These are the various series run by 3DBotMaker.
3DBotMaker Diecast Racing League Tournament Series
The channel's most famous series, the DRL puts on themed tournaments throughout the season. For example, the British Car Invasion Tournament featured only 1:64 scale versions of British cars.
Each season has had various rules for its tournaments. For the 2018 season, 18 cars were entered into each tournament. Each car would qualify to set a time, and then be placed into a group with two other cars. For example, the top qualifier would be placed into a group with the 16th- and 17th-fastest qualifiers. Each group would race until one car won two (this was later changed to three) races, allowing them to be moved on to the next round. Each tournament had six groups of three, meaning six cars would move on to the semifinals, and then just two onto the final. The "win three races to move on" rule also applied to the semis and final. The winner of each tournament got a spot in the season-ending playoffs to determine an overall league champion. As a consolation prize, the car that didn't win but set the fastest lap time during the tournament also got a spot in the playoffs. In the instance that the winner also set the fastest lap, the car with the second-fastest lap got the invite. The 2018 DRL champion was Lightning McQueen Reviews in a 1968 Cougar, who got his spot in the playoffs by winning the Hot Wheels 50th Anniversary Tournament without losing a single race.
For 2019, the rules changed. Tournament fields were increased to 24 cars, and, after qualifying, were placed into groups of six. Instead of race wins, each race was now a set number of laps, and at the end of the final lap, the Top 3 finishers advanced to the next round (meaning there would be 12 semifinalists and six finalists). Each race in the first round started with cars being placed in order by their qualifying time: the fastest being on the inside of the front row, second fastest on the outside of the front row, etc. For the semifinal heats, the first round heat race winner whose time during said heat was fastest was placed on pole, followed by the two cars that advanced with them, with the three drivers who advanced from the other heat being lined up in positions four through six. For the final, the two semifinal heat winners were placed on the front row (with the first semi heat winner being placed on pole, and the second semi heat winner on their outside), followed by the semi heats' second-place finishers on the second row, and the third-place finishers on the third row. Once all races began, the cars would then start the next lap in the position they'd finished the previous lap in. A DNF rule was also put in place: if a car ended up on its roof anywhere before the finish line, it was considered out of the race. If it slid past the finish line upside down, or went upside down after the finish line, it was allowed to continue. However, this rule was eventually repealed when some races saw only two cars (and, in rare cases, just one) advance to the next round. For the 2019 season, only the tournament winners advanced to the league championship race, which was won by Mustang Tournament winner Nero 62 Custom Diecast in a 1965 Ford Mustang Fastback.
The 2020 season saw yet another overhaul of the rules. This time, just 16 cars are entered into each tournament, and, after qualifying, are placed into groups of four. A points system used by another YouTuber - DIECAST4LIFE - is now in place: each group runs four races. A win nets a car 5 points, second place 3, third place 2, and fourth 1. A car that fails to cross the finish line gets no points. A race is considered complete when at least one car crosses the finish line. If all cars stop on the course, the race is rerun until it gets at least one finisher. The two cars with the most points at the end of each round advance to the next round. For the first round, the drivers are lined up by their qualifying times: fastest on the inside of the front row, second-fastest on their outside, and then the other two cars lined up in the same manner. However, the cars now rotate starting positions for each subsequent race, going clockwise, meaning that the second-fastest qualifier starts the second race on the inside of the front row, then the third-fastest for race three, and the fourth-fastest for race four. In the following rounds, if a driver sets a faster track time than in qualifyingnote , then that time will be taken into consideration when lining up for the first race. Points do not carry over, meaning all cars start the next round at zero. The car with the most points at the end of the final round is the tournament champion. As with the previous two seasons, the tournament champions get a spot in the season-ending league championship race. Said championship race was won by Crazy James, the Classic Stock Car Tournament winner, driving a 1967 Chevrolet Chevelle painted up like the Smokey Yunick-owned Chevrolet that Johnny Rutherford drove to victory in the second qualifying race for the 1963 Daytona 500note back when those races paid full points towards the NASCAR Cup Seriesnote .
For the 2021 season, only eight cars were entered into each tournament. For the first three tournaments of the seasonnote , there were two four-race semifinals, with the Top 2 in each group advancing to a four-race final. The fourth tournament, the GT Diecast Car Tournament, saw the semis and finals each increased to eight races. In the eight-race format, the cars are lined up based on their points position after four races for the fifth race, and subsequently rotated afterwards for races six through eight. The fifth and sixth tournamentsnote saw the semifinals cut back down to four races each, while the final remained eight races. This was also the format used for the Tournament Series Championship event. Carrie Hsu (rhymes with "shoe") won the 2021 championship in a Nissan Skyline H/T 2000GT-X, having secured her spot by winning the Japanese Nostalgic Car Tournament.
The first two events of the 2022 season, which were also the last two on the version of Race Mountain introduced in 2020, the Mustang and BMW Tournaments, each started with 16 cars. The third event of the season, which was also the first staged on Race Mountain 3.0, the Pontiac Fiero Tournament, once again saw its starting field reduced to eight cars. The final event of the season was the Winter Wagon Tournament, where eight station wagons took part. Driver names were either those of main characters from Christmas movies (such as Kevin McCallister), or a winter-themed pun (Jerry Yellowsnow). There was no 2022 season championship race.
3DBotMaker King of the Mountain Modified Diecast Racing Series (formerly Underground Racing League)
Above is the logo used during the 2020 to 2022 season; below is the logo for The '80s-themed 2023 season.
Viewers modify their cars in many ways: changing the tires to make them have more grip, adding weight (mostly via tungsten blocks) to make them go faster, repainting them to make them look better, and even lengthening the car. Upon receiving the cars, Johnson has them do a run of the track to see if they're good enough to take part in the series. Cars and trucks must be licensed models (i.e. real-world manufacturers) or resemble real vehicles (such as the Original Rodger Dodger). Beginning with the fourth season, which started in 2023, vans and trucks have been banned, and cars must be based on a real car made sometime in the 1980s. Only plastic wheels are allowed, and custom paint jobs are required. Windows can no longer be blacked out, and the front seats and dashboard must remain in the interior. Cars must weigh between 40 and 60 grams.
The start of the 2018 season pitted two cars against one another. The first car to win three races was deemed King of the Mountain and held that title until they were beaten by a challenger. The 2019 season started differently: two cars were pitted against one another in a grudge match, where the winner advanced to a title match against two other competitors, the second of which was a 2018 KotM car that viewers voted to give a second chance to. A car still had to win three races to win the crown. After this, 3-way challenger races took place to determine who got to take on the king. A car had to win three races to advance to the title match. Midway through the 2019 season, challenger races increased to four cars, and turned into a miniature single-elimination tournament, with two cars pitted against one another in a semifinal heat that was best-of-3, where the winner moved on to a best-of-3 final. The challenger races were themed, pitting cars that were the exact same make or model, or had similar shapes, or similar weights.
The first two seasons also had a year-end final to determine an ultimate King of the Mountain. For the first season, the two cars who won the crown the most advanced to the year-end finals: Terry Hill's The Heavy, a 224-gram Hot Wheels car, took on Red Pill Racing in the Red Lynx, managing to defeat the Red Lynx to be crowned 2018 King of the Mountain. For the 2019 season, any driver who won the crown advanced to the year-end tournament. 19 cars advanced to the year-end playoffs, where Yo! Momma! won driving the MMJ Caddy, a 246-gram limousine. For the preliminary round through the quarterfinals, matchups were best-of-3. For the semifinals and final, it was best 3 out of 5.
2020 saw significant rule changes to King of the Mountain. Cars could now weigh a minimum of 65 grams, and a maximum of 115 grams. Cars could only be 82 millimeters in length. The reason for this change is the lane divider at the top of the new Race Mountain went past the first turn, and a small chicane in the divided lane would see a car like the MMJ Caddy get stuck. Also, the format was changed: instead of starting off the year with two cars, and having one be crowned king and see all challengers until losing, cars were pitted against one another in best-of-3 matchups. The winner of each matchup advanced to a King of the Mountain tournament. There were two KotM tournaments in 2020. Due to an overwhelming amount of submissions, the second KotM tournament saw four cars in each qualifying round, meaning that they adopted the DRL's new points system for 2020, as well as starting grid rotation for each race. Only the qualifying race winner advances to the tournament; their best time is used to determine their tournament seed. The four-car races were also brought into the second tournament, and are run like a DRL race, with the Top 2 finishers in each group advancing to the next round. The Top 2 finishers in the final group then battle each other in a best-of-3 showdown to see who takes on the current King in a best-of-5 matchup.
Beginning with the fourth qualifying race for the third tournament of the 2020-21-22 season, a fifth race was added, in which the cars were lined up in order by where they stood in the points after the fourth race (the leader lined up on the inside of the front row, second on their outside, etc.). At first, this was double points, in order to maybe give a boost to a driver who had one bad race despite doing well in the others. However, after negative viewer feedback, the double points gimmick was withdrawn, though the fifth race, and lining the drivers up by points, stayed put until the end of the tournament. The fifth race is not run, however, if the gap between the first and second places is insurmountable. Additionally, there was a side plot during this tournament with a police crackdown on street racing affecting the tournament. This led to another rule introduction; if a car crashed during a race, then the next race, a police cruiser would give chase once the cars reached the 'S'-curve between the first two turns. If the cruiser successfully stopped a racer, then that racer's vehicle was impounded; otherwise, the racer is safe if they successfully completed the race, was too far away from the cop even if the racer's vehicle stopped or crashed on the track, or the cop cruiser itself crashed on the track. However, being impounded gave the cars a second chance, as the sixteenth and last qualifier was an elimination event involving all the impounded cars.
For the fifth and final tournament of the 2020-21-22 season, there were only 11 qualifying races due to only 44 cars being left. The seven winners who had the fastest time in their race automatically moved on to the tournament itself, while the other four took part in a last-chance qualifier to determine who got the eighth and final spot.
For the fourth season, there will be seven tournaments. The first six tournaments will have 64 cars each, while the seventh and final tournament will have 32. The seven tournament winners, plus the driver who has the fastest track time throughout the entire season, will be placed into a tournament of champions to determine the overall season four champion. Should the driver with the fastest track time earn a place in the final tournament by winning one of the seven preliminary tournaments, then the non-tournament winner with the fastest track time will get the eighth spot. Additionally, while the overall theme is still street racing in modified cars, the series is now "sanctioned" and it is no longer promoted as an "underground racing league".
One constant KotM rule for two-car races is staging. Each car starts on the inside lane at least once in a matchup. In the event the sudden death race is needed, the car with the fastest track time gets the inside lane advantage.
King of the Mountain videos are more elaborately produced than their DRL counterparts. A separate set from the track was a parking lot full of customized cars and 3D-printed people. Previously, Johnson's alter-ego, 2D (which is just Johnson's voice deepened through a ring modulator), hosted the KotM series, introducing each car and explaining the rules. 3D served as the public address announcer. Unlike the DRL videos, music (mostly hip-hop) was played in the background during KotM races in the series's early years, as if a DJ were on-site. 2D has gotten popular enough to where he and 3D now call DRL and Diecast Rally Championship events together. Beginning with the first 2020 KotM tournament, 3D and 2D call the races in the same manner that they work DRL and DRC events.
King of the Mountain videos usually don't get as many views as DRL or Diecast Rally Championship videos. However, KotM has now taken over the channel (at least, for the time being) in 2023 as the only regular series in production. It took a lot of effort for Johnson to even make Race City and he needs time to make the new sets for the other series as he's moved to a new production location; he was unable to take the old sets as they were with him as they were much too big and heavy to move.
The most recent King was Terrance Jr., "son" of Terry Hill. Terrance Jr.'s winning car is a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution named the Purple People Eater. It was changed to a purple Ferrari F40 for the fourth season due to the 1980s cars-only restriction. He was knocked out of second tournament of the season in the semi-finals, leaving the position vacant until the finals.
3DBotMaker Diecast Rally Championship
Each event for 2020 saw eight cars, and had four rounds. The first round saw each car go out one at a time. The goal is to collect points. The 2020 track had three check points: past the canyon jump at the bottom of the bridge drop, past the left-hand turn, and the finish line. For the first two events, another check point was placed at the top of the bridge drop, but was removed prior to the third event, since each car managed to get past it. Each check point was worth one point. Points carried over to each round. For the rest of the event, cars were pitted against one another in two-run heats with a lane switch. The car with the most points was pitted against the car with the fewest points in each round until the final. Winning a run in each heat earned a car an additional point for the first two events; starting with the second event, this was increased to two points to make winning mean more. There is another bonus opportunity: crossing the finish line with all four wheels off the ground earns a Big Air Bonus, an extra point. For the second DRC event, a second Big Air Bonus, called Max Big Air was added. Landing in this zone, past the Big Air zone, earned an additional two points. For the third event, this was adjusted again: seven hay bales were stacked up (a row of three on top of a row of four) underneath the finish line banner, and the area past this stack was covered in sand. If a car jumped over the stack of hay bales, it earned two additional points. A clean landing in the sand earned another point. Hitting the hay bales earned a car no additional points. Beginning with the second round of each event, the two cars with the lowest point total at the end of each round were eliminated. The car that finished the event with the most points was the event winner, and advanced to the next DRC event, where they took on seven new challengers. The first three DRC events of 2020 were won by Steven King in a Ford Escort, with Angi Stig claiming the fourth and final event of the season in a Renault Mégane Trophy.
For 2021, the rules changed significantly. The first event was an all-star event of sorts, featuring six drivers from 2020, plus two rookies. The event started with qualifying. Each car would get two runs to set a time. The four fastest cars moved on to the championship round, where points took over. The championship round is round robin, with each driver facing his or her three opponents once. Similar to 2020, the one-on-one matchups had two runs, with each driver getting the inside lane. For the first event, the checkpoints were brought back. The first was placed past the bump on the first straightaway, the second placed right before the circular turn at the end of the second straight, and the third past the final turn. The fourth checkpoint was the finish line. Passing each checkpoint was worth a point. There were also bonus point opportunities. First, each run was timed, with the clock adjusted to take each car's time as they passed the finish line. The fastest time in each round was worth eight points, second-fastest four, third-fastest two, and the slowest one. If a car failed to finish either run, they got no points for setting a time. The Big Air bonus also returned. The driver who had the furthest jump past the finish line in each round collected two points. For the first event, the car had to land on the track right side up. The driver with the most points after the championship round wins the event, and advances to the next event, earning a bye into the championship round. Six new competitors are brought in, with the top three in qualifying moving on to the championship round. For the second event, the points system was changed again. The checkpoints were removed. Now, a car gets two points for finishing first in a run, while second place got one point. Failing to finish a run earns a driver nothing. The time bonus points were changed, going from 8-4-2-1 to 4-3-2-1. The Big Air bonus went from two points to four, and all jumps counted, regardless of how or where the car landed. The first DRC event of 2021 was won by Dylan in a 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, while the second event was won by Bobby Johnson in a Lancia 037. The third event, an all-truck edition, was won by Travis Wheeler in a 1987 Dodge D100. Johnson then defeated Wheeler to claim the overall season championship.
For the 2022 season, the points system was scrapped, and the old best-of-5 system from the channel's early days was reintroduced for the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds, with the final itself being a best-of-9, requiring a driver to win five races to take the title. The Big Air bonus was only used to determine who would get the inside line in the series-deciding race. "Big Air" Dylan claimed the first event of the 2022 season, driving another 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, this one with a different paint job.
3DBotMaker Diecast Demolition Derby
Debuting in August 2021, this is a team-based series, the channel's first. Two teams of four cars each are pitted against each other. In an arena setting, two two-lane car launchers are aimed at each other. After a countdown, the cars are sent towards one another, the aim being to knock one on its roof or side to eliminate it from the match. A car that goes out of bounds is also eliminated. Once a car is eliminated, it is replaced by one of its teammates. Once a team is down to its last car, that car will face the other cars on the opposing team one-on-one until it eliminates them or is eliminated. If a one-on-one showdown goes three rounds without either car being eliminated, a "knockout round" takes place. In this, a zone is projected onto the center of the arena surface. The car that stays inside the zone is safe, while the car that ends up outside of it is out. The rule regarding a car being eliminated by ending up on its roof or side still applies. Once one team's cars have all been eliminated, the team with any cars still alive secures the victory. There are two matches per video. The series has eight teams, and a win-loss table is kept for it. The full format (Is it round robin? Will there be playoffs?) was yet to be revealed when the series went on hiatus.
After four episodes, the series was placed on hiatus in order to build a new set and in order to provide better slow-motion footage for replays. It returned in September of 2022 with many noticeable changes, such as the cars sporting better paint jobs, and having their team logo on the sides. The logo was no longer projected onto the floor before a round, with only a spotlight being shined on the remaining cars from a match's winning team. Also, if a car was the last one still alive for a team, it faced off against two cars if the opponent had more than one still competing. After a regular season in which all teams face each other once, there will be playoffs.
