All of my models are painted with House of Kolor automotive paint," he says. As for inspiration, he catches it from the cars, the lowrider lifestyle, and books like Lowrider magazine. Building realistic model cars is a true art form that takes both patience and dedication. "In order to make a detailed model you have to create it, you can't just go out and buy it," Mando adds. Mando is now able to machine his own engines and wheels by using a Dremel tool to go along with the handywork that he does. He was unhappy with the tires and wheels that were made for lowrider models, so he decided to make his own brass, aluminum, and plastic parts that were used to create other realistic details. "The '64 was a collection of many different car kits, like 10 of them just for the chrome parts," Mando says. Mando's first serious lowrider model was a '64 Impala called "24K Topless." Back then the materials and technology weren't as good as they are now, but Mando did the best that he could to accomplish even more detail, especially in the painting and artwork found on his projects. "I kind of stopped building the models for a while, but then around 1989 I started making my own wheels and parts," he says. Soon after that, he married his girlfriend and started a family. He learned what it took to become someone who would get into the heart of the competition. If you try to play with a model car you're going to find yourself with a hundred pieces broken up all over the place."Įven though Mando didn't win anything in his early years, mostly due to the fact that his competition was light-years ahead, it never deterred him. Many people think of model cars as toys, but that's a huge misconception. "During those early years I would spend every possible moment building model cars, and as soon as one was finished I would beg my dad to take me to the store to get another one. When I came over here and saw the lowriders I was like, 'whoa.' I got so many ideas and visions while I was at school that I started building models to compete, but there were a lot of guys way ahead of me," Mando says. "I was 10 years old when I built my first model. I was 15 years old then and every time I saw them hopping or those candy paintjobs, I was inspired." By this time Mando was already building models and had even been building them back in Mexico. "When I'd get out of San Fernando High School I'd see all those lowriders on the streets. Imaginative, Eccentric, Genuine, Unique, Distinctive, MasterBig Or Small, Mando's Masterpieces Can Handle It All.Born in Tijuana, Mexico, Armando "Mando" Flores immigrated to the San Fernando Valley in the early '70s with his family to take a chance in the great state of California.
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