For Fun: Valvoline #9 Ford

While messing around creating my NASCAR '14 Mark Martin Valvoline #6 paint scheme, I was procrastinating on trying to make a custom #6 that matched the style of the car I was going for. So I decided to take the Evernham Motorsports style "Flying E" #9 I used on Bill Elliott's and Jeremy Mayfield's Dodge paint schemes. Afterall, the #10 Valvoline car did briefly fall under the umbrella of the team. I mostly just wanted to see how it would fit, though. I think it actually works fairly well.

Bill Elliott #9 Evernham Dodge - NASCAR '14

I decided to take a second crack at recreating Bill Elliott's #9 Dodge. This time I opted to use the Gen6 Chevy body, because I think it fit the Dodge style slightly better. I also took the time to add in the UAW secondary sponsorship to the car.

NASCAR '14 Paint Booth: Bill Elliott #9 Dodge Intrepid

As a Bill Elliott fan, one of my favorite custom paint schemes to make in NASCAR games is the #9 Dodge from his resurgent days with Ray Evernham before stepping back and semi-retiring.

To compare the differences between the previous game -- NASCAR The Game: Inside Line and NASCAR '14, I have included comparison shots of my own custom schemes from similar camera angles. One key difference is the shape of the cars. 

The top pic is from NTG: IL, the second is from the new game.

I still need to add the UAW logo for the new game, but I think this shows the subtle differences you'll face while working in the new paint booth. You don't have control over the spoiler on plate tracks since it's non-standard from the rest of the game. The clear "shark-fin" running down the left side is an improvement. The new contours of the various cars make it harder in the new game to run throwback paint schemes.

Overall, however, these are minor changes. The games are fundamentally similar, both in appearance and tools.

First Paint Scheme Test: Bill Elliott Budweiser #11

It's become a tradition for me to test out the paint booth with a basic variant of this scheme. ETX has removed the need to "earn" basic shape decals how you needed to in NTG: Inside Line, reverting things to how they were in NTG2011, while keeping IL's interface. Otherwise, there seem to be few changes to the paint booth. They have changed up the pre-made sponsor decal list somewhat, and added a new "mirror" option for decals, which can somewhat help match up decals on the left and right hand sides of the car, but it doesn't work perfectly. Still, it's a welcome addition. One problem is you can't zoom out as far on the top down view or others, making placement of certain decals a tricky proposition.

Here's how the test went:

Another new feature of the paint booth in NASCAR '14 is the ability to write phrases in the text box with spaces. Previous games did not allow that. The "KING OF BEERS" phrase on the hood would have had to be three separate decals put down individually or into a custom "brush." Allowing spaces eases some of the old burdens of making a custom paint job in the game.

On the other hand, the new unique shapes to the cars makes it difficult, if not impossible, to simulate older car designs for these retro paint schemes. That's why I kept this as a Fusion, rather than trying to simulate a Thunderbird how I did in NTGIL: