Building the 1:25th Scale Raider's Coach Model Kit

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George Barris was probably the most famous custom car designer and builder. He designed and created many cars and trucks for the film industry in Hollywood. He also built cars for celebrities. One of the wildest creations that came from Barris Kustoms was the Raider's Coach. This hot rod stagecoach was built for the 1960s rock band, Paul Revere and the Raiders. The Raiders were very popular during the '60s and were probably best known for the song, Indian Reservation.

The Raider's Coach was built from a stagecoach body and was drawn by a set of twin 428ci GTO engines. The car was complete with amplifiers, a Continental organ and Cragar Wheels. The car was used mostly for promotional purposes.

The model kit of the Raider's Coach was originally issued in the late '60s by AMT. The kit I am building here is the re-issued model from 2000. This was leftover stock when I closed my hobby shop back in 1999. This kit is now 25-years old and was still factory sealed when I started this project. So, let's get this thing goin'!

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Hello! I'm Mr. Ed

Blog Created: 5-3-2025

Last Updated: 6-13-2025

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The car being built at George Barris' shop.

The Raider's Coach on display.

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Safety notices printed in all kinds of languages. What safety? I'm not going to drive it, just build it.

The parts trees came in two plastic bags - sealed.

Every part will need to be painted.

The four front tires are rubber. For some reason, the rear tires are molded plastic.

The decal sheet looks a bit iffy. This kit is only five years old. The decals look 30. They may work out, we'll see!

I've looked over the instruction sheet. They look pretty easy to follow.

Paint colors needed. I use all Testors paints.

The undercarriage is painted semi-gloss black.

The coach body is also semi-gloss black.

The large slick tires are painted flat black.

The drapes and all seat cushions are painted yellow.

The rear seat inside has an amp in the center. This will be painted a different color later.

The interior floor is painted flat black.

Other pieces are painted flat black also.

The two manifolds are painted silver.

The exhaust pipes are also painted silver. So is the part of the rear axle pumpkin.

Other parts are painted semi gloss black.

The coach top is painted semi gloss black.

The engine halves are all painted red.

The front end grill housing and top plate are actually a dark orange. I mixed red with a small amount of yellow to get the color shade.

All of the speakers and backs are painted semi gloss black.

The organ is painted flat white.

There are two rails for the body that are painted flat white as well.

The ring of the steering wheel is painted semi gloss black. The spokes are left as chrome.

The fan belt pullies are painted silver.

While the silver is out and opened, I painted the caps on the water coolant jugs.

The two engine block halves are glued together for each engine.

Next, I painted the yellow panels over the coach body windows and doors.

Then I painted the organ keys semi gloss black.

More to the engines are added.

The two carbonators are painted gold.

The starters are glued onto each engine.

Then the silver knobs on the amps are painted.

Now the gold carburetor's are glued onto the engines.

The inner exhaust pipes are glued on.

The distributor caps are painted blue.

The chrome valve covers are glued in place.

The fan belts are glued to the twin engines mount.

The right engine is glued to the engine mount.

The four inner wheels to the front carriage need to be cut out. I had to use a hobby knife for this. I don't know why I did these like this. But the centers need to be removed. The instructions do not tell you this.

The four front carriage tires and wheels are done. These do not need to be glued. They fit very well.

The large rear "slick" tires are plastic and are glued together. Why these two tires are plastic when the smaller ones are all rubber is a mystery to me.

The inner wheels and chome rims are glued to the slicks.

The rear axle housing is glued in place.

The rear axle cover is glued on.

The front axle is glued together.

The twin oil pans are now glued on. This is a chrome piece.

The wheel hubs are glued on for the rear wheels.

The chrome grill inserts are glued on.

The front axle is assembled.

While the glue dries on the frame parts, I am going to install the decals.

DECALS ~

If you've never worked with water-slide decals before, the ones in this kit are pretty easy. Just cut out the decal you want and drop the cut-out decal into a pan or cup of luke warm water. The water should be slightly warm for the best results, but NOT hot.

Leave the decal in the water for about 15 to 30 seconds and, very gently, try to slide the decal off of it's backing. If it won't slide, submerge it again only for a few more seconds until it will slide freely.

Now, place the decal onto the area of the model where it will go. Slide the decal directly onto the plastic surface of the model from the backing of the decal.

While the decal is still wet, very gently slide it into place, then leave it. Some decals should be blotted with a paper towel to get air bubbles and creases out. The decals in this kit worked well and did not need blotting.

Be very careful as to not pull the decal to hard as it is easy to tear them.

The decals are cut out and dropped in water.

First decal is in place on the model;.

Second decal is on.

As far as the body decals, once a decal is cut out, place it onto the body to make sure it's the proper one for that area. See if it fits first and then drop it in the water.

Lastly, the decals over the door openings and windows are placed.

The coach body decals are finished.

Now the decals are done on the front "tractor" section.

WARNING!

I had problems with these decals on the front end. These are thin and the want to tear very easily. Once each one is put onto the plastic and you try to arrange them, they stick to your fingers and rip. Be very careful with the front end decals.

The two chrome traction bars are glued onto the front axle.

White the glue dries, I paint the inside of the coach body side panels.

NOTE:

In the next step of the instructions, it shows the twin engines being installed to the frame. I decided to put the engines in one at a time. I thought that doing the engines together may result in them not lining up properly or whatever. So, to make it easier for the engines to be placed, I did them one at a time.

The first engine is glued in place.

Next, the second engine is glued in.

While the glue dries on the engines, I assemble the sides of the coach body to the roof section.

Now, the fan belt assembly is glued to the engines.

The short driveshafts are glued in place.

The exhaust pipe is glued to the side of one of the engines.

The front end is glued together.

Coachlight headlights are glued to the front panel.

Then the other side exhaust pipe is glued on.

Now the four front tires go onto the front carriage.

The backs to the two front side speaker boxes are glued on.

The emblems on the speakers are painted silver. I used a toothpick for this instead of a paint brush.

The fan blades and fan housings are assembled on the radiators.

The fans setup is glued in place.

Starting on the coach body, I first glued in the amp and the battery box in the front section.

Then in the rear section, the synthesizer is glued into place.

Noe the rear seat is glued in.

It's coming together.

The coolant jugs are glued to the radiators and the hoses go around to the front of the engines.

Then, the injector plates are glued to the carburetors.

The second seat is glued to the coach floor.

The front end is glued on.

Then, the side speaker boxes are glued in place.

The injector tubes are glued in place. This finishes the engines.

Now the coach body is glued to the floor.

I had to wrap a rubber band around the front driver's seat compartment. It's normal on plastic models for there to be a little warping and the sides needed to be drawn inward until t he glue sets.

Now the hubs are glued to the rear axle.

The organ keyboard is glued into the rear of the body.

The front engines dolly is finished and can be set aside now.

I fit the rear slick tires on the rear axle to see if they would go on easily. They do. So I took them back off for now..

The rear end pieces are glued on.

The steering wheel is glued to the column and set into the glue tube cap to dry so that the wheel does not go sideways.

The tail light coach light needs to be painted red.

I used a toothpick to apply a dote of red paint to the light lens.

Now, the rear axle and springs are glued into place.

The rear of the coach is almost finished.

Now the brake linkage rod is glued onto the front end of the coach body.

Then the steering linkage rod is glued on.

Now the two front leaf springs and shocks are glued in place.

Then the pivot arm is glued on. I put a heavy coat of glue on this piece as it will connect to the engine dolly and will steer the vehicle. I don't want it coming apart.

The front crossbar is glued on.

The underside of the frontend is finished. Now the two rear slick tires are put on.

The body assembly is done. A few finishing touches are at hand. The driver's seat area assembly is next. This model is almost at an end.

First, the chrome gas peddle is glued in place.

All the driver's seat pieces are now glued in place.

The coach light tail light is glued to the rear speaker box.

The last pieces to be added are the four side coach lights. Two to each side of the coach body.

These two coach lights are the last pieces to be glued on. The Raider's Coach is finished!

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FINISHED MODEL ~

Even the lemons are happy to see it done.

Model Review:

I guess the model turned out alright. I swear, this has got to be one of the ugliest show cars ever created. But, I suppose, it's sort of unique. A stagecoach with two V-8 engines. Who would have ever thought that was possible? George Barris of course. This thing would have gotten you from Tombstone to Denver in about an hour back in the old west. But the roads at the time would have beat it to death.

If your going to build this model, it's only worth about $20 or so. As a collector piece, un-opened, the original kit is anyone's guess as far as value. The kit is fairly easy to build. The parts all fit pretty well and painting is easy. The decals in the re-issued kit like this one work pretty good but need to have care when applying them. In an original kit, I have my reservations.

All in all, it's a fun kit to build. If you stay with it, it can probably be done in a few days allowing for glue drying times. As a finished model, it has a good appearance if you like the weird and crazy creations of the 1960s show cars. George Barris was a master car designer and builder and this one shows it. If you are building this kit, have fun with it and good luck. Talk to you later ~

Paul Revere and the Raiders are so glad to have this model finished, they're having a party to celebrate.

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Click On This Image To See This Kit For Sale

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