[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.

[Diecast] Look who cheated! Treasure Hunts Galore!

It was a very cute-looking parcel I must say. The box was custom made into a 4" cube. In it was a small pot of gold. Aside from a stash of Treasure hunts I'll never find, a friend went through the trouble of grabbing me some other cars Canada won't hope to ever get. Thanks, Jason! Let's have a look:

chronological order: Chevy Bel-Air (boulevard), Fast Fish (TH), Ferrari 430 Scuderia (TH), Ford Gran Torino Sport (mystery), Lincoln Continental (TH), Plymouth AAR Cuda, Plymouth Fury (TH)

Missed these ones in the past parcels. I almost lit up in flames when I went to leave feedback ratings for two sellers when I saw these two weren't photographed. Turns out these two loose cars were wrapped in a sheet of white tissue and camouflaged itself with the peanut foam:

from left to right: Porsche 935/78 (flying customs), 24 Ours (mystery)

[Diecast] 2013 Case EFH arrived!

Finally! Heartland Walmart got a case of this and I was happy to find out during my lunch break on my usual Sunday shifts at work. Again, I've tweaked the lamp's positioning, and pushed the plaque further back so now everything that isn't the car is darker. Enjoy.

 

 

 

Didn't see a Super Snake, nor Aventador. I left out the Bonneville and Camaro ZL1, but after some consideration, I should probably grab that Bonneville and swap out its wheels. Maybe then it'll look pretty damn sweet.

Also my package from DiabolicPanda from GTPlanet arrived today as well.

I'm impartial to the C-Class. Although I don't have this colour, I'm not very taken by it and as such will likely use this one in the Illustrious series.