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NASCAR MODELS by MR NASCAR

Mike Skinner's 2001 YOSEMITE SAM Monte Carlo!!


Mike Skinner drove this colour scheme in the 2001 Monte Carlo 400 at Richmond in the fall race, carrying the calming influence of Yosemite Sam on the LOWE's Machine.. For that race a number of different Monte Carlo owners had opted for special LOONEY TOONS based colour schemes, featuring some of the favourite TOONS classic characters from over the years. Sam was/is one of my favourite cartoon characters from those classics..

Sam Lopez came up with these great graphics, along with those for three other TOONS-related schemes, that had not already been done as decals. All these now grace my display cabinet, and the decals are available from 3 Amigos!

Everything you see on this model, except the fender contingency decals, are on the 3 Amigos sheet we have put together. Contingencies came from the SLIXX 2002/2001/2000 individual sheets. (Again, I actually took the time to lay them out exactly as in reference shots...)

The starting model for this project, and the other three in the series, was the REVELL ProFinish Monte Carlo kit, which, as I have indicated before, is far more accurate bodywise than the regular kit. This model is built box-stock, no changes were made to the body or chassis, except the addition of seatbelts.

The main challenge in building this model, as with the others in the series, is the fogging in of the background colour on the lower half of the body. Rather than go through the entire explanation once more, Click Here for the gory details on the fogging process, described in my RoadRunner write-up. Only difference is, you don't need to add the sand-coloured fogging, just the white. This car in 2001 used a solid clour (non-pearl or metallic containing), and from my references. Tamiya's TS15 Blue aerosol appeared to be a very close match, as it had been with the Daffy car.

The fogging trick as described in the RoadRunner writeup was also used on this model, using a basic white touchup lacquer sprayed into a bottle from an aerosol can, with an extra 50% of lacquer thinner added. I took my time, working slowly around the body, using very fine atomizing, to allow maximum control applying the white for the fogged areas. Once all the paintwork was done, I applied a couple coats of TAMIYA TS13 clearcoat,to give a nice, smooth suface for the decals. Decals are simple to apply, I made sure to trim close to the graphics, to minimize carrier film on the model.

First step was to apply the desert backgrounds around the base of the body. Once these had dried in place, the rest of the graphics were applied. After the body had had a couple days to dry completely, I applied some LIGHT coats of TAMIYA TS13 clear (heated in tap water), and after two or three coats, lightly wetsanded the clear to knock down the edges of the graphics. One more medium coat of clear, some polishing out with Turtle Wax, and it was done. Another model from this series to grace the cabinet.

In the race itself, Mike started in 21th place, and finished in 33rd, going out in an accident on Lap 342. But Ol' Sam still took home over 66,000 bucks in winnings... Great Horny Toads!!

The Four LOONY TUNES from 3 Amigos!

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