Dodge Van - Camper Trailer - Minor Progress 3-8-15

[wraith]

way cool!

some very outstanding work!

[cobra98]

Very Nice, looks great!!

[Tom Geiger]

Today's work... I concentrated on finishing up some interior details. There was a spot on the counter just screaming for a coffee maker. So I took a measuring tape to ours and duplicated it in scale. The only difference is that ours is black and I decided to paint this one antique white to show off the details that would've gotten lost if I painted it black. Also, I wanted to contrast with the microwave next to it.

The coffeemaker is nothing more than some Evergreen sheet scraps. The bottom of it is a bit of basswood. The printed controls came from Jim's Mini Site, they were on a microwave oven so I cut out what I needed. The burner is a small headlight lens painted flat black. I like to take pictures because I see things I don't in person. I will need to sand down the lid handle on top a bit.

The coffee cup is lead from a mess set cast for 1/35 scale military modelers. I went to an IPMS show to look for neat stuff and found it. I also have the coffee pot that I'm working on from the same set. There are also dishes that will make it onto the counter and into the sink. I have two cups and just didn't want to have two white ones on the counter so I found this tiny little decal. I don't know what it is, but it passes for a character cup.

I didn't get a ton done today, but I'm pleased with what I've got. I'm not working by the hour, I enjoyed my afternoon.

[Tom Geiger]

Let's call the interior DONE! Finished this up last evening.

Here's the overall scene. I was very careful not to over do it. I wanted it to look like a camper one of us was using, say to travel to Hershey and Carslile, not something from "Hoarders". The counter doesn't look much worse than the one in my house in the morning! At this point everything is glued in place.

I dirtied up the floor a bit, it was just too white. I added the single shoe, simply because I only had one! You know those big bags of random parts and junk you find at model shows? Don't throw away the pure junk and broken parts. One of those was a 1/25 scale leg. I liberated the shoe from it.

Counter view... the coffee maker is in place. I made the coffee pot last night. I didn't know what to use for the clear section and was looking for clear sprue, but nothing was big enough. Then it hit me.. a clear drinking straw was just the right size! I added some painted coffee in the bottom. The top is some round thing from my parts box that was the right size and the top had an interesting indent, not a lot different from my own 1:1 coffee pot. I added half a staple for the handle and sprayed it flat black. The inside is full of clear window glue right now. It will be hazy until it dries clear. I used the dishes and cups from that 1/35 scale military detail set. Silverware... there's a fork on the plate, knife and bottle opener on the counter top and a spoon in the sink. They came from a Detail Master photo etch sheet. They are tiny! Do you know how tough it is to make a knife that small look dirty? LOL

The food on the plate is just green putty. The napkin is scrunched up rolling paper. I think it was Terry Jessee that once gave the tip that rolling paper is thin enough to be 1/25 scale paper. I will add a roll of paper towels to the wall above the sink and she's done.

Last view for today.. the sink has two plates and a cup, along with the spoon. Note that you will look at all of this through the windows, and the top section will come off too. There are a few things I'm trying not to redo since they'll look fine through glass. Other than that, I'm pretty pleased with the project.

The above was done last evening. I was too busy today and through the weekend, so I will move on to weathering the body next week. Until then!

Edited December 8, 2012 by Tom Geiger

[Randy D]

Hi Tom, This is a great project!! The interior is awesome with all the neat details. The missing trim on the outside is nice touch.

Randy

[charlie8575]

Very nice work, Tom.

Charlie Larkin

[baloney]

i love the dodge vans.

[kilrathy10]

That looks just too cool...Excellent work...I absolutely love it...

Edited December 10, 2012 by kilrathy10

[Tom Geiger]

Here's some progress pix, note that everything is just mocked up and some items are taped in place to get a sense of overall look and feel. This afternoon was spent weathering the body and top side accessories. I like to take a lot of pictures to review the build because I see a lot of things that I don't see in person.

Rear view - the little back porch is done. I've pretty much built up the Yamaha motorcycle, then I found I had a resin copy of a smaller Honda scooter. That fits more into the size I was looking for. It will be tied up to the railing. I'm also putting a spare tire up there. While I was rediscovering resin I didn't know I had, I also found a cooler that was quickly painted and put into the interior. The windows all have glass in them now and are ready to mount.

Front view- A/C unit will be put up higher. I need to see it's relationship to the closet inside the camper. The trailer tongue and chassis haven't been weathered yet. I ran out of steam today!

The bare side of the unit. The small hole towards the front will be the water supply inlet.

Top View- The weathering on the rack was done by using pastel chalks and Dull Cote to paint the rust on. Once it was done, I then gave it a dusting of flat white to get the look I was hoping to achieve. Then I rusted the bolt heads and hooks. The dog house won't be glued on, it will come off to view the interior.

So next time at the bench I need to weather up the chassis, and then we can start final assembly.

[Austin T]

Pretty cool,Might be a little late but a nice touch would be an old fake company name thats wearing off on the side with no windows.Make it look like it had a second life as a plumbing van or something.

[Tom Geiger]

^{Made a bit o' progress on the camper in the last few days. Last time I showed the weathered body, this time the underside is done.}

^{Here's the rear view with tail lights and license plate. I put them up high since there would be cargo down below. I used the Dodge tail lights from the kit since a 1:1 convertor may have done the same. The NJ Trailer plate was on a sheet Bart Orlans did. The Acme Platemaker doesn't include specialty plates like this. I may be peeling it back off to make a backing plate and include a small light.}

^{The chassis got my usual rusty underside treatment with a bit of oil under the differential. I may tone this back a bit, it's tough to see the results until it all dries. The Dodge van kit lacks shock absorbers. I had added them to the purple pickup, but may skip it here... but the more I look at it! You know how that goes.}

^{Most of the accessories are done and ready. The gas cans started out as the same 2 part can, but I modified them to different styles by changing the shape of one and adding different style handles.}

^{Here's the big home made tool box. This is the second one of these I've made for a project. The other one is in the back of my '65 Chevy pickup. I weathered it over the Duplicolor green, then misted some gloss over that for the effect.}

^{The trailer will have one suitably worn white wall. I put aside the Yamaha motorcycle since it was a bit large for the effect I desired on the back deck. Instead I found I had an SE LTD casting of a smaller Honda cycle that I'm working on now. I'm in the home stretch but there's much left to do, and I keep adding things to the project! But we should finish 'er up this year.}

Edited December 20, 2012 by Tom Geiger

[Austin T]

Pretty cool.

[Jzaaijer]

What a great project! I love it.

[Tom Geiger]

I finished up the windows last night. I was having issues working with the jalousie windows on the doors. I kept losing the little wedges and invisible panes of glass! So I kinda walked away until I could focus again (a learned behavior!) and worked on my other projects. I got back to it yesterday and conquered my mental block! The side wall casement window was previously made and just installed. The windows are open but are glued in place that way. Maybe I'll hinge them next time. The roof rack and sky light are permanently mounted at this point in the build.

Rear view shows an old house dual double hung window used. I am going to redo the license plate. I have a frame and light already made for it. Just a matter of getting it together and mounted.

The interior is done, but I still have a lot of little details I'd like to add as I finish up.

[Austin T]

Any updated on this one?

[Tom Geiger]

I got my projects mixed up and it finished up like this! Actually I haven't done any work on it since the last post. I need to get 'er done!

[Tom Geiger]

I was thinking about this project and the chance I can get it finished for the few upcoming shows I will attend. The left side had been rather bare and uninteresting so I had been saving travel sticker images from eBay and had planned on printing them out. Then I got the Revell 49 Mercury woody wagon and the decals I needed were there! Score again for procrastination!

Overall the decals came from the '49 Merc Woody, and I believe some of the surfing ones came from the '46 Ford woody. The small bumper sticker strips are actually the headers from license plate decals (Ski Utah). The scotty was on the '37 Ford pickup sheet.

I did this work a while ago and just saw I hadn't posted it. So here it is. And I do need to get this one finished. Part of my hesitation is that once I mate the body and chassis, much of the interior work will only be visible through the grimy windows and if I leave the roof dog house as removable.

[MGL]

I just discovered this one, I like it a lot. The finish on the tool box is spot on but the A/C is over the top!

[Lunajammer]

There are many ways people weather and rust, but I'd like to know your technique. It's pretty realistic.

[crazyrichard]

looking cool !

[chunkypeanutbutter]

So glad that these interesting necro-threads come back to life.

[Tom Geiger]

There are many ways people weather and rust, but I'd like to know your technique. It's pretty realistic.

Thank you! There are two different techniques there. Both involve an Earth tone chalk set and Testors Dullcote. In both I sand the chalk sticks to make dust.

The chassis is my "two brush paint technique". I start by spraying some Dullcote into a small cup. With brush one, I paint a small area with Dullcote. Then with brush two, I dip it dry into the dust. Take that and paint, like water color, into the still wet Dull cote. You can work with it as the dry brush gets wet, but it's best to clean that brush and keep it dry so not to ruin your dust pile.

The work box was scratch built from Evergreen sheet stock. Same two brushes but instead of painting with the dust for a smooth look, the dust is mashed into surface to give it texture and a 3D look. This can be repeated in layers to create more depth. The final act that gives it that sheen is that I took Testors Semi-gloss and shot it upward in the air, letting it fall down onto the part in drops.

A few notes - you will need to dedicate a few brushes to this, since you are going to ruin them for painting. I clip the end of them to ID my weathering brushes.

Second, it's not an instant thing to get good results. First, you have maybe eight different dust colors. The final look is much different than the color of each chalk stick. Think of this like doing a water color painting. You will figure out which colors to use, and what colors to use as accents over those.

And final thought. You will not see your results as you are working. It looks very different wet than what your final result will be. It's better to do a bit and walk away to let it dry to see what you have. You can always add more later. It is very easy to over do this. Less is more.

And do some research on how things actually rust. You can find a million photos on the Internet of rust and chassis and such. I have albums of photos I saved for reference and use them often.

The beauty of this is that it forms a good durable surface. The standard use of chalk dust was to brush it dry over a military model, but that wears off quickly with handling. My rust is forever!

Good luck. It's fun.

[Ken Gilkeson]

great build. ;-))

[mustang1989]

Now this.......... is just totally wild Tom! Great job on the idea, planning and building. Wow!

[426-Hemi]

Not a fan of this sort of thing, BUT GAWD it looks GREAT........... I myself just could not have brought myself to cutting up a Dodge van, but you done an awesome job at what I couldn'tve done!!!!!!!!!!

NICE work! LOVE ABSOLUTELY LOVE the weathering job!