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NASCAR MODELS by MR NASCAR Kevin Harvick's 2005 "Gretchen Wilson" Monte Carlo

From CMT.com: "Gretchen Wilson was born on June 26, 1973, and raised in rural Pocahontas, Ill., 36 miles due east of St. Louis, where numerous trailer parks are clustered among cornfields and pig farms. Her mother was 16 years old when she had Gretchen, and her father, unfortunately, had moved on with his life by the time she was 2.....With only an eighth-grade education, she was cooking and tending bar at Big O's, a rough-and-tumble bar five miles outside of town, alongside her mom at age 14...."

So you'd wonder... Exactly how did she end up on Kevin Harvick's hood?? Well...apparently young Gretchen is the latest queen of Country and Western music, and has CD's with titles like "Here for the Party", and "All Jacked Up" that are the latest hot sellers of the genre out there... So it all makes sense that she would be featured on Kevin's car during the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond in September of 2005... I guess... since there really is no such thing as Rock & Roll any more... but I digress...

These graphics were generously supplied by Thad Brooks, obviously a talented graphic artist, who wants to see them made more widely available than he is able to do. We at 3 Amigos are, of course, grateful, and more than willing to oblige! I added a few goodies, such as tire markings, Simpson/MSD logos, and the sheet was a go.

These decals are designed to fit the 2004/2005 Monte Carlo from Revell, and is a complete set for the car, including correct 2005 contingencies.

The entire body was primed with PlastiKote grey aerosol primer, then topcoated with GM black aerosol automotive touch-up lacquer (Canadian Tire), all warmed of course, in hot tapwater. That was it - painting done! Life is good!

Thad provided all the yellow "flame" graphics, with the contingencies embedded in them.Everything else you see is on the sheet as well - even the grilles. I started with the side decals and the rear bumper flame decals, to ensure that they were aligned at the corners. Hint: make your life easier - cut the front flames loose just above the front fender openings (about where the G is in goodyear on the model shown) and apply them separately. They aren't hard to realign... a LOT easier than trying to manage a graphic that wraps around the nose! I didn't on the first side, but I do learn quickly. I also had to ensure I left enough width that the goodyear logos would be completely inside the flame graphics.

Then I applied all the "gretchen's" and the "Gretchen Wilson" script, making sure to leave enough space for the Goodwrench logos on the rear quarters. Then all the other decals went on. Thad's graphics were right on, all I did was free up the little "3"s under the b-pillar, to give me some latitude in application.

Once all the decals were in place, I let them dry for a couple days, and applied several LIGHT coats of TAMIYA TS13 clear (rattle can heated in warm tapwater for a fine spray), followed up a day later with TURTLE WAX polishing compound.