My first Replica Rifle Kit-What do I do Now?

[Tim6]

Hello to you all, I have a Kentucky Percussion Rifle kit 45 cal., Ultra Hi, No 7072-k, made in Japan. I bought it for my dad as a Christmas present in the early 1970's when I was a kid, he never put it together ( I guess I thought it was a lot cooler than he did at the time), he gave it back to me recently, so I decided to put it together. The instructions (if there were any) are missing, but I think everything else is there. I cleaned the surface rust from the barrel and now wonder if I should blue or brown the barrel ( I have never done either, but have the bluing kit from Birchwood Casey). the brass looks machined, and I'm not sure how to make it look more original without messing it up. I really don't know where to start.
Any help or suggestions is greatly appreciated, as I have never done this before, and am cursed with being somewhat of a perfectionist, but I like to shoot, so I want it to be a shooter too.
Also, I have no idea about powder, bullets, caps, etc,...
Maybe some one has a copy of instructions for this or similiar?
Thanks for any advise!

 

[StrawHat]

There are several books on the topic of building long rifles. The one by Buchele is my favorite and lays it out step by step. It does not address "kits" in partricular but the steps are the same. Others have written similar books and may deal with kits better. Check with

http://www.logcabinshop.com/index-2.html

http://www.trackofthewolf.com/index.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1&as=1

http://www.therifleshoppe.com/

or your favorite sutler.

Good luck, they are not hard to assemble and a lot of fun to complete. Browning is more traditional to some but many were blued.

 

[Chawbaccer]

I built an Ultra Hi kit back in the 70's, the brass that came with it was rougher than a corn cob. Most of the work of building the kit was polishing the brass. If you want to make yours look aged, just wipe a bit of gun blue on it, or let nature do it over time.
As for blueing or browning, cold blue never holds up very long, I like Birchwood Casey Plum brown, it seems to last forever.

 

[Bullwinkle]

Tim6,

You might want to register over at the Muzzleloading Forum
(www.muzzleloadingforum.com). There is a wealth of information
on that site. They have a sub category in their forums called "The Gun Builders Bench" where experienced kit and custom builders share information and building tips.

Someone there might know something about the particular kit you're planning to build.