NASCAR Models by Steve Salhany

Jerry Nadeau's 1999 "DINNER & A MOVIE" Taurus

decals by 3 Amigos!

Story from Steve:
"1999 was the year of the ever-changing paint schemes for Jerry Nadeau and the #9 Melling Racing team. Getting sponsorship from the TBS network may have been great for paying the bills, but the needs to promote many different shows on the flanks of the racecar must have been living hell for the paint shop guys! While the primary scheme on the car promoted the Cartoon Network, a small promotion was run where the car ran the graphics for TBS’s cooking/film show, Dinner And A Movie. This scheme was run at the California and Charlotte tracks.

These decals are for the California version; the Charlotte version is the same except for the addition of large “Big K” (KMart) graphics on the rear quarters. Those can be sourced from several Slixx sheets.

As usual Sam did a wonderful job on the graphics and Les did a great job getting them sized up properly and printed. It was up to me to do the beta-build. I first painted the inside of the body Testor’s Gloss Gull Gray. I then masked that and primed the entire body with light gray automotive primer. I decided to try out the new line of Testor’s Lacquer spray paints for the color on the front end. To me, GM Bright Aqua Pearl in the new line of paints seemed to be a close match for the color on the front of the car, so I masked off the car behind the A-pillars and applied it carefully to the front. The new Testor’s lacquer lays down beautifully; I had no orange peel afterwards, and the pearl effect in the paint was quite impressive. No clear was needed either. After several days, I masked off the aqua and sprayed the rest of the car Tamiya Gloss Black from the spray can, and rubbed it out after several days of drying.

Now the tricky part! I needed to apply the purple on the upper halves of the sides, down to the bottom of the “film” graphics. Since Sam had provided only the black parts for the film graphics, I needed to apply the purple in a curve about 1/8 inch below the bottom of the graphics themselves. I did this by making photocopies of the decals, and applying Tamiya masking tape over the film graphics on the photocopies. I then cut out the film graphics, and placed the masking tape (which was now in the shape of the film graphics) on the model in the correct position, using another copy of the film graphics as a guide. This method worked very well. I then applied a quick coat of flat white to the areas to provide a good base for the Model Master Grape Pearl color used for the purple. I then gave the body several days to dry, and then carefully sanded down the paint break lines.

The graphics themselves went on without a hitch. I would recommend applying the large film graphics to the sides first, as they determine the placement of the other decals. It may be easier to cut them in two where they go over the wheelwells. I then applied the large spotlight graphics to the sides, and then the rest of the decals followed. I took the time to lay out the contingencies exactly how they appeared from my reference materials, and the contingencies were sourced from a Wetworks #9 Atalanta Braves sheet and various Slixx sheets. Overall they look great, and the only thing missing from the 3 Amigos sheet is a second small #9 decal for the front headlight.

Jerry didn’t have much luck in this scheme, finishing 26th at California and 35th in Charlotte. As usual, though, his car was an eye-catcher on the track!"

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