Front looks aggressive 

The front looks really cool, good use of panels and I like that the center bottom of the front is black instead of all-red. The red 5x7 panel is well-placed there. I also like the use of the 5x9 transparent beams as headlights.

But I agree with yourself and @Aventador2004 that the back really isn't up to par with the front. It looks "messy", as if it's random panels placed everywhere. There are large gaps, and there is no "flow" in it, because the panels don't create surfaces. They create "edges" because theyre with a sharp end outwards and not with a flat end outwards like you did with the front. What if you would ditch the dark-gray panels at the bottom, and rotate the red 3x11 panels a quarter around their long axis to create a larger smooth surface?

And on the sides of the back, behind the wheel arch, where you have a 3x5 and a 3x7 panel above each other, what if you would replace those with a single 5x7 panel, rotated 180 degrees (with the side with 6 holes facing backwards)?

There's also gaps betwen the two rear-lights. What if you would put the two 3x7 beams just right together with nothing in between? And rotate the 5x11 panel above them a bit to close the gap a bit?

Thank you for all the feedback!

Here is the current state of the back:

@Aventador2004Thanks!
@I_IgorThanks!

@Erik LeppenThank you so much for the advice! It was very helpful and useful. One more problem that came up with this build: I do not like the panels on the side of the closest taillight. Any ideas?

Interesting use of what appears to be a spoiler for the front hood scoop and the transparent pieces as lights.

Have fun with this!

 

The back is looking better than it was before. However the side was pretty ugly, with no structure or anything. But from this pic it looks like your working on that as well. 

10 hours ago, Offroadcreat1ons said:

The back is looking better than it was before. However the side was pretty ugly, with no structure or anything. But from this pic it looks like your working on that as well. 

Thanks! I’m working on it right now!

Nice job so far, but I do not like the back. It still looks like a mess, though better than the first iteration. Keep up the great work!

I think you should use bigger wheels to match the approx. 1/8 scale of the chassis. And try to add more symetry to the wheel arches.

Again...

Not very happy with it. I don't understand why this is so hard!

Just let your mind do the work, don't push too hard.

18 hours ago, TechnicRCRacer said:

 

Not very happy with it. I don't understand why this is so hard!

I get it man, just think if it was easy, everyone would be doing it. Sometimes for me it's best to take a break and work on something else for a couple days, then come back with some fresh ideas. Glad to see you sticking with it, even if it doesn't turn out as great as you'd hoped for. Looking forward to seeing it finished, brick on. 

Edited March 16, 20186 yr by Johnny1360
Removed pic from quote

I'm back from a little break and added some parts!

I am finally satisfied with the back end now and I think I will leave it alone. I will now focus on the roof and windshield, and probably add seats last. I am running out of red panels! I am using other colors as placeholders, so it may look messy for now. Here is a test-shaping of the roof, but it will be extended sideways too.

Thanks for viewing!

-TechnicRCRacer

Your roof is flat and way too long. I would suggest more slope leading up from the rear to it. 

If I may give some advice: take a side-view picture of your car, and check a few side-view pictures of real cars. You'll immediately see the difference.

You could do the same for top-view images. The roof is probably too wide as well.

I'm not sure if your model has opening doors, but if the first flex-axle is part of the door and the second is not, then the problem I think is that the door is too short. The second behind the door is huge and could be shortened.

But yes, bodywork is hard. It's easy to comment on other's works but it's really hard to do good bodywork. I find that if there's any problem with proportions, it's a problem that lays dormant for a while and then comes about and stabs you in the back when you're doing the bodywork. I mean, if the proportions of a model are wrong, you're going to find out when you do the bodywork, because we instinctively "see" it when the bodywork doesn't "feel right", while we don't have such an intuition when we see a chassis, because in real life we normally don't see many car chassis (plural?) :)

And personally, I think the reason for the long roof is because the proportions of the chassis are off. (most notably, I think the car is too long.) If some parts are in 1:8 and others in 1:10, then by continuing each section in their own ratio, you'll end up with huge unexplainable gaps because the larger your model becomes, the more apparent every mismatch will be. (OK, it's hard to explain what I mean in English.)

I think what I would do is, make a roof by using 2 of those 5x11 panels to form an 11x11 square, and let that be most of the roof. Then, the windshield will become longer, and the back as well. Move the red diagonal 13L beams at the back a few studs forward (towards the roof) and make them longer, so that you have a horizontal part behind them where a rear spoiler could fit. I think that would improve things.

Edit: here's an image that shows what I mean. Top image is your long-roof, exaggerated. Colored segments are what I would move. bottom image shows what I move them to. (Approximately. It's a quick sketch.)

Edited April 10, 20186 yr by Erik Leppen

@Erik LeppenThanks for your advice, I will try to implement it. I will order some more 42000 tires and I have already expanded the wheel arches. The roof has been torn down and is currently being rebuilt. Thanks again!

I'm back!

After some extensive building (and finding some tasty, tasty rare parts  ) I have come up with a quasi-final design! Hopefully if you guys give me some feedback it will be done by the July deadline! 

Added Features:

• Roof, finally! @Erik Leppen What do you think?
• Better doors
• Slightly changed taillights
• Wheel arches can fit 42000 tires, which will arrive soon
• Reinforced chassis in the back

Please give me some feedback! I have to work on some other small projects and this one is the centerpiece!

Thanks!

-TechnicRCRacer

 

P.S. The Offroad SUV is still there, and will be updated soon!

Edited May 9, 20186 yr by TechnicRCRacer

I too hate bodywork, but it's not that I am not any good at it, it is just freaking time consuming as heck. You have to finish so much of the body to determine if your ideas are going to work or not, and after putting in marathon build sessions you look at the product of your labor and get real mad that you spent the last 8 hours getting one panel to fit just right. That being said, here is a method I use to help reduce the massive rebuilds... use analogs.  This can be a little troublesome if you have a limited selection of parts, but I am known to completely mock up a section of the model (the "analog" of that portion of the model) and then work specifically to get just that portion of the model tuned in and looking good. Then I build an analog of the adjoining sections and expand the analog to cover more areas of the model and keep going.  I usually end up with 5 or six sections that then get combined in one massive rebuild.  Make sure to make your analogs as close to the real deal as possible including colors and parts because too often the analog becomes the final model and requires only minor surgery to swap out the correct color pieces if needed later. 

But these are just suggestions and everyone approaches builds a little differently. Find a building style that fits your needs and stick with it. Your model is coming along but I think the "flow of conscience" design style is pulling you in many directions all at once and  solutions from one section start to encroach on other finished sections.  This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it can make the build take way longer than you might like.  So often, my first thoughts on a design ultimately end up being my final solution, so trust you instincts and your inner minds eye.  So many of my best and successful ideas come to me when my eyes are closed, there are no bricks within 20 feet of me, and I see the solution in my mind. Designs for bodywork can come to you in the same way. Be Zen about it, meditate on what you want the final model to look like. Let your mind sculpt the shape, then let you hands bring it to life.

And if something doesn't feel right or you have reservations about something, posting your dilemma here like you have been doing can get a lot of eyes looking at it as well.

On the rear end, the tail lights speak to me, but they say something like "straight and skinny and flat are not the right shape here" and I see them needing to be more triangular with sharp points near the centerline and expanding as they go out.  This shape is a little hard to achieve but if you can get it right, it might solve some of the panel fit issues at the same time. Just my opinion. It's your MOC, so it may speak a different language to you  BH

Edited May 9, 20186 yr by Bublehead
Typo

A few things:

Try to change the yellow to red

Longer rear pillars.

rear looks empty, wing maybe?

The piece on the front of the car, between panels is bending pins.

@Bublehead Wow, thanks for the reply! Your statement is so true.

8 hours ago, Bublehead said:

On the rear end, the tail lights speak to me, but they say something like "straight and skinny and flat are not the right shape here" and I see them needing to be more triangular with sharp points near the centerline and expanding as they go out.

Alright, will do!

1 hour ago, Aventador2004 said:

A few things:

Try to change the yellow to red

Longer rear pillars.

rear looks empty, wing maybe?

The piece on the front of the car, between panels is bending pins.

Thanks!

• Hah, I forgot to mention I was changing the yellow to red!
• Rear pillars will be extended a little.
• I will consider a wing.
• I don't see any bending pins?

The three #3 axles connectors are connected wierdly, I think they are bending.

This shows great improvement! The front end is very nicely shaped. However, the rear is much too flat. Try adding some slope if you can.

6 hours ago, Aventador2004 said:

The three #3 axles connectors are connected wierdly, I think they are bending.

I checked and they are not. That part may be changed soon.

 

5 hours ago, BrickbyBrickTechnic said:

This shows great improvement! The front end is very nicely shaped. However, the rear is much too flat. Try adding some slope if you can.

Thanks! How should I change the rear?

33 minutes ago, TechnicRCRacer said:

Thanks! How should I change the rear?

Right now you have a slope from the top of the roof at the back to the black area. Make the slope longer, so it stretches farther, like to the red panels above your rear lights, kind of like in the Ferrari F40:

(I hope the image isn't too big )

Does that help?

Edited May 10, 20186 yr by BrickbyBrickTechnic

1 hour ago, BrickbyBrickTechnic said:

Right now you have a slope from the top of the roof at the back to the black area. Make the slope longer, so it stretches farther, like to the red panels above your rear lights, kind of like in the Ferrari F40:

(I hope the image isn't too big )

Does that help?

Oh, that’s what you meant! Sure thing!

I actually quite like it! There's no unsightly gaps in the bodywork and it seems to all connect together quite well. Pretty good usage of panels at angles to make it a bit less "straight".

 

The roof is also much better now. I like how you used flex axles at the sides to create a rounder look.

 

I do think that when you have the 42000 tyres on, I would personally go for gray rims instead of black, to break the blackness of the wheel area a bit.

 

I think the bottom part of the rear window is a bit "thin" with only a single red flex axle. I think this is because of the black you used for the panels behind. I'm not sure I like that, but I understand from the roof you ran out of red 5x11s. Maybe you can change those two black 5x11s to red too (and the black 7L beams), but maybe you were already planning to do this? But I like the suggeston by @BrickbyBrickTechnic to lengthen the rear window a bit. I think that would improve things indeed.

 

But I think it's quite a nice car already! Well done :)