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Is doing non box art blasphemy?

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So when I started to get into the hobby, my plan was just to build the kits and finish the bodies as is (box art). I thought that since I missed out as a kid that I would want to see them as they were to relive some of the nostalgia and fantasy. But, I realize I can’t seem to hold on to the idea of not doing anything to the kits and so I end up doing some form of customization. I’m about to build more iconic kits of the past and I can’t seem to stick to box art as I plan—like RC10, Egress, Cat XLS, etc. But my next one up is a Super Astute and I already have items that moves it away from box art.

I’m not the kind of hobbyist who can buy 2-3 of the same kit (you know like one to run, one to shelf, and one to keep NIB). It’s not practical and personally just for myself it’s irresponsible because I have limited funds and limited space.

How do you feel about it when you see these nostalgic or even iconic kits and they’re not true to the original/box art? Are you a purist? Does it make your blood boil? Or do you like seeing a different take? Obviously, on my end I have no issues at all with what people do, perhaps the only thing is when the results are terrible I feel bad for the vehicle.

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I think I know where I stand amongst this group...    Do what you like.  If it's box art, great!  If it's something custom, great!  I see the appeal to both ways.  I just happen to go the custom route.

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The best part about a hobby is that you can do it in whichever way makes you happy.  I do some Tamiya kits in box art because they just look right to me and I don't see them any other way, but others I'll do whatever I want with.  I do enjoy going through Showrooms and seeing cars done in alternate colors/themes, they tend to stick out in the sea of box art replicas.  I say do whatever makes you happy and if someone doesn't like it they can deal with it on their own, don't let it bother you.

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Personally not a fan of box art, i want something unique and custom. Dont get me wrong, those origiinal design are somewhat iconic (slight bias here due to own history), but despite a Frog being in now way pink and white in real life, the livery Tamiya came up with is distinct and iconic now. But then  i look at the Fox, and go Whats that all about then?! why would you design that with blue and silver scheme ? I did mine copper, but if i can ever find a spare shell to grab hold of, i want to go down the champaigne and gold route.

But as others have said, its part of the joy of this hobby to take whatever approach you want - but its also why Tamiya is slowly killing that joy with their incesant need to package current re-re (VQS upcoming FireDragon) with pre painted shells :(

Deccals can also drive your decision, as some designs rely heavily on large decals that take up big chunks of the body, or incorporate many design elements into a single decal.

Up until recently, finding spare/extra shells for re-re's wasnt a problem so you could (can again hopefully in near future) go down both routes, and on the days you feel like a run with something unique you can. Or if you just want to stick it on the shelf as a testament to your build and the design work of the original developers and designers of the kit from yesteryear, then you can do that too.

 

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I think it is all about personal taste.  Generally speaking however, there are some box art schemes that most find atrocious (in fact.. I think I'll start another thread on that to gather opinions as to who the biggest culprits are).  I always admire the creativity shown when choosing to delve outside the norm, but I also appreciate someone who went to painstaking detail to get all of the box art features spot on.

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Oh definitely not blasphemy! My Sonic is not done yet and I can assure you it will be non box art.  I think thats the fun of it. Some box art and some non.  Even more fun is close to box art but alternate colors and some not even close. MCI decals in option colors also opens up all new possibilities in my eyes. I do both box art and non box art. I’d say I’m like 50/50. 

 vF75IE3.jpg

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I understand some people like the look of box art buggies for various reasons and the colour schemes generally look good as they've had some thought put in to them.   However, when someone posts their completed buggy, if I've seen one before and it's box art, I might look at it for up to 3 seconds, if it's not box art then I'll look at it for up to 3 minutes and if it's really cool I'll save the images on my PC for inspiration.

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Is it still considered boxart if the body is painted correctly but the chassis has hopups or has been modified or painted to match the body? Boxart "plus"?

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The Rothmans 959 is almost always boxart. It's a project I'm doing next, and it will be true to form even though it will be raced.

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I'll be doing my Hornet, Frog and Fighting Buggy in box art, but probably with MCI stickers for that original look. My Neo Scorcher has a custom colour scheme that works with the original stickers, and my M07 is completely custom.

I don't think there's anything wrong with custom. I bought a second body shell for my G601 King Yellow, becasue I wanted one box art and one will be custom; best of both worlds. 

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If you ever sell it, box art seems to hold its price better....

Box art is best, but I do custom now and again, if I have multiple models or lacking a 'colour' in the collection

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I love box art, it is iconic. Personalisation is very rewarding & creative which leads to some amazing results, as seen in the showrooms. 
 

I often look to do slight variations on box art. Like the alternate colour ways on the side of the box, or even if it’s just a few of the stickers left off or in a different place.

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It’s always good to see something different.

I can appreciate some cars are fairly specific, if you’re making a specific version of a real model.

But even the Tamiya catalogues and the instructions usually say you can paint in what ever colours you want.

It would be really boring see everyone do the same thing. It’s seeing someone doing something different that inspires ideas.

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Box set defo pulls at the nostalgic heart strings but if tou don’t want I then fab - I love seeing all the variations :)

ive done my 959, clod buster, terra scorcher and things like my hotshot box art - because that’s what I remember as a kid stood in beaties

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ive done my mantaray, falcon and racing fighter close but with a few tweaks 

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(Pearl white with pink translucent canopy)

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(metallic black all over)

and for things like my wild one, durga, zahhak etc ive done what i wanted 

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just go for what makes your feel great :)

but think it through and come up with a plan. Prep and get all the paints you need. Think about the order to paint things. 
Thunk about backing the colour in silver or white if black

eg my Avante I’ve done box art metalic blue but I backed it in silver for more vibrancy but then also backed again in black for depth of colour 

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JJ

 

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I would deviate from box art from time to time as a kid. Now, I wouldn't dream of it. Part of it is I'm never happy with anything I do. None of my paint schemes ever seem to live up to what Tamiya could do (talking vintage/rereleases here) so I wind up hating them. The other part is the nostalgia factor and seeing those models from the old catalogs come to life. A newer buggy with a paint scheme I don't find particularly memorable, like a Desert Gator, would tempt me to experiment, but since I'm done buying new-design, non re-re Tamiyas for the most part, that's a moot point. 

As far as what others do? Well, that's not really my business. Its theirs's and they can do as they please with it. I'd never tell someone what to do with their model. I think the only time I'd hesitate is if someone was painting an vintage NOS body from BITD and using vintage NOS decals. At that point, I'd probably suggest box art or minimally the use of reproduction items as NOS stuff is in finite supply.

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Echoing what’s already been said, for me, variety really is the spice of life. The ‘anything goes’ attitude we see in this Forum is stimulating, gives me ideas I might not have thought about otherwise.  I am however generally a box-art  kind of person when it comes to my builds (mainly down to nostalgia), but then I’m more interested in the chassis side of things and what I can do with that, rather than bodies. 

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2 hours ago, Problemchild said:

TLs834B.jpg
(Pearl white with pink translucent canopy)

Pearl White really ?? must be the lighting, looks like a matte grey, almost my like its made of putty, or some sort of shape shifting material, something that would morph shape (helped by the rays nice body lines) haha ... i like it!

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Given that Tamiya's own promotional videos feature non-box-art cars in some cases, I'd say that box-art is a guideline at best, kinda like the "serving suggestion" photos on food packaging.

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13 hours ago, isomer1 said:

Trying to imagine an outing where everyone has box art... seems like a recipe for madness.

Tamiya-RC-Car-Grand-Prix-race-with-custo

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As already said by others, I think that people should do whatever they want with their model, box art is nice but it's not mandatory. I agree with @TurnipJF on it being a guideline that should probably be perceived as something stimulating rather than somehow mandatory. Variety is vital, if you feel like taking your chance at the palette and come up with your own color scheme I believe Mr. Tamiya would be the first to approve.

Personally, the times I've decided to go for my own graphics and colors I found it very challenging yes, but immensely rewarding once I've seen the final results. I'm also particularly fond of the cars that bear my own color scheme.

But then again, as folks said above, anything goes! Just have fun as that's what we are here for.

My non box-art cars

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6 hours ago, taffer said:

If you ever sell it, box art seems to hold its price better....

I think that probably depends on the paintjob, you would likely pay more for a stunning custom paint scheme.

I think box art is probably more fitting when it's a real scale car that you're replicating, but for made up buggies with made up colour schemes then anything goes really.

@Ferruz That Hornet in particular, is wicked!

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Scale race cars look great in box art or with a slightly different base color. Certain buggies have iconic box art, like the Sand Scorcher and Frog. 

Other cars have butt ugly box art, and deserve better. "Stock" sedans are nice to do in alternate stock-type colors. Racy buggies get race schemes so you can easily spot them on track, same with any car that's raced. "Fun" cars, like the Dancing Rider, Comical and Wheelie cars seem to be made to personalize. For example, my Dancing Rider is pink and white, like a Frog, and looks super cool to my eye.

I don't think that anything is "blasphemy", though. This is what we do for fun, so, as long as you're having fun, you're doing it right, even if you like painting everything you build lime green with stock decals or whatever. It's your good time, nobody else's.

Every one of us has different tastes and different goals. I don't get NIB collecting or shelfers, but they're definitely a valid part of our hobby, and I'll betcha that those guys don't quite get why guys like me beat up everything we build. This hobby scratches a lot of itches for a lot of people.

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2 hours ago, Ferruz said:

As already said by others, I think that people should do whatever they want with their model, box art is nice but it's not mandatory. I agree with @TurnipJF on it being a guideline that should probably be perceived as something stimulating rather than somehow mandatory. Variety is vital, if you feel like taking your chance at the palette and come up with your own color scheme I believe Mr. Tamiya would be the first to approve.

Personally, the times I've decided to go for my own graphics and colors I found it very challenging yes, but immensely rewarding once I've seen the final results. I'm also particularly fond of the cars that bear my own color scheme.

But then again, as folks said above, anything goes! Just have fun as that's what we are here for.

My non box-art cars

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These are all really nice, but I especially like the Hornet!  Now that I've seen it in white, I could never paint one black.  I bet it looks great sitting next to a box-art Grasshopper!

I wasn't much of a fan of the Manta Ray until I saw your paint job.  Excellent!

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For me it depends on which models! Some the only colour to do is box art like the egress (IMO) I've not seen an egress that looks better than the silver? Don't get me wrong Ive seen some really cool looking egress but the silver with the original decals you just can't beat but I'm open for my mind to be changed like I used to think the only colour for the avante had to be blue until the black special arrived and I painted one of mine gun metal and it just looks superb with the gold shocks and yellow decals, the wild one is another one that just looks good in box art? The likes of the boomerang looks really cool in the various colours I've seen

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