Box art or Personalized bodies?

[Josie]

One thing i personally decided on before building my first car, was to paint the body in the colour i liked compared to what was on the box.

Similar to the included decals too, Only used the window and Egress decals. The stickers for windows were already the right shape so an ideal mask before painting.

What about you.. Do you prefer and like to follow the box art or like to personalize for something more unique, or both? x

 

[VroomVroomRC]

I'm really torn on this topic because the box art is the version I fell in love with as a little kid. However, many of the custom paint jobs I see are just jaw dropping. So far, I have personally stuck with box art mainly because I don't have an eye for creating my own custom paint jobs.

[toyolien]

24 minutes ago, VroomVroomRC said:

I'm really torn on this topic because the box art is the version I fell in love with as a little kid. However, many of the custom paint jobs I see are just jaw dropping. So far, I have personally stuck with box art mainly because I don't have an eye for creating my own custom paint jobs.

I can relate to this. Some cars, like the Egress just look so good in the box art colors. However, I prefer to do my own design. I'm not an elaborate or patient painter, but I do like to put my own 'stamp' on bodies.

[Kol__]

I also really like box art, as its the way they were meant to be and most of them look so good and iconic. On the other hand, I rarely do box art, one of my favourite things about the hobby is the creativity it allows for, and so I mostly do my own custom designs. Here's a few below...

You can keep the changes simple, using stock sticker sets with different paint colours to box art. This is a Monster Beetle painted up in a flat grey with the Blitzer Beetle sticker set (same shell as the MB).

The Dyna Storm below is not my paint design on the body shell, it came like that to me from Japan, but the sticker design and matching TRF shocks etc. are my additions. 

Team Azarashi body shell modified to fit on a DT02, with custom sticker design.

Lunch Box with a different twist. If you haven't heard of MCI in Canada, they offer what are largely considered as the best aftermarket sticker set repros. And you can change the individual colours of each sticker on the website and create your own colourways.

The Madcap in another MCI design I created.

Also, I find one of the best things can be to get hold of a sticker set you like or can see potential in and then use that in a design. The silver and green below is using some sort of old F1 sticker set on the Terra Conqueror shell...

I'm now reaching the point where if possible I'll do a box art version and then a second one in my own design. Most recently...

Got a bit carried away with this post, but once I started looking back at some of my designs, thought this was a good place to share.

[JimBear]

I like thinking up and using my own colour choices ... but some of the Tamiya vehicles are such icons that the yellow of the Lunch Box or the red of Monster Beetle can be hard to just ignore. A well thought out colour or paint scheme can really make you see the "same old thing" as something new. As with your Egress, for example.

 

[Josie]

12 minutes ago, Kol__ said:

Gosh, they all look so good especially this one. Never really considered painting a body black but after seeing this.. ive changed my mind!

Still learning, but what is a DT02 please?

 

 

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[Kol__]

Thanks @Josie That's the first proper custom job I attempted. I like the black, but still need to either define the windows better or put a lightish colour driver in there, as the windows get lost a bit in all the black with the dark chassis underneath.

To answer your question, there are some standalone models, like the Egress, but most Tamiya RC's consist of families of cars closely related to each other or developments from one to another and this is often done via chassis designations. Look up DT01, DT02, DT03 and most recently the newest buggy from Tamiya the DT04, for example.

Some classic chassis types include DF-01 (Manta Ray etc.), which eventually spawned the Top Force EVO; and also the Astute family which went on, via the Madcap and Super Astute, to deliver what most consider the best 2WD non-TRF (Tamiya Racing Factory - very expensive Tamiya cars designed for racing), the Dyna Storm.

[Josie]

56 minutes ago, Kol__ said:

Thanks @Josie That's the first proper custom job I attempted. I like the black, but still need to either define the windows better or put a lightish colour driver in there, as the windows get lost a bit in all the black with the dark chassis underneath.

To answer your question, there are some standalone models, like the Egress, but most Tamiya RC's consist of families of cars closely related to each other or developments from one to another and this is often done via chassis designations. Look up DT01, DT02, DT03 and most recently the newest buggy from Tamiya the DT04, for example.

Some classic chassis types include DF-01 (Manta Ray etc.), which eventually spawned the Top Force EVO; and also the Astute family which went on, via the Madcap and Super Astute, to deliver what most consider the best 2WD non-TRF (Tamiya Racing Factory - very expensive Tamiya cars designed for racing), the Dyna Storm.

Ah thankyou, something else new that i learnt today! Very Interesting. Thankyou for sharing your beautiful designs too.

[Kol__]

1 minute ago, Josie said:

Ah thankyou, something else new that i learnt today! Very Interesting. Thankyou for sharing your beautiful designs too.

Thanks Josie. I'll correct myself though, as the Egress isn't a standalone design, it's part of the evolution of the Avante family. There aren't really many that aren't part of a family, it's one of the greatest things about Tamiya imo, they evolve their chassis designs😎

[River19]

90% of my cars get race time so I paint them similarly usually with my color scheme which is a simple fade, but the bodies take a beating on the track in traffic so there is no real motivation to invest a ton of time in paint and decals like box art.  

That being said, a LOT of Tamiya box art is awesome.

[Pizza Frog]

It depends on the car,  I guess it boils down to subjective taste.

Box art is almost always good, but sometimes a car cries out to me for a different color, like the Manta Ray, I painted my one black (which is the real color of a Manta Ray).

Sometimes I do both, like my Lunchbox,  both pics show the same chassis,  I use the gold body for running.  I spent a lot of time painting and polishing the black boxart body so it would be a shame for it to get all scratched up, I don't mind if the gold one gets scratches and road rash;

[Juggular]

95% of the times, I go with the box art.  They hire top designers.  I found that it's really hard to beat them.   

Except for this. 

I wanted this VW Karmann Ghia body for years.

But when they finally released it, they chose the least eye-catching color.  

I'm calling it the "black eye color." (not the best way to catch an eye.)  

Maybe Tamiya folks haven't seen it in person?  It's supposed to be tiny, light weight, and bubbly. A lemonade, not a steak. 

I love Tamiya, but I was disappointed.  Maybe Kyosho planted a spy to sabotage Tamiya?  (I still bought the shell, because any other color would be better). 

At bare minimum, Konghead blue/white?    

Anyway, I mostly go with the box art. Unless the box art is terrible (granted, it's rare).

 

[Nikko85]

9 hours ago, Kol__ said:

I also really like box art, as its the way they were meant to be and most of them looks so good and iconic. On the other hand, I rarely do box art, one of my favourite things about the hobby is the creativity it allows for, and so I mostly do my own custom designs. Here's a few below...

You can keep the changes simple, using stock sticker sets with different paint colours to box art. This is a Monster Beetle painted up in a flat grey with the Blitzer Beetle sticker set (same shell as the MB).

The Dyna Storm below is not my paint design on the body shell, it came like that to me from Japan, but the sticker design and matching TRF shocks etc. are my additions. 

Team Azarashi body shell modified to fit on a DT02, with custom sticker design.

Lunch Box with a different twist. If you haven't heard of MCI in Canada, they offer what are largely considered as the best aftermarket sticker set repros. And you can change the individual colours of each sticker on the website and create your own colourways.

 

Tamiya should hire you. These are so much cooler than stock!

I'd love to see tamiya release alt stickers for each shell, and alt colour schemes.

I don't think any of my Tamiya have the body they were designed for, let alone stock colours. I am not a skilled painter or experienced engineer so for me the creativity in the hobby is doing anything other than what Tamiya designed. That's not to say what I do is always better, but I like trying new things. I also only run 1/12 and 1/16 cars.

TL01, GF01, MT01x, QD... no budget tamiya platform is safe!

 

 

[Ernoman]

I'm all for customization. While the box art of the beetle is nice, I wanted my own touch. Since this is my first car, I stuck to one paint color. I did learn alot in the process. If you want to go custom, take it at small steps at a time. I'm sure there is a lot to learn before going outrageous.

 

[alvinlwh]

It really depends. 

If iconic like the Hotshot red, then usually box art. *

If gerenic like a regular production road car like the CR-Z or a car that is not really based on any real life one like the Blitzer Beetle, then definitely not box art. 

If a race replica with sponsor stickers, then definitely box art. 

*I sometimes go "opposite" like the direct opposite of the box art color. Or in the case of The Frog, swapped the white and pink portions. If you want to do this, check that the new color will work with the stickers. 

[Mad Ax]

I rarely do boxart, as I like to run my cars at events, and I hate when my car is on track racing another one with the exact same livery 

For my race bodies, I usually do my own simple block colours because it's quick to paint and stands out on track.  I try to do a design that you might see on a real 1:1 race car because that's how I think 1:10 racing should be.

For all my other cars, I generally come up with a theme, concept, or name, and then let the colour scheme flow from there.  For example, all my monster trucks are named after medieval/magical/classical fantasy weapons or characters.

I went through a phase of painting my touring car bodies like street cars, but I seem to have grown out of that because they just end up as shelf cars.  There's no joy in driving a street car.

If the car comes with coloured parts (e.g. yellow wheels and shocks on my MTX-1) then that colour will be part of the paint scheme, to give a cohesive feel to the finished car.

 

[Starky_UK]

For me it's kit specific and also influenced by nostalgia.

For example, I would most likely paint a Bigwig or Sand Scorcher box art as that is what I liked about them as a kid and some of the race car liveries (JACCS Accord comes to mind) of real cars I liked.

Generally I go for doing at least a colour change or tribute, but mainly do my own theme. 

[TurnipJF]

For me it depends on the subject. Many touring and rally bodies are replicas of real-world racing cars, and their recommended paint and supplied decals replicate real racing liveries. Deviations from box-art would thus detract from their authenticity, unless of course one is replacing one real-world livery with another. I therefore tend to stick to box-art with such models.

 

However when it comes to buggies and trucks with no real-world equivalent, I have no such reservations, and if I don't like the box-art, or if it is a common model with numerous box-art examples already in existence, I like to try something different. Sometimes it is taking a decal set, colour palette or sometimes a whole livery from one model and applying it to another, such as my ReviveRC TD4 shell that was inspired by the Avante Black Edition:

Or my F1s which were inspired by the AMG GT3:

 

Sometimes it is taking one of Tamiya's limited edition colour schemes and switching it about a bit, such as my Neo Fighter Deep Purple Edition that was inspired by Tamiya's Metallic Green Edition of the same model:

 

And sometimes I throw the playbook out the window and come up with my own livery, often inspired by the paint I have available, such as my Neo Scorcher runner shell that was painted using a combination of red, orange, yellow and white spray cans left over from other projects:

 

[ADRay1000]

picking out your own paint color(s) is the second thing that drew me into the hobby as a 9 year old. (first being that they were cool cars). I think the only box art body I ever did was a Mini Cooper Monte Carlo, as a display only body. I also remember all of the rad sticker sheets we had to choose from at the LHS. 
 

also, has a phase been coined for this move? Livery appropriation? 

[RC_Hobbyist]

I had someone do the paint and applying decals for me when I bought my Hornet Evo kit, due to me having tremors.

I wanted to keep it to the original box art. Even though I never owned the original Hornet
from 1984, the Hornet is one of Tamiya's most recognized and historic RC cars and I wanted to pay homage to the original release.



 

[2qwik]

Some cars to me are best in box art, most of mine I do my own styles though. Expression is an individual thing and is a reflection of us all.

[Guest]

I have never painted anything 'box art'. Even my first Tamiya- the lunch box which I got for Xmas '88, when I was 7 was painted in Ford '77 signal orange to match the neighbours Mk2 Escort.

[Josie]

3 hours ago, Ernoman said:

I'm all for customization. While the box art of the beetle is nice, I wanted my own touch. Since this is my first car, I stuck to one paint color. I did learn alot in the process. If you want to go custom, take it at small steps at a time. I'm sure there is a lot to learn before going outrageous.

 

Ah, that looks so cute. Love it!

[Busdriver]

Sand Scorcher, Ranger, hard to beat in box art style though if memory serves me correctly the box art was only suggested, other colours could be used. Other than those two of the cars that I have that I painted I don’t think any are box art. I have an Opel Calibra in a non box art colour but it is based on an actual race car!!  I rather like orange and blue so a lot of my cars feature them in varying degrees.

[markbt73]

This is as close as I get to box art, and even it's not exact:

Otherwise, I just do my own thing.