strange old kit

I currently have, in my unbuilt collection , a kit I received as a gift when I was about 8 or 9 years old. I’m 44 now. I believe it is about 1/48 or 1/50 scale. It is a well detailed kit of the old 20 mule team from the “Death Valley Days” tv show. Wisely my father put it away and wouldn’t let me “build” it. Does anyone know anything about this kit ? It came in a plain brown box with simple printing. The wagons have US Borax engraved on them, and the instructions only refer to the US Borax company. Any help will be appreciated even if its only a place to start.

A friend in my model club has one of the kits you are speaking of. As I recall, he said that with a number of box tops, you could send in and recieve the kit from Borax. He has been trying to restore the kit he has for a number of years (off and on). I’ll ask him for any other details at our meeting today.

Hi, I’m the guy Bull (if I am reading the right place) mentioned in the posing of 2-9-03.

I got the 20 Mule Team kit in the late 50’s or early 60’s. There was a telivision show called Death Valley Days, hosted by the “Old Ranger”.

There was an offer for sending in 50 cents and a boxtop or two and you got the kit.

I painted it and built it, I remember it being a bear painting all those harnesses. My dad then made the display board for me and I finished all the rigging and fastened everything to the board. A real nice piece of walnut. Wish I still had it.

Fast forward to the 70’s. The team got taken off the board and placed in a box. I spent several years in the Navy with no permanent home.

To make a long story short, I still haven’t prepared another board and the kit is still in the box waiting a good cleaning and remounting to a board.

One thing that is holding me up, well it really isn’t I guess, but I don’t remember the dimensions and spacing on the board for the brads for holding the rigging. The instructions are long gone.

Hope this helps a little. If you have any questions just post them here, or we can get in contact off line if you want.

Oh yeah, these kits are always on E-Bay, and there are a couple of people who will tell the story behind the kit, though I have seen about as much misinformation as legitimate information.

Glucophage,
I still have the kit instructions that list the dimensions. E- mail me direct at WEGRAY @ SLMPD.ORG and we can hook up.