This is the #28 Texaco Havoline Taurus scheme that Ricky Rudd drove at the 2000 Bud
Shootout/Daytona 500. It is a R/M 2000 #28 Pro Finish kit built from the box with
a few mods by me.
I started this one by removing the "glass" from the prepainted body and removing the
connecting material between the windshield and rear glass. I did this by scoring
it just behind the wind shield until it separated. I then scored it at the rear
glass and the side windows which I left attached to the rear glass. To see a rough
sketch of what I did CLICK HERE. I then glued the
windows back in. Next ...after the glue dried well... I masked the windows and the
wheel wells and side windows with scotch magic transparent tape. There is a raised
lip around the windshield and rear glass which I masked up to thereby leaving a nice
black border around them on the inside and made the areas between the rear glass and
side glass red like the body interior thereby making the appearance more
realistic. This modification also made for more room in the roof area for lowering
the rear of the car. One important note here! Make sure when you mask the side
windows that you seal them all the way around... I used a single piece of tape on
them and the vents molded into the windows pushed out on it and allowed the 3
corners to come loose just enough for the white undercoat and the red to fog the
corners of the windows!!! This made for a situation I could not fully
correct!!! Oh well, on to the painting of the interior! I masked the driver and
passenger side window openings by applying a strip of tape to each of the 3 sides of
each window opening from the outside overlaying each as I went and then applying
tape across all 3 to cover the opening in the center. As for the wheel well
openings I simply applied tape to the outside of the openings and sealed it down
with my finger nail along the edges. There was some light overspray on the faces
of the narrow edges of the wells which I touched up with gloss black. The tape did
not pull off any of the graphics on the body at any point.
Next I painted the chassis, engine and other interior parts (Even though they are
molded in color I do not like colored plastic for my models paint looks much
nicer!) I then painted the padding, ignition boxes, pedals and the front
suspension areas that were to be red or black (That weren't molded in that color)
and assembled the chassis pan and suspension parts front and rear. I decided to
paint the rear springs black with yellow coil detail (A first for me). I then
assembled the roll cage parts along with the dash. I decided not to use the decal
on the sheet glued behind the dash because 1) The openings were not nearly large
enough and 2) the decals weren't really any good either. I decided to paint the
gauges silver and apply silxx dash gages over the holes one at a time. I then
applied the decals to the driver figure and painted the black areas on the uniform
(I did decide to paint the helmet silver as suggested in the instructions) and it
turned out very nicely! I then glued the seat and driver onto the floorpan (I
should have made adjustments to the seat and figure because the drivers helmet hits
the cage side top bar badly if you glue it in first without any adjustments ...it
sits a bit too high in the seat) anyway, this lack of adjustment caused me to have
to superglue the front left corner of the cage assembly in and then the rear corner
and then the right rear and finally the right front. I then glued in the radiator
after which I assembled the engine/transmission and installed it. I next installed
the crossbar group (Between the radiator and engine and glued the front section of
the cage to the front frame members. After all of this I went back and touched up
all areas of assembly with whatever color they were painted. Next I trimmed about
1/16-3/32" off of the rear posts where the body and chassis screws together. This
lowers the rear of the body on the chassis which still doesn't bring it down to a
truly proper ride height but since the rear wheel openings are a bit too large you
can't really lower it much more without making it look like a car going down the
backstretch at Daytona at speed rather than a static stance. Also if you lowered
it much more the skirts on the right side would drag! If the openings had been in
proper size and proportion to the rear wheels it would have been perfect! Lastly I
applied the decals to the body painted the fuel filler and hood and truck pins and
applied a strip of black decal stock to the template split in the rear spoiler.
To see a rough drawing of what I did to the exhaust to make it flush with the body
as explained in my "On The Bench" section of the Other Models Site you can CLICK HERE.
All in all this turned out to be a nice model when finished. There were things
that could have been better like the tiny locator pins on the roll cage sides
instead of the broad areas of contact in the regular glue kits and the lack of a
fuel cell and ignition wires and the difficulty of painting the interior of the body
without getting overspray on the outside. I also had to space the rear wheels out
on the metal shaft with shims made from slices of tubing to make the track wider
...a reversal not a correction of the problems with the regular glue kit. I did
like the look of the chassis though and the vinyl window net and hoses along with a
driver figure (Which needs to be a bit smaller or the cage needs to be wider at the
top... Oh yes I almost forgot the roll cage assembly is narrow at the top which is
why the driver's head hits it when installed) and new exhaust, air cleaner and
updated oil pan. The wheels and wheel openings actually line up as well even
though the rear sits too high as I said. All things considered (As with all kits
it seems there is nothing out there that is perfect) it turned out well ...this
being my first Pro Finish kit didn't help either as I did as much learning for
future building as anything else, much like the 2000-2001 mc and Taurus glue kits!
I know this has been a long writeup but I hope it will be of some help to everyone
who might want to build this kit!
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!
