The debate has cropped up a few times in the livery competition threads...
What do people consider as a replica livery?
How accurate does it need to be? Does it need to be on the correct car to class as a replica, or does simply having the same sponsors in roughly similar areas count? Is a car intended to be identical, but with mistakes a replica?
For me replica count as this:
- Same sponsor and shape in same car/same manufacture or brand family depends the car available or team based. (i.e Toyota and Lexus)
It can be called as inspired if the livery:
- Same shape but have different sponsor
- Same sponsor same color have different shape
- Same sponsor and shape but have different color.
Well here's the problem, you can't put 1:1 Subaru livery on Mitsubishi livery and call that as replica. You only can say that is inspired, and at least to me replica if you want missing the sponsor at least you only missing one or two.
And one important part: tires, you can't say you cars as replica if they don't use same tires and rim. Unless the game not provide it you can change it but must be on same brand. Lot people usually forget about this one and change the rims into other else then called it as replica. I have this problem during make ARTA M6, they have Work rim but the styling not in game. So I change it to another Work rims. Nah the best thing call replica is do with same car.
Well this is just my thought only, I doing lot inspired or throwback livery on AC back then and I called that as replica for gain more expose.
Let's start with the definition of replica. Source: basic Google search
"replica
/ˈrɛplɪkə/ noun
an exact copy or model of something, especially one on a smaller scale.
a duplicate of an original artistic work."
I tend to agree that it has to be an "exact" copy, but feel that a certain degree of tolerance can be applied when dealing with the car model. If the game has an approximate iteration of a particular model, a good example here would be the Mazda RX7 and almost identical models but tiny variation between a Japanese model and one, say , found in Australia, then I'd consider it a true replica.
Even if the year is off by a small margin.. 1.. 2.. then I think it could pass if visually the car is exact.
In terms of graphics, then a replica should be exact. The tools are available to create an exact copy, so there should be no excuse
These are the definitions that I use when I'm making liveries with an example of each. I think LEC #16 got bogged down on the spirit versus the intent and the definition of a "replica". In LEC #16, I believe the intent was to create an original design and that "no replicas" was intended to mean no 100% replicas, no near-replicas, no modified-replicas, and no tributes. Inspiration was fine, but without official LEC definitions for these terms, people used their own interpretations.
100% Replica
A livery that is completely accurate to the original car. It must be the exact same car and use the exact colors, decals, number plates, driver names, etc... There shouldn't be any issue with these. No example required.
Near Replica
A livery that stays as true to possible to the original car. They need to be on the same or very similar cars to the original, but the creater is only able to make a "best-effort" at a replica due to a limitation that can't be overcome in GTS (Exact car not available, exact wheels not available, colors can't be replicated, etc...).
Replica of the 1990 24 Hours of Daytona winning Castrol Jaguar XJR-9.
Original
The in-game Jaguar XJR-9 is the 1988 Le Mans Group C spec, but the original car is the 1990 IMSA GTP spec that Jaguar had updated from an XJR-9 to an XJR-12. The rear wing, various vents and inlets, and the wheels are all different, but the livery is a best attempt within the confines of the GTS livery editor.
Modified Replica
A livery that is generally true to the original, but modifies or omits certain elements (Uses a functional number plate for Sport Mode compatibility, removes our changes driver name(s), takes minor liberties with decal appearance and/or placement). It must be on the same or similar car.
I omitted the driver names and used a GTS number plate. There were also some decal placement issues, and the rear wing is completely different on the in-game car, so I made my own version that worked best instead of trying to force something that would have been closer to the original.
Tribute Livery
A tribute livery takes the core elements of the original car and applies them to a different car, updates period correct decals with modern versions, or applies some other from of change. This is where the biggest confusion exists between "replica" and "inspired". The source of a tribute livery should still be immediately recognizable to a familiar audience.
2018 marks the 40th anniversary of the Renault Alpine A442B's victory at Le Mans. This livery...
Original
The core elements are there, but they've been modified to fit the body lines of the Alpine VGT and the source is recognizable to anyone familiar with the 1978 Le Mans winner.
Inspirations
These take elements from original cars and make them into something new. Some elements can be used identically to the original car, but the new livery would also include new or modified elements in the overall design.
Commemorating Jake the Corvette Racing mascot and the "TAKE NO PRISONERS" attitude in this...
Inspirations came from multiple Corvette liveries across C6.Rs and C7.Rs. These elements were combined, modified, and re-worked into something new. The elements should be recognizable, but the overall design is different to any actual Corvette.
In the context of a livery competition, a replica is a copy or very close replication of the livery of certain car. Which car the livery was originally applied to IRL is irrelevant imo, because cars are not what people are creating. You never hear someone refering to a replica if a livery is not involved. Replicas are all about the liveries, not the cars. That's why you see famous liveries applied to different cars but what you know by name is the livery, not the car, when that happens.
Example: RUM BUM Racing livery I made. IRL the livery was applied to 3 different cars. They're probably 99% close to the originals but there's some margin, especially in the audi, because the models are slightly different (older R8 vs new GT3 car).
If I see the livery of a 787B applied to a Suzuki Swift, that's a replica / copy to me. There's absolutely nothing original about it.
Another point is the "inspiration" liveries. If, for example, someone would make a RUM BUM Racing livery exactly like the original but with Pirelli stickers instead of Continental, Green instead of Blue or different sponsors on the side of the car, that would still be, imo, a replica. Because putting different logos on top of a livery is not really that original.
The livery is not the total sum of every single decal/sponsor we can see. It's the creative design that involves the whole car. In the case of the RUM BUM Racing, it's the face, with the lines coming out of its eyes, the globe, and the blues + yellow. The sponsors, if you go an look at the real liveries vary from car to car. Same happens for other brands that sponsor different driver/teams in different racing series.
A livery without any sponsors is a livery. Logos of sponsors on the side/back/bumper of a car without a design is not a livery (imo).
You can check this article and see that some of the most famous (and best looking) liveries have no sponsors whatsoever or only a couple. And the ones that do have stickers and sponsors, are not famous because of those brands/stickers but because of the livery design bellow and around them.
To try and make myself clearer, I'll divide this in 3 different points.
1) Cars with a livery but no sponsors:
We usually see this when brands bring out new models for racing series they take part in (GT3, NASCAR, LMP1, etc). Because these cars can be bought by private racing teams most of the times, they are not presented with sponsors. Each team will make the livery they want and then add the sponsors they have on top of the livery. But Bentley, Toyota, BMW, Audi, Lambo, etc always present their cars in a livery created in house, with no sponsors or only a couple max.
The livery here is based on the main "sponsor", Bentley. That's why it uses Bentley's colors and the union jack.
Here, the livery is based around Toyota's traditional colors: red, white and black.
2) Cars with sponsors but no livery:
This is mostly seen in amateur series because money is not abundant and drivers and teams get less sponsorships to make their cars all shiny and good looking. Usually they use a bright base color such as red, blue, yellow or white. We rarely see black, grey, brown, dark green, red or blue as a base color. These cars sometimes need to apply specific stickers, no only for the driver / team number but for sponsors for their respective race/event. The ones who get sponsors for tires and oil also put those (which are more common). Then they can add the odd logos of a restaurant owned by the brother-in-law and the small shop of the wife or something.
Basically, they're mandatory stickers for specific events/races on top of a base factory base color. Nothing creative about it.
The vast majority of cars we see on any given professional racing series: DTM, F1, Endurance, NASCAR, GT500, etc. I don't think we need pictures for those. Sometimes we'll see cars with a base color and a couple of lines to make it look better but those are really poor imo (with the exception of the Ferraris, which use base Ferrari red and that makes them unique because they've been using that color since forever). Fortunately they're not common. Then it's a matter of personal taste. Some people love some designs, others don't.
Main point is, we should separate between stickers / sponsors and livery / base design because they're not the same thing.
In the context of a livery competition, a replica is a copy or very close replication of the livery of certain car. Which car the livery was originally applied to IRL is irrelevant imo, because cars are not what people are creating. You never hear someone refering to a replica if a livery is not involved. Replicas are all about the liveries, not the cars. That's why you see famous liveries applied to different cars but what you know by name is the livery, not the car, when that happens.
Example: RUM BUM Racing livery I made. IRL the livery was applied to 3 different cars. They're probably 99% close to the originals but there's some margin, especially in the audi, because the models are slightly different (older R8 vs new GT3 car).
If I see the livery of a 787B applied to a Suzuki Swift, that's a replica / copy to me. There's absolutely nothing original about it.
Another point is the "inspiration" liveries. If, for example, someone would make a RUM BUM Racing livery exactly like the original but with Pirelli stickers instead of Continental, Green instead of Blue or different sponsors on the side of the car, that would still be, imo, a replica. Because putting different logos on top of a livery is not really that original.
The livery is not the total sum of every single decal/sponsor we can see. It's the creative design that involves the whole car. In the case of the RUM BUM Racing, it's the face, with the lines coming out of its eyes, the globe, and the blues + yellow. The sponsors, if you go an look at the real liveries vary from car to car. Same happens for other brands that sponsor different driver/teams in different racing series.
A livery without any sponsors is a livery. Logos of sponsors on the side/back/bumper of a car without a design is not a livery (imo).
You can check this article and see that some of the most famous (and best looking) liveries have no sponsors whatsoever or only a couple. And the ones that do have stickers and sponsors, are not famous because of those brands/stickers but because of the livery design bellow and around them.
To try and make myself clearer, I'll divide this in 3 different points.
1) Cars with a livery but no sponsors:
We usually see this when brands bring out new models for racing series they take part in (GT3, NASCAR, LMP1, etc). Because these cars can be bought by private racing teams most of the times, they are not presented with sponsors. Each team will make the livery they want and then add the sponsors they have on top of the livery. But Bentley, Toyota, BMW, Audi, Lambo, etc always present their cars in a livery created in house, with no sponsors or only a couple max.
The livery here is based on the main "sponsor", Bentley. That's why it uses Bentley's colors and the union jack.
Here, the livery is based around Toyota's traditional colors: red, white and black.
2) Cars with sponsors but no livery:
This is mostly seen in amateur series because money is not abundant and drivers and teams get less sponsorships to make their cars all shiny and good looking. Usually they use a bright base color such as red, blue, yellow or white. We rarely see black, grey, brown, dark green, red or blue as a base color. These cars sometimes need to apply specific stickers, no only for the driver / team number but for sponsors for their respective race/event. The ones who get sponsors for tires and oil also put those (which are more common). Then they can add the odd logos of a restaurant owned by the brother-in-law and the small shop of the wife or something.
Basically, they're mandatory stickers for specific events/races on top of a base factory base color. Nothing creative about it.
The vast majority of cars we see on any given professional racing series: DTM, F1, Endurance, NASCAR, GT500, etc. I don't think we need pictures for those. Sometimes we'll see cars with a base color and a couple of lines to make it look better but those are really poor imo (with the exception of the Ferraris, which use base Ferrari red and that makes them unique because they've been using that color since forever). Fortunately they're not common. Then it's a matter of personal taste. Some people love some designs, others don't.
Main point is, we should separate between stickers / sponsors and livery / base design because they're not the same thing.
You make some very good points about the distinctions between liveries, cars, stickers/sponsors, etc... So, I think all add another definition.
Hypothetical Livery
These take an iconic/recognizable livery and apply it to any car the creator decides to use. For example a Gulf Racing Viper, a Marlboro Supra, a Martini Genesis, a Rothmans Mini, etc... Less common liveries like Marc VDS, Rum Bum, Turner Motorsports, Brumos, Jagermeister, Alitalia, and dozens of others still apply. These designs can come from race teams, manufacturers, or sponsors, but they all depend on recognisable core design elements (color schemes, striping patterns, logo placement, etc...). The discovery section is flooded with these types of liveries, and many of them are excellent, but if somebody can get a general sense of how your livery will look without even needing to see it, it's not an original design. It's just a hypothetical application of an existing livery to answer questions like "What if Company X sponsored this manufacturer instead of that one?", "What if Race Team Y moved from GT to Prototypes?", or "What if tobacco sponsorships were still allowed?"
If the art work already exists on another car its a replica livery, The car/model does not matter, The colours matter that's how brand recognition works.
If its never been done before then its original.
If its been done before in real life its a REPLICAtion of an existing livery.
If the art work already exists on another car its a replica livery, The car/model does not matter, The colours matter that's how brand recognition works.
In real life, « replicas » need to be the exact copy of an existing livery.
But considering the limitations of the game and the context of this debate, for me it becomes a replica when it is made with the intention of reproducing something that already exists (even on the wrong car).
In the LEC « no replica » spirit, I think that this means « original creation only » and thus, the M3s above are considered as replicas for me (except the 2nd E30). They are not perfect copies, but neither are they innovative.
If you use the same brands, same brand placement, same shapes and lines of an existing car on a different car, in a contest that asks you not to make replicas, it might not be a replica per-say, but it isnt original either, so it leans towards replica more. Then it should be classified as an replica, even when the definition is different imo.
If you use the same brands, same brand placement, same shapes and lines of an existing car on a different car, in a contest that asks you not to make replicas, it might not be a replica per-say, but it isnt original either, so it leans towards replica more. Then it should be classified as an replica, even when the definition is different imo.
But considering the limitations of the game and the context of this debate, for me it becomes a replica when it is made with the intention of reproducing something that already exists (even on the wrong car).
If it's not on the right car, then there is a degree of originality in how it's executed, which is why I don't think it can be classed as a replica.
Accepting that the cars below are intended to imitate slightly different cars anyway, you can see that mine (the top one) has been executed differently from one I found in the discover section. We've interpreted things differenly - how bits of the F1 car would translate to full car body, what elements to include, what to leave off etc. etc., and if you're making a replica, then things can't be left to interpretation.
.. they are both imitations, not replicas... IMHO.
IMHO the depth and quality of 'replicas' within GT Sport varies massively.
For me personally, a 'true replica' needs to be as accurate as possible, and satisfy the following criteria:
- Same Make and Model of car
- Accurate use of Colour(s) and or Texture(s)
- Every Decal accounted for (no place holders)
- Accurate Decals (period-correct and any variation(s) accounted for)
Now, as has already been discussed, we are often limited by certain factors such as different version of a specific car or the choice of wheels. In those scenarios you can only get an 80-90% accurate replica, but that doesn’t always have to affect accuracy. My ENDLESS 86 for example, is as close as I can get to the real car with the version we have in the game (The real car has a different body kit meaning some of the decals sit slightly differently).
Sometimes you have to use other brands of wheels which look closer to the original. If this is done with careful consideration then I don't have an issue with it. What's wrong is where people have chosen different wheels, when the real wheels exist in the game (I commonly see people using random multi-spoke wheels in place of the Enkei NT03s.
People say replicas are too easy, that they’re not original. For me, the real challenge of a replica is getting it as close to 100% accurate as the game allows. Getting the scale and position of decals correct and fixing issues with the decals so the car looks as real as possible.
I can spend hours agonising over one decal to get it in the right spot and scaled correctly, where others simply ‘dump’ it in the vicinity and call their result a 'Perfect Replica'. The next stage above that is fixing decals that get skewed or distorted due to limitations in the way they are projected onto the car. Most 'Perfect Replica' makers don't seem to take this into consideration and quite often the results are not great with decals looking messed up from certain angles.
Another issue is people don't think realistically about decal placement. I try to think how real life vinyl would work, avoiding panel gaps or clipping decals appropriately. Also the use of depth controls, I've seen so many Super GT replicas where the decals appear behind the ‘layers’ of aero. A simple tweak of the depth and angle controls fixes this.
A 'perfect replica' livery where the creator has got half the logos right, but the rest being non-period-correct or placeholders, or where the logos are just roughly placed without consideration for body lines or relative spacing is not a true replica.
@machine1121 's example above with the Jaguar frustrates me as it uses a poor version of the Castrol logo (where it's been incorrectly created using the font Impact), this spoils an otherwise good attempt at a replica in my eyes.
@BLiTZ I understand your position and I know your level of detail, but IMO you explain the difference between a « perfect replica » and an « average/bad replica », where the context of the LEC is more about the difference between « replica » and « original design ».
@BLiTZ can you post a link to a better Castrol decal. I went through 3 or 4 different versions before settling on the one I used. The "t" and the "r" never looked right, but it was the closest I found in the discovery section.
I need to get some software and learn to make my own decals, but I haven't gone down that road yet.
You're definitely right about the effort required in making an attempt at a true replica. The Jag is the only one I've really tried to get right, and it looks incredibly basic compared to many other livery designs, but I spent way more time trying to get a simple design right than I thought I would have.
I put up a thread last night where I tried to replicate the Schnitzer BMW M6 GT3 from the 12 hour race in Bathurst this year. My attempt was to replicate that car, in that race as much as I could. Getting a lot of pictures of that car in that race wasn't that easy. Schnitzer have different sub brand decals in different races, and also a different overall design (BMW M Performance colours) in different years. Now the car I copied does not have the most intricate or involved design, but my aim was to create a replica, with all the sub brand decals, which I have I think done to 90-95%. I was helped by being able to find all the decals in the game to get as close as I did. Sometimes that is not always possible, especially for older cars. For me a replica is pretty much the same car as accurate as possible, if that is the intent.
Now certain famous brand liveries have been on a number of different cars, Marlbrough, Red Bull etc, and can either be tried to be replicated to a certain real life car, or can be a design inspired by a real life car/brand livery applied to something different.
If a certain real life car is replicated and the car has advertising decals, then that may be seen as a replica and a version without decals could be seen as a brand/factory replica. The 2018 Red Bull and Torro Rosso F1 cars have an overall similar brand design with the placement of the bull and the Red Bull logo, but on different cars and different colouring. And the details of the minor branding is very different. If someone took the F1 car in the game and tried to replicate the look of the 'Red Bull look' of the real Red Bull or Torro Rosso I would say that is a brand/factory livery. If someone then went the bit extra and added the minor decals, it may just be a bit more 'accurate' version. Though as accurate as it could be on a different car.
I think it really only matters if you're in a competition to be an accurate replica to a real car, and there are not many of them.
People say replicas are too easy, that they’re not original. For me, the real challenge of a replica is getting it as close to 100% accurate as the game allows. Getting the scale and position of decals correct and fixing issues with the decals so the car looks as real as possible.
I can spend hours agonising over one decal to get it in the right spot and scaled correctly, where others simply ‘dump’ it in the vicinity and call their result a 'Perfect Replica'. The next stage above that is fixing decals that get skewed or distorted due to limitations in the way they are projected onto the car. Most 'Perfect Replica' makers don't seem to take this into consideration and quite often the results are not great with decals looking messed up from certain angles.
I struggle with this a bit, I don't mind something being difficult or challenging, but when it becomes a chore I struggle to maintain interest. You correctly observed the effect of this with my Vaillant Z4, it needed some finessing to be as close to perfect as it could be given the difference in the base model, but all things considered I regarded it close enough.. wrestling with the differences between a projection based system and what handling physical vinyl would be like is tricky and needs a lot of trial and error.
One of the reasons I was happy using the BMW VGT to recreate BMW art cars is because it automatically implied some artistic license - it didn't have to be perfect because it was never physically able to match the original car. Once the E30 M3 dropped and a 95% accurate replica of the Ken Done car was possible, I had a go at it, but the shine quickly wore off because it became tedious - I've not even bothered creating a Jeff Koons E92 Artcar with the E92 M3 GT for this reason.
I'm still working on some of the cars, and just recreating something similar is time consuming enough, getting it as near to perfect as possible has lost its appeal somewhat.
TL;DR
I don't have the patience for close to perfect replicas.
@BLiTZ I understand your position and I know your level of detail, but IMO you explain the difference between a « perfect replica » and an « average/bad replica », where the context of the LEC is more about the difference between « replica » and « original design ».
Sorry, I got a bit distracted and went off on a tangent. In regards to the LEC comparison the way I see it is this:
If you copy the same colour scheme, sponsors and position regardless of whether it's the same car or not, it's a replica. Be that an F1 livery on a Fiat 500 or a Silk Cut Sambabus, you're replicating the livery itself.
'Inspired by' would be saying "I like the Subaru yellow and blue livery, but let's try another yellow sponsor instead of 555". Alternatively taking part of an existing design, say the Castrol Honda NSX's blocks of colour and changing them about and adding a new title sponsor.
Painting a car red, slapping some CocaCola decals on it and saying you're inspired by another car is always going to result in a semi-replica design, however taking the CocaCola swoosh and using a different base colour and sponsor would be something new. Heck, even taking the 80's red livery and painting the car white to use the Diet Coke branding would be more 'inspired'.
Aside from a 'replica' based theme I don't think relplicas should have a place in the LEC.
@BLiTZ can you post a link to a better Castrol decal. I went through 3 or 4 different versions before settling on the one I used. The "t" and the "r" never looked right, but it was the closest I found in the discovery section.
I need to get some software and learn to make my own decals, but I haven't gone down that road yet.
You're definitely right about the effort required in making an attempt at a true replica. The Jag is the only one I've really tried to get right, and it looks incredibly basic compared to many other livery designs, but I spent way more time trying to get a simple design right than I thought I would have.
Tell me about it, the livery I'm currently working on is a solid colour with 'just' white decals, no graphics, no shapes, yet I'm over a month in and only just coming close to a level of completion I'm happy with.
I hand traced it from a scan I found online of a period correct sticker and is as accurate as I have seen. AFAIK this version of the text was used up until 1992 when they altered the letters slightly making them more rounded with small serifs.
I struggle with this a bit, I don't mind something being difficult or challenging, but when it becomes a chore I struggle to maintain interest. You correctly observed the effect of this with my Vaillant Z4, it needed some finessing to be as close to perfect as it could be given the difference in the base model, but all things considered I regarded it close enough.. wrestling with the differences between a projection based system and what handling physical vinyl would be like is tricky and needs a lot of trial and error.
One of the reasons I was happy using the BMW VGT to recreate BMW art cars is because it automatically implied some artistic license - it didn't have to be perfect because it was never physically able to match the original car. Once the E30 M3 dropped and a 95% accurate replica of the Ken Done car was possible, I had a go at it, but the shine quickly wore off because it became tedious - I've not even bothered creating a Jeff Koons E92 Artcar with the E92 M3 GT for this reason.
I'm still working on some of the cars, and just recreating something similar is time consuming enough, getting it as near to perfect as possible has lost its appeal somewhat.
TL;DR
I don't have the patience for close to perfect replicas.
Whilst I strive for perfection, I think I've found my limit with my latest project. For the first time I found myself putting off finishing. For what ultimately looks like a simple car, the number of decals I had to make from scratch was getting silly and what I thought would be done and dusted in under a fortnight has dragged on for more than a month.
The worst part is I know it'll get maybe 30-40 likes at most, which normally isn't an issue as I've gained more satisfaction from creating the livery and knowing it's the best version of that particular one in the game, but this one has all but damaged that theory.
Thankfully the end is in sight, I'm only two sets of driver names, and two kill switches away from having all the decals done, and I've almost got all the decals placed (the final few that I've got rely on relative spacing from the decals I'm yet to make).
I've got a weekend away coming up so chance to zone out a bit, but I'll finish it up on my return. After this, I'm going to take a break from replicas for a bit (I've said that before) and focus on some road cars and some actual racing.
These are the definitions that I use when I'm making liveries with an example of each. I think LEC #16 got bogged down on the spirit versus the intent and the definition of a "replica". In LEC #16, I believe the intent was to create an original design and that "no replicas" was intended to mean no 100% replicas, no near-replicas, no modified-replicas, and no tributes. Inspiration was fine, but without official LEC definitions for these terms, people used their own interpretations.
100% Replica
A livery that is completely accurate to the original car. It must be the exact same car and use the exact colors, decals, number plates, driver names, etc... There shouldn't be any issue with these. No example required.
Near Replica
A livery that stays as true to possible to the original car. They need to be on the same or very similar cars to the original, but the creater is only able to make a "best-effort" at a replica due to a limitation that can't be overcome in GTS (Exact car not available, exact wheels not available, colors can't be replicated, etc...).
Replica of the 1990 24 Hours of Daytona winning Castrol Jaguar XJR-9.
Original
The in-game Jaguar XJR-9 is the 1988 Le Mans Group C spec, but the original car is the 1990 IMSA GTP spec that Jaguar had updated from an XJR-9 to an XJR-12. The rear wing, various vents and inlets, and the wheels are all different, but the livery is a best attempt within the confines of the GTS livery editor.
Modified Replica
A livery that is generally true to the original, but modifies or omits certain elements (Uses a functional number plate for Sport Mode compatibility, removes our changes driver name(s), takes minor liberties with decal appearance and/or placement). It must be on the same or similar car.
I omitted the driver names and used a GTS number plate. There were also some decal placement issues, and the rear wing is completely different on the in-game car, so I made my own version that worked best instead of trying to force something that would have been closer to the original.
Tribute Livery
A tribute livery takes the core elements of the original car and applies them to a different car, updates period correct decals with modern versions, or applies some other from of change. This is where the biggest confusion exists between "replica" and "inspired". The source of a tribute livery should still be immediately recognizable to a familiar audience.
2018 marks the 40th anniversary of the Renault Alpine A442B's victory at Le Mans. This livery...
Original
The core elements are there, but they've been modified to fit the body lines of the Alpine VGT and the source is recognizable to anyone familiar with the 1978 Le Mans winner.
Inspirations
These take elements from original cars and make them into something new. Some elements can be used identically to the original car, but the new livery would also include new or modified elements in the overall design.
Commemorating Jake the Corvette Racing mascot and the "TAKE NO PRISONERS" attitude in this...
Inspirations came from multiple Corvette liveries across C6.Rs and C7.Rs. These elements were combined, modified, and re-worked into something new. The elements should be recognizable, but the overall design is different to any actual Corvette.
I didn't know there was so much discussion/debate around this but this is a well thought out post and I like these definitions.
I like to modify motorcycle liveries and put them on cars in the closest possible way, adjusting for the body shape of course but only as much as necessary. Or put the liveries of old race cars on newer cars in the most accurate way possible.
I consider these to be more accurate than "tributes" or "inspired," but I can see why some would object to the use of "replica." Based on your definitions, I am more open to the term "tribute" then I was before reading this thread.
Edit: after reading more, context matters and this post is more a defense of putting liveries like this somewhere on the replica spectrum despite lack of 100% accuracy because I like creating these and the balance that goes into creating accuracy while also making decisions on how to fit and modify the source material for a good looking car. I was thinking more about someone who likes replicas and is defensive of that term to the exclusion of replica-like liveries. Even if I accepted that my liveries are more tributes than replicas, I would not try to submit one to a LEC that says no replicas as in that context I think it is reasonable to define replica more broadly so as to include liveries like mine.
There’s replicas for perfection’s sake, then there are replicas for fun’s sake. When I started out in my attempt to make Porsche’s pink pig liveries, I decided it’s be fun to use English rather than German words. Here is the RSR I created as well as a photo of the original.
