Post by gapettyfan on Jan 16, 2017 23:00:37 GMT -5
Paint scheme verified by The King himself. Many thanks to my good friend Mike Dozier, a former Petty Enterprises employee. While attending the 2016 employee reunion, he asked Richard about the paint on the Mirada. After the expected puzzled reaction Mike explained that I was a life-long fan who built model cars and, like many, had always been curious about the mystery surrounding the Mirada. At this point The King's face lit up and he confirmed the Buick carried the same basic scheme the Dodge would have. Thanks also go to Steve Hmiel for sharing memories and details about the car and circumstances surrounding same.
The body came from Southern Motorsports Hobbies and is, by far and hands down, the best aftermarket resin I've ever worked with. I fabricated the grille with aluminum from a soft drink can and screen from a repair kit at Lowe's. The headlight covers came from the grille section for a Monte Carlo SS NASCAR kit: I cut it in half and each piece was almost a perfect fit. For the chassis and windshield I used the Buick kit from the Petty Combo, I thought that was cool and appropriate. To make the fuel fill opening I drilled a hole, applied black electrical tape to the underside of the body and dropped in the smallest precision washer sold at Ace Hardware. The adhesive on the tape held the washer in place and I was careful to apply clear there so it doesn't catch dust and such over time.
This represents my first attempt at making templates for paint, etc. and applying pinstripes and chrome tape for window trim, bumpers and the spoiler. Overall I'm reasonably satisfied with the work but see room for much improvement. Regardless, I have a model of the magical, mystery Mirada after all these years.
![[URL=http://s152.photobucket.com/user/GaPettyFan/media/Mirada%202_zpsjfljnslr.jpg.html][IMG]http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s191/GaPettyFan/Mirada%202_zpsjfljnslr.jpg[/IMG][/URL]]()
![]()
The body came from Southern Motorsports Hobbies and is, by far and hands down, the best aftermarket resin I've ever worked with. I fabricated the grille with aluminum from a soft drink can and screen from a repair kit at Lowe's. The headlight covers came from the grille section for a Monte Carlo SS NASCAR kit: I cut it in half and each piece was almost a perfect fit. For the chassis and windshield I used the Buick kit from the Petty Combo, I thought that was cool and appropriate. To make the fuel fill opening I drilled a hole, applied black electrical tape to the underside of the body and dropped in the smallest precision washer sold at Ace Hardware. The adhesive on the tape held the washer in place and I was careful to apply clear there so it doesn't catch dust and such over time.
This represents my first attempt at making templates for paint, etc. and applying pinstripes and chrome tape for window trim, bumpers and the spoiler. Overall I'm reasonably satisfied with the work but see room for much improvement. Regardless, I have a model of the magical, mystery Mirada after all these years.
I have Richard petty cars 1/18 1/24 scales! Etc...
