Tom Geiger Posted December 15, 2015 Posted December 15, 2015 Here they are, finally finished! I actually finished them up about two weeks ago but was very busy with work, and away doing so the past two weekends. These two fought me all the way. I kept thinking that I couldn't even finish these friggin snap kits. Came close to turning in my modeler credentials! Caravan CV which stood for "Commercial Van". This one was originally light blue and fell victim to a paint mishap where the red plastic reacted with the final clear coat. Disaster! But life isn't about how you screw up, it's how you recover. So we brushed ourselves off and moved forward. Slowly. The low end Caravans had a different bumper than the high end LEs that the kit was based on so we modified it. Commercial style wheels were stolen from a recent Impala PD car. The taxi wasn't any kinder to me. The Revell supplied decals went psycho on me when I added a bit o' clear coat. I had the decals in a decal file, so I never noticed the disclaimer on the '37 Ford pickup instruction sheet that the decals were incompatible with just about anything. Then we involved a second set of decals and sorted it all out. The door facing us had to be repainted and doesn't match, so it oddly looks like a sloppy taxi repair that fits into the build. The phone number is my old home phone from when I lived in New Jersey. I made the taxi topper from sheet stock and found the Atlantic City ad as a banner ad on a website. It's just paper glued to the plastic. Also notice that I did a lot of serious masking on the glass on both of these vans. Rear end of the taxi. I added the rear wiper, measuring it off on my 1:1 Grand Caravan. The correct NJ Taxi plates were for sale on eBay... real ones. I swiped the photo and reduced it to size. The stop light up on the topper is actually a custom tail light from the AMT '57 Ford kit. The back side of the CV. I had to make the Dodge and Caravan CV decals since nobody has ever done a commercial windowless Caravan! The Pennsylvania commercial plate was created by someone else and given to me on paper. I had it in my decal box. And this shot is why I built these two together. I just love the contrast of two completely different commercial Caravans! The taxi is a fictitious unit from Atlantic City, NJ. The CV represents my actual consulting company, but I don't really have any vans. Hope you like these, I am sure glad to get them off the bench. There is a build thread for these here on the board if you wish to see the progress. Reviewing these photos I see little things I will touch up, otherwise they are done! They are sitting in the place of honor up next to my TV in the den right now.
Ramfins59 Posted December 15, 2015 Posted December 15, 2015 Great job in getting these finished up Tom. Ya gotta love it when you finally overcome all the obstacles and beat them into submission...... My usual victory comment is "They're only plastic...... and I'm smarter...!!!"
Sixties Sam Posted December 15, 2015 Posted December 15, 2015 Great builds, Tom! It's nice to see something different like these vans. At first, I thought that first photo was of real cars!Sam
wayne swayze Posted December 15, 2015 Posted December 15, 2015 Nice builds Tom. Good to see "light commercial" vehicles that are more up to date. Realistic enough to be parked outside someone's house. Well done!
Foxer Posted December 16, 2015 Posted December 16, 2015 Two good looking working vans .. I love builds with a purpose!
MeatMan Posted December 16, 2015 Posted December 16, 2015 Very nice builds. They look ready to go to work!
Tom Geiger Posted December 16, 2015 Author Posted December 16, 2015 Thank you everyone! I had fun (and frustration) with these and I'm glad they are complete. But it's never over... I was in Florida last week and there was a Dodge Caravan hearse parked out front of a funeral home.... hmmmm
Atmobil Posted December 16, 2015 Posted December 16, 2015 Really cool to see these built and they are nicely done aswell
kilrathy10 Posted December 18, 2015 Posted December 18, 2015 This is a pretty cool set of minivans.....Great work on both.....Love the details.....
Chuck Most Posted December 18, 2015 Posted December 18, 2015 Very cool build-ups of a much-overlooked subject. Bet you won't see 50 others just like them at the next show or contest.
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