A Team van

[avidinha]

I'm building a replica of the A Team van from the original 1983 release.

I got it from EBay a few years ago. It's pretty beat up, but still sealed.

Everything inside is in pretty good shape considering how the outside looked. It's so old that the metal axle is rusted.

The windshield was resting against the side of the box so it's a little scratched up, but I think I can polish it out.

I was surprised by how many extra parts it came with.

It even came with a B. A. figure.

I'm going to swap out the tires for some from my parts box that already have the white letters on them. Still not correct for the 1:1 van, but better that what it came with.

More next time.

[DJMar]

Such a cool project!

4 hours ago, avidinha said:

I was surprised by how many extra parts it came with.

IIRC, there are 3 sets of wheels in this one, including steelies with small hubcaps.

[avidinha]

8 minutes ago, DJMar said:

Such a cool project!

IIRC, there are 3 sets of wheels in this one, including steelies with small hubcaps.

Thanks!

Yes, that's right. I was excited to see the small hubcaps, they're perfect for a project I'm working on.

[slusher]

Definitely a cool build to follow!

[avidinha]

I got the chassis painted semi gloss black and assembled.

I also got the engine assembled and painted. I'm just going to build the engine box stock. The hood doesn't open and I'm not planning on cutting it open.

I forgot to sand the trim off the body before I glued the fender flares on. It made it a little harder, but I was still able to do it.

I'm hoping to get the body painted before winter sets in and it's too cold to paint.

More next time.

[slusher]

Nice start!  I always watched the show..

[avidinha]

I got some more done on the van.

I got the belly pan painted, gray on top, semi gloss black on the bottom.

I got the engine together, but I just couldn't get it to fit between the frame and engine cover. I'll probably just leave it out since the hood doesn't open anyway. It never hurts to have another small block Chevy in the parts box.

I went ahead and mounted the chassis to the belly pan and painted the other interior pieces. It only came with 2 seats, but the A Team van has 4 seats, I'm going to check my parts box for a couple seats that match.

I also went ahead and painted the many fog lights gloss black with some chrome paint to simulate the lenses. Once the chrome is properly dry, I'll go over the appropriate sets with some clear yellow.

We're going to have some nice weather over the weekend, then snow on Tuesday. I'm hoping I can get some paint done before it snows.

More next time.

Edited October 24, 2024 by avidinha

[Leica007]

Lookin' good so far, hope to see more soon.

[Jonathan]

Oh man, this is cool!

[slusher]

Looking really good, engine and seats look terrific, looking forward to more.

[avidinha]

I masked off the roof and started on the red stripe.

Unfortunately when I pulled some of the masking tape up, it pulled up some of the red paint with it, so into the purple pond she went. Winter has set in, so I won't be able to paint anything until April.

I got the black on the wheels. I'm planning on hand painting the red, so I should be able to get a rolling chassis soon.

I was also able to get some color on the bumpers/grill and spoiler.

More next time.

 

[mrm]

Oh, boy. This brings back memories!

[slusher]

Man, that’s some bad Luck, everything is looking great..

[Mattilacken]

Nice build! Why can’t you paint during winter? No sprayboth? That sucks never the less. I had to build a both so I could paint since our winter is so long here above the arctic circle.

[avidinha]

5 hours ago, Mattilacken said:

Nice build! Why can’t you paint during winter? No sprayboth? That sucks never the less. I had to build a both so I could paint since our winter is so long here above the arctic circle.

Yup, that's exactly it. I don't have a booth and I don't really have a place for one. It took my a while to get used to the new climate. I used to live in Houston where, as long as it wasn't raining, it was pretty much painting weather all year.

[avidinha]

I brush painted the red on the wheels and used a 1mm Molotow chrome pen on the lug nuts.

Then I mounted them and the tires. The seats aren't glued in yet, I was just mocking them up.

 

I also got the body out of the purple pond and back in primer.

I probably won't have any more updates until spring, I've gotten about as far as I can get without having the body painted.

 

[slusher]

Nice progress, Fall I good painting weather..

[Mattilacken]

Btw, if you would use acrylics such as Ammo mig new line of colors, and an AB you could do it almost anywhere as long as you have a area where it’s not fragile.

[avidinha]

We had a couple days of painting weather and I was able to get the body painted. It's going to need some touch ups, but it came put pretty good.

More next time.

[Mattilacken]

Looks great! Glad to se that you got it in paint!

[slusher]

Great looking paint! Maybe you will get it cleared!

[avidinha]

We had a couple days of painting weather and I was able to get some clear on the body.

I want to get a couple more coats of clear on it, but that will have to wait for some more good weather.

I was also able to get the grill detailed an I got the license plates on.

More next time.

Edited March 5 by avidinha

[WillyBilly]

Great build, and detail. 

[Brenton]

Those A-Team van kits aren’t cheap! One of the few models I’ve seen where the stripe is accurate to the tv show! Great work!

[avidinha]

I got everything out of paint. Now on to final assembly.

Hopefully I'll be able to get it done in the next week or so.