RC10Talk - The Net's Largest Vintage R/C Community

How do you display your RC cars? Do you prefer displaying them with painted bodies or clear? Or a bit of both?

Painted! A clear body feels like an unfinished build to me. However I've known a few who build NIB cars for display and strictly use only what was in the box, so with no paint included, the body is clear.

I'm lagging in the body-painting department in my builds, too...but to me, a car with an unpainted body is an unfinished car. The body is the builder's opportunity to personalize their model; without paint, it just seems like it's not done yet. I won't even add my nearly-finished cars to my gallery until the bodies are done.

I know there's lots of guys here who leave the bodies clear so that you can see the chassis beneath...fair enough. But I still think unpainted = unfinished.

I definately agree painted cars look better on display. You can hardly see any detail on clear bodies, not that they had much detail to begin with

The grey area for me is I don't understand how people can cut out and paint original bodies that aren't available anymore, unless it's a box art car or car of some historical significance. This to me is where the reproductions are great, paint it any way you like and not worry. Don't like the way it turned out, paint another one.

Painted DEFINITELY. You can't tell what car it is that easily when unpainted, and I don't get the 'but you can see the lovely carbon fibre chassis with an unpainted shell', you can't though, just leave the shell off if the chassis is so important.

As above say, just looks an unfinished project, not great to look at , at all.

Right now everything I have on display has a painted body. But If I ever finish my 4wd/2spd RC500 I might leave the body clear just so I can see all the coolness . That and clear Elfin bodies are becoming pretty hard to come by.

I would like to display all mine with painted bodies but I like to take my time on those. I hate to rush a paint job just for the sake of calling a project done.

I have a little of both, but most of mine will end up with a painted body. I love a nicely painted body on builds! However, there are a few cars that I think I will keep a clear body on. A mint original RC10 gold pan with sweet electronics to show off needs a clear original body, as well as some of the RC12's. Some of my cars that I have spent endless amounts of time a money getting nice electronics (Novak mostly), only to get hidden by a painted body! Just did a RC10L the other day and even though it looks great, I miss seeing all the cool electronics through the clear body!

Mine aren't "displayed" as much as they are just sitting on a shelf. They have clear (or white, in the case of styrene) bodies until I get around to painting them. I'm trying to take more time and care on paint jobs these days, so I have some painted, some painted but not peeled and decaled, some unpainted. But they all will get painted eventually.

display? what's that? mine sit on a shelf waiting to be run again.

the only selfers i have are retired race cars, with period correct dirt on them.

All of my cars/trucks that are part of my collection are in the nude ( bodies in the kit boxes ) un cut, or painted. My runners have painted bodies. I did think about getting a second set of bodies to put on the car's/trucks in question, not sure yet on box art, or unpainted though. every time I use my hobby money it seems to end up for some other future build

Always painted

my trademark is all blacked out body (no masking of windows or anything else) ,but i leave a few clear to give it that brand new never run look

I have some clear and some painted. Here is my problem- if I paint them to mimic what I had bitd, they would be one color with runs and chips. I don't do box art. So I am left with trying for vintage themes, trying to go with how they would or could have looked. Usually pretty simple jobs that I can do with rattle cans and lots of decals. Mine are slowly becoming painted.

I had considered at one time doing a half painted half clear, I want to try it on a spare body and see how it looks first.

I will chime back in when I actually have one finished. In all truth I will paint some but I am not the greatest painter and I have some bodies I can't easily find.