This is the 2001 #3 Oreo Monte Carlo driven by Dale Earnhardt in the Bud
Shootout at Daytona on February 11, 2001!
The kit is a 2000 Dale Earnhardt Monte Carlo by Revell. The decals are
a combination of the 3Amigos Oreo sheet which contain most of the major
markings and the blue striping plus a few from the kit sheet (rear
quarter Goodwrench, snap-on, trunk logo and rear panel logo. The
contingencies were from a slixx sheet. I used black decal stock to
simulate tape on the lower grille and used the kit upper grille decal
along with more black decal stock to simulate tape over the ends. I
also cut 2 little red crosses and a red strip from an old #28 hood decal
for the tape removal tabs on the grilles. Tire decals are also
aftermarket. On this one I made my own rear spoiler braces from pieces
of sprew which I stretched and then cut for the ends and pieces of wire
tie from an amt/ertl display case. I also modified the rear spoiler
with sheet stock glued to the face of the spoiler and a strip of sheet
stock glued to the top for the lip and added the roof deflector. There
are pictures of the body in greater detail posted HERE!!
Body modifications:
I started this one by making the rear spoiler mods. I traced the kit
rear spoiler and made a template which I transferred to sheet stock and
cut a bit oversized and gradually trimmed to the right dimensions for
the spoiler. I then glued this onto the face of the kit spoiler.
Once it was securely in place I ran a bead of tube cement along the
trunk spoiler joint and with my finger I wiped away the excess which
left a neat joint area. I also put a bead of cement where the kit and
sheet stock spoilers mated on the rear and again smoothed it with my
finger. If you do this and immediately wipe your finger on a good
cloth while the glue is still wet it will come off well. What this
does is soften and blend the glue and plastic and after it dries and
hardens you can sand it even and smooth for a nice looking finish. One
note the rear areas of the spoiler will not sand out completely smooth
but will not be that noticeable especially if you put the braces in as I
did. I also did it this way because I have no roto tool to cut a slot
in the body and do the spoiler as Les "Mr. Nascar" Smirle did, nor do I
have the guts to try that :~) Same with the roof blade! I used sheet
stock trimmed to size using 4 pieces of sheet stock to make brackets
which I glued to the blade and then used to mount the blade. Be
advised I can now see why Les suggested you decal the roof before
installing the blade! As you can see in the pics the 2 parts of the
roof number do not quite match )What I should have done was to trim a
strip off of the front section of the decal the width of the thickness
of the blade! Anyway, next came the spoiler braces. I used a candle
to stretch some sprew from the kit from which I cut short ...approx.
1/16"... pieces for the attachment points for the braces 12 in all, 2
for each brace. I then put a small drop of cement where each one was
to be mounted and placed them on the spoiler. Next I cut the strips
from the tie wire for the actual braces. The outside and center braces
were approx 11/32 and the 2 which mounted in the middle of each spoiler
half were approx 5/16. I applied a small drop of glue to each of the
pairs of mountings and installed the braces.
Painting:
I started by painting the body interior light grey. I then masked and
painted the outside with testors flat white as a primer. I then masked
the white lower body areas and airbrushed the body with testors black.
I waited 2 days and airbrushed the white areas with testors gloss
white. The chassis is painted with the same light grey. I painted
the rollcage padding by hand before assembly, also the dash gages
shifter knob, and driveshaft ends. I made the earnhardt bar from a
piece of the sprew which held the chassis/floorpan as it is smaller than
the rest of the kit sprew and works nicely! This I mounted and then
painted on the chassis. I actually painted the ductwork at the front
of the chassis this time, I had always just left it grey but this time I
wanted it to look more real! I assembled the chassis and touched up
the chassis and interior where the parts mated. I then clearcoated the
body with testors #1261 gloss cote which worked well and was recommended
by my friend Perry Yeager since I had never clearcoted over 3Amigos
decals and he had. I then painted and mounted the clear parts,
decalled the tires and painted the hood pins, filler cap area and the
center caps and spoiler braces and here is the result!!! Very nice
model if I do say so!
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!