To open a new feature on this blog, where I put some photos of free paint schemes, I decided to show you one of my very first paintings - my Fly BMW 320i. Why not starting by the very first one? Well, for some reasons:
- Firstly, it's nothing that great and I am quite embarrassed to show,
- Secondly, this is one of my oldest paint jobs that now resides on the shelves, having earned a more that welcome retirement from racing. So why not bringing it out of its retirement for a quick photo session?
I painted this car for the "Liqui Moly Championship" that took place late in 2008 and early this year. It was one of the most participated series, specially due to its unusual format. To start with, we had the sponsorship from Liqui Moly, which contributed with some nice gifts for every participant, plus merchandising prizes for the top 3 drivers. The low cost involved in racing these cars was also a key factor: for less than 20 €, one could buy the plain white bodywork and chassis from Fly: (the only cars that were allowed were the touring versions of the BMW 320i and Alfa Romeo 156). This series took place in two separate tracks, with an unofficial exhibition race at a local Tuning Show - this too helped raising local drivers wish to take part in the series.
Mechanically-wise, the power unit should be the Ninco NC-5 motor with fixed gear ratio of 9:27, plus mandatory Ninco rear tires (any reference). This made for some close racing, with lots of duels taking place at once, discussing every small fraction of inch while braking, exploring curve speeds to the limit... I think you can get the picture.
Another strange thing about this series, was that some racers took more time painting their cars than actually preparing them to race! That's what you get by choosing models that are sold plain white! So that you can get the idea, here's a sample of the colorful "paddock" at the end of the 1st official race:
Mine is the 2nd from the left on the middle row...
As you can see, every car shows Liqui Moly stickers, as part of the requirements from the sponsor (which we gladly agree...). Here I present the looks on the car, taken specially from its retirement at my shelves for some photos:
As you can see, the car has an asymmetric paint scheme, being white and red at the front and right side, whereas the rear and left side are white and blue. This creates a strange effect: you actually have the feeling that the car changes color while taking on the track, according to the angle it turns to the viewer's eye...
This car ended up 5th in the Liqui Moly Championship. It did a couple extra races on the Touring Series and ended up on a 6 Hours Endurance race for Touring Cars. One of my most raced models and the one that raced on more tracks: a total 5 different tracks! Now, a quiet retired model, standing alongside many other good-looking models at my shelve...
So, to conclude this post, some more pictures of this car's past:
The full driver's grid for the first race - the unofficial exhibition race held at a Tuning Show event turned out a hit among the drivers, with a record number of starters - 15...
The car standing in 2nd place at the starting grid for the 2nd heat of 4 in total at the exhibition race - it would end up winning this heat and finishing 8th overall from 15 drivers
The starting grid for the last race - the 6 Hours Touring Car Endurance. It started last, and finished last...
- Firstly, it's nothing that great and I am quite embarrassed to show,
- Secondly, this is one of my oldest paint jobs that now resides on the shelves, having earned a more that welcome retirement from racing. So why not bringing it out of its retirement for a quick photo session?
I painted this car for the "Liqui Moly Championship" that took place late in 2008 and early this year. It was one of the most participated series, specially due to its unusual format. To start with, we had the sponsorship from Liqui Moly, which contributed with some nice gifts for every participant, plus merchandising prizes for the top 3 drivers. The low cost involved in racing these cars was also a key factor: for less than 20 €, one could buy the plain white bodywork and chassis from Fly: (the only cars that were allowed were the touring versions of the BMW 320i and Alfa Romeo 156). This series took place in two separate tracks, with an unofficial exhibition race at a local Tuning Show - this too helped raising local drivers wish to take part in the series.
Mechanically-wise, the power unit should be the Ninco NC-5 motor with fixed gear ratio of 9:27, plus mandatory Ninco rear tires (any reference). This made for some close racing, with lots of duels taking place at once, discussing every small fraction of inch while braking, exploring curve speeds to the limit... I think you can get the picture.
Another strange thing about this series, was that some racers took more time painting their cars than actually preparing them to race! That's what you get by choosing models that are sold plain white! So that you can get the idea, here's a sample of the colorful "paddock" at the end of the 1st official race:
Mine is the 2nd from the left on the middle row...As you can see, every car shows Liqui Moly stickers, as part of the requirements from the sponsor (which we gladly agree...). Here I present the looks on the car, taken specially from its retirement at my shelves for some photos:
As you can see, the car has an asymmetric paint scheme, being white and red at the front and right side, whereas the rear and left side are white and blue. This creates a strange effect: you actually have the feeling that the car changes color while taking on the track, according to the angle it turns to the viewer's eye...
This car ended up 5th in the Liqui Moly Championship. It did a couple extra races on the Touring Series and ended up on a 6 Hours Endurance race for Touring Cars. One of my most raced models and the one that raced on more tracks: a total 5 different tracks! Now, a quiet retired model, standing alongside many other good-looking models at my shelve...
So, to conclude this post, some more pictures of this car's past:
The full driver's grid for the first race - the unofficial exhibition race held at a Tuning Show event turned out a hit among the drivers, with a record number of starters - 15...
The car standing in 2nd place at the starting grid for the 2nd heat of 4 in total at the exhibition race - it would end up winning this heat and finishing 8th overall from 15 drivers
The starting grid for the last race - the 6 Hours Touring Car Endurance. It started last, and finished last...
Very good reporting...
ReplyDeleteA nice remember for this championship.
Thanks Hugo
Great competition indeed, the "Liqui Moly" championship!!!
ReplyDeleteNot only the racing was tight, but also the cars were colourfull, with some very nice paint schemes.
In fact, I think that this championship actually was the beginning of a new trend, because since then many racers are know customizing their racing models with original paint schemes for any competition they enter. And that is eye pleasing, I say.
Cheers.
In fact, it sort of marked the beginning of an era for "slot-painters", as every participant had a white car to begin with.
ReplyDeleteBut one can't forget the former "Group C Championship": at that time, people could buy the cheaper white versions of the Slot.It models and you could already see some people dedicating some time and attention towards the looks on their cars...