She's a looker!........

[jimmy]

After a conversation tonight, where my aesthetic eye was questioned, I thought I'd ask - How important are the looks of a car to you ?!?

I'm talking from the perspective of a racer (in any class) or a basher / fun driver. Anything from a nice modern airbrushed paint scheme to a scale looking car/buggy.

I love the old skool look of the HPI Baja 5b, just like I love the look of my original Kyosho Ultima (very similar looking)- I guess it doesnt mean I would race the Ultima though if its not competitive.

[Spencer Mulcahy]

Was wondering where this thread was going. I have been thinking of going plain with my bodys latley simple one colour less fussy. The Optima Mid Turbo was a good looking car (LWB version).

[Cockerill]

Plain White all the way

[Spencer Mulcahy]

You and Danny

[DCM]

I prefer form over function, but then there are times when no thought has gone into the asthetics of an item that is clearly in veiw and so just looks like a 'blob', Schumacher ProCat shell and the first 'flat' yokomo shell.

Jim, the Ultima, with the ladder frame pressed alloy chassis was my first 'new' car and painted sky blue, heehee.

as for shells, they are a personal taste, if someone likes plain colours, cool, not my thing, but then my thing isn't everyones cup of tea either. not a great fan of 'messy' scheme's though.

[jimmy]

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! yummy.

[Chris Doughty]

form follows function.

you noticed how much nicer a car looks when you see it rag around a track at a super quick speed.

there are obviously cars that you will never like the look of, no matter how fast they go,

there are cars that look dialled without doing anything, but they may not always go that well (but some do)

its the 'I'm not sure about that one' car that will start to look better and better the more you see it ragging everyones ass off on the track.

Subaru Impreza is one of them, especially the 'bug eye' version, it was definately a 'OMG what have they done' when i first saw it, and now, the more I see it, I just think, 'OMG it looks so damn mean!!!'

[sosidge]

I've always felt that the best looking cars also tended to be the fastest ones, in RC and in full-size motorsport.

The XX4 looks better than a XXX4 for example, the B4 looks better than the B3, a touring Stratus or Mazda shell looks better than an MG or BMW.

Full size cars are the same, old BMW CSL's, BTCC Alfas and Astras, F1 Renaults all look fantastic compared to the cars that prop up the back of the field.

I reckon it's something to do with your eye naturally being drawn to an effective shape, mechanical or human!

[bigred5765]

when i see a plain coloured car, i tend to think this person isn't in the sport for fun or enjoyment, i tend to think there here for results, not bothered how it looks more how it goes,and i suppose thats OK. but with out some kind of colour scheme or paint job how is that car felling any love or personalisation ,its your car say it with your colours, plain white? just doesn't cut it. it could be anyone of three plain cars out there,if there all the same its like hmm OK ill watch the brighter coloured one instead. then your car is in the marks dead,or broke (boring get a paint scheme)

[Yardeeee]

Hey guys,

I personally think that single coloured cars can actually look really cool as long as they are stickered correctly. Take Tricky's for example, His rides look awesome, because they are all 1 colour and have stickers well positioned and all in matching colours (white).

http://www.oswestryrcc.org.uk/Gallery_National18.htm

Personally one of my views is that even the best paintjob in the world can look poor if it's not stickered right!

As for the looks of cars in general... well... everyone has their favourites, but let's face it, to an onlooker, anythin that flies past you at 35mph in 1/10th scale looks pretty impressive!

Yardy

[ApexSpeed]

To me, the car has to look good right off the bat, or I won't even buy it—I don't care how great it works. It's one of the reasons I never ventured into the X5, X6 or the BJ4. I think they are hideously ugly, and I don't care how well they work. I love the old school off road look, and would buy a car that looked like a real buggy if it was a viable race option. I hate the fake, cartoon-looking Stratus sedan bodies, so I buy bodies that look good, even if they don't necessarily work as well as some others. The Protoform Cadillac CTS-V is a great body, and I will enjoy making it work. I can't wait to get my hands on the new PF Charger, too.

A perfect example is the Losi XXXT MF2. The body out of the box is one of the ugliest truck bodies ever. I opened it up and cut it apart to keep it from ever being used anywhere. It's just my small contribuion to making life better. I bought a ProLine Crowd Pleaser before I even had the truck kit in my hands.

As for the paint, I feel that in all of motorsports—not just R/C racing—the professionalism and presentation are as important as the performance and the preparation. A car that looks like garbage will inevitably perform that way. To me, it's like wearing a cheap suit. Is that how you want other people to think of you?

I may not have the fastest car, and I certainly struggle to be a mid-pack driver, but my car's will always look flawless and be prepped to within an inch of perfection. It HAS to look as good as it works, otherwise, you're just racing incomplete.

[ApexSpeed]

Originally Posted by Yardeeee

Personally one of my views is that even the best paintjob in the world can look poor if it's not stickered right!

And I'd say that the best paintjob would never need decals at all. Doug Sommers (RCBodz) does it all the time, and his paint jobs are cover cars on many magazines here in the U.S. I've done it more than a few times, too. It just takes planning and thought.

Decals are masks and crutches for bad design, color and execution of a paint job. Though, the right decal work can make a racing body even better.

[Bathy]

I don't care what my car looks like, so long as it's setup well and performs well on the track! Looks are not important at all...


:drunken:

[jimmy]

Originally Posted by Bathy

I don't care what my car looks like, so long as it's setup well and performs well on the track! Looks are not important at all...


:drunken:

lies!!!!!!
you are the king of bling !!

[DCM]

Originally Posted by Bathy

I don't care what my car looks like, so long as it's setup well and performs well on the track! Looks are not important at all...


:drunken:

tsk, I won't put so much bling on your shell next time, roflol

[Oscar]

For me, its got to be brightly coloured with plenty of white, just so I can actually see the thing. (I remember painting a Top cat all in black with just a couple of green serpents on it, years ago. Looked fine but was, comparatively, really hard to see when on track).
I also prefer the "Less is More" approach to stickers.