Notes: I have a feeling that many people that saw these cars with this unique livery immediately wondered how soon a model, be it diecast or kit, wondered how soon they could get one for themselves. The team Web Site mentioned that diecast models would be made. I think it mentioned 1/18 and 1/43 at the time. Most model builders are aware of the 1/25th Scale Motorsports decals and kit parts. A bit later, the 1/18th Auto Art diecast appeared. But still no 1/43. My scale of choice. And a year later, still no 1/43 choice. So, I dove in and started my project. I would do both cars. For a while I thought I would definitely do the black nose, but seeing both come to life, I'm glad I chose both.

I started making my own decal set immediately after the race was run. Most of the art was finished 2 weeks after. I would only need to check sizes and decide if I would wait and pick up a diecast, or proceed with my own builds. So my project slowed down at this point. Sizes were checked, art was adjusted over time. No rush. Then I eventually set out to build it a first time. After painting a Provence Miniatures kit and getting about half way with all the major decals applied, I decided on a different approach to my decal art. I originally had myself doing a 2-tone paint and having to match yellow paint to yellow decal. I decided that I would prefer to paint the car yellow and not worry about matching. All yellow decals would show through to the paint. The black would be made decal. Which can always be darkened later easily enough with pen of all things. It worked for the Texas car I did years earlier, so I would use that approach again for these. My first build also resulted into a paint stripping melting issue caused by me loosing track of time. Body was still fixable, but I moved on to taking 2 Spark Models Corvettes as donors instead of an older Provence Miniatures kit. I had to build 2 anyways, and the Sparks are cheaper. Interesting to see how Spark puts their models together. Detail is comparable. I wasn't happy with the way Provence Miniatures handled some things, so I didn't feel I was compromising. Just have to be careful taking things apart, particularly the windows. The windows can bend and crease. Not good. That, and the tail lights require care. I didn't attempt to get all of the tail lights out without damaging them. I drilled and popped them off. So I still haven't gotten replacements for them yet. Have to find a place that can take care of that. You can unscrew the base plate, but the diffuser is glued, so that has to be broken off. I ran into that throughout disassembly. Other than lights, everything else "breaks" or pops off. The dash panel had to be broken off since they use a lot of glue to keep that in place. Doesn't present a problem, just something to be aware of. Just keep track of where you're aiming when things are popped off.

If you don't get a yellow model, then you need to strip and paint, which is what I did. I pretty much matched the yellow that Spark used on the 2007 models they offered. Seemed to match the Auto Art 1/18th diecast too. After painting, next job was applying decals. I started with the larger ones, then the smaller stuff. There were a few black areas that would need to be joined, but for the most part, success. the decals went on as they usually do with my printouts. Some touchup was required, but black turned out easy enough to work with. After placing decals, they both were clearcoated and allowed to dry.

Reassembly wasn't too hard. I did the interior, and fit that in place, then exterior details. Glass fit from the outside, so that was done almost last, except for mirrors and the diffuser. Parts fit pretty well, but then they were already in place, so they better. I didn't have any problems. The idea of using Spark Models for kits works pretty well. I would rather not start a build by taking apart, but the details are good, and most of the same processes are used that the kit makers use.