Beach Photos Featuring Front and Rear Skid Plates

[vt_maverick]

Recently acquired a set of front and rear skid plates from John (rowhard) and had him paint both in Foxfire. The front plate is from Ron / VXC while the rear is from John's new fiberglass rear plate mold. I took a TON of pictures from multiple angles in varying lighting conditions so that you guys can see and judge for yourself as to whether the paint-match plates look good. I don't care who you are, the rear plate is sick in Foxfire. The front is a little more polarizing I think, and certainly in direct sunlight it's pretty bold. But in the right lighting (see sunset pics) I think it looks awesome too. Not for everyone of course, but hey, how would you know if someone didn't try it? ;)

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/DSC009841.JPG

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/DSC00986.JPG

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/DSC00987.JPG

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/DSC00988.JPG

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/DSC00991.JPG

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/DSC01019.JPG

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/DSC01020.JPG

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/DSC01024.JPG

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/DSC01028.JPG

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/DSC01031.JPG

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/DSC01032.JPG

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/DSC010531.JPG

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/DSC010541.JPG

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/DSC01055.JPG

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/DSC01056.JPG

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/DSC01080.JPG

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/DSC01082.JPG

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/DSC01083.JPG

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/DSC01085.JPG

[vt_maverick]

Continued...

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/DSC01090.JPG

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/DSC01091.JPG

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/DSC01092.JPG

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/DSC01093.JPG

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/DSC01098.JPG

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/DSC01100.JPG

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/DSC01105.JPG

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/DSC01110.JPG

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/DSC011231.JPG

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/DSC011241.JPG

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/DSC011271.JPG

And finally a few without the VX... :)

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/DSC01077.JPG

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/DSC01103.JPG

[VXjunky]

great color match on the front...cant really make that call on the rear...not the right light or angle

[vt_maverick]

Yeah I had some better ones of the rear that I took on day one of the trip, they were actually really cool because we were on this HUGE flat white sand beach, looked very much like the salt flats in the original VX commercials. Unfortunately I discovered afterwards that the camera resolution setting was still set to "VGA" from a class project my wife was working on, so all the pictures are pretty small. I'll take a look at them again tonight and see if any are worth posting.

I'll post some new pics of the rear when it's bright enough to see better. Otherwise I have to find a hill to scale backwards into the sun. :p

[VX KAT]

Paint match is certainly spot on. Beautiful!

just an FYI on the camera setting...when shooting white snow (or sand), you want to over expose the shot 2-3 stops to trick the auto-focus camera and over-riding it's attempt to make those brights a neutral gray, instead of the bright white it is.

[Buffy]

So is this your mechanical version of T & A??? :laugho:

[vt_maverick]

So is this your mechanical version of T & A??? :laugho:

Lol... well it is still too cold down there for the real thing. ;)

[Grif]

Looks awesome Vt_mav!

[surf-life]

looks great

[Dmitrikr]

great!

[Riff Raff]

VT--- Nice pictures of the sunset!!!

I really like the fitment of the skid plates, ROWHARD does great work. However, the matching Foxfire color of the plates seems to disappear into the cladding background and is not very pronounced. It seems one has to specifically be looking for the plates to even notice that they are there, instead of the plates saying "Hey, look at me" with some pizazz and pop.

In analysis of your Foxfire color layout theme; you have a Silvertone roof rack, and matching Silvertone Borbet wheels. In keeping with that same color layout theme on your VX, it is my opinion that the front & rear skid plates would look much better in matching Silvertone color (not Foxfire). In Silvertone, the skids would compliment both the roof rack and wheels and bring the whole package together in union. Plus, the Silvertone colored skidplates would really "pop" against the cladding background instead of being somewhat subdued.

Personally, I think matching OEM colored skids work best on the brighter colored VX's like Proton, Ironman, Astral/Kaiser. On the darker VX colors like Dragon, Foxfire, and of course Ebony, the matching OEM colored skids seem to be too subdued and disappear amongst the cladding background. IMHO.

[Grif]

I think you u have a point there Riff, but it still looks awesome IMHO.

Frankly I don't like any of the Thule racks on anything but an Astral or Ironman as it just not fit the color scheme of anything else. But opinions are like ********, everyone has one, and they all stink.

Sweet pics and sweet ride mav.

[Anita]

Its beautiful. The paint match is about as close as you can get without having the original paint. I think the skids draw the eye down and brings more attention to the grill, hatch and cladding. Its hard to determine really how the back skid looks but IMHO it totally compliments the truck. Good job.

[RickOKC]

Wow, that looks terrific!

[LittleBeast]

Now you just need to powder coat the wheels and roof rack either dark grey/black to match the cladding and side view mirrors, or firefox to match the skids and body color. Well that is what I would do :-) I like 1 or 2 color schemes on vehicles, but when it is 3 different colors it just looks a little too busy. That is why I have gone with 2 different shades of black and a little chrome. Looks great so far though!!!!! But get smoked clear corners for the front turns and front side markers already! ;-) I really like those skids, great job.

[tom4bren]

... the front & rear skid plates would look much better in matching Silvertone color (not Foxfire). In Silvertone, the skids would compliment both the roof rack and wheels and bring the whole package together in union. Plus, the Silvertone colored skidplates would really "pop" against the cladding background instead of being somewhat subdued ...

EWWW!!!:)

IMHO, stick with the complimentary color scheme ... not contrasting.

[JAMAS]

EWWW!!!:)

IMHO, stick with the complimentary color scheme ... not contrasting.

I would agree, but with much less disgust :)

[vt_maverick]

Thanks for the inputs guys, I gave this decision months of thought and research before I pulled the trigger on the skids, and even then I was a little unsure. It's good to see that our membership seems to share my conflictions. ;)

A couple of quick thoughts:

I don't have my roof rack mounted most of the time, and since the plates go on the front and back rather than on the sides, the matching/contrasting effect to the roof rack and Borbets is not as big as you might think.
I generally aim for my mods to be subtle and have a factory accessory quality/look to them. I want my plates to "pop" in the sense that they look great, but not so much as to be gaudy or detract from the VX's already beautiful lines/look.
I've given a lot of thought to powder coating the rack, my OEM rims, etc., but I worry about being a little too "matchy-match" by having everything so tightly coordinated. Some contrast is a good thing, although paint v. cladding v. silver rack v. chrome rims is way too much. Hence the reason the Borbets haven't come off the truck since I put them on a year ago. :)

Here are a few pics that I studied in trying to make a decision:

Gene's matching skid plate looks great:
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3219/rickshaw07v2sm.jpg

Then again so does John's:
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/IMG_00762.JPG

But this pic was probably the deciding factor. Granted it's not entirely fair to try and compare anybody's VX against Gene's, but this pic at least helped me to determine that I did not want the strong contrast of a light "Silvertone" even if it did match my rims and roof rack. (Also note how much more the faux studs stand-out on a dark-colored plate.)
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/dragons.JPG

Personally I think that a darker silver/gray or paint-match will look best on a Foxfire in general, but since the darker gray wouldn't match my rims, I decided to go paint-matched instead. One of the frustrations that I had with this site early on was that for all the amazing pictures of mods that are in our galleries, very few of them had ever been attempted (or at least photographed) on a Foxfire. So this thread (and hopefully Sue's once she gets her's installed) should help others to make the decision in the future. Here are consecutive pics to make the comparison easier (keep in mind the lighting is different in the two pics).

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/DSC01023.JPG

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/DSCF3636.JPG

[vt_maverick]

Couple more, the first shows the front plate in different lighting.

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/DSC01016.JPG

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/DSC01022.JPG

[Mile High VX]

Looks great Ashley!

[vt_maverick]

Was digging around on the JDM guy's site earlier and came across this in a newly posted gallery. Looks pretty sharp I think, especially with that rich dark cladding:

http://vehi.world.coocan.jp/2010shiga1/5.JPG

http://vehi.world.coocan.jp/2010shiga1/2.JPG

http://vehi.world.coocan.jp/2010shiga1/4.JPG

[RamAirZ]

Love the plates man and awesome beach pics!

[tom4bren]

I like the subtlety (sp?) of your color match. IMHO, the Proton should've been painted black (too much of a good thing I rekin).

[Riff Raff]

That's what is so great about this forum. You can ask other people's opinion, and you will get their opinion (whether you agree or disagree). When it's all said and done at the end of the day, it is the VX Owner's opinion that matters most. Thank you VT for giving us the opportunity to share our opinion and inviting us into your world.

:bgwb:

[vt_maverick]

Rear skid plate pic as promised... sorry for the quality, my cell phone lens was blurry.

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/IMG00278-20110419-1108.jpg

[VXjunky]

just personal preference .... one mans ceiling is another mans floor....id choose to match the cladding color....

[vt_maverick]

The problem is that the cladding will fade over time, so what shade of gray/black would you paint it? (Oh God let's not start that debate again!) Personally I think the rear would look good in paint match, gray/silver, or black. It's so far below the paint that I don't think any of them would clash at all. As you said, just personal preference.

[tom4bren]

Rear skid plate pic as promised... sorry for the quality, my cell phone lens was blurry.

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/IMG00278-20110419-1108.jpg

UMMM ... Dude - I don't think it was the camera's fault:)

Actually, weren't you trying to get a pic of your fabrication skills on that receiver pin? Can't see that at all!!!

[vt_maverick]

I'll see if I can't take one close up with a real digital camera tonight. I have the feeling Sue won't believe the bent pin fits until she sees it for herself. :p

[tom4bren]

:) Just rattlin yer cage Dude.

I really like how the skids turned out.

Have Y'all moved yet?

[vt_maverick]

Went back to the beach this weekend and brought our daughter and dog along this time. That meant we needed more cargo room, so I hooked up the cargo box and brought it along for the ride. Worked great until I tried to climb uphill through some super deep sand. Didn't get stuck, just stopped making forward progress so had to put her in reverse before I dug in. Felt a healthy "umph" when the box hit the sand after a few feet, didn't do any damage other than to reshape my license plate. :o Lesson learned for next time. :)

Pics:

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/M1040010.JPG

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/M1040005.JPG

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/M1040003.JPG

[VX KAT]

Went back to the beach this weekend and brought our daughter and dog along this time.

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/3282/M1040003.JPG

Looks like so much fun, right on the beach!......but dude, what's goin' on with the dog's ears....radar attachments???

[vt_maverick]

Lol... she's a Husky-German Shepherd mix and I think she gets the ears from the latter. You don't know how accurate "radar" is as a description - at full "perk" she can rotate them more than 90 degrees front-to-side, and she can move them independently! :eek:

[VX KAT]

Lol... she's a Husky-German Shepherd mix and I think she gets the ears from the latter. You don't know how accurate "radar" is as a description - at full "perk" she can rotate them more than 90 degrees front-to-side, and she can move them independently! :eek:

I can see the outline of her pricked ears, but there also seems to be something that's kind of black & white striped, horizontally, to the right of each ear ....like she's flying flags...:confused:....maybe that's movement/blur the camera caught?

[vt_maverick]

Oh lol, those are my flip-flops.

[VXjunky]

without the headsup that those are your japflaps...it does appear part of her ears...had me going too

[rjonchan]

VT - I have a Foxfire and I think your skids are perfect. How could I go about getting a duplicate set? Thnks.

[VX KAT]

VT - I have a Foxfire and I think your skids are perfect. How could I go about getting a duplicate set? Thnks.

Rowhard makes and paints the plates. PM him for the pricing and timeframe for production.
He did mine in a silver color, came out great!

[VX KAT]

Oh lol, those are my flip-flops.

What?????:_wtf: Your flip flops just happen to be perfectly behind her ears, laying on the sand in the pic??? Or are those your pink flip flops?....:laugho:

[vt_maverick]

VT - I have a Foxfire and I think your skids are perfect. How could I go about getting a duplicate set? Thnks.

Hey thanks man, appreciate the compliment! Actually you can find rowhard's ad here, which includes a cost breakdown and how to contact him.

http://www.vehicross.info/modules.php?name=Classified&file=viewarticle&id=31

[vt_maverick]

What?????:_wtf: Your flip flops just happen to be perfectly behind her ears, laying on the sand in the pic??? Or are those your pink flip flops?....:laugho:

Take a look at pics 2 and 3 - you can see my sandals from the other angle. And although I am perfectly comfortable in my manhood, no those are not my pink flops. :)