NASCAR MODELS by MR NASCAR

DALE JARRETT's 1998 "BATMAN" Taurus

(FINAL VERSION - posted 31 July 00)

Sharp-eyed viewers (readers? - what DO you call surfers viewing/reading a webpage, anyway??) may notice a significant increase in picture clarity. After consulting with a few of the contributors to The NASCAR MODEL GALLERY , I broke down and spent part of my kid's tuition on a Sony Mavica 85 digital "wunderkamera". What an amazing machine! But I digress...

DJ ran this car in a special promotion at Charlotte in October of 1998, part of a promotion with Kenny Irwin Jr's JOKER Taurus.. DJ qualified 17th, and finished 24th, the Batmobile being soundly trounced by the Joker...

Ever since Perry Yeager sent in his shots of these cars a year or so back, I have lusted after this and the Joker car. Thanx to Sam I have them!

This is a 3-colour paint job, with very large, tricky decals that needed precise placement.

First, I painted the entire car white. (I actually used a white prime, TAMIYA's Fine Surface Primer L.) Entire car was then painted a yellow-tone red (I used my fave - VW Mars Red touch up lacquer - also a good colour for the chassis - DJ's Kenny's, Jeremy's, or, ironically, DE sr's). Now it got tricky. The nose of the car is black, which also wraps around the front fenderwell openings.

At this point, I made several photocopies of the decal, so I could define the location of that big hood decal, and the red/black breakline. I cut out a hood/stripe graphic photocopy, and positioned it on the nose, to see where the black breakline should be to line up with the ends of the cape that wrap down the fenders. I had to make sure no black showed above BATMAN in the striped area.

Also, from behind, I marked out the windshield area in pencil, so it could be cut out, and used for the roof stripes later. The photocopy was then used to trim the actual decal sheet... I took a deep breath, a Valium (as per Ed Roberts...), triplechecked the measurements and went for it...

Using an airbrush with low settings I applied the black around the wheelwells and across the hood in a "V" that would later be buried under that big BATMAN decal...

Next, the c-pillar, decklid and rear fenders were airbrushed dark blue. I used the same dark blue to fog in a triangular area on each side of the roof at the rear, where BATMAN's "ears" would go. Red-blue break on each side ran from just behind b-pillar diagonally to the top of the rear window from each side - almost meeting at the top of the rear windshield ( as near as I could figger from references...).

Once fully dry, I carefully masked off the rear deck and fenders, and painted the spoiler and rear TV panel black. Whole body was masked to be sure not to let overspray get onto red areas. Final touch was a coat of TAMIYA TS13 Aerisol clear, to bury the finish, and provide a smoooth surface for those monster decals.

First was to apply the Batman/Stripe decal to the hood, cowl, and fenders. Since I had been careful in my measuring and cutting, this went surprisingly well, and the decal snugged in place nicely. Centering the decal, and ensuring the black/red paint breakline was covered was key. I then used the portion cut out from the window to apply stripes to the roof. Once everything had had 24 hours to dry, I slit the decal along the hood opening, so it could be removed, and cleaned up the area around the cowl air intake.

Now I was ready for the big BATMAN graphics for the sides. Once again, using a photocopy, I marked out the wheelwell openings (leaving some extra to wrap inside the fenders) I also marked the end of the fenders, and the transition from decklid to spoiler. I was careful not to cut it too short, some overlap was trimmed once decal was in place and dry. I also marked the rear sidewindow openings as well from the inside, so I could cut the top off BATMAN's head to apply on the roof in the areas fogged in blue previously (remember?) I then used this trimmed photocopy to mark up and trim the actual decals, remembering: "measure twice - CUT ONCE"!

Once those big side decals wee in place and dry, I began application of numbers, Batsign, etc -all these were straightforward. Fender contingency decals were taken from the SLIXX 1998 grouped set, with extras added as needed from various sources (Some are on Monogram DJ Taurus kit). The headlight decals from the DJ kit were used in place of the Three Amigos versions, as they had better definition, but the 3 Amigos vent screen was used.

The chassis build up had been going on in parallel. Seatbelts, Engine oil plumbing, valvestems, fanned exhausts and a two-way radio mic wire coiled around the steering column were the significant features I added to the chassis. During the chassis buildup, I allowed everything to dry (4-5 days), then applied several LIGHT coats of clear (TAMIYA TS13 aerosol clear) from a rattlecan that had been heated in warm tapwater.

A little Turtle polish, and, viola! - a very colourful ride that musta made DJ wince when he first saw it!!

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