Japan Goodies!!

May 18, 2017 / jasonhoang / Leave a comment

Late post – but better late than never right? It’s a filler so nothing too exciting, but cool to me nonetheless.

The homies came back from Japan last weekend and brought some goodies. I took a pic of some of the things they got me – while small, they are actually things I love – so that’s why I like to share.

A group shot of the goodies. One of my favourite mags that I like to read but don’t understand is Hyper Rev 86&BRZ. It’s massive for what it is but it has tons of unique builds and parts that you don’t see online or in other magazines. It’s pretty lowkey and local stuff to Japan that doesn’t really make its way here. Of course, there are big builds and more notable ones in there as well, but the small ones are the ones that catch my attention. I haven’t even cracked this one open yet…

Another is a special edition Takara Tomy 86GRMN edition. I was debating whether I should open this or not but decided against it. I’ll just enjoy the picture on the box and pretend…

Another is a TRD keychain. Small but meaningful to me. For a year now, I’ve been looking for a cool keychain. A YEAR.

At the end of the day, a keychain is a keychain but I’m super picky about what I wanted it to look like. Long, short, carbon fiber, no carbon fiber, leather, not leather. This list goes on. I ended up never getting one cause I couldn’t find the perfect one. Well, Punit and JC happened to bring back the perfect one without even asking if this is the one I wanted. Now I have a keychain! lol

The other cool part they got me is a TRD fuel cap cover. Yeah, it’s a cover, not even a replacement but it’s cool as fuck. The sad part of it all is that no one but me will ever see this. Not even at a car show will this be something someone can admire because nobody has their fuel door open at a car show. All of the things JC and Punit have gotten me for the FRS over the years have been cool as hell but are all parts nobody can see 😥

At least when I fill up gas, I’ll feel cool as hell. LOL

For Aria, they picked up a few shirts – this very appropriate Hello Kitty shirt. Another anime egg shirt and pants from Uniqlo. The kid has better clothes than me and Diana…

And a before shot of the fuel cap…

And after. COOL AS F*** RIGHT?!

A Day In The Mountains…

April 5, 2016 / jasonhoang / 4 Comments

… Kind of. It was as good as it was going to get without having to drive out to the actual mountains lol.

This is just a continuation of my last post with my own car. When we went out on Saturday, we did kind of a double shoot. We were in such a good location that it would be a shame if Alicia and I didn’t get pictures of our own cars. We were also both fortunate enough to trade our lenses for a bit and get a different take on photos. She had always wanted the 135 F2.0L which I had, and I have always wanted the 85 F1.2L which she had. Both extremely good lenses with different capabilities and it really helps you learn different angles and perspectives. But enough nerding out… I’ll just post these here until I find the motivation and time to go and shoot again.

To be honest, shooting is the last thing on my mind these days. Back in the day, I used to want to go out and shoot no matter what the weather, the time of day, or the type of car – I would do it all. It’s a lot of time and effort and it’s definitely helped me grow into a better photographer and each and every car that I’ve shot has helped me learn new things. At this moment in time, I look at my camera and I barely even want to pick it up. I’m not sure what it is – maybe I need inspiration or a car that just totally sets the stage for an epic photoshoot. Nothing has come my way lately – maybe I’ve shot most of them already? Maybe I’m done with photography? Probably an unlikely case… One day I’ll be inspired again.

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This spot was particularly cool with the Rockies in the back. The lighting that day was perfect – slight overcast and there was just enough cloud. Check that background…

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Loved this shot with Alicia’s 85mm. So sharp.

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Another one with the Calgary skyline in the back. Not as awe-inspiring, but still a nice view.

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Still my favourite mod to the car to this date – JDM/GT86 headlights. Say no to Winjet.

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Vertex with optional gold horn button.

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TRD x Craft Square

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Here’s another shot with the 85mm. The great thing about this lens is that you can get closer to the car with a lot more bokeh or shallow depth of field. The 135 can do something similar, but it’s just not as crisp.

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And then some grass shots. Although we wanted it to be more green, I think the yellow/orange hues helped this shoot.

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Tried to take a cool photo. Not sure if I ended up with a cool photo. lol

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Noir gang.

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One last one!

Sunday Funday: Voltex Type 7 Install

December 6, 2015December 6, 2015 / jasonhoang / Leave a comment

Sunday Funday returns and we have one of the more exciting installs (for me, anyway) this weekend. We got around to finally installing the Voltex Type 7 Swan Neck GT wing today and it took us a about 2.5 hours to get it done from start to finish, taking our time to ensure we got it all right. When you’re drilling holes in your trunk, you don’t wanna be rushing through and having more holes than you really need 🙂

Anyway, I’ll just hop right into it… There are a bunch of install pics this time because Punit took charge of the camera most of the time and actually got some decent shots (lol) so for the first time in a while, I’m not the one taking pics and you’ll see me make an appearance. (I actually do things when I’m not holding the camera too).

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Gopesh came by first and we decided to get a start on things while waiting for JC and Punit. The first step was basically unhooking the one wire and then cutting out the two metal reinforcements in the trunk. Not to worry – Voltex provides a clamshell-type backing that creates an almost better reinforcement.

In this shot above, you’ll see that we already cut one side off while Gopesh taped off the other side to try and protect the paint just in case the angle grinder skipped.

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Another shot.

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And here we go. I know, I know – you’re asking “where’s his face protection!?” – well I didn’t have any… But we all walked away good today. 🙂

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So instead, Gopesh suggested I wear my sunglasses just in case LOL.

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Here’s the first piece out of the way.

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Gopesh taping up the next side…

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And we were off!

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Mocking up the clamshell piece that Voltex provided. Fits like a glove!

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By this point, Punit was on a rampage with the camera. No pictures please!

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A somewhat aerial view.

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Taking the wing apart to get the bases off.

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It takes three to unscrew a few bolts it seems.

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Another shot of the two reinforcement pieces out of the way.

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The wing sans bases.

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Here me and JC are drilling the holes through the trunk for the bases. We used the clamshell to guide us for the holes.

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Some artsy photos I guess

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Don’t mind Diana’s dirty car…

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The 6 holes are drilled! And we were ready to move on…

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Here we prep the bases to get mounted onto the trunk.

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Focus…

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One side on… On to the next one!

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Told Punit to do some work while I take some pictures. lol

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Wing on top of Diana’s car lol

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Guiding the bolts through the clamshell.

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Tightening up

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Here JC was tightening up the nuts on each of the bolt ends.

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Not sure what was going on here lol

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Anyway, once the bases were on, we drilled new holes for the rivets.

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Getting the rivets on. Gopesh distracted by what appears to be ass.

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Bases good to go!

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Rivets in. Two not in when this photo was taken. The good thing about this clamshell is that it’s fairly thick and sturdy – it almost provides more of a reinforcement for the trunk than the two metal pieces we cut out.

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Assembling the wing one piece at a time. First the stands to the wing…

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After that was done, I had to get in my Asian lean back pose to ensure the Voltex sticker was on straight.

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Good to go!

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Trying to get the other side… A little more difficult since the car was basically pinned up right next to the wall.

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And voila! Good to go. Again, some shots were with my wide angle and so it’s ‘slightly’ bigger than it really is, but I tried to get a bit further to give a better sense of its size.

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Love it.

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Took the covers off for a full on shot just to get a better sense of what it would look like. The front of the car obviously isn’t as aggressive enough now, but it will be soon…

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One more from the rear quarter.

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And again some detail shots.

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Beautiful.

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The icing on the cake!

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Aggressive.

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And one last one again!

CLCTVE.US x lifewithjson

October 3, 2015 / jasonhoang / Leave a comment

Holy shit I just realized I never posted this!

I had EJ over at clctve.us do a commissioned piece for me to help me envision what will be coming together over the long winter months. I’ve been kind of keeping it under wraps because I really wanted it to be a surprise, but once he finished the rendering, I couldn’t help but share. A big part of me loves Rocket Bunny and despite every one else having it, I still love it. However, I really wanted to venture off the beaten path as I have tried with my previous builds. Don’t get me wrong, all the hype around GT wings and wide bodies is hype that I love so so so much (if you know me, you know I’d put a GT wing on anything within reason). I think that it’s just so hot right now that everybody just picks up the same pieces.

I tried creating a render myself through photoshop but it’s particularly more difficult when the kit barely exists anywhere other than on Ben’s car from AJ-R and of course the demo car in Japan. With such limited shots and angles, there isn’t much I can do in terms of chopping it up and molding it to fit with photoshop skills. Instead, I go to individuals with skills to create photo-realistic renderings which is the next best thing.

EJ and his work, along with many others have been the reason for my inspiration to learn vector illustrations and be a little more creative. I wanted to do it myself but I couldn’t – and I hate that. In the meantime, I will live vicariously through the works of clctve.us and the like until I can create works of art like this.

So what do you think? I’m actually super stoked with how this is all going to come together. It was exactly as I envisioned!

Now all that’s left is to wait for the wing and kit to arrive and find some way to acquire the rear diffuser without getting raped too bad… Almost there!