1st V12.0 model

[Scottj3d]

Just got V12.0 AM 2006 today and thought I'd see ii it feels any different than V11 2004. Modelling feels about the same but so far no gliches. I had out of memory issues with 11 so have been using 10.5. V12 appears to be a bit more comfortable although I have had no bad experiences with modelling in the earlier versions. I decided for my 1st model I would try to build my friends car. A 66 Malibu SS which I took pic's of for roto's about a year ago and also did some airbrush work on the car when he built it. Lot's of tweaking and fabricating to go as I plan to build the complete car and haven't done much mechanical modelling. I've seen some really nice car's built in this section so I thought I would give it a go. Crits and advice are welcome. I stayed with the default lighting here as I haven't much experience with different lighting or lighting setup.

 

Here's the actual car for reference. It's also the pic I used for the side roto.

[thejobe]

wow nice work so far scott cant wait to see this one finished

also this is one of my favorite cars hehe

[MattWBradbury]

I was wondering why it was so skinny, and then I realized that the car has been cut in half by alien lazar beams sent from outer space from the beyond. Good work so far. I like the slipinage on your fender. Would you mind if I asked for a wireframe?

[Zaryin]

It's looking great so far.

[Scottj3d]

I was wondering why it was so skinny, Would you mind if I asked for a wireframe?

 

 

 

Yeah I figured I would start with what I see while modelling. Actually it is a bit wide. I did a quick copy paste to check proportions so it will get a bit skinnier before I am ready for the final copy paste with better lighting. And heres also a wireframe as requested. I feel it's still a bit spline heavy but the plan is to get it built first and then see where I can cut the splinage. Still alot to get worked out at this point. Thanks for the replies,guy's.

[Scottj3d]

wow nice work so far scott cant wait to see this one finished

also this is one of my favorite cars hehe

 

 

Thank's Jay, yeah I worked in auto parts for year's and our machinist was building it. I used to look at it (even before it was painted) and druel. I had plastic model's of them as a teen and never thought I would one day be doing airbrush work on one. The car (real one) has a fiberglass hood and rather than cut holes for the cowl induction he had me paint them on and put a Ratfink on the back of the hood scoop. It's gonna be much easier to do on the model but I am going for acuracy here so my model will have them as well.

[Scottj3d]

Here's a couple of updates. This one I didn't quite get the same angle. I wanted to compare it with the shot of the real car but it's close enough to check the accuracy. Still have alot to do!

 

I'm also rigging as I go. Can't wait to get into the engine but you have to "pop" the hood to see it so I'm rigging all the door's ect. as I go. A problem I am having is that the bones move in all directions and I am not sure how to constrain them so that for example the hood doesn't move side to side as well as up and down. And just the opposite for the door's.

[Scottj3d]

Well my friend sent me some pic's of angles I did not have when I shot the car. He's not liking the idea of me cutting his car in half so often! I cut it and have been making some adjustment's. It's getting smoother and the lines are improving. I'm not too confident in the lighting area but I think I did a bit better here.

[oakchas]

Hey, It's lookin great! And it's a Flinstones mobile! Foot power beats those high gas prices!

 

Good job on the dash so far...

[DanCBradbury]

Awesome car Scott. I'm working on a car project right now. Is it easier to create one from drawings or taking something that already exists, cause i've never tried to build an already built car. Looks great.

[Scottj3d]

Hey, It's lookin great! And it's a Flinstones mobile! Foot power beats those high gas prices!

 

Good job on the dash so far...

 

Thank's Oakchas, I figure I'll get the body tweaked in then work my way in for the interior. Right now I'm using stealth technology for the dash and floor, actually I'm not sure weather to go ahead and get the body copied and attached then build the chassis (and rigging it?) and interior after or what but it will come. I think I can pull it off though as long as my mind doesn't prematurely think of something else it want's to try building (bad habit). I'm hoping to mod a copy of this later and have it in red primer with rust and dent's and have some fun with it.

[Scottj3d]

Awesome car Scott. I'm working on a car project right now. Is it easier to create one from drawings or taking something that already exists, cause i've never tried to build an already built car. Looks great.

 

Thank's Dan, I'm watching that WIP I haven't had any input (nice car, WOW nice paint! Shiney!)as the setups for paint and lighting are over my head at this time (I'm studying!). I tend to freehand most of my model's but having good roto images for reference on an exhisting vehicle really helps. In the case of this carI'm using 3 shots front,side and rear and it hasn't been too difficult so far. I was slightly above the car when I took the front and rear pics so they dont match up perfectly in the modelling window but being able to have the car's owner go shoot some different angles at close range of critical areas and email them to me really is helping me "tweak" it in. I'm at the point now where I added the decal's to the headlight's and have had to go back to V10.5 to apply the decals as V12.0 wont let me apply them. I flatten in my pose then position and apply but as soon as I stop positioning they are gone. In short though in the process I lost the roto's and did this latest tweak just minimizing AM and using the reference pic's since the basic model is close enough at this point. I hope I get the finish on the car and the lighting to compliment the model as your's does on the Retro. The way I see it I might be ready to play with that once I get the interior and engine in.

[Scottj3d]

Here's another recent shot. I have a couple splines around the rear wheel well that I keep budging but haven't hit the right balance yet. It shows best in the render so it's a slow process to get them.

[nixie]

Looking good, not far to go now. Will you rig it with suspension when finished?

 

Nixie

[Scottj3d]

Will you rig it with suspension when finished?

 

Nixie

 

Thanks Nixie

Yes I plan to build the chassis and suspension and rig it so that the suspension appears to be working should the front tires leave the ground ( wheelstand etc.) and to be able to turn the front wheels for still shots of it turning with the body tilting with gravity. Not too sure as to animating it. Most of my ability is in the modelling window but you never know.

[ddustin]

Will you rig it with suspension when finished?

 

Nixie

 

Thanks Nixie

Yes I plan to build the chassis and suspension and rig it so that the suspension appears to be working should the front tires leave the ground ( wheelstand etc.) and to be able to turn the front wheels for still shots of it turning with the body tilting with gravity. Not too sure as to animating it. Most of my ability is in the modelling window but you never know.

 

Very nice looking ride.

Are you going to model the 327, 396, 402 or 427 for this ride.

I'd love to see that engine!!

 

(I had an Impala SS growing up)

 

David

[Scottj3d]

[quote

 

Very nice looking ride.

Are you going to model the 327, 396, 402 or 427 for this ride.

I'd love to see that engine!!

 

(I had an Impala SS growing up)

 

David

 

Thanks David.

It's got a blown 396 over bored to I believe 402 0r 3. I'll have to check with Gordon the owner/builder of the car. Yeah I have always liked the old chevy's. For a while this was looking more like an impala than a chevelle. Here's a reference pic of the "real" engine which I plan to model as well. I just hope the model doesn't get too heavy to work with once I get all the other pieces in place.

[Scottj3d]

Here's a little update. Did some modifications to the grill and added a few things. Still working on the stripes. Here they are just cut from the picture of the car but since (I'm guessing) I didn't repaint them in paint shop they dont apply right as a cookie cut (outlines). I'm going to repaint them and see if it looks better then.

[oakchas]

Front tire looks a bit underinflated.... you will get wear on the outside treads that way...

 

Also looks kinda funky where the windshield (particularly the pillar) meets the roof.

 

You are doing a bang up job on this... very nice (all my smart a## coments aside).

 

Modeling that motor.... yikes!

[Scottj3d]

Front tire looks a bit underinflated.... you will get wear on the outside treads that way...

 

Also looks kinda funky where the windshield (particularly the pillar) meets the roof.

 

You are doing a bang up job on this... very nice (all my smart a## coments aside).

 

Modeling that motor.... yikes!

 

Thank's Oakchas, you're right! I didn't notice it till you mentioned it. I had a couple cp's out of place, musta hit something on the roa...er uh bumped them while modelling. I'll be getting the roof tied in soon. Just got a couple of pieces to model in to complete that area then finish the rear of the car and tweak it in for the final copyflip. The engine prolly wont be as detailed as the pics but it shouldn't be too bad.....Should it? LOL

[ddustin]

Front tire looks a bit underinflated.... you will get wear on the outside treads that way...

 

Also looks kinda funky where the windshield (particularly the pillar) meets the roof.

 

You are doing a bang up job on this... very nice (all my smart a## coments aside).

 

Modeling that motor.... yikes!

 

Thank's Oakchas, you're right! I didn't notice it till you mentioned it. I had a couple cp's out of place, musta hit something on the roa...er uh bumped them while modelling. I'll be getting the roof tied in soon. Just got a couple of pieces to model in to complete that area then finish the rear of the car and tweak it in for the final copyflip. The engine prolly wont be as detailed as the pics but it shouldn't be too bad.....Should it? LOL

 

Scott,

Something to remember... It's not what you see, it's what you think you see.

 

David

[Scottj3d]

Thank's David. Here's what I see so far. No chrome or detail yet. Still figuring out how to bend the exhaust right before I start the blower,waterpump etc. A little more "tricky than I figured it would be to get the shape but with a little tweaking I think it'll work. Oakchas I hope you like it....That "yikes" inspired me.

[Scottj3d]

Here's an update on the engine. I'll be smoothing out that crease in the front of the block if it doesn't elude me again to do so. Still working on lighting. I plan to use bumpmaps for added details.

[Dhar]

Ah! The good ole' days. vrooom, vrooom. I can almost smell the leaded exhaust fumes

 

Nice work.

[oakchas]

Ahhhh the trick of the well placed ...Yikes! Reel him in, take a pick and let 'im go... He's gettin' to be a bigun!

 

Looking great so far, look forward to seein' that cast iron show... then the creases... heck, call 'em mold marks...

[Scottj3d]

Charlie I'll get back with ya on that cast iron, I may try using patch images for that on the areas that will be seen after I add the rest of the "goodies". Tighten that drag cuz this models gettin hard to turn! At least when the whole thing is visible in shaded WF mode. Thank's Hash for having that H key shortcut! Here's where I am on the chassis. No springs attempted yet , still shaping it and here it has been copied flipped and not attached just to test the proportions. I played around with some rigging (with varying result's) but am still figuring that out as the geometry is not finished and I'm not sure how to rig the control arm and spindle/wheel bones. I have something working but when the arms are moved the tire changes it's angle(camber). The movement is almost right but I think it has more to do with the length of the arms and a little bit to do with the spindle as I need to refine the shape. David I'm watching your post looking for rigging of automobiles as I am also interested in rigging this chassis to "work".

[Scottj3d]

A little update on the engine.

[oakchas]

Awesome!

 

Degree markings on the harmonic balancer to come?

[Scottj3d]

Awesome!

 

Degree markings on the harmonic balancer to come?

 

Thank's and....you're killin me man! (LOL) Detail's, detail's. Yeah as soon as I get the distributor and fuel pump,water outlet and oil filter,transmission, starter AAAGGHH! I'll add that little tab with a bumpmap for the degree's..oh and a bumpmap for the front of the engine for the freeze plugs and casting finish. The body's almost ready to make whole. Just looked at Rodney's CFA tutorial and used what I learnt to make the basic shape for water pump last night(think it's too small?), worked like a charm I can now CFA without that seat of the pant's feel! That's gonna really improve my modelling. Thanks Rodney!

[Zaryin]

Man, I didn't think you were going into this much detail. And now you are doing even more, man! Looking goos.

[MMZ_TimeLord]

Don't forget to add the individual strands of wire inside the insulation... just so we know it's there...

 

Great job so far!

[Scottj3d]

Man, I didn't think you were going into this much detail. And now you are doing even more, man! Looking goos.

 

Thank's Zaryn I actually was'nt thinking it would go this deep but the more hour's I put into modelling it the more it seem's a waste not to go full tilt and see how close to the real thing I can get it. I've started setting up my lighting which is something I did'nt play with much in the past. Not much experience with pre-made light-rigs either but I'm moving forward to better lighting. Here's one fresh off the renderer. The camera is not centered properly but I have the halves connected even though I still have a few small pieces to do on the body.

[Scottj3d]

Don't forget to add the individual strands of wire inside the insulation... just so we know it's there...

 

Great job so far!

 

Ha! Don't know how I missed that MMZ. I'll make you a deal. I'll model the wires and we'll pretend the insulation is there. 1st comes the distributor Course this is V12 so maybe some simcloth eh! Heres one I like. Still missing some pieces and need to adjust where the hood and cowling meet but had a go at using the font wiz for the 1st time.

[oakchas]

Scott, this is looking really great!

 

'Course before you're done I'll be expecting to see how welll the windshield wipers and washers work!

 

Ever the relentless taskmaster!

 

It really is lookin' good... but shouldn't the chrome strip on the front of the hood be the same width as the ones around the headlight doors?

 

I know it seems like I'm picking nits... and I am... but I like to Push the possibilities too. Even though honestly, I'm not near as good at it myself as I'd like to be (and no where as good as you are!).

 

Oh, and speaking of headlights ( I did mention headlights so this is not completly out of the blue) I really like yours... But, they kinda look dark, like the old headlights did when the bulbs went bad (they'd get that dark grey cast to them). Now, you could say they were smoked lenses...And that's okay too but they need to be smokier if that's the case. And if you smoke the lenses, you gotta have blue dots for the tail lights don't you? I mean isn't that a law or something?

[Scottj3d]

Scott, this is looking really great!

 

'Course before you're done I'll be expecting to see how welll the windshield wipers and washers work!

 

Ever the relentless taskmaster!

 

It really is lookin' good... but shouldn't the chrome strip on the front of the hood be the same width as the ones around the headlight doors?

 

I know it seems like I'm picking nits... and I am... but I like to Push the possibilities too. Even though honestly, I'm not near as good at it myself as I'd like to be (and no where as good as you are!).

 

Oh, and speaking of headlights ( I did mention headlights so this is not completly out of the blue) I really like yours... But, they kinda look dark, like the old headlights did when the bulbs went bad (they'd get that dark grey cast to them). Now, you could say they were smoked lenses...And that's okay too but they need to be smokier if that's the case. And if you smoke the lenses, you gotta have blue dots for the tail lights don't you? I mean isn't that a law or something?

 

Charlie the wipers have actually been on my mind as well as the rear view mirrors (driver and center windshield and a transparency map for the cowl) as for washers I'll see what I can do (but they won't squirt till I learn to simulate water) as for the trim I gotcha, for whatever reason GM decided to build them that way (see pic)(my front roto). The headlight's I'm working on. In the chor I am still learning about lighting so it may be that or I may need to adjust some diffuse settings to brighten them up. They are basically a lense set to transparent with a grid like bumpmap applied and a "chrome" or silver rear half just like a real headlight has. I wouldnt mind figuring out how to give them that magnifying effect that a real headlight has but I wouldn't know where to start. I dont feel you're picking nit's. That's part of why I posted it to get feedback and perhaps guidance. But I gotcha on that trim

[oakchas]

But I gotcha on that trim

 

Wellll, based on your roto reference, I would have agreed... but my mind said "Detroit wouldn't have allowed that" So, I looked on line with the help of google images... and whaddayaknow....

 

Drumroll not necessary.....

 

[attachmentid=14771]

 

Sorry, I hate being wr--- wro----- mistaken (can't even say it)!

 

I think, if you look at the driver's side of your own roto, the strips are the same size. The reflection off the chrome is giving you that extra width on the right (of the car). Also, your friends car would be docked points in a show for the strips not lining up... sad but true.

[Scottj3d]

Know whut! Imma hafta send that pic to tha owner. I specifically asked him about that weeks ago and he told me what I told you. See...thats another reason I posted it so you could show me that. I actually have found some that looked like the one I posted but did a search of my own after you posted that and found some more where it's even. That's it... I'm stopping this model due to corrupted rotoscopes and misleading information. Excuse me I have to go shower now!

[oakchas]

Wouldn't surprise me if your friend's car had an aftermarket 'glass hood.

 

You'ld be surprised what car freaks do to win shows.... for example... if the gap around the door is too wide where the door latches... a show guy will have extra metal welded to the edge of the door so that the gap is the same allaround... even if it's just off a 'steenth of an inch... just a weld bead along the edge grind off what you don't need....

 

Sad, they're sooooo anal...

 

my nit pickin' is very minor in comparison. And I been pushin Dan Bradbury on his Retro just as hard!

[Scottj3d]

Ok I feel better now. Master O forgive me for my insubordination. I was wrong and you were righ...ri..rrr-ight. I spoke to the owner today and he was suprised at the resulting information. Please accept this small token (headlight) as an apologie for challenging you. And while you're at it... should you come up with some tips on how to better it please post it back to this WIP. It is as it is on the car model at this time and the chor is set up with my current light setup except for two more lights at the same intensity but should anybody post a better solution I will be happy to add it to a fresh backup of the model or reverse engineer it and reproduce it. Hmm..I could find myself back in the parts business only in a virtual way. I plan to post the engine model when I get it done (and maybe some different intake solutions) but am not too sure as yet about the whole car. Could be fun swapping part's with people to see what kind's of Franken cars we could come up with.

HL_10_5.zip

[oakchas]

Ok I feel better now. Master O forgive me for my insubordination... should you come up with some tips on how to better it please post it back to this WIP

 

Are you kiddin' me???!!! I can't model that good yet! Honest! But you are sooo close, I figgured it'd be easy for you to tweak here and there!

 

Permission granted to pick apart my next post... I'm workin on it now. Not something as pretty as a car.. you have to understand I started with an exhaust fan and a hat... So don't expect much!

[Scottj3d]

Oakey you do have a good "eye" or maybe two, which is what I was referring to my having challenged. I have tried bumping up the lighting and even changing the diffuse color on the domes behind the lenses and still it comes out dark. Here I have made some other tweaks as well but the lights still come out dark. Tried flipping the normals and that made no diff. I took the model back to 10.5 and rendered again and the light's are brighter but the rest of the render looks poor. V12 certainly renders much prettier but the lights are still too dark. I did add another row of "holes" to the grill as the original model had 4 rows of holes from top to bottom (cant believe I got that by you) where the actual car has 5. I also pulled the trim down to match better but it's still slightly off and the trim between the lights and on the outside of them will be in place soon as well as the chrome strip at the bottom of the grill just above the bumper. Gotta finish the radiator support and get the radiator in to close off the front end as well. Wait till you see the cowling. I was gonna use a transparency map but I've decided to use the grill and CFA to model it. I figure at this point a few more splines shouldn't hurt and it should look more realistic.

[oakchas]

Scott,

 

It's looking great... Would white specularity help the lights? On the cones in the back, not on the lenses. In V12 I'm getting a washed out look (overexposure) with the default chor... I'm tweaking that still... your V12 render is really looking great, the chrome and paint are beautiful.

 

As to not catching the grill... I can't count!

 

Much better match on the chrome strip on the hood lip... and the slight difference makes it believable.

 

That's the thing with "concours" cars... they're too pretty... they have to be trailer queens in order t keep up their appearance. Me, I'd rather have a driver anyday... And this Chevy's a DRIVER of the first order!

[DanCBradbury]

Hey Scott. Nice work so far on the car. One thing I don't understand: how is light penetrating through your hood and onto the motor? Are you lights not set to 100% darkness? Anyway, very very good work so far. You may want to make the headlight glass have a slight index of refraction, maybe say 1.5. They were crown glass back then, not plastic right?

[Scottj3d]

Scott,

 

It's looking great... Would white specularity help the lights? On the cones in the back, not on the lenses. In V12 I'm getting a washed out look (overexposure) with the default chor... I'm tweaking that still... your V12 render is really looking great, the chrome and paint are beautiful.

 

As to not catching the grill... I can't count!

 

Much better match on the chrome strip on the hood lip... and the slight difference makes it believable.

 

That's the thing with "concours" cars... they're too pretty... they have to be trailer queens in order t keep up their appearance. Me, I'd rather have a driver anyday... And this Chevy's a DRIVER of the first order!

 

Charlie, I was kidding about grill. But actually "feared" you might get me on that one so I fixed it. It's not that noticable and could have appeared to be hidden behind the chrome strips but it had been bothering me for a while. That grill is full of 5 pointers as is the distributor (render soon). I've also done alot of tweaking to it as the part that I added "stuck" out from the original and cut my 396 off at the bottom by penetrating it and I did'nt notice until I had already posted the render. I'll check the specularity on the lights but I believe it is white unless I changed it or forgot to set it. I did have the lenses set at diffuse=white and spec = white but I need to double check as I have tweaked so much lately that I can't remember offhand what it is from memory. I tend to default all my spec to white. I've also been up and down on the transparency of the lenses but above 90% it doesn't seem to change much. If I drop it they look a bit chromey. On the v12 render I have 5 bulb lights all set at 30% as well as the default light's that come with the chor. I really like the way V12 renders though. I move the 5 bulbs around until I see what I want to see or something close to it. I'm still experimenting with rendering. I'd rather have a driver as well and plan to mod this model once it's done to something that might handle virtual corners a bit better. It took me a while to get the metal settings right using only diffuse colors for the chrome, but I like to keep things simple. I believe there is a group in the headlight I posted called chrome which I have all the chrome pieces added to on the model. I still would like to get it looking better but so far am happy with it especially the way V12 renders it. I didn't have much luck using the chrome material and for that matter am not very good with materials period so I try to use the diffuse colors as much as I can.

[Scottj3d]

Hey Scott. Nice work so far on the car. One thing I don't understand: how is light penetrating through your hood and onto the motor? Are you lights not set to 100% darkness? Anyway, very very good work so far. You may want to make the headlight glass have a slight index of refraction, maybe say 1.5. They were crown glass back then, not plastic right?

 

Thank's Dan, If you're talking about the light's in the chor (and I believe you are) so far the only thing I have changed as far as settings on the light's is the intensity. I am not really sure what the other settings do so I tend to avoid them. If you want to enlighten me please do. I will check it out though cuz that was something I thought was odd as well. The engine is a seperate model currently and is set into the chassis in the chor so I don't know if that matters. I have 2 of my light's set slightly above the fenders on either side of the front of the car so they could be coming in through the grill. I suspect my lighting set up to be alot of it as I am still pretty green in that area and prolly have it "all wrong" in terms of how lighting should be setup. I haven't used any light plugins either and have no clue as to how to get them into AM and tweak them. I will try that index of refraction and see how it look's. Perhaps that will make them reflect better They were definately glass but I thought about modelling some element's to pop in from the back like modern replacement halogens do today just so they would complete the look of a bulb. Also the glass for the window's (that I have so far) is a single wall of patches and I have thought about extruding it to give it a "deeper" look but have not as yet. About the only window in AM I "Feel at Home in" is the modelling window but I'm getting more familiar in the chor these day's so I think if I am pointed in the right direction I'll be able to have a better handle on it. The way that Retro shines is tough to accomplish! Heres a test render of the chassis and motor as of thursday night

[Scottj3d]

Here's where I am on the distributor. Still tweaking stuff so some of the shapes and diameters will improve. The hard part is done but the wires still need to find thier designated resting places. Charlie, I have spec=white and also tried with the cones diffuse color to white but no apparent diff. I also have the diffuse set to white on the lenses but with around 96% on the transparency. Dan, I can't find the "darkness" setting you mentioned. I see intensity and attenuation, width and falloff. Added the index of refraction value and that did improve the "glassy look" but they still look "smoked" as Charlie say's. If I hit it on my own I'll let you guy's know what I did but I'm still "listening". Thanks.

[Dhar]

Wow Scott, this is stupendous! Are you going for the "David Kimble" detail or something? This is incredible. Way to go.

 

If you don't know who David Kimble is, I'm sure you've seen his illustrations. here's a sample

 

 

[attachmentid=14870]

[Scottj3d]

Wow Scott, this is stupendous! Are you going for the "David Kimble" detail or something? This is incredible. Way to go.

 

If you don't know who David Kimble is, I'm sure you've seen his illustrations. here's a sample

 

 

[attachmentid=14870]

 

Thank's Dhar!! ,I haven't heard of him but I now envy his work. Trust me this motor is hollow. Man just when I was starting to think I was getting close to enough detail! Actually I'm reliving my childhood. I must have built six of these things when I was a teen. Revell had a 66 Super Rat plastic model with a flip flop front end. Well doing one in AM truly leaves the old plastic and glue stuff in it's dust. I can aspire to that level of detail but I'm expecting my pc to start smoking anytime. Here's a wire I took the other day, it's about as close to that shot as I've got.

[Scottj3d]

Ok guy's, I think I'm on to something with the headlight's. Had a prob with my original chor so I deleted it and started a new one. Same lighting but the 5th bulb is now blue. I adjusted the diffuse and reflectivity falloff of the cones behind the lenses (Charlie you were close) so I'm not sure which one fixed it but I will experiment some more. The lenses are much clearer now (maybe too much) and the 396 emblem doesn't show too well here, but it's getting closer. Oh and a current render of the engine. Still gotta add boots to the spark plug ends and make the bracket for the idler pulley under the blower pulley but it's also getting closer. Maybe I'll get on that dash and floor soon Charlie!

[Dhar]

Is it just me or do those spark plug wires look too thin?