Volkswagen T4 1/43 - Chapa y pintura... (limited edition: 1 piece)
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January 11, 2022well, start by the beginning and the end.... real deal, die cast before any torture was done to it, and final result. now it is not longer a 500 limited edition2
January 11, 2022untouched die cast to start with. nice blue color3
January 11, 2022starting to disasemble4
January 11, 2022measuring the decals that i will need to source later. i wish i would have been so careful with the rest of the planning (including other decals)5
January 11, 2022door openers and all the other plastic and metal details needed to be removed. masking would have drove me insane... and I only broke one piece. and carpet monster did not get any of them (not that it did not try several times)6
January 11, 2022bumpers, grills, all must go. I tried to remove the headlights but it was impossible. so they were masked for 4 years.7
January 11, 2022nice vent. i needed to repaint that later. now, I wonder why i did not make a custom decal for it. it would have been quite easy....8
January 11, 2022nice vent too... but it should not be there. i saw it but forgot about it until quite late.... it would have been much easier to start with it 😛9
January 11, 2022that black stripe needed to be repainted later, of course10
January 11, 2022that plastic box should have been was a bit of a pain later, since the silver was gone from it with the minor touch....11
January 11, 2022the grill there was the only one that broke, i tried to replace it since anyway was not 100% like the real one but could not get satisfied, so eventually used the original one and the joint is not really visible.12
January 11, 2022those pins hold the glass windows.... i manage to get all but one without issue. the other was ok, but there is a risk that one day it may fall off...13
January 11, 2022the cover, i wanted to make a second one, to present the model either with the cover open or closed.14
January 11, 2022those holes were the bike holder were attached needed to be removed. pitty to destroy the VW logo in the process, but i was planning to use a decal anyway.15
January 11, 2022first step. my brother van did not have a wheel there, so it had to go16
January 11, 2022wheel gone. after that was painted/retouched/painted until hard to see it was ever there17
January 11, 2022wheel was not to be discarded, since i needed one for its correct location18
January 11, 2022added some extra holes like the real one, and added plasticard to make it the right thickness19
January 11, 2022bike holder was ok, but my bother had one custom made.... so i wanted to duplicate the one the had. was one of the distinct feauthures of the van, so it would have not been complete without it. started with metal wire of the right thickness20
January 11, 2022added some aluminium tubing to simulate what can be seen in his bike holder21
January 11, 2022some more aditions22
January 11, 2022drilled some holes to add the screws that hold it together23
January 11, 2022wheel holder is made from a metal plate and a tube, almost the same as in the real one. i use wire-end for the tube24
January 11, 2022drilled a hole in the plate and put the tube through it25
January 11, 2022a bit of convincing with a tiny hammer and ....26
January 11, 2022wheel holder ready to be added27
January 11, 202228
January 11, 2022black primer29
January 11, 2022wheel had a cover with the logo. i use my laser printer to have some black squares with the logo on it (easy to make with Inkscape)30
January 11, 2022bent the paper around the wheel, cut the back side correctly, and added a metal string around it, painted also in black. basically like the real deal.31
January 11, 202232
January 11, 2022compared with the real deal (no cover on that picture). i chose to fold the lower part, to make it less vulnerable.33
January 11, 2022most of the interior in pieces, ready to be repainted and details added34
January 11, 2022the floor was covered with some fake aluminum with a pattern. i tried first with some engraved plate, but the effect was too much, so i have to forget about it. i realized that to be true to scale (since it was not real engraved plate in the van) the only way was to use a thin flat piece of aluminum35
January 11, 2022furniture, to be painted and detailed. for example some sand color in some parts will be added. a bit of panel wash was also added to make the lines more visible. also added an extra line were my bother made an extra panel36
January 11, 202237
January 11, 2022added a handle and hinges.38
January 11, 2022also added extra opening he did in the original39
January 11, 2022this is the real deal. later i also add the module in the top left of the picture, with the speakers. but i have no picture of it.40
January 11, 2022this is heating vent that was totally wrong in the die cast model (well, that was not the one he had in his van). i will not be make such a complicated structure (only way would have been very thin metal that woudl have no doubt bent eventualy). i got as close as i could41
January 11, 2022a few pieces of metal cut to more or less rough size42
January 11, 2022put together aproximatelly43
January 11, 2022sanded until almost right size..... then felt apart... gluing it back would have never give the correct result so.... back to square one44
January 11, 2022drill holes in the same sheet of metal45
January 11, 2022cut the pieces46
January 11, 2022add a metal wire so this time it will resist the sanding etc47
January 11, 2022once done, wire was cut. compared with the original one in the model, before i removed it.48
January 11, 2022next to the one molded in the plastic. there was a second also molded, that had to go since this van only had one vent.49
January 11, 2022a bit of a butchery to remove and stick the new one... but it will be corrected with putty etc until nothing can be seen
easy to see where the second vent was in this picture.50
January 11, 2022not very clear, but here you can see it, painted in black. also the metal colored flooring and the thin lines of alu to simulate the guides for the extra lines of seats51
January 11, 2022a piece of paper, white glue, embroidery powder and we have some nice little carpet. a few rests of powder lying around will be removed later.52
January 11, 2022i added some tiny details, almost not possible to be seen, but it was one of the most fun parts of the build53
January 11, 2022power socket for 220v, of course has its two tiny holes in the right place54
January 11, 2022general view... (without a front seat). but something is missing. of course, he had a fire extinguisher55
January 11, 2022let's take an aluminum tube, a bit of steell cable flattened, some red paint....56
January 11, 2022and some 1/72 placards for German WWII planes 😛57
January 11, 2022done58
January 11, 2022left, real deal, right the details added. no space to add all, but nice enough59
January 11, 2022nice seats, but quite simple. i should have cut the head rests, but i was worried about the decaling. later i got a color laser printer, so i could have done better decals. but forgot about that part60
January 11, 2022arm rest made with thick plasticard with small detail added.61
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January 11, 2022dry fit. seems ok63
January 11, 2022painted and added. driver arm rest was set with glue and pasenger can be moved (but that will requiere to open the van again.... so i doubt they will ever be moved again). added some planel where the wheel to regulate the seat is located. with the wheel, of course. also added the safety belt locks64
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January 11, 2022also added details for the safety belts in the back. i wanted to have the safetly belts too, but it was next to impossible to place them correctly with the windows closed, so i had to give that up67
January 11, 2022general view before adding front part and closing for ever68
January 11, 2022painted it with the same color as the rest of the interior, but keeping the dials and other details. panel wash to highlight details69
January 11, 2022added a glove compartment door70
January 11, 2022and the base for the GPS71
January 11, 2022Wheel is back, adding missing VW logo, and home made GPS72
January 11, 2022Just some scrap metal to create the second roof.73
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January 11, 2022far from the original but getting there76
January 11, 2022sanding and priming, sanding and priming....77
January 11, 2022not yet there78
January 11, 2022not yet there79
January 11, 2022close to it80
January 11, 2022finally getting there!81
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January 11, 2022difficult to distinguish from the original... but it will not be used at the end. i wanted to have that one as a "extended" one (extra space to sleep on) but it is better that the van stays in the glass box without anybody touching it.83
January 11, 2022a few steps back (this was done very early in the build). masking the lamps. covering holes etc84
January 11, 2022same in the front85
January 11, 2022black primer86
January 11, 2022remember those vents i mentioned before? yes, it would have been much easier to cover them etc, BEFORE using alclad 😛87
January 11, 2022looks ok, but with some handling the alcald needs to be repainted. and repainted, and repainted.... did i say that i had to paint it again? 😛88
January 11, 202289
January 11, 2022deja vú... that metal plate. i knew it was there (here in the real van, when it was not yet painted silver).90
January 11, 2022and of course, like the vent, this could have been done BEFORE alclad. even before primer!!91
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January 11, 2022masked the surroundings to add primer to the brass94
January 11, 2022and black primer added95
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January 11, 2022i see now the picture... an realize that i forgot to paint some area in black.... too late! 😛97
January 11, 202298
January 11, 2022after repainting with Alclad i do not even know how many times... i decided to give it a go to 2K clear. that should protect the paint99
January 11, 2022looks nice! left it to cure for several days100
January 11, 2022and some days later, disaster!! no idea what happended... those are flakes of 2K clear. with a tiny bit of alclad in them (they do not look like, but they were basically transparent)101
January 11, 2022fortunately it was mostly in the top of the van... that will be covered with the cover. so... fixed the best i could and it will never be seen again. do not tell anybody. the very front, not hidden under the cover was hidden under some rubber band (simulated with isolation from a thin wire) that projects the van from getting water when it rains.102
January 11, 2022masking time. i was scared that the paint was going to be lifted in other places.... but it held!!103
January 11, 2022104
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January 11, 2022cover hiding the damaged area106
January 11, 2022i also removed the mirrors at the beginning of the build. i wanted to keep them in the best shape possible, and drill the space between the two parts. since just gluing would be prone to break, i added a metal shaft and drilled a hole in the van to insert it. and added the tiny mirrors my brother had in his van107
January 11, 2022getting there108
January 11, 2022a bit of trimming was done after this picture109
January 11, 2022compared with the real one (mirrors trimmed later)110
January 11, 2022and it is finished!111
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January 11, 2022those reflections look good... and hide an error i found when i was closing down. out of nowhere, something like glue damaged a bit the inside of the window.... 🙁 I did not have time to fix it (it was 04:00 and i was flying with it next morning one way or another....). well, it is a camping van, they are never clean right?115
January 11, 2022some details can still be seeing inside116
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January 11, 2022right fog light was added. for some reaon there was none in the plastic. it looks darker than the left one, just like in the real van120
January 11, 2022i really like how that worked out. here can be seen the last details added at the bottom.
number plates were also done with the printer. they look really good, but i had to remove them from the pictures
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A labour of love! A long time in the making but worth every minute! Wonderful work Spanjaard!
Album info
my brother used to have the T4 that you see in the first picture. he was truly in love with it. it was sold some time ago, and then he got the die cast that you see also in the first picture. he wanted me to just paint it silver so it would resemble more his beloved camping van. i said yes, back in September 2017! A "few things" happened after that, that left me not so much time or energy for modeling... so i was working on and off on this project, and finally finished right before Christmas and took it to him as a nice present. it had been quite a chaotic rebuild, with a considerable number of plans made, scrapped, new plans made, things forgotten, and things i could have done much better. but at the end, the result is not so bad, and above all, he is very happy with it. album may seem strange since some steps seem to contradict others, but since i was going working on one part or the other, the pictures we a total mess. so i posted in groups, even if the build was certainly not done in that order.