Oh, man, I just love that feeling. Masochism is my middle name. So here is my final pathetic attempt to persuade somebody that a Riviera wagon need not have been the travesty that you seem to think it would.
OK, so I haven't changed your mind one little bit. And probably never will. Ho hum.
But then I tell myself that it took some of you about 60 years to learn to appreciate the '62 Plymouth, for example. So I can wait. And speaking of that '62 Plymouth . . . I seem to remember Mr Dodds remarked a while ago that a very small change in detail or proportion could sometimes transform the look of a car. My complaint about the Plymouth was that the passenger "greenhouse" looked too short and somewhat "pinched" front-to-rear. Simply broadening the rear pillar brought an improvement - to my eye at least.
Your skills are remarkably good Graeme! Out of turn; I really like the change you've made to the Plymouth's roof thickness and appearance, it balances much better. I don't like the car, overall, but your modifications make it less bothersome. The station wagon showcases your ample work. I'm thinking that more balance in THIS image might come from a more narrow standard roof pillar and a thickened rear windscreen frame. And, if possible, a lengthened wheelbase in the rear.
Tony, thanks for response. Yes I can see what you mean about altering pillar widths, wheelbase, etc.. I could have played around with those things but having seen one or two attempts at a Riviera wagon which pretty much destroyed the "razor edge" looks of the original, I decided to preserve as much of the original crisp lines and proportions as possible. You may remember this was my first attempt
and that's what I based my latest version on.
Incidentally, although people will refer to this as "Photoshopping", I haven't actually had any success using the drawing tools in Photoshop, so the basic lines and curves were actually drawn using the "Shape" tools (lines, curves, etc.) in good old PowerPoint.
Then I turned the PowerPoint slide into a JPEG and used my photo editor to fill in the coloured bits of bodywork and the background visible through the windows. The results wouldn't stand up to close inspection in a blow-up photo, but came out well enough for "cartoon" purposes.
Tony, thanks for response. Yes I can see what you mean about altering pillar widths, wheelbase, etc.. I could have played around with those things but having seen one or two attempts at a Riviera wagon which pretty much destroyed the "razor edge" looks of the original, I decided to preserve as much of the original crisp lines and proportions as possible. You may remember this was my first attempt
and that's what I based my latest version on.
Incidentally, although people will refer to this as "Photoshopping", I haven't actually had any success using the drawing tools in Photoshop, so the basic lines and curves were actually drawn using the "Shape" tools (lines, curves, etc.) in good old PowerPoint.
Then I turned the PowerPoint slide into a JPEG and used my photo editor to fill in the coloured bits of bodywork and the background visible through the windows. The results wouldn't stand up to close inspection in a blow-up photo, but came out well enough for "cartoon" purposes.
Oh my! I need to brush up on my Power Point. I haven't used it since I retired in 2012 and had no idea it had this marvelous resource. Thank you sir!
Oh, man, I just love that feeling. Masochism is my middle name. So here is my final pathetic attempt to persuade somebody that a Riviera wagon need not have been the travesty that you seem to think it would.
OK, so I haven't changed your mind one little bit. And probably never will. Ho hum.
But then I tell myself that it took some of you about 60 years to learn to appreciate the '62 Plymouth, for example. So I can wait. And speaking of that '62 Plymouth . . . I seem to remember Mr Dodds remarked a while ago that a very small change in detail or proportion could sometimes transform the look of a car. My complaint about the Plymouth was that the passenger "greenhouse" looked too short and somewhat "pinched" front-to-rear. Simply broadening the rear pillar brought an improvement - to my eye at least.
I think your change on the '62 Plymouth helps it out and if you don't mind, I would suggest deleting the chrome piece at the bottom of the rear door glass area.
Work of a moment. Only problem is that (like the fender humps on the Javelin yesterday) for better or worse you are eliminating distinctive styling details and maybe ending up with something a bit featureless.
Yes, PowerPoint is much mocked (because it helps halfwits produce so many tacky and pointless presentations) but for simple graphics work it has its uses. Go to "Insert shape" and take it from there.
Here is a little demo. Unfortunately yet another '63 Riviera was desecrated in the interests of art (art?), but it is purely for illustrative purposes. Apologies to all.
Well, it certainly wasn't a waste of my time because it was an interesting exercise and a bit of practice, but I know what you're saying. Part of me shares the view that the original is one of those classics that shouldn't be touched, but another part of me says that a "Riviera Sportwagon" retaining the basic proportions and with a rear roofline echoing the crisp lines of the original body could have worked quite well and might have attracted a number of well-heeled buyers. But I appreciate I am in a minority of one here.
Time to turn my attention to the Crosley extended wheelbase Vista Cruiser.
Yes, PowerPoint is much mocked (because it helps halfwits produce so many tacky and pointless presentations) but for simple graphics work it has its uses. Go to "Insert shape" and take it from there.
Here is a little demo. Unfortunately yet another '63 Riviera was desecrated in the interests of art (art?), but it is purely for illustrative purposes. Apologies to all.
