motors to power the wheels and steering, soldering the electronics, and custom building all the linkages and support structure with miniscule bits of metal and plastic. They even created a tiny lathe to make the wheels and tires.

The end result is an R/C Toyota Crown (RIP) that fits on a fingertip. It’s not quite as tiny as the Toyoda AA built by Denso, but this didn’t have a multi-billion dollar company funding it. Most of all, it’s enjoyably hypnotic and just plain satisfying to watch. It’s just the kind of time waster you need as you wind down at work and start the holidays.

Thanks to Danny M. for the heads up, via Jalopnik.