[LDJ]

Originally Posted by Anarchy83

I see what you mean about the front being markedly different...this is turning out quite good. I do not understand why the fins are getting negative reviews. As far as I'm concerned, I think the fins complete the look. What I mean is, you cannot have the bulging hood and the extra mean front grill with the "angry eyes" headlight look without integrating some form of balance at the rear as well. A plain rear bumper would make this project look a bit "under-powered". Of course, I'm also suggesting balancing the end-cans. A single would not do at all - in fact it might look like something is missing.

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the standard "block" design at the rear bumper. The one you guys are doing gives it quite an interesting look - but then again, this is my opinion, as others are entitled to theirs. Kudos bro - I'm eagerly waiting for this thread to be completed. Rest assured, I'm checking your thread nearly everyday...though I might not comment all the time.

+1 to this. I do feel the end with the extra-imaginative fins evenly balances the bulging muscular front-end perfectly. Once this comes up to the final stages then the logic behind this design would be more apparent I reckon.

[R.K.Ramesh]

@Anarchy83 Thankyou and my point exactly. The intention was to do just that - make sure that the front and the rear 3/4 views reflected the same attitude. As far as balancing the end cans are concerned - it can still be done but we felt that it didn't look like something awkwardly missing post painting, so have kept it on hold for the moment.



So getting on with the progress now.
We had 3 colours in mind; the finalists were
- Ms. Deep midnight Black
- Ms. Metallic Navy Blue
- Ms. Ferrari Red

The contestants went for their question answer round and the results were interesting. Ms. Deep midnight Black as beautiful as she may be was quietly dropped as she started concealing some of the bold features of the car in a cloak of all subduing black. Matt black elements would not stand out. So Ms. Midnight Black was awarded the 2nd runners up prize.

And now there were only 2 contestants and the excitement was rising. It was the turn of a very powerful judge Mr. Head who swung the votes towards Ms. Metallic Blue. Ms. Ferrari Red may be too loud and therefore not suitable for business/ work use he said. Ms. Metallic Navy Blue was so prim and propah not to mention elegant.

And so Metallic Navy Blue it was. Euphorically brushing aside Ms. Ferrari Red who looked wistfully at ICEMAN sitting in the audience, she prepared herself...Shade card chosen and colour code selected - we started the painting process. Firstly the base coat had to be applied in a suitable shade. There were pleasant cheers all around - very business like.

[R.K.Ramesh]

The base coat was beginning to be applied. But suddenly the plot took a dramatic new twist.

ICEMAN had other ideas you see. 'I am a sporty sedan' he pleaded in a deep throated exhaust note. 'I am sure I can carry off a more red blooded coat'. 'Just look at that hot Ms. Ferrari Red. Though I am fond of Ms. Metallic Navy Blue she is too sober, prim and propah. But I am young and fast and love Ms. Ferrari Red - she is so right for me'.



And so the heart won over the head here and the final judges decision felt just right. Ms. Ferrari Red was crowned Ms.ICEMAN Lustrous Coat 2011 in a gala event... Ms. Metallic Navy Blue sportily accepted
Sorry folks couldn't resist this batty story but well that's how we changed the colour choice just before it was too late.


.

After the application of the final coat, minor imperfections had to be taken care of for that 'Lustrous Coat' finish.

[rajanprash]

Sir, Metallic Blue seems to be the perfect color choice. Dark Metallic Navy Blue a shade Darker than the Fiesta's 1.6 S and lighter than the Blue Blaze on Maruti's shade cards should be perfect. Glued to this thread, keep the good work going.

EDIT: Just completed my post when i saw your post with the pics. Asubtle Red would be good. Not too bright, A shade darker than the ones on the Accent Viva should be awesome. O.T.- Are there any metallic shades in Red base?

EDIT 2: Honestly pics never do justice to colors, i am really confused.

[R.K.Ramesh]

@ rajanprash, Red does have options in metallic shades too. But what we chose was the gorgeous red seen on ferraris. This also happens to be the same shade that the VW Vento comes with.

There is a reason why we chose this bold sporty colour. Apart from enhancing the elegant sports sedan lines of the ICEMAN, it is also a straight forward safe bet when matched with matt black. This is the colour we used to subdue certain graphic features on the car - the much discussed rear diffuser fins and parts of the front bumper.

And yes pics often don't do justice to the drama and variable play of light one gets to see on the car in real life.

[Durango Dude]

The over all look seems like an 'American Muscle', especially the front end and the rounded tail lights. Are there going to be any scoops on the bonnet?

[R.K.Ramesh]

No scoops on the bonnet for this one Durango Dude. It was felt that this would take it a bit further away from the Gentleman's express image we are looking for here.

Yes the initial inspiration was the Ford Mustang look so the American part came for there. However the Suzuki designers are clearly influenced by European chapes when they designed the Baleno except the tail lights which were too big to be European.

I worked at making the design more elegantly proportioned like an European (Eg. British and Italian) designs.

[kutlee]

Nice to see the steady progress.. Keep it up. Where is this shop in Blore? Looks like a spacious body shop.

[R.K.Ramesh]

Some more pics of the painting process...
The clear coat comes on - and our hunch for the colour choice felt so right - fell in love with the colour on this speedy looking ICEMAN


Dramatic look with this blacked out innards


The muscular profile on the bonnet gives the desired impression of something powerful lurking under the hood


Love this bare look awaiting the face off - old for new. Note the mildly exaggerated wheel arches.

[thedreamcatcher]

I was a bit scared of the red when i first saw the posts with the red colour. But the 4th pic in your most recent post gives a glimpse of the beast in the making.

It looks simply delicious!!! Waiting to see the end results

[gautamkhadse]

@ RK Sir ,

I see new tyres and alloys , mind sharing a few yummy pics of those new shoes , they look interesting . What colow have you guys planned for the alloys . The plain old silver alloys might not go well with the cars new look . Shiny black alloys will look superb with this paint job .

And can we get a scoop on the progress so far on the tail lights . Am so curious to see how the tail lights would look . Are they going to be LEDs by any chance , will they have a chrome backdrop or will they be smoked or blackened ?

[needforspeed88]

Ramesh the last picture in the 54th post clearly shows the amount of attention you have paid to every minute detail and how fabulously the front hood has turned out.I was glued to your Logan thread and i knew your skills but your growth as a designer is clearly visible in this project. Kudos to you..Cannot wait for the final set of pictures.

[cags]

I'm so glued to this thread, cant wait to see the final outcome.

This thread has created the itch to spend on my baleno seeing the transformation you have achieved so far.

Great work.

[R.K.Ramesh]

Nice to see the thread coming alive - Thankyou folks.

@GautamKhadse, ICEMAN is certainly getting new wheels and tyres. He was clearly begging for it with his new look falling in place. We too thought shiny black with a criss cross star pattern as in the 80s with a brushed aluminium finish looked great - but it was too expensive. We got a good deal on a simple but deep set 4 spoke alloys in a black and brushed aluminium finish. Looked par for the course.
Here is a sneak peek at the lights innards - yes it is an LED unit that we developed after a bit of effort at finding the right set of enthusiastic people.

As you can see it has been inspired essentially by the form of an aircraft engine since the simple rear face circles for lights look like they may contain jets (Visually). It was a repetitive R&D process to get it right. We also didn't smoke it black as the plain white with the old fashioned European Beam pattern looked fine. It had a very interesting visual texture in a custom way you see.

@needforspeed88, Thank you and talking about detail, here is another idea that presented itself initially as a side vent but turned out into something else...

[k_shanz]

Hey nice work! Glued to this thread. The car looks great now after the paint job. At first i doubted do they look as good as the stock baleno, but things got changed very well.

Could you tell me the full color name ? In ferrari red itself there are many like scuderia, rosso etc.

a small suggestion, it will look even better if you would use better tail lamps. IMO, they looks little cheap, or else just smoke it up.