1964 Econoline

Well...

Ummmm...

About those doors...

While sanding in prep for primer I managed to snap not one, but two of those little receiver rings off. I barely touched them and BING gone. The Lindberg plastic is apparently far more brittle than I realized.

So

Everything has come off (pictures eventually) and I am starting all over with folded over thin styrene sheet as the receiver and fine wire as the post. On the plus side this method results in a much more scale and accurate depiction of the hinges. The bad part remains to be confirmed but I suspect they will not stand up to repeated opening and closing very well so it may end up with permanently open doors. That wouldn't be horrible since it can still be seen closed on the drivers side and the interior is really the star of the show for the passenger side anyway. 

I also need to get some coats of buildable primer on it to make sure I can get the slight curves of the transitions in the body creases correct. By using such thin material I sort of restricted myself to how much shaping I can do. If the primer fails I will try a very thin skim of filler putty for shaping. If that fails then I will build the doors all over again but with styrene of the next thickness up. If that doesn't cut it that will be the final nail in the coffin for closing doors since when open you cant see the outer skin anyway.

I will eventually win one way or the other. 

Well after a brief intermission it is back to work on this.

Nice pair of late 60s/early 70s, cheap, made in Japan (when made in Japan still meant cheap) resonated side pipes and the whole three scale feet of exhaust pipe that hooks directly to the headers. No mufflers were harmed in the manufacturing of the exhaust system on the real thing nor model.

Reworked door hinges. Work great and hinges  are very close to scale size. The will need some tweaking for size and shape once I get all the layers of paint on but that will be relatively easy.

Doors and their hinges look great!  Open the doors, turn up the stereo, and let the party begin!

tjs

MR TOM SCHRY

Doors and their hinges look great!  Open the doors, turn up the stereo, and let the party begin!

tjs

 

8 track player with 5 band equalizer and appropriate era home cabinet speakers ready to blow doors back off!

In primer

Lookin' good-er an' good-er. 

DUSTER

Lookin' good-er an' good-er. 

 

And good-er

Tcoat

 

 

DUSTER

Lookin' good-er an' good-er. 

 

 

 

 

And good-er

 

You got that right 

OK, so I spent hours and hour spraying two coats of super gloss black lacquer, then clear coating and polishing to Concours level shine, took the body back up to the bench took one long look at it and went back to the spray booth.

It was a beautiful shiny black van but it was not MY black van. My van had a 6 year old enamel paint job, never saw wax at any point while I owned it and was washed with a brush at a U-Wash booth when it go washed at all. It needed to have a fully intact but bit scruffy and mottled shiny finish. 

I sprayed a coat of Tamiya semi gloss black over it but that was not shiny enough and far, far to smooth and even. Next step was to spray a light coat of Future over the whole thing. This brought the gloss way back up again so I used some Windex to remove much of it leaving it more uneven with some areas less glossy than others. Then I took an 800 grit sanding stick and added (GASP)swirl marks and light scrapes. 

It is now perfect and looks like the real thing not a garage queen show van!

Tcoat, it looks van-tastic!  That paneling on the interior looks so "period" correct too!  "Keep on trucking"

tjs

Ha ha, those tall speakers sitting on the bed remind me of one of my friend's first car - a rickety Datsun B210 with similar speakers occupying the back seats!  Riding in the back, between the speakers, was miserable!  My friend took a long time to get the hang of stick shift, and the volume on his stereo was off/full blast.  Styx made me deaf I think.  His driving abilities would have better matched Devo's "Jerking Back and Forth".  

Many years later, another friend's wife taught me how to drive stick in 20 minutes.  I think playing car-type arcade video games helped a lot!  But it did take me 3 tries to get the car moving from a standstill on a steep hill.

Seeng your model brought back fun memories.

I scoured the internet for just the right colour paneling! This is bang on.

Speakers mounted in their proper position.

Added some clutter and decorating to give some colour and interest. Posters are 100% accurate to what was there and the 8-track tapes on the doghouse as well.  I did make some concessions to history with the magazines since I was not building models nor reading model magazines at age 19. 

Helmet and duffle bag made out of epoxy putty and textured foil from chip dip lids. Added some mud and dirt made from sawdust to the carpet because I usually tracked a bunch in and the maid only came by twice a week.

Hello!

Lookin' good! So how exactly was this wood panelling made? Came out really great.

And what's the story about the helmet? I'd love to hear this one!

Thanks for sharing and good luck finishing this build, have a nice day

Paweł

Pawel

Hello!

Lookin' good! So how exactly was this wood panelling made? Came out really great.

And what's the story about the helmet? I'd love to hear this one!

Thanks for sharing and good luck finishing this build, have a nice day

Paweł

 

The wood paneling is just a picture of appropriate era, colour and pattern '70s wood paneling printed it scale, glued on with white glue and coated with Future for gloss. 

The helmet requires more back story with a sequence of events that will eventually answer why I had military gear in my van all the time.

I grew up just this side of the poverty line and although not poor we had no money for things like sports or hobbies that cost much. My next door neighbour was a WW2 vet (RAF) and would talk to me about things for hours which resulted in my having an interest in the military. In 1971, when I was 12, I joined Sea Cadets as it was free and you actually got paid for summer training. Back then the Cadets trained with and received the same qualifications as the Reserves. When I was 17 I could join the Reserves and all we had in the city was Army so that is where I went. All my qualifications carried over so I did not have to do any basic, went right into trade training and became a Mobile Support Equipment Operator (truck driver). When I hit 18 I transferred over to regular force and again the qualifications stayed. So here I was an 18 year old already qualified at a SPC4 (E4 now?) rate. When I transfer I had the normal option for choosing my three preferred bases to be stationed at (you may or may not have received any of them but it was nice of them to ask) or the very rarely picked "will accept any short term assignments". So being 18 at a rank that meant I would not end up with all the bad jobs no matter where I went I checked the little box saying anywhere, anytime. They immediately shipped me off the Germany for a year. When I came back I was immediately sent to another base for 3 weeks, then another for 2 then another for a month.

Sooooo... I picked up the van and loaded all my gear into it. Any assignment that was within a couple of days drive I took the van this way I had my own vehicle what at the base. I did this for a coupled more years until I decided to settle down and stay at one base. It was a GREAT deal for a teenager really.

It was nice to have everything ready all the time so I could just pick up and go and that is why the helmet is there. I have now added my web belt with canteen and first aid packet and rolled up beret with cap badge so the contents are complete. Should have my dress uniform hanging up as well but that is beyond my sculpting skills so let's just say it was at the cleaners.

Tcoat - that's quite a story, thanks a lot for sharing! Sounds to me a bit like "have gun will travel" - no, I didn't see the series, just know the catchphrase...

I think that dress uniform would really help to say the story. Recently I pulled off something similar, although easier:

Please note the shop coat on the hanger next to the door - I made it with a material I developed, I like to call it pavelite :-) It's made by glueing a layer of aluminium foil between two layers of tissue. Spray glue is bast for this. This material is quite good for stuff like tarps, covers and so on, because it holds the wrinkles well. I think if you used tissue with really fine grain, it could hold the folds of a nicely ironed uniform well, too!

Good luck with your build and have a nice day

Paweł

Pawel

Tcoat - that's quite a story, thanks a lot for sharing! Sounds to me a bit like "have gun will travel" - no, I didn't see the series, just know the catchphrase...

I think that dress uniform would really help to say the story. Recently I pulled off something similar, although easier:

 

 

Please note the shop coat on the hanger next to the door - I made it with a material I developed, I like to call it pavelite :-) It's made by glueing a layer of aluminium foil between two layers of tissue. Spray glue is bast for this. This material is quite good for stuff like tarps, covers and so on, because it holds the wrinkles well. I think if you used tissue with really fine grain, it could hold the folds of a nicely ironed uniform well, too!

Good luck with your build and have a nice day

Paweł

 

I may give that a shot but I make a horrible tailor.

And I almost forgot a vital piece of equipment!

Section of 69 Fairlane console with shifter for the transplanted C6 tranny scratch built. The real section of console was literally cut out of the car, placed on extenders and raised up. Was a bit awkward to reach and the linkage was home made and wonky but it did get the job done.

Soon be ready to close it up. 

Tcoat, I have never wanted to see a completed build as much as I want to see this build finished.  This van project has brought back so many good memories for me!  Thanks for taking this project on and for your attention to all of the details.

tjs

MR TOM SCHRY

Tcoat, I have never wanted to see a completed build as much as I want to see this build finished.  This van project has brought back so many good memories for me!  Thanks for taking this project on and for your attention to all of the details.

tjs

 

My guess is it will be done this weekend. Unless of course I get distracted. 

Lookin Good! 

Stay Safe. 

Jim 

It's curtains for you

And interior is complete. Next up is the exterior. Not much to that though. 

MR TOM SCHRY

Tcoat, I have never wanted to see a completed build as much as I want to see this build finished.  This van project has brought back so many good memories for me!  Thanks for taking this project on and for your attention to all of the details.

tjs

 

Well didn't get done on weekend but soon very very soon.

Couple more to tide you over until finished.

Superb! And perfect stance!

That looks fantastic. I remember those vans quite fondly. Excellent paneling job you did.

Nicely done, Tcoat! I particularly like the use of the magazines in the back. Those little touches add so much personality. Great stuff!

Tim Kidwell

Nicely done, Tcoat! I particularly like the use of the magazines in the back. Those little touches add so much personality. Great stuff!

 

Thanks! I thought they would be hidden away in there but they actually stand out really well. Gives a splash of colour in a mostly black and white vehicle. Nice to know there are no copywrite infringments in the printing of the covers!

Hard to focus for a pic but you can tell what they are and of course they are clear as day in person.

Tcoat,

I apologize for not commenting earlier, but my lap top died recently.  Tcoat, this van turned out AWESOME!  The attention to all of the little details really add to its presentation.  I'm a firm believer in that if you build a model that has a personal connection to yourself, a builder will push themselves to go the extra mile in the build. I'd love to be able to travel back in time to the 70's and drive this van.  One of my favorite builds this year!

tjs