Monday, May 18, 2020

Beef up those hinges

The resin van body didn't come with any details, so it's time to improvise. Starting at the front, I'm using the Revell bumpers, but with a strip of plastic down the centre and a lot of sanding to make them look a lot less like the Europa version and more like the classic blades.

The moulded hinges aren't really big enough but a bit of microstrip stuck on with superglue beefs them up. While I'm there, the door handles need an extra layer so they are prominent enough. I remember the joys of sticky-out handles that became cold enough to freeze up. Lock de-icer (kept in the house) usually cured it, although I'm told peeing on them would work in an emergency...

Around the back, there weren't any hinges, but there are now. A door catch also goes on. Since I can't find any photos of a van variant that looks like this I'm making the best guess as to what I need.

I don't need a bumper as no van seems to have one and in this case it would stop the door opening. I do need tail light through and so some custom flat ones are the best bet as the slope of the body would preclude standard VW items.

2 comments:

Huw Griffiths said...

Are those tail lights "home brews" or "after market" parts?

As for any "chromed" parts, did you paint these with metallic enamel, or just use some of that foil tape they sell in Screwfix, Toolstation and (sometimes) certain well known German supermarkets?

Phil Parker said...

Probably aftermarket. They have the hint of early Type 2 van about them in my mind, although I've not bothered with anything like a ruler to make them.

Chrome will be Humbrol silver as I have a pot to hand. I will check out the foil tape though - thanks for the heads up.