NASCAR MODELS by MR NASCAR

Jeremy Mayfield's 2004 MOUNTAIN DEW Intrepid


This car is the sister ship to the Kasey Kahne version (Click Here...) I built a year or so back. As with the Kahne version, the graphics came from my buddy Brandon Dunlop, and were originally planned for our now-defunct DMD decal line-up. However, when I was trying to set these up, I ran into a couple obstacles that delayed me from being comfortable offering them, and they just kinda fell through the cracks with all the other stuff I had going...

Finally, I got the concerns sorted out just inlast few weeks, and decided to build one for myself to prove things out. The issues I was dealing with were twofold: First, the roof number needed to be a bright DayGlo-type green, and the "reverse" colour scheme required that I match the yellowy-green decal "swoops" on this car to the yellowy-green paint on the #9, which of course had simple black "swoops".

To solve the roof number dilemma, I made a decal that would cover the entire roof, with the "swoops" and the number embedded in a black background, but instead of the number being as bright a green as the old ALPS could muster - NOT a strong point on that printer - I left it clear. This meant all I needed to do was paint the roof dayglo green, mask it off and paint the rest of the body black, as shown in the pic to the right. Then when I laid the roof graphic in place, the dayglo would show through only where it was wanted.

As for the colour of the swoops, I played around with different LAB colour combinations, until I hit one that looked close. By laying an extra layer of yellow over it, I had something that under most lighting conditions was a pretty good match to the 9 car. (The photos do not pick up the colour precisely, they are actually closer than the shot with the two cars might suggest...the nose areas with the brighter, greener tint in some of the shots is closest to the actual colour; I need to play around a bit with light sources to get a better total representation... For some reason the pigments in the decal inks are more sensitive to light variability than the paint I used on the #9 car...)

As with the 9 car, the graphics were designed to fit the 2004 vintage Intrepid from Revell. Everything needed for the car was on the sheet, except the grilles, which came from the donor kit (Ryan's 2004 ALLTEL) Prep and painting was very simple - other than the roof as described above, entire car is painted black; everything else is decals.

After a light scuff-sand of the unpainted body, I laid down a couple medium coats of PlastiKote grey primer (aerosol warmed in hot tap water for a smoother spray), then, on the roof, a couple coats of PlastiKote White primer; that would allow the DayGlo green colour to be good and bright when applied. I then wetsanded it with 1500-grit until it was smooth. I then sprayed dayglo green on the roof, and after a couple days to dry, a coat of TAMIYA TS13 clear. The roof was then masked off, and the body painted black... and it was Decal Time!!

Decal application was fairly easy.. I started with the roof decal and the sideswoops, being sure to get them aligned as per references, then the front airdam decal Next came the "spears" that run forward from the B-pillar, and rearward from the C-pillar. The decklid swoops were next, and were done to align them with the roof swoops as if they "flowed" through the rear window opening in a nice curve. Last but not least was that great big nose/hood swoop. which actually went on much easier than I'd expected. I

I let it dry a couple days, than applied a couple light coats of TS13 to protect them, while the rest of the graphics - numbers, sponsors, contingencies, etc,. were being applied. They went on without a hitch.

While doing all this, the chassis was built box-stock, except for seatbelts, and the mandated dashboard ignition tray - which I built from Evergreen square rod, and bits of wiring..

Once all the decals were in place, and had had 24 hours or so to dry, I applied successive light coats of TS13, again from warmed rattle-can, and after a day of two to dry, I polished it all up with terry cloth and Turtle Wax to a nice shine.

Just as Jeremy's #19paint scheme was the reverse of Kasey's #9, so was his performance in the June race at Michigan. Although he started a promising 8th, by the end of the race he had fallen to 19th place. His rookie partner started 34th and finished in second place. As we all know now, Jeremy and Evernham Motorsports was not a happy partnership, and I doubt that watching Kasey's star begin to rise as his faded did little to improve Jeremy's comfort at Evernham. Ah, well, now he's on the Leading Edge, trying to get a Toyota into the field in 2007...

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