Airman's Hangar

[Hotwheeler 409]

I love the factory colors you choose for the Bel Air, and i really have to agree on the drab color palette of today´s automobiles.Sure there are some exceptions here and there (just today i saw a new Fiat 500 in baby blue with those retro rims in white,looked awesome.

also check out old movies (color tv movies),i mean i absolutely love to see all those old cars in old movies and those cool and crazy colors.....

 

[T Wrecks 10,209]

On 15.6.2018 at 5:55 AM, airman15 said:

Ever notice how not only most new cars all look the same, but many have the same, boorish selection of greys, silvers, burgundys, and so forth? Colors are meant to add character to a car. In the 50's, pastel colors were all you needed. There was a time when a maker built a Lilac car and it sold. Mint green? In the Joneses driveway! Robin's egg? Of course! Why can't there be more of this? Just like why can't there be more new cars that look good with whitewalls?

To be fair, most modern cars lack characteristic lines because aerodynamics is everything and there are few clear and bold shapes, just rounded somethings. Few chrome trim elements add to the vague visuals, and as a consequence, these cars often look bad in actual colours. My father once had an Audi A6 C5 as a company car, and it looked horrible in red or white with its round tail! Dark tones were all that worked. I also find it somewhat depressing, especially since I supect that aerodynamics might be overrated if you consider a halfways normal driving style: In inner-city traffic it probably doesn't matter at all, and if you stick to speeds of ~100-130 km/h (65-80 mph) on motorways, it's probably not so much of an issue, either, whether your drag coefficient is 0.41 or 0.34.

But of course, you need a stupid strong engine that would reach nearly 300 km/h and is electronically limited to 250 km/h - with the associated consumption. And then you start shaving off every fraction of drag coefficient and try to save a few pounds by using lightweight cylinder heads and whatnot, when you could achieve far better economy with a less exaggerated motorisation in the first place. /rant

Still, I agree that there are also cars that can actually 'wear' bold colours, but for some reason don't. It's really a shame when you see that car XYZ is available in dark blue, black, anthracite, and five shades of silver/grey.

[raynev1 1,886]

On 6/14/2018 at 11:55 PM, airman15 said:

@Jasoncw- If it weren't for Detroit, we wouldn't have so many cars to be prejudiced about!

@Hotwheeler- Thank you! The Bel Air is still one of the most popular choices for V8 power stateside. A lot are kept to a mint condition and one one had made a top Best in Show at one of Sacramento's biggest annual car shows one year. Some are converted over to a Gasser status where they install a much bigger engine, reduce unnecessary weight and tune the car for a 1/4 mi~ er.. 400m dash on normal fuel!

@Urban Constanta- There can't be too many vintage cars in SimCity!

@BossDragon- They made so many variants of the Corvette it's staggering! At one car show that happened back in Rocklin they had one next to a Grand Sport and I think there was a Twilight blue there? I remember one having red and blue stripes on the front fenders.

Ever notice how not only most new cars all look the same, but many have the same, boorish selection of greys, silvers, burgundys, and so forth? Colors are meant to add character to a car. In the 50's, pastel colors were all you needed. There was a time when a maker built a Lilac car and it sold. Mint green? In the Joneses driveway! Robin's egg? Of course! Why can't there be more of this? Just like why can't there be more new cars that look good with whitewalls? Maybe the new Challenger could pull off a set of thin redwalls but that's another story. In the meantime, the Bel Air will come with nine unmistakable factory color schemes!

      Sorry for the late comment , but I had to Thank You for posting this on my GF's Birthday . It has got to be an Icon of the 50's . And looks really nice too .

[airman15 4,111]

@Hotwheeler- Now that you've mentioned the Fiat, I remember one in Rocklin that was just as you've described! Same color too! The 500 series is the best Fiat in a long time because it executes the retro look flawlessly. US attempts are rather hit and miss. The new Mustangs and Challengers are examples where it works.. and the Chevrolet HHR and Ford Thunderbird  could've been better. Sometimes i'll watch an episode of MST3K and in between the commentary, i'm always trying to spot as many vintage autos in the background as I could!

@T Wrecks- That is a really strong point. The Dodge Daytona and Plymouth Superbird were among the fastest on paper when each were rolled out but everyone thought they looked ridiculous with the wing and nose. So much that a few dealers took it upon themselves to remove those elements and convert them into base models just to get them sold.

And that makes sense that the way a car is shaped can affect how it looks in a specific color. If new Toyotas, Lexus didn't have those horrid grille arrangements I bet they could pull off the greens and golds their model lines used to have. It's like are makers trying to give all of their offerings an aggressive look? It's probably why the new beetle can do any color well versus the new Toyota which I don't think really compliments it's shape. Moreover, it feels like the same five shades of grey every car has are the next worst thing to happen since.. Fifty Shades of Grey..

@raynev1- You're welcome, and thank you! I sort of have a soft spot for seeing these around! And i'm glad it were posted on a special day! It's not often that I can celebrate with my significant other. Not that I could find one anyway! Hahahaha! _Oh...

If you're hearing the distant rhythm of a Chuck Berry song, it isn't just you. The Bel Airs are coming soon!

[Thin White Duke 4,072]

I think the pale lime is my favorite color for this car. Red always wins, but it's a color that any car can be had in .When was the last time you saw a car colored like pistachio ice cream?

[airman15 4,111]

@Thin White Duke- Or bright orange, or hot pink, or deep velvet? So many colors to choose from, and all wasted opportunities. People actually bought teal cars 20 years ago; it can be done again.

Get out your switchblade combs, your poodle skirts, your spats, and make your way to the malt shop! It's 1957 again and now the Bel Air is ready to glide along your city streets! All cars come with a unit of pomade and your choice of 'B' movie!

 

[Thin White Duke 4,072]

I saw a Volvo V70 painted metallic sky blue a few days ago, and it was gorgeous. Got closer and noticed it was a commercial wrap for some business consultancy company with a pink logo, but my opinion stands. Any car looks good in grey. That doesn't mean cars look bad in other colors. That's why I made sure to get my Mazda 6 in grey.

[airman15 4,111]

That's interesting, it was an entire wrap for a body color? That gives me an idea to stop others from dinging up Carol's doors again. I'd love to take her in to the body shop, but it would have to wait until I take her in for an inspection, get a new radio, battery, tires, and windshield repair first.

Just a small update to an older file- if you remember the New Routemaster made a few years ago, the bus was designed for LHD cities but I never included one for RHD. Until now. You can get them here; they'll be the file labelled "RHD".

 

[airman15 4,111]

Moving onto another project- this time it's a replacement. Once again, it's an American auto brand and a subject for debate on where US makers stand in the luxury segment. If you ask me, Cadillac is on a path to reclaiming a seat at the table Mercedes, Audi and Infiniti all sit. But I digress about this specific model. The type of buyers it always had, where they end up five years later, the platform they're based on, it's hard to really put this in the category of what we know as luxury. It feels dubious to even put it on the level of old Cadillac. That's why I've picked the new Escalade as a stand-in for the Mayor Limo!

[Hotwheeler 409]

Ah yes, the good old Escalade.The luxury SUV of choice for rappers,pimps and everyone in between.I remember once seing them in copious amounds printed in Tuning and Lowrider magazines,always posing with huge oversized man hole covers as wheels.

Although i have to say,i feel the Escalade has grown up a bit since the 3rd generation, at least a bit.

Love your take on the Escalade as a replacement for the mayors limousine.I believe sooner or later we might also see a version or flooding the streets?

Keep up the great work , keep on pimpin´, rollin on 28s and stay cool dawg!

[BossDragon 220]

Haven’t played SC4 in a little while, but good to see you still at it.

Also, you can’t talk about American luxury as a whole and not bring up Dusenberg and Packard

[airman15 4,111]

@Hotwheeler- Thanks, mate! The Escalade gets modded that way because for an upscale car, they're rather cheap compared to other brands. Since they're based on the Suburban and Tahoe families, aftermarket options are about endless too. But that's the problem, how often would we see a BMW X5 with spinners? Or an XC90 with blacked out headlights? Since it's easy to do so with an Escalade, a lot of them don't get the same treatment as other brands in the luxury segment. 

And it's a possibility!

@BossDragon- Thanks, man! I was talking about brands that are still making autos. Cadillac is one of the few remaining which have been there from the start besides Lincoln. Mercury would sort of be too, if Ford didn't take them behind the shed. I have seen the new Lincoln Continental driving and those are drop-dead gorgeous!

[BossDragon 220]

22 hours ago, airman15 said:

@Hotwheeler- Thanks, mate! The Escalade gets modded that way because for an upscale car, they're rather cheap compared to other brands. Since they're based on the Suburban and Tahoe families, aftermarket options are about endless too. But that's the problem, how often would we see a BMW X5 with spinners? Or an XC90 with blacked out headlights? Since it's easy to do so with an Escalade, a lot of them don't get the same treatment as other brands in the luxury segment. 

And it's a possibility!

@BossDragon- Thanks, man! I was talking about brands that are still making autos. Cadillac is one of the few remaining which have been there from the start besides Lincoln. Mercury would sort of be too, if Ford didn't take them behind the shed. I have seen the new Lincoln Continental driving and those are drop-dead gorgeous!

I gotcha, but nothing American can really compare to those two in terms of luxury. They were the Rolls-Royce and Bentley of pre-war America. 

[WZNGT 22]

Nice to see that you are still here, is there any plan of some more airport stuff? fafalone of the SCAG team came back last year with finished TMIP2 (even joelyboy911 showed up on SC4D!), but not sure he is still working on something new. 

[airman15 4,111]

@WZNGT- In the forseeable future, all the projects I want to start are automata. I may introduce a few aircraft but there's no telling on if they can be added to the list. I need a ladder just to get to the top of said list. I will be working through it over time as long as my outside life isn't so unpredictable which it always is.

What I can update right now is the Escalades will be coming soon!

I chose to go with this charcoal Dark Granite, as it's not far off the color used for the original Mayor's Limo. I feel with my older models textured with black paint get a darker result than a Maxis car, the original limo being among those.

[airman15 4,111]

The Escalade is nearly complete! Just a bit of polish and they should be online before the weekend's over! This will be a dual upload, i'm thinking they'll be packaged together

[airman15 4,111]

The Escalades are online and available for download!

 

And now onto the next project. Still continuing on the luxury theme, the next project is an executive sedan, with an interesting history. It's the Infiniti Q50!

The Q50 is the successor to the G-Series. In Japan and other left-driving markets, it is the newest Skyline. It continues from the G35 and G37, which were also Skylines but after the GTR was divorced from the nameplate and made into it's own performance car. The Q50 Skyline is sold through Nissan dealers, but retains Infiniti badges. The Q50 was used as the basis of the Eau Rogue prototype, which included an engine from the R35 GTR. But the year after it's unveiling it was cancelled. The Q50 is wildly popular stateside, and is among the best selling luxury sedans right now.

[airman15 4,111]

Not going to lie, the Q50 looks great in Black!

Much of the time taken was devoted to texture corrections where the corners meet up. Colors to follow soon.

[BossDragon 220]

While I still would love to see a Lamborghini Miura, I like this luxury sedan/SUV route you're talking at the moment. Keep it up. 

Once the backlog starts to clear up, it'd also be cool to see a Shelby Cobra and/or Shelby Daytona, as well as more Euro classics(300SL, 250 GTO, etc). Just a suggestion

[airman15 4,111]

Each project is done one at a time but there will be others to follow. The next two will definitely be SUV's, and they will be based on older, yet common models.

There is a cobra that does exist! Or very similar; I happen to use this file. 

 

[airman15 4,111]

The Q50 is almost done! All that remains now is some last-minute testing for the SD files and making some preview images.

[BossDragon 220]

Great work as always

[airman15 4,111]

Life's hit me like a ton of bricks.. again.. But after finally having a chance to breathe, it's a perfect time to add another file to the Exchange. After a long wait for which I do apologize, the Q50 is finally available.

 

[airman15 4,111]

After a spell of radio silence, I have another project underway. This time it's an SUV which I will defend my ownership of until the day I drop! And it's a popular type from a popular maker; the 2002 Honda CRV!

[BossDragon 220]

Welcome back, Airman 

Since you’ve been on a practical vehicle streak, have you ever considered making any performance sedans and/or SUVs? BMW M5, ‘96 Impala SS, AMG Hammer, Mercedes-Benz R63 AMG, Jeep Cherokee SRT8/Trackhawk, Dodge Durango SRT, etc. I mean, what if a sim needs a practical vehicle but also wants a big ol’ V8 or V12 under the hood?

[Thin White Duke 4,072]

There it is!!

[airman15 4,111]

@BossDragon- I'd love to but I still have like 10 projects I have yet to start! Some will be more varied than others but i'd like to get through this lot first before taking on a new project.The next one I am planning on doing after the CRV is released is to make a 1st-gen Land Rover Discovery. After that I have a truck and several coupes, but I do have a Japan-only luxury sedan in the mix.

@Thin White Duke- Party People!!

[BossDragon 220]

@airman15 I'm going to assume the Japan-only luxury sedan is the Toyota Century. Good luck with those projects. Whether it's a Honda for the average sim, a Bentley for the affluent sims, or a Koenigsegg for the super affluent sims, I'll download all your vehicles to spruce up my roads.

When those projects clear up, perhaps you could make a Ferrari 250 GTO and/or a Ferrari F40? I like the fact you're making more "everyday" vehicles, but you gotta give the super rich sims more options too.

[airman15 4,111]

And you'd be correct! I'm considering that for the Century it will get the same treatment as the Escalade. In that there is a possible Mayor's Century. It's supposed to be a nod to the IRL Century being an exclusive sedan to CEO's and officials in Japan.

Thank you, and they're great ideas but i'd prefer to focus on doing everyday cars that can be found on the streets at any time. The way SC4 does traffic is a bit odd to begin with since the game will cycle through the cars it comes with and all downloaded vehicles so it ends up being that Vectors show as often as Mustangs when in reality less than 30 ever made.

 

The CRV gains two essential features- a hood and a sunroof!

[BossDragon 220]

I understand. I’ll still download whatever vehicles you put out.

As for the Century, are you planning on making an old style Century or the newer one?