by ZachC

I was really happy this past weekend when There released the latest Scion templates. As you may recall I gave the previous versions a less than stunning review. This time I have to say these may be some of the best mapping jobs I’ve ever seen for a There model. So far, I’ve worked on the Scion TC and the XB. The body sides are exactly the same and not mirrored. You can actually put numbers or writing on them and they’ll turn out right. In addition the size is large enough to let you get some good detail. My complements to the people who created this and to There staff for making sure it was done right.

Shown here are my versions of both the first TC and the new one. Note how the sides were mirrored on the previous version so any writing was backwards on one side. The exterior paint also showed through on the interior in the rear seat area. No more. The model has been fixed as well as the mapping. In the new version the back seat area is fully detailed and looks great.  

Now here’s a shot of the XB. Once again, there are no mirrored sides. The interior in the previous iteration also had problems with the rear seat back, but that’s gone away too. The interior on the XB is well detailed, as is the exterior. The models look as if they were all mapped by the same artist. If so, I’m really grateful that this job was given to someone willing and able to do the job so well.

  

There are a few little idiosyncrasies, but they’re very minor. Things like mapping the inside of the wheels separately. I don’t understand the why of that, but hey, like I said it’s minor and easy to work with. Now I’m looking forward to trying the XD model! 

This past weekend also saw the revival of the Buggy Workshops. The event was held at the Seattle Frontier Zone on Sunday morning at 8:00am PST. We had a couple of well known designers there ready, willing and able to lend their help. Onus harks back to beta and his experience and expertise are appreciated by all of us. Mullachops is a more recent designer but his creations leave me wanting more. They were both very helpful and I’m sure the newer buggy designers and those who aspire to be buggy designers appreciate them as much as I do. 

We started the event with a question and answer session. We then moved on to discuss: “what makes a buggy good”. We pulled out several buggies and the group evaluated what “works” on them. This was not a slam session. We were looking and discussing what the designer did right on each buggy. Eventually we’ll be discussing HOW to do those things. 

During the discussion it was agreed that the rims are very important. Crisp and clear, not to mention round are big points. Buggies with deep rich color were also mentioned. Along with that went “shine”. A JND buggy was brought out by one of the group as an example of shine and crisp, clean design.  

It was also pointed out that with shine it’s also important that it incorporate the graphics. We’ve all seen a buggy with shine, but the graphics are just laid over the top. They don’t look like they’re part of the buggy. We’ll be working on that in later sessions as well. 

The dash was another area mentioned. On a good buggy the instruments are clear, and the dash is fairly simple and clean. A big negative is a dash with the steering wheel going through one of the instruments. Proper instrument size is also of critical importance.

I enjoyed the class a lot, and I hope the others did too. We’ve decided to do another on March 2^nd. That workshop will focus on discussing our works in progress and marketing. 

Interestingly enough, one of the buggies we pulled out to look at was the M:Core:Atomic:Aura by Mullachops. I’d love to tell you to rush out and buy one, but they sold out in two days. It was limited to 10 copies and priced at only 19,599t. I have to tell you that this was not a bargain, it was a STEAL. It made me sad that I’ve been so busy in real life that I missed it! 

Next week we should have some new Scion cars to review. Who knows, if they end up doing a new u