My Cannonball Run Entry The Night Train

[oldcarfan]

Looking for something different to enter, I chose this Revell 1997 Ford Expedition. As it's a Snaptite, it will need some serious work and I got started on it today. As next week will be out due for really cold temps here in central Texas, I opened up the hood and made plans for what needs to be done. After committing to the Run, I ordered some of the things I need. In particular, I ordered a Revell 1997 F-150 Extended Cab kit to provide an engine bay, frame and other assorted things. The kit came in this morning and as I getting ready to open it, I came across the cab and frame from a Lindberg F-150. I don't remember ever building it, but I must have because it was broken up in the bottom of a scrap box. The engine bay got hacked for the Expedition, and the hood replaced the opened up Expedition's hood perfectly. I planned to shorten the Revell donor's frame, but the Lindberg frame fits the Expedition without modification. While waiting for the primer to warm up, I did some mods on the Expedition bumper to see what I can do. I cut it horizontally and and added cutouts for KC lights. Not sure I'll use it, I like the look. After things warm up, I'll get back on the project.

As for the title, I always like to have a theme for my projects, and I'm thinking doing the Expedition in a dark color for night running. I'm looking at either a Voodoo Coyote engine or maybe a twin turbo version.

[oldcarfan]

I was thinking of using a PowerStroke diesel, for this but they are sold out, so instead, I just ordered a twin turbo Boss 302 from Texas 3D. Here's hoping it fits without too much modding. It's probably for the best anyway as a diesel would be pretty heavy.

[oldcarfan]

Some stuff arrived today and I can't wait for the temperature to get into the 50s on Thursday so I can test them out.  The last few days were between 7 and 18 degrees which is pretty cold for central Texas. That being said, here's the haul for today.

First up is the twin turbo Boss 302 from Texas 3D, which arrived well packed and pretty much ready to put together. I wanted the 7.3 diesel from Iceman, but he was sold out. I already have plans to get one of those to go in my Monogram F-350.

The other item was a Cobra IRS from the Monogram kit. It may not work, but I'm thinking I might be able to turn it into a 2nd generation Expedition IRS. I figure that would give it better high speed handling. If not, I've got a couple of the F350 rear ends and springs so that might be a stand in.

[dust collectors]

So far this is looking pretty rad, looking forward to seeing this one unfold.

[av405]

Looking good so far. I just finished building an Expedition from two different parts kits and I noticed that both had dimples on the hood. Now it bothers me that I didn't fill them in on my build. So that's definitely another plus for you that you were able to use a much better looking hood. 

[oldcarfan]

Sorry, wrong post

Edited January 17 by oldcarfan
Wrong entry.

[oldcarfan]

32 minutes ago, av405 said:

I noticed that both had dimples on the hood. Now it bothers me that I didn't fill them in on my build.

Yes, courtesy of those molded plugs underneath, mine has those dimples. The Lindberg hood will need some adjustment, but I think it'll work.

[bobthehobbyguy]

Cool project. Great start.

[oldcarfan]

Baby steps! It warmed up a bit today, so I got to do a little work. We whiplashed from 7 degrees with a some snow on Monday, to 68 today so I went out to the shop. I sanded the primer on the body and checked for mold marks, then decided to beef up the frame a bit. Since the Expedition is a Snaptite, all the undersides are molded as one piece. I came cross the frame from a Lindberg F-150 a while back and it has the same wheelbase as the Expedition so it's going under it. I had to cut away a bit to fit the SUV's interior bucket and sadly, took too much off. To keep it from breaking I added a bit of L shape Plastruct for strength. That's about all I got today. It's going to be in the 40s tomorrow so we'll see if anything else gets done.

Just a side question, but my Hobby Lobby is slowly getting some Testor's Extreme sprays in. The color choice is limited, but it's better than nothing. The question is, has anyone used these new cans? Are they good paint?

I recently unpacked 16 cans of older Testor's lacquers that I bought about three years ago and so far only about 5 of them are usable. I had 2 can each of their Mopar muscle car colors and they all leaked from the bottom seam, and some other cans seem to have lost their propellant.

[oldcarfan]

By the way, I did a quick eyeball test and it looks like the Texas 3D engine will probably fit without a lot of mods to the frame.

[oldcarfan]

Finally, I have a small update. After several days of uncomfortable temps, it was in the 60s today. That being said, I got off the couch and did some work in the hobby room. My can of DupliColor sandable primer decided to go all Rustoleum on me so I had to get another one. Didn't realize how much it had gone up in price. $12.99 a can is pretty steep for me, but it's still the best I've found. I got another coat on and did some more cleanup on the body.

Since the chassis is the base, I refined the fit of the Lindberg F-150 frame to the Expedition's interior bucket. Also modified the Lindberg's rear suspension to lower it and added the front suspension from a Monogram Mustang as I didn't really want a 4WD. Not sure if that will work, but it'll do for now. I'm trying out my new hole punch to make a skid plate. Again, not sure it will work, but we'll see.

Working on stance is not one of my favorite things, but this is about as low as I can go without some serious cutting. The rear probably needs to come down some more. I'm kind of liking these wheels and tires though they are kind of low profile. Trying to decide if they make it look too Donk. They were generously donated by a Welly Porsche 911 GT2 that I broke down for parts. The Expedition needs something big to fill the wheelwells and these should work. I may also use the seats and possibly some of the scoops from the Porsche's front if I can make them fit somewhere.

I'm starting to think about body color, can't decide whether to go stealth or bright. So far I'm leaning towards Destroyer Grey for a low profile. Either that or go the opposite direction with maybe Acid Green, but that would be cop bait, right?

Also, I looked at the engine I hope to use, it's a twin turbo Boss 302 from Texas 3D and it doesn't seem to need much clean-up. Once I get the chassis set, I'll have to figure out how to shoehorn that engine in.

[oldcarfan]

Probably mentioned this before, but I have modeler's ADHD which means I went out to the hobby room to work yesterday and ended up breaking down several die-casts for parts, and opening and looking at kits I've had on the shelf for a long time. This morning was going to be different until a friend reminded me they were dismantling the old house a mile up the road. I had to drive by and watch for a while, then I remembered there were a couple of errands I needed to do, then other stuff...

Anyway, it's now after lunch and I'm finally going to work out in the shop as soon as I get through playing on the internet.

Just because, here's three pictures of the house they're moving. It's on University property and they were going to just knock it down until the townspeople heard and raised a ruckus. The University wants to put up another generic glass building or parking lot. The house is like 120 years old and very well maintained, so after the outcry someone bought it cheap and I understand it's going to be moved out to the lake. At least it will survive. It's interesting how they can take something so big apart like a giant model kit, move it, and then put it back together.

 

Edited January 29 by oldcarfan

[oldcarfan]

I made a little progress today! A good Cannonball Run depends on extra fuel capacity so mine would need fuel cells. To make things easier, I decided to make a 'pallet' so I could put all the components together and then just put it in the back as a unit. The Night Train Expedition will now have a 44 gallon central fuel cell with a 15 gallon secondary and I'll likely keep the truck's stock tank as well, which I believe was a 26 gallon capacity. That gives the truck a potential 85 gallon capacity when full.

At a show a few years ago, I bought the police parts of a Lindberg Crown Vic and as luck would have it, it also had the Expedition police parts too. With some searching, I found the parts. I repurposed one of the barriers for Cannonball use, figuring it would be safer that way! LOL

I'm still considering body colors. In the real world, grey or black would probably be a safe bet, but it could make for a boring entry. Right now, I'm kind of thinking of going a bright color, maybe a blue, green, or yellow. Any ideas?

I mentioned breaking down a Welly Porsche GT3RS for parts and it reminded of something I've been looking for for a while.  I came across a Porsche Cayenne at a good price so I got it, too. This one I'm working on as a side project. It'll be an overlander rig.

And because I'm easily distracted, I had to take a break and go see how the house moving is going. This morning, they finished sawing it into sections and lifted the second floor sections off. A lot of people are mad that the University wanted to get rid of it, but at least someone is saving it from the wrecking ball.

[oldcarfan]

Made some progress today. I've got the cargo bay pretty well in place, though I don't know much about how someone would do this in real life. But for 1/24th life, it's satisfyingly busy looking. I have the two fuel cells in place along with some other stuff to make the back look full. There's still some things to add, but I'm happy with it so far.

I worked on the dash detailing which is not my strong suit, but it's coming along. Since I stole the wheels off the poor Welly diecast Porsche GT3, I also stole the seats and steering wheel.  The seats being all black might be a bit bland, so I'm trying out some Mexican blanket upholstery. Not sure about it, but we'll see.

Lastly, I have a shot of the bottom of the frame, showing the stock tank and the main fuel cell in place.

 

[NOBLNG]

It’s coming along nicely. Great work on the fuel cells.👍

[oldcarfan]

I think I may have found the color for the body of the Expedition. I'm one of those people who gets focused on something and goes overboard. Being I named the thing Night Train, I spent way too much time reading articles on camouflage. One thing that I got from that research is that black isn't the best color for avoiding attention at night. According to the experts, dark green or grey are the best colors for that. Later, I came across a Porsche Macan in a special order color called Schwarzgrau, or Black Gray. I looked all over the place for something similar and found this Rustoleum paint that matches the picture almost exactly. I only hope I can get a decent finish out of it.

 

 

 

[oldcarfan]

We're having some unexpectedly warm weather this week. Today it was 88! Looks like it'll stay sunny and in the 70s the rest of the week so I'm taking advantage of it. I was able to concentrate for a while on the #17 Night Train Ford Expedition. I've been stuck on picking a color. I feel a scale model needs a bright color to stand out, but a Cannonball entry should be low profile, right? I wanted something that wouldn't attract too much legal attention in the real world.

I really like Destroyer Gray as seen on some Chryslers and by accident found a Rustoleum dark gray that in the sun matches the Charger down the street almost exactly. I try to avoid Rustoleum on general principles, but wanted to make some progress. The paint went on thick, despite trying to do thin coats. There is some typical orange peel, but less than expected. The color looks darker under light than in the sun. Speaking of the sun, I hope the good old UV rays, high temps and super low humidity over the next couple of days will speed up dry time on this Rustoleum paint. I had it in direct sunlight for three hours today and it was dry-ish, but you could tell it wasn't anywhere near ready to be touched.

In other news, the engine is painted and together. It still needs some detail painting, but looks great. I usually paint engines in black or silver but went with some Ford blue to set it off. It's actually Rustoleum Brilliant Blue, but close enough. I've got to plug Texas 3D. This is his Twin Turbo Coyote and it's a good product. Lots of detail, not a lot of cleanup, and quick service. I've ordered from him and from Iceman and never been disappointed! Now the problem is whether I can cram it into the engine bay. Twin turbos take up a lot of space.

Finally, if we learned anything from Smokey and the Bandit, it's that every successful speeder needs a pre-runner or a distraction. In this case, I'm doing a Revell snap-tite Mustang in the same gray. Not a lot of detail, just some paint and wheels. I'll call it the Express Train.

[oldcarfan]

That Coyote engine is huge! The engine is 1/24th and the engine bay is 1/25th so I spent today undoing a lot of engine bay work trying to clear room for it. In the downtime I worked on the Mustang a little. Being it's a curbside, it is going together a lot quicker than my Expedition. The limiting factor is the Rustoleum paint. Even though I did thin coats, and put it in the sun, it is still a bit soft. From past experience, I know it will probably stay that way a long time. It is dry to the touch, but I accidentally put a fingernail scratch in the side today. Strangely enough I pushed the indentation and it pretty much disappeared. Once I get everything into sub assemblies, I may put it away for a few months to let things dry.

[slusher]

Really nice work, looking forward too more of  your build!

[Texas_3D_Customs]

On 2/23/2024 at 8:42 PM, oldcarfan said:

That Coyote engine is huge! The engine is 1/24th and the engine bay is 1/25th so I spent today undoing a lot of engine bay work trying to clear room for it. In the downtime I worked on the Mustang a little. Being it's a curbside, it is going together a lot quicker than my Expedition. The limiting factor is the Rustoleum paint. Even though I did thin coats, and put it in the sun, it is still a bit soft. From past experience, I know it will probably stay that way a long time. It is dry to the touch, but I accidentally put a fingernail scratch in the side today. Strangely enough I pushed the indentation and it pretty much disappeared. Once I get everything into sub assemblies, I may put it away for a few months to let things dry.

So had this conversation before One I know the engine's accurate I've measured it against my own coyote engine in my car The difference between 124 and 125 on that engine very specifically is 0.78 mm wider. Understand Coyote is a very wide engine It's not a scale issue. if that 3/4 of a millimeter which is ridiculously small in comparison is an issue then it really doesn't belong What really makes this engine wider the two honking turbo sticking off the sides. 

[oldcarfan]

1 hour ago, Texas_3D_Customs said:

1 hour ago, Texas_3D_Customs said:

So had this conversation before One I know the engine's accurate I've measured it against my own coyote engine in my car The difference between 124 and 125 on that engine very specifically is 0.78 mm wider. Understand Coyote is a very wide engine It's not a scale issue. if that 3/4 of a millimeter which is ridiculously small in comparison is an issue then it really doesn't belong What really makes this engine wider the two honking turbo sticking off the sides. 

 

No worries, I didn't make it clear. The problem is more with my scratchbuilding than anything else. The engine is fine and I built the engine bay before ordering the twin turbo engine using the non turbo engine from a Monogram Mustang to judge the room needed.

While I'm on the subject, I do want to compliment your engine. I was expecting it to be a lot more prep work. The parts were clean and went together quickly.

Edited March 7 by oldcarfan

[Texas_3D_Customs]

8 minutes ago, oldcarfan said:

No worries, I didn't make it clear. The problem is more with my scratchbuilding than anything else. The engine is fine and I built the engine bay before ordering the twin turbo engine using the non turbo engine from a Monogram Mustang to judge the room needed.

While I'm on the subject, I do want to compliment your engine. I was expecting it to be a lot more prep work. The parts were clean and went together quickly.

I just get a lot of this whole 124 versus 125 and if you do the math and I understand the whole car completely different story things that are supposed to look exactly right like a bumper it's like 3 mm wider for 124 versus 125 on a full size truck You know that I can see but when you start talking about things that are a millimeter or less it just doesn't make sense to do well scales and while there's a lot of argument on which one of the two you should do I personally think that doing them a little bit bigger is better than doing them a little bit smaller

[oldcarfan]

18 hours ago, Texas_3D_Customs said:

I just get a lot of this whole 124 versus 125 and if you do the math and I understand the whole car completely different story things that are supposed to look exactly right like a bumper it's like 3 mm wider for 124 versus 125 on a full size truck You know that I can see but when you start talking about things that are a millimeter or less it just doesn't make sense to do well scales and while there's a lot of argument on which one of the two you should do I personally think that doing them a little bit bigger is better than doing them a little bit smaller

Understandable. Even among the major kit makers, scale was a subjective thing. I talked to someone a few years back that designed kits for Monogram back in the day. He said that tires and engines were always a bit bigger than scale because it looked better to the eye for most modelers.

[Texas_3D_Customs]

1 hour ago, oldcarfan said:

Understandable. Even among the major kit makers, scale was a subjective thing. I talked to someone a few years back that designed kits for Monogram back in the day. He said that tires and engines were always a bit bigger than scale because it looked better to the eye for most modelers.

See I am seeing a lot of people take pictures of my engines which are true scale 1:24 and then the kit engine is way smaller than mine especially inline 6 engines, yet I know mine are truly accurate.