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Ferruz

Importance of the driver figure

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While working on my last driver figure for what by now adds up to quite a few hours,  I was thinking of how much more time I exponentially dedicate to this part of the building process with every new kit or restoration.

Having a driver figure in my cars has always been important to me. Since I was a kid, I always found that it really brings the model to another level, whether it's a scale one or a fantasy design. Oh and I hope I won't annoy anybody with the following sentence, but I'm referring mostly to the timeless, dazed-and-confused faced typical driver silhouette. The funny, bigger headed Wild Willies, although full of personality of their own, never did it for me as I find them cartoonish which in a way defeats the purpose -but that of course is just my personal opinion that I only apply to my own models, I still love and appreciate a well executed Willy or similar, they are just not my cup of tea.

Back to the pondering, I now realize how immensely I enjoy the process of seeing one coming to life in my hands with the only aid of some primer and paint. I also realized that, while making a detailed shell may sometimes feel counterintuitive as I know I'm going to run it and scuff it up eventually, working on a driver just feels good all the way as it's hardly going to ever get damaged, even in the event of a major crash.

I remember my first Hornet's driver being all nice and done in a couple hours excluding drying times, while nowadays I spend entire weeks just thinking about its details and color scheme before I even start priming it. It's incredible how much detail you can stuff on a half face, helmet and torso, and I'm absolutely amazed by the results some people achieve. I also find it fascinating how some drivers look so stunning while being simple, and others just don't look right even with plenty of details and effort. I guess that comes down to the color choices, attention to detail and cleanliness of the execution, but it also feels like there's more to that, like some sort of obscure science?

So, I see myself dedicating more and more time to the drivers in my current and future builds, enjoying the process and the self challenge of making each new one a little better than the one before, but what about other people?

I know that some absolutely hate working on drivers, others do likely see it as just another part of the build, and for some people like myself it gets to be almost as essential as the wheels.

Some people I read of are more racing oriented which means performance and functionality, so they just bin the drivers altogether from the get go as they just add weight to the car. It makes perfect sense to me, but man I don't think I could ever be so coherent with my goal :lol: Even if I was racing for, say, the top of the Postal Racing chain, I couldn't bring myself to eradicate the driver from one of my cars, I'm just too into them, to the point that removing it would feel like the car is "incomplete" (by the way, wasn't it mandatory to have a driver figure in your car even in the official races back in the day? Or did I just dream about it?).

So what about you? Where do you stand when it comes to the little plastic people inside your cars? How much attention and love -or hate- do they get?

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I can certainly appreciate the guys that spend the time and get a driver looking perfect, but just not my cup of tea.  If a car I'm building comes with a driver I will paint him and put him in, but never go out of the way to add a driver to a vehicle that doesn't already have one.  

I'm just more interestd in the mechanical aspect of the hobby rather than the modeling side of it.  To each their own I guess, but I definitely have respect for guys that can make the little guys look like the real thing.

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I hate figures. They ruin an otherwise good build as far as I'm concerned. But then again I barely, just barely, accept the body. I'm more interested in the mechanics of the build itself, of the cool mechanical 'thing'. Trying to mimic a real vehicle is to my mind just silly.

But if you like them, go for it. It's your build.

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Driver detail is nice to see . I do like painting drivers and I do spend a lot time on them . They are not all hidden away  like the Hornet , GH ,  Frog drivers . The Wild One , FAV drivers and yes Wild Willy for instance are very much visible drivers and part of the model , they deserve a good look . The icing on the cake !!

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I usually don't bother, except for models with a really exposed driver: Wild WIlly, FAV, etc. If it's just a head and torso stuck to the roof of the body, like the Grasshopper/Hornet, I leave it out. That looks weirder to me than no driver at all.

And I never add a driver to vehicles that don't come with one. Just not worth the effort to me.

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Agreed - if they just hang from the roof then I don’t bother but I have been spending time on more detailed drivers (as per the other post) if they are more exposed 

I put a FAV driver in my WildOne

spent some time on my Subaru brat driver

Enjoyed doing my 959 drivers 

and the comical hornet driver is ace

but left out the falcon, grass hopper and madbull drivers 

JJ

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It's a must for me. 

When I got Porsche 956 (Kyosho), it did not have a driver.  It felt odd. (below is not mine)

dAqHION.jpg

I couldn't get a sense of scale. Just how big was this thing in real life?  

Later when I saw a photo of Tamiya's version, I could see how a driver would fit into it.  "Oh, he can actually glance through that tiny side window." 

5dYShtP.jpg

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I like to imagine a small driver white-knuckled in the cockpit. 

To me, a driver is a part of a moving car.  Having no driver feels like a Lamborghini without the engine in the bay.  If I see nothing under the rear window, I'd say, "come on, at least slap on a sticker that looks like an engine!"  

N2GE9op.jpg

Maybe it came from scale airplane kits.  I used to hang them up. If it's got the landing gear down and sitting, I don't mind the canopy open and having no pilot in it.  But a plane up in the air without a pilot feels strange to me.  Are these things so light, they would just float up without anybody piloting them?  That says, "because it's a toy somebody put together."  (below is not mine either)

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To me, even a Lego looks better with a pilot in it. 

PFPeqQ8.jpg

When you are reading Hobbits and Tolkien writes under the page, "at this time, there were no machineguns and airplanes, so they had to fight with swords."  You would just toss the book to the wall. That brings people back to the reality of seeing printed words, not the world of hobbits.  

I love cars. I love the fact that Tamiya's shells are the best approximation of the real thing in small scale. A driver's helmet gives me the best sense of scale.  

I know it's a toy.  So are scale airplanes. Fictions are just long fancy lies too. 

But that's even more of a reason why I want a driver.  It's been like 30+ years since I had my first RC car.  Since then, you can't find a kid who has never seen an RC car.  And those toy grade RC cars have weird scale that makes no sense.  I take pride in that Tamiya tried to have a driver in relatively good scale.  I know there are servos and linkages that's moving the car, not the 1/10th driver.  But at least I can have a face to fool me.  

There were times when I'd just paint a flesh color and called it a day.  In which case, my RC car looked worse than factory built toys.  I've gone through stages on the matter of drivers.  But in recent years, the presence of a driver have gotten a bit more important for some reason.  I like simulated rust on cars too.  Lexan doesn't rust, but I'm all for extra realism. 

WCsiYgf.jpg

And that's why I was so pleased that Rochobby jeep's steering wheel moves when you steer. It's oddly satisfying.  

hteevM5.jpg

CQan9MT.jpg

On that note, I should get this driver some WWII uniform.  

I just found a Japanese dude who made a very tiny driver figure. 

 

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To me it looks weird without a driver in vehicles that’s running around especially it’s a scale model, such as crawler climbing slowly up and down maneuver difficult terrain looking cool but  lack of a driver behind it just looks as if it’s missing something. 
Just look at Matteo’s video, they look so much better with a driver in it.

Here’s my G63 interior

BA6FAA7F-87BE-4800-A2B5-48311CC09C10.thumb.jpeg.9f62ce3d1ffe3c6aadb86f422b010374.jpeg

 

 

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5 hours ago, Frog Jumper said:

xcilkVE.jpg

no drivers?  No survivors!


 

Sent from my iPhone

That's funny as heck, though give her a ammo belt and jeep Willy car body and 50cal, golden!

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I think an important part of Tamiya was getting the driver figure. They were always way better than other manufacturers, probably because those other companies would use a very simple vac formed approximation of a head and upper torso.

I can’t believe Tamiya have stopped adding the figures to the new models. No I don’t want to have tinted windows to hide this fact.

And the re-releases of the Brat and Blackfoot just look stupid with the tinted windows, but with a driver included. If I’ve painted my driver figure, I want to see him.

Most of my cars are vintage so they have a driver figure. But if I was to get a newer model ( I’d like to get the Kharmann Gaia and the Mk 2 Escort looks good),  then I’m not tinting the windows, I’ll be thinking how I can add a driver figure.

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I think drivers add something positive to the models and make them more interesting and realistic. 
 

It’s the same as detailing for me, it takes what is a toy and makes it a little less toy like and this lifts the overall look of the model which makes it more interesting to look at. 
 

I also think as this is a hobby it means you end up spending more time personalising the kit and you ultimately get more out of it, both in enjoyment and value for money.
 

 

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I generally don't run driver figures because in the buggies I have, specifically the Thundershot, the driver tray/tub cover caused overheating of my ESC's (especially when running low turn motors and 8.4v) or simply took up too much space so my electronics and wiring didn't fit as nicely (Avante2001). 

If I was running an open cockpit car I would fit a driver. I have no issue painting a driver face because after all I spend hours or days painting faces and fine details and even flesh and muscle tones on tiny Warhammer figures.

BUT for me, my enjoyment of RC cars is building, modifying or running them. I'm not that into scale looks and we don't display our cars. After use they go in the shed, on a back shelf or in the attic. Very often the driver figures also just got in the way when wanting to clean the buggies after muddy sessions, yet one more thing to remove and clean.

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Almost none of my vehicles currently have driver figures, and I wouldn't bother to add any in touring cars unless it was a very special shelf model.  I've considered it in the past - I even have a few rally cockpit sets that I bought a decade ago but I haven't painted them yet because it's too fiddly.

Currently, my class 1 Toyota has a Tamiya driver figure (actually I think he's a copy taken from a mould) - he came to me in another vehicle already painted, so he was an easy choice, and he completely finishes a scale-looking rig.  Also my Hotshot has the driver because it would be odd to have a torso-less head.

Recently I bought two Tamiya off road drivers for my CFX-W and my SCX10 Cherokee.  Watching Matteo's videos convinced me how much better a scaler looks with a driver.  But I've had them a good few weeks and still not finished them yet - I have an intense disliking for fiddly work like filling and sanding, and I'm amazed just how much filling is required to get the arms to look right on the shoulders and sometime I'll have to stand around getting bored sanding it off.

I don't really mind brush painting much once I'm set up for it, but it's another of those little jobs with loads of setup time for little practical work (especially as it's paint-a-tiny-bit, let-it-dry-for-ages type work).

I'm promising myself I'll fit the interiors and drivers in my big rigs, but work on them has slowed down since it's anyone's guess when we'll be able to run big rig meets again.  And it's hard to paint anything at the moment because it's either too cold or too damp.

It also annoys me a little that there's no female driver figure options.  I don't have any particular political agenda, I just don't like to be exclusive.  I know there are some companies making female drivers for big rigs but can't find any for 1:10 rigs.  I looked around on various 3D sites to see if there was one I could print, but unfortunately not.  If I had enough time to experiment with some public domain 3D models with skeletons in something like Blender then possibly I could make something from them, but it would be a huge time investment.

Also a shame there aren't more ready-made 1:10 figures on the market.  I know there are a few but they're not easy to find and not cheap.

I had a total fail about 2 years ago.  I took my daughter to a butterfly farm which had a little market and craft village attached.  It has a really good doll's house shop (I have bought stuff for the big rigs from there), but on that occasion it also had a proper oldschool comic store.  I've never been into comics (I just don't think they were popular where I grew up, I don't think I've ever seen an oldschool comic store before), but I went in for a wander.  One area was dedicated to wrestling stuff, including expensive wrestling figures - but then there was a basket absolutely overflowing with little 1:10 wrestling dudes and dudettes, all used and without their boxes, for £1 each.  Absolute bargain of the decade!  Well, we were supposed to be eating at the site's cafe, and I didn't want to be carrying a dozen wrestling figures around while I was also trying to shepherd a toddler and carry a tray of food, so I went off to eat and planned to come back later.

Came back after my meal to find a "closed early due to doctor's appointment" sign on the door.  Went there again 6 weeks later and the place had shut down.

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7 hours ago, Problemchild said:

Agreed - if they just hang from the roof then I don’t bother but I have been spending time on more detailed drivers (as per the other post) if they are more exposed 

I put a FAV driver in my WildOne

spent some time on my Subaru brat driver

Enjoyed doing my 959 drivers 

and the comical hornet driver is ace

but left out the falcon, grass hopper and madbull drivers 

JJ

Sorry - imjur was down last night so couldn’t post the pics

Wild one (with FAV driver)

GVdrYj4.jpg

Subaru Brat

5zDWWnu.jpg

Hotshot (because it’s part of the chassis)

jPGQF9y.jpg

959

YQ5Odd0.jpg
 

i guess the other aspect is the level Detail in other cockpit parts as I think these need detail too - because under the same Rules, you can’t have a driver without all the dials haha

lyILwwo.jpg
kIqIBO1.jpg

 

and weirdly, for my 1/24 Lambo which will be a 100% non driven it seemed weird to put the driver in

but i focussed on the cockpit detail 

onTXaNJ.jpg
 

JJ

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9 hours ago, Problemchild said:

I put a FAV driver in my WildOne

Yes the FAV driver is much better than the Ray 'blob' i.m.h.o. I fitted on in a Wild One too but he has the Ray crash helmet

PC080015.JPG

PC080001.JPG

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6 hours ago, nel33 said:

That's funny as heck, though give her a ammo belt and jeep Willy car body and 50cal, golden!

It’s my daughters BarbieFoot 2.  I don’t think she will like the GIJoe look...

https://i.imgur.com/ClJOyh6.jpg

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I'm with everyone you have to have the driver! It finishes off the car but up until a few years ago I never bothered with any driver in any of my cars/trucks until I built my first ever wild willy (wild willy 2 actually) and when it was bopping around the garden it didn't half bring the model to life so from then on it's a part that always gets done before it's even turned a wheel.......mind you I still say the driver figure out of the ranger/blackfoot is a ringer for Michael Myers from Halloween? Or more worrying I'm I just subconsciously painting him like that?😕

8238e34659dda71175fd1beb61dc13c7ab3cbeca.jpeg.jpg

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1 hour ago, KEV THE REV said:

Yes the FAV driver is much better than the Ray 'blob' i.m.h.o. I fitted on in a Wild One too but he has the Ray crash helmet

PC080015.JPG

PC080001.JPG

How did you fit his arm in?

that’s why I had to lift his arm up and trim it down

JJ

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I cut the MSC platform in the cockpit ( and the rear AA battery box lid ) to lower them down to minimum height so his right arm could be shaved under the 'armpit' and lowered . The visible slot in his right arm was filled in . I then cut the left arm under the 'armpit' to lower the angle of the arm and also shaved the elbow . I glued the left arm on and built up and creases / folds missing from the arm from shaving it down

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I typically don't bother unless it's very noticeable or if I'm adding an interior. I didn't bother to add the driver figure to my bigwig since I don't notice it at all, but I did add the figure to my dual rider since it just felt wrong not to.

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