This is the 1997 #3 car driven by Dale Earnhardt and owned by Richard
Childress. It carries the PLUS logo on the hood (the scheme for the last
half of last season) along with the extra plus logos on the rear quarters!
The kit is a 1997 Revell-Monogram (thought I might ought to start using
their full name) Monte Carlo with so-called bootleg decals(bought at a
local hobby shop). This is a 97' kit so the body has the slab sides, jack
posts and skirts already molded in.
Painting and Decals:
The chassis and body interior are red. The body exterior is black with
silver around the bottom. I first airbrushed on the gloss black and then
using tape I masked (after the black was throughly dry) the lower silver
areas and airbrushed them with flat aluminum which I over coated with
testors high-gloss enamel. Once the silver and overcoat were dry (tacky
to the touch) I removed the tape and set the body aside to dry! I then
masked and painted the clear parts and set them aside to dry. Once the
body was dry I applied the decals. I first applied the red pinstripe
between the black and silver. I then applied the roof and door numbers and
trunk decals, then the contingency decals, rear quarter panel decals,
grille and headlight decals and finally the rear decals (remember there are
two #3's on the rear of the car). I then applied the "Plus" decal to the
hood along with the white "bowtie". I then applied the wheel and tire
decals, painted the center caps and mounted the body to the chassis.
Lastly I glued the clear parts to the body with clear craft glue and
painted the hood and trunk retaining pins. There you have it another fine
looking #3 for the collection!
Complete instructions for painting and assembly of chassis, clear
parts, and construction of slab sides can be found at the bottom of the main page!