Hi, guys!
This build it's intended for the ongoing GB, but I want to un-clutter the main thread, and to avoid any confusion, since my first entry was also a NASCAR.
I'm not ready for this build before the weekend I guess, but we can have a quick look into the box and at the vehicle.


Although on the box covers reads "photo of actual car", it lacks sponsorhip decals that are to be found in the box.


A quick search online, and I found this version, consistent with what decals sheet has to offer, and this is going to be my guide:


The kit comprises 93 parts, most in white styrene. Although the part count is about the same as AMT/Ertl, the detail on the Revell kit seems a little better:


Clear parts are also nice, with clearly marked rims for masking:


Tires are Revell's trademark - pretty bad, but workable:


Body shell looks good at first glance, without obvious molding errors:




I'll be back soon with more updates!
Cheers!
Gabriel

Gabriel,
I'll be following this build for sure. Kyle Petty had for most of his driving career, then as a team owner a long pony tail, so I can only guess at how young he must be in that picture.

Just the fact that the kit is all in white plastic is a big plus for sure. I do see one small issue, and that the tires. They have raised lettering. Are you going to try to sand all of it off and use decals, or paint within the letter lines?

Joel

IIRC, the other side of the Revell tires are smooth.

I think that picture was around 1997 when he started racing the 44 Hotwheels car.

https://www.dailyadvocate.com/sports/7850/former-nascar-driver-kyle-petty-to-highlight-evening-for-race-fans-banquet
Either they gave them a different mug shot or Revell did a little photo-shopping of their own cause he still had long hair then.

Always like the look of the Mello Yellow car but he was never my favorite driver. Always seemed to be an also ran for his career.

Ryan,
I can only remember him winning one race at Richmond. Like you said he spend nearly all of his career as an also ran, but the name Petty back then really meant something, and put fans in the stands.

You must be right about Revell using a much earlier picture. I googled it, and for the 1997 season, Petty formed his own team, PE2 Motorsports, and fielded the No. 44 Hot Wheels Pontiac Grand Prix for himself. So he certainly had his Pony Tail then.

Joel

Yes - that is the back of the tires, with manufacturer's stamp. The kit provides Goodyear decals.

Gabriel

Gabriel,
Egads! Why on earth of all places to put their logo. Talk about not making any sense

Joel

From the instruction's manual:

"Kyle Petty has a career total of eight wins, almost fifty top 5 finishes, almost 100 top 10 finishes, eight pole position starts, and nearly eight million dollars in prize money won; none of which happened recently (1997). In fact, Kyle's last victory came at the Miller 500 at Bristol in 1995
To improve the situation for 1997, Kyle Petty left SABCO Racing. He has put together a whole new package with Mattel's Hot Wheels brand as the primary sponsor, driving Pontiacs for a new acing team pe2. His father King Richard is also his partner, because Petty Enterprisesbwill provide engines for Kyle's team to begin the year at Dakota."

The kit also backdates in 1997, based on the copyright marked on instructions booklet and decals sheet.

Gabriel

The linked article had a larger photo of what I think was the photo Revell used. You can see his pony tail in that.

The Petty name was big name and still is to me. I recall doing high school research paper on The King. My uncle bought a Pontiac Grand Prix Richard Petty addition street car they sold in the early 90’s. We drove out to Petty Enterprise shop and got The King to sign the sun visor for him. The shop was next door to the Lee Petty house where The King grew up. Some time around that time period we also went to Randleman for a festival and I think I also got to met Kyle or at least see him. Sad what happened to his son, Adam. I don’t think Kyle ever drove the same afterwards.

Looking forward to watching this build.

Great to see another build on the bench already Gabriel, I will be following for sure!

Cheers, D

I had to google Kyle's stats and he did indeed win 8 Cup races. I also couldn't find out exactly when the Ponytail started, but he always had long hair especially that the Good Old Boys of Nascar loved Crew Cuts back then, he was from a completely different generation.

Loosing a child at just 19 has to be one of the hardest things a parent could ever go through. While my son is just fine, my twin brother lost their son in a car accident at a young age. They've never been the same. Some things just never fade with time.

Joel

Cool. Hope those gigantic 23 year old decals stay together for you.

Unfortunately I was at NHIS when Adam crashed during practice. Hard to believe that it was 20 years ago. Still burned into my brain. RIP


I think that photo used on the box may have been by Mattel, makes for a clean car for their marketing without having to pay for the contingency sponsors logos being used "for profit".

Gents, I am taken aback by the interest in this build. I not even had the chance to thank you for joining me in my new journey. Apparently I am the least savvy about NASCAR, but this is a good opportunity for me to tap into your encyclopedic knowledge!



Thanks, D.! Yes, I really have close to nothing to do this days, and I took the risc to open a new box. And given the interest around the subject, I felt obliged to start the actual build.



Marc, this is my main concern as well. Some other modeler builds exactly the same kit (from the same supplier) and he had problems with the first decals, then restored the whole sheet by spraying over with clear acrylic spray. Probably I'm going to follow his example, after I try a small "disposable" decal for myself.



David and Joel, I start to educate myself and I found a couple documentaries about Kyle on YT; in one of them appears his son as well, but nothing mentioned about the tragedy. RIP, Adam!




That is what I thought. However, it is misleading and that's probably one of the reasons the kit remained unsold for 20 years It was bought from a brick and mortar store in Quebec and sent to me.

UPDATE
I didn't wanted to let you hanging too long with this build, and, as the paint on the other NASCAR isn't sandable yet, I started this one. First step is the body, although I'm going to use lacquer this time - I have the right colour from Testors and I feel tempted to do some super-detailing on the engine and maybe in interior as well.

Again, very few mold lines, as you can see here marked with black:


All sanded down and the body prepared with 1000 grit Tamiya sponge. I find very interesting this plastic, hard and dense, feels very nice but it clogs very fast finer grits. This is why I used 1000 grit instead of my "regular" 2000. This time the hood will be left open. Dry fitted here, it doesn't match perfectly because the brace across engine compartment isn't removed yet, to preserve the shape of the shell during spraying / drying on Tamiya stand:


Not really visible in this picture, all panel lines were rescribed, as I found them a little shallow, especially the one under the spoiler, representing the gap between trunk lid and the rear of the car.


As a very first impression, I like this older NASCAR better than the other one, as the car is closer to the "stock" version and preserves more of its character.

All good for primer - first thing to do tomorrow morning (after the coffee, naturally)!

Cheers!
Gabriel

Gabriel,
the shell really looks quite nice. Have you removed that engine compartment molding brace as yet? And did that cure the slight fit issues for the hood?

Joel

Joel, thank you! Yeah, she's pretty smooth looking.
No, I'll keep the brace there until after painting. It happened to me before that the body shell warped slightly while drying on Tamiya stand. I'm trying to prevent that, although it might be overly cautious in this case - the shell looks and feels very solid in this kit.

Gabriel

UPDATE - Chevrolet Conspiracy Theory

Well, I woke up today with the precise scope to prime the body of my Pontiac, just to change my mind a few minutes later. I didn'l liked that front bumper by itself and decided to glue it in place before proceeding any further. I was right, because some sanding was required and also some fiddling to get the right alignment. It would have been far more difficult to to that with all the parts painted. I prefer to mask and spray the bumper white later:


With the glue on the body still drying, I went for the next logical step - the engine.
Surprisingly nice detail here, as you can see, but also a nasty surprise.
I specially bought this Pontiac because it's not a Chevy! "No more Chevys", I said, "ever"! And big surprise! Beautifully engraved on the rocker covers - on the both of them - it is a word I don't want to say it: "Chevr**et"! I mean really beautifully engraved, and it is accompanied by a very petite logo too! Why not a Mercedes, why not a Toyota or else! It had to be a "Chevr**et"! I had recently the impression that I am the victim of a Chevr**et conspiracy, but I have silenced myself, afraid that you guys might think I have too many wires crossed in my ECU, but now the evidence is here!



And the exhaust headers are pretty nice too, with even weld marks replicate on them; unfortunately most of the fine detail it's either lost during seam line removal, either invisible on the finished build:


The floor pan and the firewall also pulled out from the sprues - quite nice these ones too. I wish I know what these things on the firewall are. I guess the right corner up are brake connectors or bias valves, but the other "things" are secret to me:


Right here the confirmation on plastic of the age of the kit:


... reinforced on the other side of the part:


I've got it, Revell, I've got it! The original moulds belong to Monogram! And Round2 sell them to Salvino Jr. now, after they bought them from Hobbico I've got that one too!

The firewall and the crossmember with A frames installed to the floor pan:


All this time I was keeping an eye on the body readiness, and, after sanding the new joint, I primed it with Mr. Surfacer 1500 Grey, diluted with MLT.


I have used my "natural" setup: H&S airbrush with 0.4mm needle @ 20psi:


That was probably my best priming session in the recent history. Not one grit, nothing!


I also I primed all engine components with black Mr. Surfacer 1500, then painted them with various metallic tones. Quite interesting effect(s) achieved:


For this task I have used my finer airbrush, the Infinity, with 0.2mm setup @ 20psi:


I was mumbling something about super-detailing in one of the previous posts, but I don't see much need, given the detail level OOB. The kit even robbed me of the pleasure of scratching my own ignition wires and distributor:


The kit instructions call for a gold oil pan. I found it odd, but I didn't argue. It must be a Chevro**t thing!


Even the injection pump is there and the transmission controls. Well done, Monogram, well done!


Just to keep on going, I primed the floor pan with grey again. This is actually the colour called in the instructions, and that's going to be the base coat as well. I will come later on with a gloss clear over:


And only now came the true and big disappointment. I had that beautiful cobalt blue Model Master paint for a couple of years now, and I couldn't wait for an opportunity to use it. Today supposed to be the big day. I opened the bottle, body ready for spraying, just to notice the unusual thick consistency and, well, the lack of smell! It was only then that I've seen it on the bottle, quite prominent: "Model Master Acryl". Auch! Not even acrylic lacquer. The humble, feeble acryl! The one that send me the last set of MM - my Canadian connection - it's in big trouble. I cannot wait to get him tomorrow morning on the phone! Arrrgggh!
I had to settle for the next closest oil based paint I have: Testor's Gloss Dark Blue. Obviously Testors and I have very different opinions of what is the meaning of "dark". However, the shade is close enough to kill my Canadian Connection without torturing him first:


I needed to be cautious though, and I sprayed only the hood, because that "dark" blue it's since some six years now in my possession. The test looks decent, although could have been better. The shine is there, the smoothness not that much. However, the most important factor now it's the drying speed. Based on my previous experience with Testors enamels, 48 hours it's about right. Let's see this time:


Cheers!
Gabriel

Gabriel, you work as fast,as that race var drove.
Good call, on the front section.
Engine looks great.

Gabriel,

Excellent decision to add the front clip before painting. As you said, you saved yourself a great deal of grief. Much easier to mask then try to fit and glue it later on after the painting process.

Your Chevy engine looks great with your detail painting. Just one suggestion, a black wash over the spark plug wires will really make them look like separate wires.

As for your discovery that the #44 Hot Wheels Pontiac had a Chevy V8 in it, it's correct. Pontiac stopped making racing engines back in the 1970s except for a small block run in the 1980's, but they weren't for Nascar stock cars. Since Pontiac is just a division of GM as is Chevrolet, it made little sense to have more then one division funding a race engine dept. Better off pooling their corp efforts to combat Ford and Dodge on the track.

The Testors Blue looks pretty close to the actual color on my monitor. BTW, I also can't air brush Model Master Acrylics but do use them for hand painting from time to time.

Joel

I totally agree, Joel. The engine not finished yet - the front end accessories still missing. Once complete, I'm gonna clear coat all at once and apply the oil wash.



I knew it - Chevy made the best V8 of the period. I was just teasing our resident Chevrolet afficindao.



I not even try. By the look of it I can tell it has too much medium in it and it will either break down, either it will be transparent blue by the time it reaches airbrushing consistency. For brushing yes, these "creamy" paints usually work fine.

UPDATE
I tested my yesterday's sprayed hood this morning and it was already dry to handle, which means it will be good for sanding in a day or two. This gave me the "green light" to spray over the entire body:


The paint benefited massively by the smoothness of the previously applied primer:


I was using my usual setup here: H&S Evolution 0.4mm @ 20 psi. With the exception of the trunk lid, where I achieved a little orange peel due turbulences, all the body is quite smooth and clear of imperfections:


I could go further on, but I spent my day's time on the other NASCAR, with a 4 hour decalling marathon.

Gabriel

You know what's funny, have a look at the rocker covers for my '55 Chevy Pro Sports!

It has a 618 c.i. Pontiac V8 in it!




I'm on to you guys, I know that you are all Chevy fans at heart! I actually learned to drive in a 1967 Pontiac Parisienne (amongst several other cars) and it had a magnificent 327 Chevy with a 2-speed Powerglide.

Your build here is moving along beautifully Gabriel, the lockdown is very frustrating I'm sure, but also very productive!

Cheers, D

Gabriel,
The shell really looks good. I'm sure that the trunk will rub out perfectly as well.

Damian, Your Pontiac valve covers really made my day.

I'm still a Ford type of guy 1st & foremost.

Joel

Ditto, see my signature. LOL

Damian, what a happening. I would love to have had those Pontiac covers. They are quite rare I assume - I never seen one before, I have to confess.

Joel, thank you! Yes, Testors enamels sand easily - I have no worries there.

David, what exactly a Ford is, nowadays? The F-150 - even the Focus was discontinued, and the Mustang has become an SUV! Just teasing, buddy! I really like the old ones, and I build them with great pleasure! Not to say about Opel / Vauxhall - I never have enough of these!

U P D A T E
I was mentioning in an earlier post that the engine wasn't done yet. I found today some time between cleaning the other NASCAR and applying 2K and I finished the assembly of the Pontiac - Chevy engine:

Beautifully detailed front end. What happened with these companies that they went from this level of detail in '90s to snap-tite level in '10s?


... and brilliantly engineered too: the parts can be assembled directly on the engine, for proper alignment, then detached and painted separately:


Detached belts and pulleys assemble, ready for painting (done already, actually, but no pictures yet!)


Cheers!
Gabriel

Gabriel,
I'm really Looking forward to seeing how the engine turns out.

What happened to our American model companies? Well the answer seems to have been that the financial "suits" only cared about maxing out the bottom line, and their information pointed to more profit from Snap Tite kits.

Joel