crowe-t Posted August 1, 2018 Share Posted August 1, 2018 (edited) I've been wanting to build an AMT Ford Econoline for a while now. When I was a kid I had the Vantom Econoline kit but this was before I started building models. Some of my sister's friends tried putting it together but it was a mess. I wanted it to look like it did on the box but it was white plastic and didn't get painted. Back then, in the '70's a neighbor had a 1976 Dark Brown Econoline. I thought it was the coolest van. It was the 1st time I saw one of the 'new' style Econolines. I was used to seeing the older Chevys, Dodges and Fords with the flat fronts, the motors inside and the bus size steering wheels. My neighbor's 1976 Econoline had a hood like a car and the steering wheel's size and angle was very car-like. At least that's how I saw it back then when I was young. I was in love with the new Econoline. This build is going to be similar to my neighbor's Econoline but not exact. His van had silver bumpers and stock wheels and hub caps. This build will have chrome bumpers and turbine style wheels. My neighbor's had a sunroof, a tire mounted on the rear door with a cover and tear drop windows. The interior wasn't finished off. It had all the studs showing. I remember I was fascinated by the unfinished interior. It was something I hadn't seen till then. Back then none of the vans in my neighborhood had custom finished interiors. It was a nice dream but not a lot of people could afford to have a finished interior. This build will represent all those vans that had sunroofs, cool looking side windows, tire covers, nice wheels but never had a finished interior. I started by removing the molded in pedals and scratch built a set which includes the parking brake. I straightened out the rear of the inner driver and passenger door panels. I don't know why they are angled in the kit. The details on the door panels aren't too sharp and don't include arm rests so I added some details. The indentation for the license plate was too shallow and not angled so I removed it and added some angled pieces on the sides and set it in a bit deeper. I layered .5 mm styrene sheet to make the inner sliding and rear doors. For the top of the door frames I used three .5 mm pieces of styrene glued and held in place inside the body until they held the shape. It worked nicely. I added the various studs and the spare tire support to the inside of the body. They still need some refining but so far I'm happy with how they turned out. I made a spare tire/cover and mount for the rear door. The holes are made for the tear drop windows and I scribed in the rear vertical body seam where the quarter panels attach to the rear section. I've been working on the ride height and the sunroof and will post more pictures soon. Edited August 1, 2018 by crowe-t Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renegade Posted August 1, 2018 Share Posted August 1, 2018 Great start. I like where this is going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crowe-t Posted August 1, 2018 Author Share Posted August 1, 2018 (edited) Thanks Terry! I thought about making the driver and passenger inner doors unfinished but I like the Chateau interior and styling so I think I'll just leave those and put carpeting in the front under the 2 seats. The rear will all be painted the body color. Edited August 1, 2018 by crowe-t Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classicgas Posted August 1, 2018 Share Posted August 1, 2018 Wow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disabled modeler Posted August 1, 2018 Share Posted August 1, 2018 WOW...!!! very nice work...! Amazing...! Id love to be able to find and build a replica of my old 75 Dodge van...it was a factory custom one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshue76 Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 The inner door frames are great! I'm contemplating a similar build of this van and want to open the sliding side and rear doors. I'll definitely be following along! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dominik Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 The inner Frames are awesome! Great start Michael. Keep it going Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crowe-t Posted August 3, 2018 Author Share Posted August 3, 2018 Thanks guys! I started making the inner window frames for the 2 front doors. As soon as those are done I'll post some pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 The added interior structure looks perfect. You might want to consider having the doors open, it would be a shame not to be able to see all of your interior work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crowe-t Posted August 3, 2018 Author Share Posted August 3, 2018 3 minutes ago, espo said: The added interior structure looks perfect. You might want to consider having the doors open, it would be a shame not to be able to see all of your interior work. Thanks for the nice words! I thought about it but to make it realistic the sliding door would have to slide and I'm not sure how to do it realistically. The rear door hinges would have to be made larger to work and I don't think that would look right. Looking in the windows shows the whole interior so I'm OK with the doors not opening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonye66 Posted August 4, 2018 Share Posted August 4, 2018 I think it looks great! I’ve always wanted to do something like this. Can’t wait to see more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Hamilton Posted August 5, 2018 Share Posted August 5, 2018 You most certainly know your way around a van. My hat's off to you. Excellent Work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dino246gt Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 Wow all that inner structure looks so great, awesome work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinfan5 Posted September 5, 2018 Share Posted September 5, 2018 Awesome work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crowe-t Posted September 5, 2018 Author Share Posted September 5, 2018 (edited) Thanks guys! I made the inner window frames for the front doors but still have to take some pictures. I just have a few details left and I can get it all in primer. I'll post some pictures soon. Edited September 5, 2018 by crowe-t Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TarheelRick Posted September 5, 2018 Share Posted September 5, 2018 It is easy to see you have spent some time inside a Ford Econoline. That is some beautiful interior work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crowe-t Posted September 24, 2018 Author Share Posted September 24, 2018 (edited) Thanks Ricky! My father had a Ford Econoline and my neighbor, I mentioned in my first post, had one. Here's a small update. The inside of the roof was missing the ribs so I cut some strips of .010" styrene that I added inside so it appears the roof is ribbed. I should have added the ribs before I glued in the supports. The supports didn't want to come out so I glued the ribs in between. I have to decide if I'm going to put a sunroof in, which I'm pretty sure I will and then I'll get it ready for the paint. Edited September 24, 2018 by crowe-t Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 Nice work on the interior.... or the absence of interior! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crowe-t Posted October 2, 2018 Author Share Posted October 2, 2018 Thanks Tom! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crowe-t Posted October 2, 2018 Author Share Posted October 2, 2018 (edited) Here's another update. My friend Lee(Classic Gas) sent me a sunroof from a Revell GMC Pickup. It was a bit too large so I cut it down and cut the hole in the roof. I also moved the tires inward since I don't want to use the flares that come with the kit. The rear had to be raised a few millimeters. It sat very low in the back. The tires are the custom ones that came with the Phantom kit and the wheels are Turbines from BNL Resins. Edited October 2, 2018 by crowe-t Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crowe-t Posted December 6, 2018 Author Share Posted December 6, 2018 (edited) I started painting the body. The paint is Gravity Colors Ford Brown Metallic with Gunze Mr. Super Clear airbrushed on. The inside was painted and cleared first so i masked it off before painting the outside. For the emblems I applied a light coat of body color over each emblem and a light coat of clear. I then applied the Bare Metal Foil and cut it in as if I was doing it after it was all painted. This way I wasn't painting over too much excess foil except in the middle of some of the lettering. After this I painted the body the metallic brown color. After each coat dried for about 30 minutes I used Tamiya pointed cotton swabs dipped in lacquer thinner and removed the paint from the foil. I applied Mr. Super Clear right over the whole body, emblems included. Edited December 6, 2018 by crowe-t Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renegade Posted December 6, 2018 Share Posted December 6, 2018 Great color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill lanfear Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 Excellent fabrication work! Nice paint also! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crowe-t Posted December 7, 2018 Author Share Posted December 7, 2018 Thanks guys! I'll wait a couple of weeks before I polish the paint. I'll post some more pictures soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigdrag1 Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 It looks great Michael, you have a great eye for detail.. Looking forward to seeing more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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