The Tale of Two Pumpkins...

[bRIBEGuy 3032]

Well, I figured I may as contribute a bit more, and document my build up of a couple of Midnight Pumpkins. 

Some backstory (largely lifted from another post...) to get things rolling.... I have been on a very lazy hunt for a Midnight Pumpkin since I decided that I regretted selling mine some 8 years ago.  Over the past year, it's also a model that my daughter has quite taken to.  Yes, I know these are easy to get.  Yes, I know Black Edition, Metallic Edition, and XB variants can still be picked up at Hobby shops.  But... see my previous comment on "very lazy hunt"....LOL.

Back in March, I stumbled across a semi-local Kijiji add for a guy selling a used one.  No pictures.  Very little info.  Priced way too high.  So I sent him a message asking for more info.  He sent a couple of bad pictures, and asked if I was into old RC's. 

Ya, sometimes.... why do you ask?

A few texts later and I found myself on an early morning drive out to a shed near the middle of rural nowhere.  I was hoping to come back with a good deal on a Midnight Pumpkin, and instead found myself with two of them... as well as filling my truck with a bunch of other "stuff I really don't need". 

This will be the story of rebuilding both Pumpkins.  One will be a box-art semi-shelf queen.  The other, shall be a runner for my 7 year old daughter.

And so begins The Tale of Two Pumpkins...

[bRIBEGuy 3032]

Both Pumpkins were original issues, had been built and run, then partially disassembled and put back in the box for a couple decades.  Boxes were complete, and in okay shape.  Manuals, extra parts, and a few spares were inside as well.  Everything looked to be in good shape at a quick glance.

[bRIBEGuy 3032]

The plan was to strip them both down to parts, get them cleaned up, and see what the good, bad, and the ugly was.

Initial teardown was pretty quick and easy... you know, because it's a Midnight Pumpkin.  

Most major parts are in good shape.  Minor body damage (scrapes and broken tail lights).  A couple cracked tires and damaged rims.  Broken body mount (GASP!!!).

Parts took a 5-10 minute trip thru the ultrasonic cleaner with warm 60 degree (Celsius) water and a bit of dish soap.  Most came out looking almost new!

[bRIBEGuy 3032]

Parts are being sorta split up between the builds. 

The "runner" will get some of the parts with a few scuffs, a few re-re parts, and some parts representing upgrades and artistic license.  Plus modern electronics.

The "shelfer" will get all original parts, MSC, and live a boring box-art life.

For now, the chassis components sit in a box, while I try to track down a few missing bits...

[bRIBEGuy 3032]

Back when I had my last Pumpkin, I had two bodies.  One box art, and one not.  Part way thru cleaning up these two I had the odd thought, "Wait... don't I still have a sticker set somewhere?"

It took a few days of digging, but eventually I found these gems!

Oh ya!

[OoALEJOoO 3127]

Great backstory and thanks for sharing! The Midnight Pumpkin has been in my wish-list for a long time after I sold my Lunchbox. The main hold-up in getting one, besides budget, is deciding how to paint it.

What's the plan for the artistic licensed runner? Looking forward to see how the build goes along!

[Grumpy pants 4446]

Another great thread and really good to see some Pumpkins getting some show and tell time 💥

[Nikko85 3439]

Great find, love a Pumpkin.

It's not the greatest handling car in the world, but it's a lot of fun and for my money one of the best looking trucks Tamiya ever built.

I've only got two quick drive versions, but still they are the ones I'll get out just to look at! 

 

[bRIBEGuy 3032]

12 hours ago, OoALEJOoO said:

Great backstory and thanks for sharing! The Midnight Pumpkin has been in my wish-list for a long time after I sold my Lunchbox. The main hold-up in getting one, besides budget, is deciding how to paint it.

What's the plan for the artistic licensed runner? Looking forward to see how the build goes along!

I'm personally a much bigger fan of the Lunchbox, but the Midnight Pumpkin has always been a great looking truck.  Plus my daughter loves it...

Details of the runner are still top secret (as per my 7 year old...).  But it will be getting "upgraded" to chrome wheels and a chrome roll bar at her request.

 

9 hours ago, Grumpy pants said:

Another great thread and really good to see some Pumpkins getting some show and tell time 💥

They're far to pretty to be ignored.

 

1 hour ago, Nikko85 said:

Great find, love a Pumpkin.

It's not the greatest handling car in the world, but it's a lot of fun and for my money one of the best looking trucks Tamiya ever built.

I've only got two quick drive versions, but still they are the ones I'll get out just to look at! 

 

The whole CW-01 line handles like garbage... and it's what makes them so much fun!  I have a Durga that is pretty dialed in after quite a bit of carpet racing once upon a time, and it's SUPER boring to drive outside now, as it almost handles too well.  My Lunchbox though?  With a cheap 17t motor, it's quicker than it needs to be, which amplifies the crap handling (and noise...) and makes it a HOOT to rip around the neighborhood!

[bRIBEGuy 3032]

Took some time to start taking the bodies apart in anticipation of prep for re-painting.  One shell has a small crack in a front fender, and both have broken front bumper mounts.  Nothing that should be too big of a deal to fix up.  

Got out the putty to start filling some deeper scratches/road rash... then made the realization that I haven't started stripping off the paint and stickers yet.  

Whoops!

[bRIBEGuy 3032]

Started stripping paint... and what a PITA!!!

Previously I've had really good luck pulling old paint off Tamiya bodies, but who know what was painted onto these pumpkins!  2 rounds of oven cleaner later and paint is just staring to lift off one (but not the stickers...) of the two trucks.  The other is basically still black.  

Time for more cleaner and the all important elbow grease...

 

[bRIBEGuy 3032]

After peeling all the stickers by hand, then scrubbing off the sticker residue with rubbing alcohol, it was back to the stripping bucket.  More "Easy Off HD" (yellow can) was sprayed on, and the cars were left in a sealed rubbermaid bin in the sun.  Sit for 20-30 minutes, scrub, rinse, repeat.  After 2 cans, one pumpkin looks pretty good, and the other....... is still REALLY black.  We'll see how an overnight soak works...

You can see the crack in the front fender her, and a small chip in the front.  Nothing that some glue and putty can't fix.

[bRIBEGuy 3032]

Where things get a bit odd (and frustrating), is that under the nice paint, the body seems pretty "orange peel" in texture in a few spots.  Very odd.  I'm sure I can smooth it out with putty, sanding, effort, and a healthy dose of luck... but I was a little bummed.  Oh well.  I cleaned it a bit more with a SOS pad, and retired the fist shell to the basement.  Tonight I'm hoping the get some more paint off of the second body...

[bRIBEGuy 3032]

Filling and sanding...

Filling and sanding...

First body is starting to look okay...

Back to sanding the second one (which lost very little additional paint after a 24hr soak in Easy Off).

[GeeWings 2830]

Good effort! I'm sure it will all be worth it in the end. Looking forward to seeing them come back to life!

[bRIBEGuy 3032]

Parts and parts and parts...

Because both of these represent Midnight Pumpkins that drove more than once, it's only natural that the rear tail lights have been snapped off.  One has both gone, while one is just missing one. 

Plan A was to clean up the "no tail light" gate and put it on the "runner", and to make a new light out of styrene for the "shelfer".  As luck would have it, one of the Pumpkins had some spares in the box, and one of those was a NIB "FORD" logo tailgate!  Woot!!!  So that will definitely be going on the shelfer now.  

A LHS (60km away is local, right?) promised me they had another "FORD" logo tailgate in stock, so I paid up, and drove over to get it.  Upon picking it up though, it is VERY clearly a NON-FORD newer tailgate.  Bummer... but still useful?

Enter Plan B: Cut off the tail light from the "newer" tailgate, and reattach to "FORD" logo tailgate.

At this point I'm starting to think that I'm overthinking this... especially for a truck that will be owned & operated by a 7 year old.  So.........

Plan C: Details coming soon...

[bRIBEGuy 3032]

The postman dropped off some goodies last night too.  Might be hard to figure out how to make the TD4 universals work on the Pumpkin, but the aluminum body mounts should make for a nice functional upgrade on the runner...

[jonboy1 2943]

On 5/24/2022 at 9:28 PM, bRIBEGuy said:

Where things get a bit odd (and frustrating), is that under the nice paint, the body seems pretty "orange peel" in texture in a few spots.  Very odd.  I'm sure I can smooth it out with putty, sanding, effort, and a healthy dose of luck... but I was a little bummed.  Oh well.  I cleaned it a bit more with a SOS pad, and retired the fist shell to the basement.  Tonight I'm hoping the get some more paint off of the second body...

That looks like paint stripper that's been in contact with the plastic too long, it starts to attack the plastic and leave it a bit soft and rippled like that.

[bRIBEGuy 3032]

Filling and sanding...

Filling and sanding....

[bRIBEGuy 3032]

Both bodies were starting to look pretty good yesterday, so I figured it was time to hit 'em with a quick coat of primer to see how well the filing and sanding actually worked.  

[bRIBEGuy 3032]

With the primer drying, it was time to put some energy back into the tailgate situation.  "Plan C" is now in full effect with some letter printed and glued onto a this sheet of styrene.  This part is being done secretly behind my daughters back...

[bRIBEGuy 3032]

The frustrating part of tamiyaclub, is constantly seeing everyone knock out these amazing custom projects, and having your brain default to thinking that it means everything is easy. 

It was about this point in "Plan C" that I realized that cutting out tiny little letters wouldn't be as straightforward as I initially thought.  Oh well, the challenge is half the fun, right?

I managed to keep the blade out of my fingers, and after a fair bit of work, was reasonably happy with the little tailgate additions. 

Some glue... some clamps... and it was time to go make dinner...

[GeeWings 2830]

9 hours ago, bRIBEGuy said:

The frustrating part of tamiyaclub, is constantly seeing everyone knock out these amazing custom projects, and having your brain default to thinking that it means everything is easy. 
 

Yep, fallen in to that trap a few times  

Looking good though, will be worth the effort I’m sure!

[RC Perspective 511]

11 hours ago, GeeWings said:

Yep, fallen in to that trap a few times  

Looking good though, will be worth the effort I’m sure!

Ditto.

"Yea I'll just slap this build together and have some fun with it!"

*2 days later* "UNCLE!"

The upside is, that feeling at the end of the build.

I just have one question. You got the glass slippers too right? Right?

Nice builds, looking forward to seeing the turnaround on these two beasts!

-RC Perspective

[bRIBEGuy 3032]

On 5/31/2022 at 6:50 AM, RC Perspective said:

I just have one question. You got the glass slippers too right? Right?

The inclusion or exclusion of slippers will be a decision that is out of my hands...