Was not fun! Ink kept getting rubbed off and sliding it off the paper wasn't easy either! I did a damn good coat of clear but even then the water managed to dissolve some of the ink before I even took it out. So what's this about wiggling it around until it magically came loose on it's own, huh?
Pulling it off the decal paper wasn't easy, especially with the dragon. It's easy and all with smaller sheets because you can pull it off one side and have the other side pinned down with your finger. This method worked easily with the trunk and roof decals, but the body was not as easy. Because of all the larger surface area, there was more friction if I was going to pull the decal off sideways and as a result, I couldn't do it without stretching one side. So I opted to slide it off upward, but the wide dimension meant an inconsistent tug resulting in wrinkles everywhere.
Then the ink started peeling off the more I tried to adjust it and soon, the edges lost its dark blue and now you see white edges
Twin post because awesome, preview pic, I'm super super satisfied:
Today is the meeting and contest. I won't be attending sadly, but Ahmed will be taking the car on my behalf (came to pick it up yesterday at midnight, thanks bud) so we'll see how it does. I'll post the full build process soon.
Ah so it remains niche then.
It's nice to see people so enthusiastic about the hobby, but at the same time, they should strive for two different goals when submitting (in my opinion). They should either aim to present an outstanding idea, or display flawless craftsmanship. That would increase their chances of being selected and keep up the quality in the weekly posts.
I have a ton of past customs I haven't emailed you, but I chose not to do since they don't look spectacular. If it was displayed, then the perception of my craftsmanship from the perspective of the blog's audience drops. I want all my customs that get shared to be my best works so those who keep track of hobbyist names think highly of me and that will in turn build a good rep.
And it's not just me who does this. Danielmeister and Ernest Li have made a name for themselves in your blog. They made not have strived for that effort (like I mentioned) per se, but they have a consistent record based off what you've posted of oustanding-quality customs.
I guess the point I want to make is that if you really want to me your show-and-tell worth every penny when submitting to the weekly blog, do a really damn good job on one custom.
And strive to make something different now and then. We all seen enough solid black cars.
Next order of business.
I have a question and suggestion though, jtl. Is there really a "group" in Lamley Group? By that I mean, is it only you making contributions to blog posts or is it a small team who share same access to the account? I ask because the suggestion I have is doing another timely post on customs separate from your "favourites of the week" where you pick the best of the best. Not everyone is at the same level as some of the other folks. Some have the tools to make amazing customs while others don't (decals and body fabrication versus paintjobs and wheelswaps).
So I was thinking that you could have one post for lower-level customs. Of course what makes them less "professional"/ more "amateur" is subjective and that could potentially lead to individuals feeling insulted if you put their work in said category. However, this is where you can impose restrictions such as not allowing certain works to be submitted in this post. In layman terms, anything not "super amazingly top-notch" may not be submitted here. This gives beginner-level customizing hobbyists a chance to gain exposure.
that's one idea, but while writing that I came up with a more fitting idea:
Your sunday posts contain your personal favourites. This other post (you can set to another time) will contain honourable mentions. Subjective enough people can't argue with it, the sound of the title still makes individuals feel good about themselves if they make it in. Here you may post works from anyone you feel like, regardless of how good it may be. You may choose to extend the amount of "favourites" or you can choose to let new names gain exposure. Again, you'll still need to cap off the amount you post because sharing all those photos at once defeats the purpose of honourable mentions.
What do you think?
I thought mine was way better than a couple in front of me, even without repainting it. But it's not up to me.
:tup:
Congrats Jason, Ahmed and Cano on your M3s!
