by ZachC

This week I went looking for some cool new buggies for the holiday season. I was hoping to find a new one from Kiwimonk, but no such luck (hint, hint). ZMW came out with its 5^th annual version of the Holiday Magic. It’s available only through January 1^st. Priced at 18,850 I’m told it reminds some of Christmas candy.

 

Next we have a buggy from a new designer. The SMC300SL is Sayrus’ third buggy. Each is better than the last and this guy seems really dedicated to getting it right. He isn’t afraid to talk with other designers and he’s learning fast. I predict some even more awesome things from him in the future. The SMC300SL is priced at a very reasonable 12,850t and is well worth taking a look at.

 

BigD26 has been busy too. His latest, the shiny red DMC Sabre GTX-2008, is beautiful with good shine and excellent vents and louvers. His seats and dash are well done and the price is only 17,850t. Attention to detail is evident making this another to take a look at.

 

Onus went for the retro look with his latest creation, the OMC Coldsteel Redux. This buggy is an excellent remake of the way many were done back a few years ago. It’s simple, clean, and really looks like stainless steel. The dash is tooled metal and the seats are well done. Oh, and it has carpet! Priced at 15,000t this is a cool reminder of why Onus will always be considered a top buggy designer.

 

Finally we have a new buggy from Jinxed_Karma. His buggies always have that unmistakable JND look to them, and the JND Pacer XRS-07 is no exception. This buggy just begs for us to take a closer look and maybe help some of the up and coming designers out there, so let’s do it.

 

What many people don’t seem to understand is that detail is what makes a buggy. If you’re using a free or default dash, you aren’t really ready for prime time. The JND demonstrates what a top flight dash looks like. There are others that use different approaches and they’re excellent too. Another example would be the simple look of the OMC I just mentioned above. The seats on the JNK are also spectacular. They LOOK as if you could just sink into the rich leather. What an aspiring buggy designer needs to remember is this: If you want a buggy that will be successful you NEED to do a great job with the interior as well as the body. Ignoring either will lead to failure; and using free stuff from the various web sites that offer them isn’t what I’m talking about here.

 

Moving to the main body, the JND demonstrates a few things that many don’t seem to get the hang of. First, the rear fender blends into the rear end, as does the “trunk lid”. No abrupt change of color or tone and no demarcation line. It’s clean and it looks awesome. The fenders and hood are well done with a minimum of pixilazation and jagged edges. This buggy demonstrates not only a good design, but knowledge of the tools to create one. If you don’t know how to use Gimp, Photoshop or Paintshop Pro you’re already set for failure. Learn the tools first, otherwise it’s like trying to build a house without knowing how to use a hammer or saw. 

That brings us to the last part of the buggy, the wheels and tires. Notice there’s no line in the tread. He’s matched it perfectly so it tiles correctly. Not only that, he’s even lined up the cuts in the sidewalls so they match those of the tread. That’s very difficult to accomplish and once again demonstrates Jinxed_Karma’s attention to detail. Next, the rims are round in spite of the template, and they’re centered. They’re also sharp and clear. I see far too many buggies with a line across the tread and the rims either egg shaped and/or not centered. Many more are smudged and fuzzy. Remember, it’s the details that make a buggy. If the buggy has glaring mistakes it doesn’t matter how good a job you do on the paint; it’s the overall package that people will see.

 

In the case of the JND Pacer, the overall package is beautiful. It’s priced at 32,850t and based on the resale of JND buggies that’s probably about right. It’s limited to a one time listing of 100 buggies. It was down to 63 buggies left and about 6 days to go as of this writing.