As a FYI, I ordered one of these brand new from Ford. It was called The Chateau. It's a 351 not a 302. That's suspension you were right on there called the twin I-beam. I watched you do the build and I am thrilled as an old man to be building this. The dealership even gave me Cragar's front and rear and I'm going to be doing the same thing. Mine was a total dark root beer brown metallic.I think I still have the sales brochure that I used with the dealer to buy the van. Got dual batteries in it so that I could run my refrigerator and extra power! Thank you for an excellent memory. If you remember Pinto had a color like that resembles something like that too. That's the only reason I didn't want that exact van
I had a Chevy van model and a box full of parts and I turned it into a 4x4 van with a nice lift . This was back in 75 when I never heard of such a thing and I made the front axle pivot up and down ,it was badass.
This is an old kit. I bought this 20+ years ago. I do HVAC and started building this as a work van. Started it many years ago but stopped and NOW, Im getting back to it. I'm scratch building the shelving, freon tanks, old compressor, tools, as well as a ladder roof rack made from K&S brass square stock 1- A-Frame 1- 32'extenstion ladders. I also scanned an old business card that Im gonna make my own decals with my laserjet printer. Lotz of time involved on this one. Lol
My dad had a metallic blue 1977 Ford Van just like this that was a work van. I remember when he bought it in 1982. It had old shag carpet in it! LOL I may buy this kit and build it like my dad's old van. He kept it until the early 2000's and got a newer van. I was mad that he didn't offer that van to me! :)
This is going to be my first built ever. I ended up with this cool Ford because it really stood out. I’ll be watching this video a few times lol. Side note: seeing you “toss” the parts around had me 😬
@@hpiguy It’s good to know I don’t have to be entirely gentle with the parts. I have the frame and body painted. Quick question. The black that I’m using is too flat for my liking. How can I “shine” it up? Using paint brushes.
Hey Chris, new follower and I love your reviews and builds. I'm not sure if it's in your library, but your painting techniques would be great to see. I know there are many out there, but everyone has their way. You seem to motor right through your builds and they all turn out so great. Not new to model building but recently got back in to it after a few decades of absence. Many new chemicals to learn about and use. Thanks for all your great videos.
Wow. Never would have thought just by coating the molded plastic colour (the metalic silver) that it could come up that good without a layer of silver paint. Awesome build, and I learned something.
Nice build , A friend of my father had one of these back in 1977 the year I graduated High School. I always thought it was super custom.. it was the era of the van builds it even spilled over into Hot Rod Magazine
I just started this one, it is my first model kit. Gotta say, mine does not look this good so far, but hopefully I'll get better as I learn. Thanks for posting!
Love it...iv been goin after a lot of obscure 70's stuff lately...seems like an era that didnt get enough attention in the modeling industry or car hobby period...short of course of 1970....
I'm really glad they include both the prototype and production decals. For those mentioning the Jeff Dunham Cruising van it uses the prototype decal pattern.
Great review, Chris! I remember the days when cruisin' vans were the coolest set of wheels available. Someone around here had one of the Coca Cola Denim Machines.
That's definitely a sharp looking van and as i commented im not a big fan of vans and minvans probably because i have done motor and transmission and cylinder head work on some of both..
Nice! That is likely a 351m or 400 motor I would think...color is correct either way. I had that kit in my hand yesterday...put it down. Now I have to go get it again!
Ford trucks - Twin I-Beam suspension. It was simple and it worked well for it’s time. I fad a 77 F-150 4x4 in almost the same color scheme. Nice build.
Nice build, I thought you were supposed to put the back tinted port windows in, they sure look like a decal to me.was waiting for you to say something about it. But overall, I loved. Good work bro.
Those round side windows and all the other different shapes that were around for custom vans came about because of a rule on the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey. In an effort to limit commercial Traffic on that highway, any vehicle that did not have side windows was banned from using it. Custom vanners did not want big old windows interrupting their murals so the small and stylish windows got around the rule and enhanced the vans even more. About two years ago I was walking past a contractor's van and noticed he had the round side windows put in, or so I thought. When I looked closer, those "windows" turned out to be to black circles of some kind of adhesive tape! That Bastard! So your use of the decals on the model is not unacceptable.
I built this long, long ago and I seem to recall that the decals were supposed to go underneath the kit's plastic dome windows to give it a bit of depth without needing to cut into the body.
The suburban Chicago fire department i served at had an 85 ford van for hazardous materials response when i started my career in 1986 same thing almost but with different lights and grill the van served till 2000 when it was retired due to age
I am not sure how I found your channel, but I am glad I did, and I have subscribed. I am not a modeler, but really enjoy watching your videos, they are very interesting and satisfying. Your format and and presentation is excellent and I appreciate your enthusiasm and talent. Well done !
Just found your channel over the weekend!!😁😁great reviews and content!!alot of helpful hints and tips!!great channel!! been out of model for 4-5 years!! have built about 300 over the last 30 years or so!!,still have 90% of them today,although a few parts have fallen off!!😂😂😂😂Thanks for the great videos!!
Pretty sharp van! I dunno if it was the light, or if it was something you forgot, but one of the panel line of the side door didn't seems to go over the decal.
I just started doing the same exact kit, can you please tell me what type of model paint pen or marker you used on the grill and wheels? I noticed the inners on the wheels are painted black. Thank you for your help
Do you have any videos that show your technique for painting the rims and the detail-work of the body, such as the door spaces and the chrome and black grill? Also, how do you tint glass? I am dying to figure out how you managed to apply those skills so flawlessly! It makes a huge difference in the finished product to do the detail work. Any advice or links to those “ how to” videos would be greatly appreciated. You do fantastic work man!! Thanks 🙏
Not really into vans or minivans but that is pretty cool, and I cannot remember if it was a snap tite model or not but my uncle when I was younger had a metallic silver i think monogram i think it was the Chevy blazer but it may have been the suburban anyway anyone remember this kit or have you seen it 75-79 i think but I know i was a round eye gm square body truck and not 4x4
Would it be possible to get a wheelbase measurement? I have an RC project that I'd like to put this body on... With that said, nice work on the build, especially with the details. I was surprised you used the molded color for the body; most of the time I've found "metallic" colored bodies to have "swirls", etc, was this one pretty clean?
Yep, a Windsor. Had a '79 Vista Van, was a camper/conversion van. 4 Captain's chairs a sink and counter,the n a booth type seat that made into pretty dang comfortable bed. Got it from my grandparents,who had for 15 years and I drove it til the 3rd $250 ignition switch went out.
See you decided not to go with the small round tinted windows, instead opting for the decals in their place. Great job. Really like the 2 tone work. That's always been hard for me when the one tone is left in it's natural plastic color. For some reason the paint doesn't creep over one another if using all paint compared to paint then plastic for tones. Have you completed a 1/16 th Kenworth or Mack truck?
Can you build one of those for me with all the detail? What I am doing, since I remember this van from my childhood days is, buying a new 2021 Ford van and I will have it painted to look like the 1977 van. I just want the vintage model to travel with me wherever I go, in case people ask me why I chose the vintage look that I did.
New subscriber! Awesome work and attention to detail! You have inspired me to get back into the model hobby. Just picked up the AMT 1968 Shelby GT-500. Debating if I want to make it factory, barn find, or as Steve McQueens "Eleanor"! Looking forward to your next build!
what happened to the side windows you said you were going to use.? I only see the decal "windows" instead. I was hoping for that little bit of realism vs the flat 2D decals...
Even though this kit is a different color and decals. it looks allot like the van from the old Hardy Boys tv series if anyone has seen it on the rerun channels. theirs was a gold or bronze color, with like a sundown type decal. but this reminds me allot of that van.
@Writer B.L. Alley Correct. I have the Revell kit in my stash still sealed. It is a '77 or '78 GMC with brush guard, 4 square headlights, slim rectangle windows, and completely different paint scheme. The only neat feature of the kit is a complete detailed interior.
No, once fully dry it's made to be walked on. Remember, it's floor polish. If it showed fingers it would show big foot prints too and housewives would hate it.
I often hear you saying that the parts are off to the 'parts washer'. What are you using? I usually use warm water and dishsoap in the sink but would like to do something more 'professional'. Thanks.
Spare shoulda mounted on the left back door. That way you could open the right hand door(which opens first) without screwing withe swing away mount. If that's what the destructions said,they wrong.
Is there a trick to getting that embossed Ford logo painted? Picked this one up as my first shot at painting and it's kicking my butt. Keep getting white on the rest of the hood and it's a bit too small to just mask off effectively.
@@hpiguy I was thinking about that! Also was thinking a "reverse stamp" sort of approach might work - spread some paint out thin on a surface then press the logo up against it.
Nice groove model kit like your car stand for painting the models I always use a 1 half of a block of wood with a metal stand thinking this would killer as a 4x4
The future floor polish by pledge to imitate the vinyl interior and tops is a awesome touch i have never thought of that but I learned along time ago with the engine parts, and the primer for the body and most paints for the bodies you are better off buying the Walmart spray aresol cans usually rustolem and krylon and the,,duplicolor and vht parts store paint lol,, remember the chezoom testors Boyd's purple metallic and the teal pearl exclusive paints i had one of both when they came out both cans $25 ouch true i painted two complete model kits and halfassed a third one but not worth the money in my opinion... the Ford blue oval and the mirror options you were talking about remember the 65 ford f100 service body mobeius model king truck kit!!?
I discovered your channel last weekend and I watched every car/pickup/van/truck you've built in 2 days. Some of them twice. I couldn't wait for a new video to come out. The van looks really cool and as I was watching your video I realized this is a take on the factory striping (I wonder if AMT will issue a matching Pinto Wagon as well). Quick question, what did you use for tinting the windows? I never saw or read about this before.