1965 Chevy Impala - Lowrider Magazine

The model car story on real-sized cars is simple: Mando has an actual '65 Chevy Impala that he wanted to convey all the skills he's honed through his years of building; ideas like LED lighting, murals, graphics, striping, and flake. As for Mando's real '65 Chevy, he's in the middle of creating that too but has yet to name it or give it a theme. "To me it's like another model, it's just on a bigger scale-doing the modifications, the paint, having the interior built from scratch into all metal. What makes it easier for me is all that I do in the models, I transfer to my real car," he says. Mando hopes to bust the '65 out at the Las Vegas Super Show next year. Right now he's in the process of doing model cars for customers who want their vision in scale, sort of a 3-D sketch if you will, to see what the car will be like and what possible obstacles they may come across during the actual project. This is Mando's next business venture, something he can offer to those who'd like to flesh out their dream car. Almost like a living sketch only better! "That's where I'm heading right now, doing the paintjobs and the modifications on the models," Mando says. "This is what I want: To show the world what masterpieces can do for you."

Part of Mando's pre-visualization sometimes involves seeing the custom paintjob on almost any type of car. He says that has to work or he may have to repaint the model, which he has had to do from time to time. Rather than give up, he chooses to keep going until he thinks it's just right.

Mando doesn't have a preference in model car companies because it's the plastic that matters, which he just needs to be able to manipulate. As for where he gets the hard-to-find models, he says eBay and occasionally at the store. Mando's eyes really light up when he finds a certain car model or part that he'll be using. These finds can cost a couple hundred dollars for a vintage bone-stock, in-the-box model car that will still need to be customized to the tenth degree. He recalled one time getting a model car kit of a '66 and paying $300 for it because he had to have it since that's what it took to build that particular car. "EBay is the greatest, I can find a lot of stuff there," Mando says. One of the first things Mando does to a car once he gets it in his hands is to get into the body modifications. "I start opening the doors, the hood, and trunk and do whatever I have to do to the plastic to make it work for me," he says.

Mando, and many other lowrider model builders sometimes get heat when competing with the other custom car modelers, especially the hot-rod crowd, but many of you already know that most lowrider-style cars will out-point the custom hot-rod-styled cars on the large and small scales. To make a point, Mando built a pickup truck to show that he could own them in their perspective field. "When you have more than 500 parts, many of them photo-etched aluminum for the engine and undercarriage, it just proves to them that they can't do lowriders. I think I proved that point," Mando says jokingly. That may have piped them down for a bit but he still gets a lot of grumbling from the hot-rodders.

As for his latest creation, his "Egyptian Lover," the '65 Chevy Impala, will be a combination of plastic and metal parts. This wild ride is something Mando plans to take to the Nationals in Salt Lake City for the 2009 season, but the car will need to be approved and categorized in order to compete. Even though the committee for the event has many rules, we know that if anyone can get into the Nationals it's this guy!