Hot Wheels on UK roll

Afather has completed 1,000 days of a project he began in lockdown, taking photos of his son’s toy cars in interesting locations while out on walks.

Ross Burns, 43, started it as a way of alleviating lockdown boredom in the summer in 2020 and enjoyed the challenge so much he kept on going.

Restrictions meant the majority of his early photos were taken near his home in Edinburgh and he photographed the Hot Wheels cars in hundreds of settings around the capital.

He has since taken his hobby around the UK and photographed the cars in front of Buckingham Palace, the Finnieston Crane in Glasgow, and the Tyne Bridge among others.

Mr Burns said: “My sixyear-old son Daniel loves Hot Wheels and I’ve caught the bug as well.

“Back in 2020, to make sure I took a walk every day, I started taking a car out and taking some pictures on my phone.

“After a few weeks, I set myself the challenge of doing it for a full year and then thought I’d stop. Clearly I was hooked and another 635 days on, I’m still at it.

“The great thing now is that the world has opened up a lot more so it’s become a pictorial diary of my life.

“It’s also been a fun hobby for me and Daniel to do together. He likes copying my photos and creating his own.

“Seeing him sprawled flat on a pavement to get the perfect angle is funny.”

While Daniel enjoys helping with the photos, Mr Burns also sets up the shots on his own, choosing a car from his son’s collection of around 500 Hot Wheels.

He took the 1,000th photo at Calton Hill in Edinburgh on Wednesday.

Mr Burns, head of communications at Edinburgh Napier University, posts his photos on Instagram at www. instagram.com/scot. wheels.

He said: “My followers can probably be split into two camps: those who love Edinburgh and those who love Hot Wheels, and I’ve tried my best to showcase both.”

TOY TOWNS: Ross Burns has snapped his son Daniel’s Hot Wheels models around Scotland and across the UK since lockdown in 2020.