…of doom.
BMX Monday…
Posted: December 15, 2008 in car life, kidsbikesTags: art, bmx, bob haro, classic jdm, nissan gloria
Some cool stuff on SPRFLS blog today.
Heh – G-Sport George is a funny feller. Say no to Jaysus indeed!
& Russ was right – Kris Bennett rules.
I have one Bicycle Motocross Action die cut visor sticker left from my first year of BMX, which would look perfect on this Nissan Gloria…
I really want this car. Anyone want to pay over the odds for a painting of some daft looking red-eyed pandas conceived in a dubious manner? The car is on the Flyrat lot in Machida, Tokyo. It is sunny as all heck today (but 9 degrees), so I will mosey on by there this afternoon to see if they have anything new (well, old, but, anyway…) & post some more in the next couple of days.
And… Nike Lightning Bolts Hollywood finale via fatbmx.
Zombie Panda on a can.
Posted: December 9, 2008 in painty bitsTags: art, graffiti, manga, panda, pop art, zombie, zombie pandas of doom
Of Doom.
F1 less.
Posted: December 5, 2008 in F1Tags: Bernie Ecclestone, cash crisis, F1, formula 1, grand prix, Honda, Honda F1, Hondas withdrawal, Nick Fry, PR spin, Senna, Toyota F1
Unsurprisingly, the Japanese media today is full of Honda’s withdrawal from F1. Maybe they got a bit tired of looking foolish with 2008 being ruined by another rubbish car? Seems an awfully long time since these days…
Some of the quotes since have been entertaining. Nick Fry, for instance:
“This is a completely different situation from prior Formula 1 teams stopping. This team is one of the best funded, has the best assets, the best resources in the pit lane, a fantastic group of people, and a car designed by Ross Brawn, who has won many World Championships, and is ready to go next year. I think we are going to be a desirable asset for somebody. We are very hopeful that this team is going to take a big step upwards, so it is a big opportunity for somebody. This is all to do with the financial situation in the world, and as you know all the motor companies are being struck very hard by falling sales. Clearly more success on the track would have been nice, but this is a much-bigger-picture issue.”
Best funded? But without an actual major sponsor, hence the “My Earth Dream” bollocks. And they may well have had “best assets”, “best resources” and no doubt many fantastic people, but for the past couple of years have had one of the worst cars. “More success on the track would have been nice”? Well yes, I thought that was the point.
And Bernie!
“I think Formula One is in no bigger crisis than any other company throughout the world.” “The world is in crisis at the moment, but it wont stop, the world wont stop, that’s for sure.”
Heh. He’s older than most… 18 cars on next years grid could be considered a bit of a crisis, but he’s right – the world most likely wont stop.
I wonder what Toyota’s money people are thinking these days.
Grand Prix.com would be my recommendation for fluff free insight as things get interesting over the next few weeks.
Still in my neighbourhood…
Posted: November 24, 2008 in Paint on the streetTags: art, graffiti, japan, japanese art, japanese graffiti, manga, route 16, street art, tags, tokyo, tomei expressway, urban
Along Route 16, close to where it crosses the Tomei Expressway, the walkway ducks under a couple of lanes of road. This area has quite a lot of construction happening at the moment, so Im not sure how long this Rakugaki will last, but it does seem to have been there for quite a few years thus far.
The flickr set is here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pigsofdarkness/sets/72157607749735676/
SplatPanda of Doom.
Posted: November 19, 2008 in painty bitsTags: art, cartoon, graffiti, manga, painting, pop art, street art
Living in the Past.
Posted: November 18, 2008 in car life, Super GTTags: 1969, 1999, Eric Comas, Fairlady, fuji speedway, Gan San, Group C, Group7, GT-R, gtr, Japan GP, jdm, jgtc, KN's Factory, Masami Kageyama, motorsport, Nismo, Nismo Festival, nissan, Nissan R382, Pennzoil Skyline, Pulsar, R90C, race shop, sports car, Super GT, Tommy Kaira, Toyota 7, tuner, Z, ZZ
TV-Tokyo’s half hour weekly Super GT show today reminded me just how rubbish the weather was at Fuji last week. My Nismo hat didnt keep me warm, but the Nismo championship did keep me happy. Which brings me to two things, one of which I did last summer (heh – actually September, so autumn really, but so very much warmer) and another which happened ten years ago.
September was my first visit to KN’s Factory, ten years ago was the JGTC championship win for Masami Kageyama and Eric Comas in this Pennzoil Nismo GT-R. I saw the car as I passed by the store and almost crashed into a bridge. So returned with a camera.
If you were to drive by in September, you would quite likely have seen this.
As raced, with bugs.
The aero was a bit more extreme the following year, but this is still pretty tech looking. Perfect way to Sayonara the ’90s.
Somebody kerbed the wheels. Eric? Masami?
15 years of Nismo! The Nismo Festival at Fuji Speedway on November 30 will celebrate 25 years. Omedeto Nismo! Might be a bit chilly…
Eventually I noticed the sign asking me not to touch the car. Honestly – I didnt touch much of it…
Obviously no truth to the rumour that Japanese cars have smaller towhooks.
Quite a view that must have been. Dont worry – GT5 will have a cockpit view.
A Frenchman sat here. So did his Nihonjin buddy.
I was the freshest of freshy Gaijin at this stage & this was my first JGTC experience, so this image stayed with me until the racket of Fuji’s home straight concrete canyon blasted it out. I blame the VTEC’s.
Remember when SE Racing made those silver wing things, called Wing Things, that you could strap on you arm and be the BMX King of 7 year olds on your block? No? Yeah – Im old – I get sidetracked easily.
At the time, I thought that the Zexel signage detracted from the “purity” of the Pennzoil livery. I quite like it now. Ahh nostalgia… Yep. Old desu.
The products from this vending machine sell themselves. With help from the poster. I couldnt find a machine that vended posters. But the search made me thirsty. A cunning plan indeed…
They sure did. But this post isnt about Z’s.
Or is it?
As you would expect, the engine cover from a Nissan R90C was stashed in the window…
…along with the nose.
On a later sortie along Route 16, I noticed that something had changed here…
Blimey, I thought.
Why, isnt that a Nissan R382? With a 6 litre V12? This one is from 1969, a golden era for Japanese Group 7 sportscars. Any era that produced these Nissans and the Toyota 7 is golden in my book. Porsche turned up with a 917k for the Japanese GP, but Nissan took the top two spots. Gan-san was one of the drivers of the winning car.
If you werent already thinking that KN’s Factory was the best place in the world to be on this particular day, a Tommy Kaira ZZ was parked outside…
Better late than… later.
Posted: November 12, 2008 in gettin' shirty, Ocker Taxi Derby, Super GTTags: Denny Hulme, Ford, Le Mans, Paul Radisich, Sandy Myhre, Super GT, TKR, V8 Supercar
Paul Radisich finally has a biography style story commited to paper, penned by Sandy Myhre and released in September. Ive been hoping for this for some time as Paul’s career is worthy of far more recognition than has been shown thus far, but concerning the NZ media it would be best not to expect too much. Denny Hulme still hasn’t been shown his due and he… well, anyway. Nice one Paul. And Sandy.
Not sure about those fonts and always hated that Australian nickname, but certainly worth handing over $$ for. I watched the Motors TV wrapup of the ’95 BTCC a couple of weeks ago and was reminded of how much of Paul’s career was spent over performing in underperforming Fords.
Speaking of which, when he signed for TKR in 2005, I was full of all things joyous and designed a Nice One Cobber t shirt as the white detailed car livery on black suited my single colour stencil style garage screen printing operation. Typically it took me 3 years to finish the design and get the screen made. By which time the TKR deal had gone to crap and I’d gone from supporting the team to wishing they would go away. In current form at least. Still, Radisich will always be worthy of status, so I printed a couple of shirts before leaving for Japan. And thus, wore my Paul shirt for the first time in August 2008, in Tokyo.
Unfortunately Paul’s season is a bit screwed now after another big biff at Bathurst (crap – Im sounding like Clint Brown. Nooooooooo!), but it would be flash as all hell to see him competing at Le Mans or in GT’s before he gives it away. Super GT? Go on. It’s not always cold.
Passageway of Doom.
Posted: November 11, 2008 in F1, painty bitsTags: art, cartoon, David Coulthard, doom, manga, panda, pop art, zombie
I know. You want a frilly doorknob cover as well. Is that David Coulthards tartan?
kirameki san experiences sustained loss of traction 