Opinions Please

I have been having an issue with the styling of the body kit where the rear guards, door and skirts meet. I've been looking at it too long and some fresh eyes would be good.

The original way I had it, which can be seen in the first 2 photos, looks cleaner but where the top corner of the infill, door line and the split between the rear guard and side skirt has a harsh angle which has bugged me for ages.

The option I have trialed (3+4th photos) is to bring the bottom of the guard and the end of the infill out an inch. The transition is smoother but now there is a step between the door and the rear guard. Im not sure if this looks tough or tacky

I have been working on it so long I can no longer "see the forest for the trees" as they say.


What do you all think?


Original,





Modified









ANd just a quick photo of my arse

 

I like both, but since you've modded it further,def would improve it

 

Yeah can see your issue, does look a little harsh with no lead in to the intersection. That said I don't think your other option is the way to go either, really not a fan of a big step at the back edge of the door. Tacky imo.

I think you've made your arch too big, you've built it out right to the edge of the door which is causing your problem. I think you need to blend your arch into the rear guard a little further back which allows you to have a soft radius & blend it nicely into the door.

Otherwise if your sticking to option B I would say you need to make a small piece to go on the door to avoid the step.

 

I dont understand. Too Big???? LOL
But yes, I had looked at blending like you said but that introduces another curve into the rear arch which will be very difficult to get right.

Plus I dont really want to go redesigning the rear guards by removing material after the effort that has already gone into them.

That could work. Thanks

 

Adding the piece to the door should help to change the angle for the better plus couldn't you do what car makers do and do paint colour shading or some sot of striping to hid that angle?:zlove:

 

I think it looks better when its smoother in the lines as per the last two pictures

I think personally the Z has always looked better with smoother flowing lines - but that's just my opinion

 

Yeah maybe too big was the wrong way to put it, too long is probably a better option
If adding a piece to the door just be mindful of getting too close to the handle as having to notch for that will also stand out a fair bit.

Personally I think you need to be taking a little out of the leading edge of the rear guard, the body side needs to extend past the door a little before blending into the arch. Only an inch or so.
Are the guards in fibreglass now?

Regardless you definitely need to try something as your right that your eye goes to it right away at the moment & that'll only get worse once it's in paint & the lights catching the edge.

 

I like it.

Not tacky, because tacky would be if you stick a massive airscoop at that spot, for a front engine car. Others have done it LOL, yuk.
You can do that new matt paint finish that is being used on high end sports limited versions.

 

I think the 4th photo is ok looking down, but when I looked at the 3rd photo closely and saw how the bottom edge of the door is sunken in, didn't like it. Out of the two options, what's seen in pics 1 and 2 is the best - but a fill-in piece for the door isn't a bad idea, particularly as it'll be blended/painted over. Where the 4 lines intersect on the door/sill/insert/guard does have the appearance of 'pinched' material, but I think it would be less noticeable once painted.

 

Yep. Its annoying. I had a google search for widebody images and almost all of the kits people have done have that ugly intersection on them. It may just be the nature of the beast and Ill have to get used to it.

However I am going to have another crack at smoothing it in as lidz suggested.

Whats a bit more bog if it looks crap? LOL

 

Yeah, that'll work......because you're the kind of guy who looks at a Z and says 'yeah, no problem - why would I want to stuff around with that?' :rofl:

 

When the old guys built the clay models they had a timber frame (fins) as their minimum radius guide and a smoothing templates for their maximum and minimum radius guides.
Could be that you have to step back and look at all the curves of the car and determine the tight group for the edges and the larger radii for flowing curves.
What is the minimum large radius that you want to use? That will tell you if you need a fill panel on the lower corner of the door, or if you need to trim the bulge behind the door.

I think it looks OK if you don't blend the door, which also means you don't have to blend the bit below the door with such a large curve. It also let's you get a bit more severe on the front and back of the car

 

So smoothing it out worked. I was worried that I would be able to blend it into the top of the guard but it was ok. I need to dig the foam out and rebog but It looks heaps better.

Now the back of the front guard looks a little to linear and may need smoothing

 

I think your on top of it now - looks more smoother!

 

Hey we're not all old, I'm a clay modeller & I'm only 31! Tools we use are a bit different though, few really good videos on YouTube about clay modelling. Also worth looking up the jag video showing how they get rid of a model...

That looks like its worked great ztoy, job well done! Was definitely worth doing, it just would've driven you crazy I you'd left it. Congrats!