[Customs] Illustrious Debut. Series 1 Released.

After months of on/off planning, I finally bring something to the table. I have a feeling this series is going to lead to improved execution of tools used in customs through repeated practice and tackling common issues.

Huge problems were afloat when dust kept getting itself caught onto wet paint and because the colour in question is none other than white, debris is very hard to miss when observing these pieces of work. I've learned to keep coats thin, and to never make a wet coat of paint as that is already too much. On a more brighter note, the Illustrious Series focuses on quantity over quality - that's what all the specialized series and one-offs are for, thus this can be overlooked for now though I still would like to avoid getting crummy finishes if possible. I may need to invest in a pair of white lint-free cotton gloves to handle these when I'm finished painting as the paint likes to accept fingerprints or whatever comes into contact and stays there for even 2 seconds.

So to reiterate, the Illustrious features cars exclusively in white with a mix of black and gold however way I please. The general theme I aim to maintain is black wheels with a gold rim with gold accents on the body (i.e. door handles or shiny grills). Decal styles will vary but will keep the name of what it is.

The Illustrious Series will always release in groups of 5 (though this is not written in stone yet), and it is broken down into categories of 2 formats: Classic and Modern, as well as class groupings: Muscle/Rod, Concept, Sport, Super, Luxury, and Racer.

from top to bottom: Aston Martin DBS, Ferrari 599XX, Ford Gran Torino Sport, Lotus Esprit, SRT Viper GTS.

The gold on the Sharpie's is a spun gold, a little darker than ideal, but it works great on the wheels. Other than the Torino, none of the cars required axle refitting so it saved me several hours of work. Plus I don't run the chance of tilting the axle, a problem I've had when I was still a beginner. The 599 and Esprit got the most amount of dust while the Torino is dirty thanks to my fingers smearing all its dirt onto it. Hopefully I will avoid these in the future. Or maybe I should try polishing compound.

Again, you can always refer to my spreadsheet (via Google Drive) to see the whole roster which you can find on the Customs About page. Thanks for viewing.