DAISY'S EARLY EPISODE ROAD RUNNER MODEL

In the early episodes of "The Dukes Of Hazzard," Daisy had a Plymouth Roadrunner, which met its demise when Bo & Luke drove it off a cliff (the accelerator stuck and they bailed out). In that same episode, Daisy is given the Dixie Jeep, which is used for the rest of the series' run.

I had previously built a 1971 Satellite/GTX model, which matches the car seen in first season episodes such as "Money To Burn," but I really wanted a 1974 Road Runner model, which would match the car seen in most early episodes, including "One Armed Bandits" and "Daisy's Song" (the first two Dukes episodes to air). I searched eBay for months, only occasionally seeing a correct Road Runner model sell for well over $100. In March of 2003, an already-built model appeared on eBay. Luckily, I was able to win the bidding well below the $100 mark.

When I received the model, it was painted a light blue. Nearly all of the parts were there, and the model was very solid.

Coming up with the proper shade of yellow was a challenge, but my local hobby shop supplied me with an empty spray canister and six, 1/4 oz. bottles of Testors Light Yellow paint, which is not available in spray form. It was the first time I had made a "homemade" spray can, but after two coats, the paint job looked great.

The wheels that came with the car were the correct style, but they had been painted silver and black. I used the look-alike wheels that came with one of my many Charger models, and detailed them, using dullcoat for that aluminum look. I had to use the tires from an AMT/Ertl General Lee kit, since the wheels were slightly too small to fit the original Road Runner tires.

After dullcoating the gloss black interior for a vinyl look, and detailing the grille and other small parts, I reassembled the model. This was very simple, as the model had been built well to begin with, and this kit seems to be cast very nicely from the factory.

I ordered another set of '73/'74 Road Runner stripes from Fred Cady Decals, and they arrived only about a week later. I am proud of this model because of how rare these kits are (I can't believe I finally snagged one), and how well it emerged from its restoration.

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