This is the 1997 version of the car owned by my favorite driver (ALL
TIME) Richard Petty the king of stockcar racing and driven by Bobby
Hamilton sporting the usual STP ovals and a paint scheme designed by a fan!
Although slightly modified from it's appearance at Daytona (the nose of
the Daytona car had white across the lower part of the airdam which flowed
into yellow and then into the neon red) it is still basically the same
scheme.
The model kit is a 1997 Monogram pontiac grand prix details of which can
read about in the write up on the #18 Interstate Batteries model elsewhere
on this site!
Painting and decals:
Well this was another case where I had to try something new! Here I
made my decal templates as I have for some of the other models here (check
the write ups for the #28 and 18 for more details) only I didn't trace
these exactly around every line. I traced a line for the templates that
divided all of the striping in half (or close) so that I could paint the 2
colors on the body and hide the separation line under the decals! I then
painted the whole exterior with True Match petty blue. By the way the
chassis and body interior are standard light grey (2 parts white - 1 part
grey). Now back to the exterior of the body! After the petty blue was
dry (1-2 days) I took the templates and traced them onto the body with a
mech. pencil and then took some micro mask from microscale (micromask is a
liquid masking solution that you brush on) and brushed it over the body
along the lines I traced and allowed it to dry as per the instructions on
the bottle. Now since the florescent read is airbrushed on I didn't have
to apply the mask to the whole upper body, just far enough to allow for
over spray ... which with an airbrush isn't much 3/4 to 1 inch above the
masking line ... this is much better than scotch magic tape and paper
especially on a model with intricate lines and patterns! So I then
airbrushed the florescent red and when it had dried sufficiently (a couple
hours just always remember patience pays off and lack of same doesn't
believe me I know from experience, you don't want your hard work ruined by
having the paint pull off with the mask!) Take and pick the edge of the
mask or press a piece of tape and stick it to the edge of the mask and lift
it off! Any excess that may be left behind may be lifted with tape also.
One tip for the spacing of the stripes at the rear deck lid and spoiler
area ... make a tracing of the Hughes dss trunk logo and trace it on to the
trunk before tracing masking lines on the body!!!
Now for the decals. The decals are from slixx once again and once again
were excellent! I found it better to cut the long side decals into 2
pieces before applying because of the length and narrowness of the stripe
and also the curved shape ... I figured it would be easier to line up 2
pieces than however many I would have if I tried to work with 1 long
twisting decal! Anyway I slid the decals into place and lined them up
using a fine brush (once again I say a brush is much easier than using big
clumsy ... and sticky ... fingers) once they (the stripes) were in place
(and dry) I then applied the other decals over them! Here are a couple
tips for when decals run across a separation line between a hood and a
body. If the decal just barely hangs over the edge of the hood (and isn't
very big) you can apply it to the hood let it dry and take a razor blade
and carefully cut it down the edge and the apply the small piece to the
body (this would apply to cars like the #18 and the #7 QVC ford where the
logos just barely lap over). Now in cases where a longer piece or larger
piece like the stripes on this car is being applied take the hood and place
the decal sheet over it (that's hood face up and decal sheet face up) and
hold them together and turn them over hold a light under them and trace the
outline of the hood on the back side of the decal sheet then cut out the
decals and voallah (how's that for a word) you have a line for cutting the
decals traced on the back side ... with no damage to the decals because
it's on the back! I won't go into any further details for this kit because
this write up is getting long and if you have read (or if you will) the
write ups for most of my other cars you should know or be able to figure
out the rest of the steps for completion of it! Please take notice some
of the details in these pictures! If you will look closely you can see
the wedge adjustment decals on the rear window and in the right front
quarter view you can clearly see the Earnhardt bar!
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!