A rant about flocks of gaudy peacocks

[Coelacanth]

And don't get me wrong, the painting talents exhibited by some of the painters who do all those techniques probably far surpass my own. I think all 3 of those concourse bodies were painted by more talented painters than I am.

The thing is, talent doesn't necessarily translate into tasteful. Sometimes it seems (especially over on RCtech in their paint section) that most people there are trying to one-up each other, sharing their techniques and more often, copying each other's techniques, seeing how many different techniques they can show off & squeeze onto a single body.

One thing I like about your body is that it strives to be unique by adding the flags on either side, but (again, just my opinion) it obstructs the flow of the flame job and the colors don't seem to complement each other.

Soon, I'll be painting a body for my Barney car, and it will be subject to the same criticism by everyone here, too. I know a lot of people don't like purple and green, so I'm sure not everyone will dig it.

[Orange]

Criticism does not bother me, I like to hear it actually since all i have heard is how bad ass that body is,

The flames normally go all the way down the side and I couldn't decide if i wanted them to remain like normal with the flag in the background.... But I didn't feel right having flames going over the top of the US flag, so i ended them at the flag. and my scheme usually has no flags either much like my avatar picture, but I wanted something different for a world championship race. It was right after AZ was in the news with their immigration laws, I was going to have SB 1070 on the AZ flag in support of the law... but decided against it.

I normally use purple and green in concourse competitions because girls usually judge them... And the best way to get noticed by a girl judge is to have those 2 colors.

[JPAE07]

I normally use purple and green in concourse competitions because girls usually judge them... And the best way to get noticed by a girl judge is to have those 2 colors.

Ahhhhhhh Haaaaaaa! The secret is out!

[Orange]

True story! Anytime you see a concourse judging, pay attention to it. If a girl is judging, 9 times out of 10, they pick purple or green.

[Coelacanth]

True story! Anytime you see a concourse judging, pay attention to it. If a girl is judging, 9 times out of 10, they pick purple or green.

Wow, they'll love Barney, then. I'll have concourse in the BAG!

[Vintagemishal]

and could we get rid of the wavy checkered flag pa leez, iv'e seen some covering half the body ... bleh

I couldn't agree more! Stupid checkered flags!

[Coelacanth]

That may well be an iconic replica, but the fact remains that the checkered flag paint scheme has been done to death, come back to life & done to death again. I mean, racing cars painted with checkered flags? Really? Is it possible to be any less original??

[Vintagemishal]

Although I agree with most everything that has been said here, I will say this: It is possible to be original and unique, BUT, most every paintjob out there is some form of copying what has already been done. Look through some old 50's, 60's, and 70's Hot Rod, Custom magazines and see if you see anything you recognize.

[Ivan Dobsky]

When I was painting shells for people I found that every time I painted something that was original in some way I was met with a bad reaction from the guy I painted it for. The look of extreme disapointment was then seemingly stuck on that person's face for the rest of the day and I had to wait a while before I got paid.

I found that the reason I spent most of my time painting the usual stuff that's been done to death is because that is exactly the kind of stuff people wanted to have on their shells. I got a bit tired of it after a while, and I learned that if someone said: "Yeah man, I wanna have a paint job that's different" then that person actually meant the exact opposite.

[Coelacanth]

Wow, way to queue up with the status quo! Sorry, this is one lemming who won't be following the rest into the river. The point of this rant is that there are some of us who don't do what everyone ELSE does or wants, and that's a good thing. And sometimes, it takes someone to point out how everyone is playing copycat to suddenly make them realize it.

And I disagree that every paint scheme has already been done before in some way or form. Any creative person can come up with something new & intriguing, as long as they're not trying to please the masses as their main goal. Check the galleries on RCtech, you'll see one of those creative examples--about every 5 or 10 pages.

Here's an analogy: the paint schemes found on the many pages of cars are like music. The most successful and largest percentage of music sold appeals to the lowest common denominator; the masses. Myself, I have a lot more respect for bands that do their own thing, not for money or success or popularity but because they love what they do. I'll take passion over popularity anyday.

[Vintagemishal]

The masses definately do not want unique! That is for certain. My personal favorite paint schemes are of "real" race cars, especially Martini schemes. In my opinion, there is no better looking paint scheme anywhere. But, do people want you to paint them a Martini scheme? No way because that's not what the current champion is running, nor do you see it on the paint forums or in the magazines.

[Coelacanth]

Paint your car like that pink & green Hornet with the white polka-dots & colored tires, win a few races, and watch how popular that paint job becomes! Good point.

[JK Racing]

No way because that's not what the current champion is running

win a few races, and watch how popular that paint job becomes!

Guess my paint job is safe

[Charlie don't surf]

and could we get rid of the wavy checkered flag pa leez, iv'e seen some covering half the body ... bleh

I couldn't agree more! Stupid checkered flags!

Stoopid applied pigment in oscillating intersecting perpendicular multi-directional repeating sequences. And what's that other crap? Individual visible refracting pigments of an contrasting pattern, divided by crisp parallel curving sections of un-equal dimensions. And all applied by some sort of, magic, mixing machine that atomizes said pigments via expelled gasses and evaporative carrier.

Damn kids, and your "progress" and that devils business called rock n' roll.


Just remember......you are unique in what ever you do-

























Just like everyone else-

[Qballll]

Eau Rouge

A few years ago, I started a thread on the "Painters" forum of RCtech. It was in response to the lack of creativity of many top shelf painters out there who have no new ideas, but a lot of talent. I don't care what the customer asks for, that's not what sells your work. I wanted to see true deep thought, creative painting and really something different.

I threw down the gauntlet, and proposed a contest. Any painter that wanted to take the challenge was eligible. The concept was to do something only using TWO colors. Fades were fine. Window trim, vents, grilles and other details didn't count as your colors. TWO paint colors. No vinyl, no wraps, no decals. That's all. Do something that actually requires some thought and creativity to be really cool.

Here's mine if anyone else would like to try. All paint, no stickers.