The Boot Hill Express

[Nacho Z]

I thought I would share what I am currently working on and what is keeping me away from my 1:12 Tamiya/Ebbro Matra MS11.  I am building the Boot Hill Express for a Halloween themed FB group build.  I have 1 month to build it, (the month of October), and have underestimated how long it is going to take me.  In my defense, I am going a little above and beyond with it but not overboard.

As with just about every build thread I do, I am further along than what I am posting.  I like to document what I do for two reasons, (mainly).  First, it helps me to remember what the heck I did and secondly it may be of some use to one of my fellow modelers.  In this thread I will caption each photo as needed.  I would love to hear from you guys.  Let me know what you think and what you may have done differently.  Thanks!

 

Mine is the 1994 issue of the Boot Hill Express.  It was molded in a horrible orange styrene.  Why?!?!

 

There was a lot of clean up that went into this.  Too much to list but let me say that I worked on just about every single part with only a few exceptions.  I also made the decision to strip all of the chrome and airbrush it in AK Interactive Xtreme Metal Chrome.

 

More to come shortly.

 

[Rocking Rodney Rat]

I have purchased several of these kits over the years but I have never built one. I'm looking forward to seeing yours come together. Carry on.... -RRR

[Engine 51]

I have heard that this is a very challenging kit.

[Nacho Z]

Along with all of the parts clean up, I had to decide what color to paint this thing.  I have read what others have done and it seems no two people have painted it the same way.  I fell in love with the color(s) of one particular Boot Hill Express at the Speedway Motors Museum of American Speed.  I believe that the original BHE was painted in a gold color.  That is also how it appears on the box art, (although I feel the box art photo has been drastically overexposed or lightened in some way), but I digress.  The photos I fell in love with are much more of an orangish color.  I do know that lighting and shadows play a big part in photography and that is probably at play here.  Anyhow, here are a couple of pics of what I am going to try to replicate.

 

Now, how to get that color.  I painted 4 spoons with AK Interactive Xtreme Metal colors, (the spoons are labeled), and then sprayed clear orange over half of each one.  I had a hunch that the color would not be deep enough or too orangey.  So for the other half of each spoon I added clear red to the clear orange.  These would not be the final color but I'll save that for later.

 

Please note that the spoons are not in the same order as the first picture but they are labeled.

 

And now with red added.

 

Lots of parts under primer.  I always prime all of my parts.  I know that not everybody does and that's cool if it works for them.  I just always have and probably always will.

 

Drilled out the 8 exhaust tips.

 

Next update will be the engine.  I'm pleased with what I did to dress it up just a bit.

 

[ramblerman]

This is my favorite Show Rod. I had a first issue when I was 12 in 1969 (long gone) and 2 of the orange plastic kits now (unbuilt). I have never seen it in person but hope to one day. I like the richness of the color on the Pale Brass spoon.

[ea0863]

Can't wait to see it done. It looks great! Which color are you going with? I was kind of thinking the brass?

[250 Testa Rossa]

Can't wait to see this one as well! I have the same kit and plan to use some aftermarket parts on it.

[Nacho Z]

23 hours ago, Rocking Rodney Rat said:

I have purchased several of these kits over the years but I have never built one. I'm looking forward to seeing yours come together. Carry on.... -RRR

Thanks, RRR, I'm hoping that I will do this kit justice.

 

22 hours ago, Engine 51 said:

I have heard that this is a very challenging kit.

So far, Joe, I have ran into a lot of flash, mold seams and ejector pin marks.  The directions are really just an exploded view and you have to figure out where some things attach.  I guess what I am saying is a typical  '60s kit...lol.  

[Nacho Z]

20 hours ago, ramblerman said:

This is my favorite Show Rod. I had a first issue when I was 12 in 1969 (long gone) and 2 of the orange plastic kits now (unbuilt). I have never seen it in person but hope to one day. I like the richness of the color on the Pale Brass spoon.

Jim, it is one of my favorites also.  I forgot to mention in my introductory post that I put a poll up on my FB page and asked my friends which kit I should build for the Halloween themed build.  There were four to choose from.  This was the overwhelming favorite.  I really liked the Pale Brass too.

 

18 hours ago, ea0863 said:

Can't wait to see it done. It looks great! Which color are you going with? I was kind of thinking the brass?

Thanks, Emre, I appreciate it.  I'll show the color I went with in a post coming up soon.  It was really a tough choice.

 

18 hours ago, 250 Testa Rossa said:

Can't wait to see this one as well! I have the same kit and plan to use some aftermarket parts on it.

Thanks, Maxx!  I think if you have the time, skills and the right items you can make a killer model out of this.  I am very limited by time, (probably skills too...lol).  I am making a few modifications to mine but I have to keep myself in check.  I'm committed to making the deadline.

[Nacho Z]

This update will just be on the engine.  I will keep pointing out that I only have a month to build this and unfortunately life has a way of getting in the way.  It would be great to drop a nice engine in this with all of the appropriate wiring and plumbing but that is not in the cards for me.  What I did do was to strip all of the chrome off of the parts, except for the valve covers, and repaint them with AK Interactive Xtreme Metals paint.  I did add plug wires.  No, they are not in the correct firing order.

 

Here are the kit injector stacks.  They are absolutely terrible.  I saw no way of salvaging them so I decided to try my hand at making my own.  I measured the length of the stacks and then cut them off of the flange.

 

I cut 3/32 aluminum tubing to length.  A friend of mine made a tool, a punch really, that would allow me to flare the end of the tubing.  I drilled a hole in a block of wood so that just a small portion of the aluminum tubing would stick out.  This would hold the tubing and stop it from bending while being flared.

 

This is the tool / punch.  Nothing fancy but it does the job.  I had to be very careful when tapping the tool with a hammer while flaring the tubing.  It is very easy to split the aluminum.  Go ahead, ask me how I know!

 

Next was to figure out how to hold the new stacks in place.  I drilled small holes in the flange and inserted copper wire.  Next I cut small brass tubing to fit over the wire.  Finally I placed the newly made aluminum stacks over the brass tubing.  This will allow me to bend the stacks to the correct angle once attached to the engine.

 

I am very pleased with the results.

 

[250 Testa Rossa]

1 hour ago, Nacho Z said:

Jim, it is one of my favorites also.  I forgot to mention in my introductory post that I put a poll up on my FB page and asked my friends which kit I should build for the Halloween themed build.  There were four to choose from.  This was the overwhelming favorite.  I really liked the Pale Brass too.

 

Thanks, Emre, I appreciate it.  I'll show the color I went with in a post coming up soon.  It was really a tough choice.

 

Thanks, Maxx!  I think if you have the time, skills and the right items you can make a killer model out of this.  I am very limited by time, (probably skills too...lol).  I am making a few modifications to mine but I have to keep myself in check.  I'm committed to making the deadline.

I plan to replace the tires and wheels with items from Speed City Resin. You ought to check them out. My buddy Scott makes a good product!

[ea0863]

1 hour ago, Nacho Z said:

This update will just be on the engine.  I will keep pointing out that I only have a month to build this and unfortunately life has a way of getting in the way.  It would be great to drop a nice engine in this with all of the appropriate wiring and plumbing but that is not in the cards for me.  What I did do was to strip all of the chrome off of the parts, except for the valve covers, and repaint them with AK Interactive Xtreme Metals paint.  I did add plug wires.  No, they are not in the correct firing order.

 

Here are the kit injector stacks.  They are absolutely terrible.  I saw no way of salvaging them so I decided to try my hand at making my own.  I measured the length of the stacks and then cut them off of the flange.

 

I cut 3/32 aluminum tubing to length.  A friend of mine made a tool, a punch really, that would allow me to flare the end of the tubing.  I drilled a hole in a block of wood so that just a small portion of the aluminum tubing would stick out.  This would hold the tubing and stop it from bending while being flared.

 

This is the tool / punch.  Nothing fancy but it does the job.  I had to be very careful when tapping the tool with a hammer while flaring the tubing.  It is very easy to split the aluminum.  Go ahead, ask me how I know!

 

Next was to figure out how to hold the new stacks in place.  I drilled small holes in the flange and inserted copper wire.  Next I cut small brass tubing to fit over the wire.  Finally I placed the newly made aluminum stacks over the brass tubing.  This will allow me to bend the stacks to the correct angle once attached to the engine.

 

I am very pleased with the results.

 

Very ingenious! I'll be adding that trick to my arsenal for sure  I wonder if heating the aluminum a bit would help with not cracking...?

[Nacho Z]

Sorry for not replying or updating this thread as often as I should have.  The pace that I worked at to meet the deadline didn't really afford me a whole lot of time to stop and take pictures of what I was doing.

I am getting ready to post the finished model in the Under Glass section.  Thanks to those who followed along!