Movie "Accurate" Anti-Pesto Van

[seven]

I am not sure if this is the right section for this thread, but here it goes anyways. I am building the Anti-Pesto Van, but not straight out of the box.

The kit is a good starting point, but it appears that Airfix took more reference from a real A35 Austin, then they did the film miniature. That said, I hope to correct and add what the original kit is missing.

First things first, the rust spots. I filled in all the existing rust spots that I could with Bondo, and sanded smooth. This will give me a clean slate so I can add the rust in their respective areas. However, this method will require me to paint the whole car instead of leaving it as the molded plastic color. One of the first things I removed where those awful windshield wipers.






^Sanded off the existing door handle

[Gromit]

Yes Patrick you've posted in the right place. Looking forward to seeing this progress ...

[seven]

Thanks Nick (Gromit)

Next step was to sand and remove the excess plastic. I took out the square section that resided in the engine compartment. I cut it out with a Dremel then sanded it down flush the frame of the van. Two other sections of plastic that had to go was the holder on the fire wall for the Pedals, and the raised guides for the chairs to sit on.


With some thin strips of styrene, I glued on the missing welded repair plates on the front of the car and along the bottom edge of the door frame

Not to mention that I drilled out two holes for the head lamps. I hope to add LED's

[Gromit]

That's coming along nicely ...

[ptcruiser]

Hi Patrick,
Great start! I actually painted my Pesto van (the one with the rabbit) and ended up blending a couple of acrylic tile paints I think they were. Once i found the mix it allowed me to use some pre-shading where necessary over a standard grey base coat.

Watching progress with interest

Rich

[seven]

Thanks Rich! I am in awe of your build, and figuring out a new paint color for the body is going to be tricky for me, so I would be interested in how you approached it and the color you came up with.

In review of the back of the van in the Movie, when Gromit is controlling the large rabbit, it appears that the raised floor insert (platform above the spare tire) isn't installed, so I wasn't going to add this part from the kit. My first approach was to fill in all the holes with bondo on the model to create a flat bed surface to which I would create a new floor (see Bondo method in first post).
Then I had a better thought. Why not use the the floor that I already had?
So, I removed the raised sides on the kit part so it would sit flush with the bottom of the van frame. I also had to trim out a bit of the sides so it would clear the wheel well, and glued it down ontop of the bondo.

[seven]

To continue the theme of the back of the van...I am curious if I could get some help identifying a tool that is on the wall.

In this photo I have been able to ID a orange rag, white w/blue striped rag, plunger, hedge shears, binoculars, hammer, metal bucket, mice and rat extinguisher, net w/ long handle, 2x-bug sprayer, extension grabber, hand prunes, shovel, extension ladder, rubber mallet, wooden crate w/dented can, and a rope.


However, this tool in the upper left corner is something I am not familiar with. Anyone here recognize it, or see any tool that I may have missed (or miss ID'd)?


Thanks

[Harriet]

Looks to me like a pair of tongs from a fireset

Like these:

www.snhtradecentre.co.uk/fires-fireside-accessories/man1013.html#

Other styles of tongs are available!

[seven]

Wow, thanks Harriet! ;D

Those tongs certainly look the part. Preciate the help

(woot! post 7!)

[seven]

With the back wall in place in the ceiling guide, the wall itself sits too far back. The wall should be more forward, almost flush with the opening of the door frame.


I removed the channel first to help correct this. I will also have to sand down the sides of the wall to get a proper fit in its new forward position.

[seven]

Added the missing window trim to both sides of the back wall

[seven]

Updating the interior. The dash needs a little work.


Removed the current knobs as they are too small and the wrong shape, as well as the buttons in the ignition slot. This is the area where the "Auto Start" decal is going to go along with the red push button.


Added new knobs that are longer and the radio. The radio is hard to see in this pic, but it has the MUTT push buttons and knobs that I am sure will be more evident when painted. I also added the "Austin of England" logo on top of the dash that is barely visible in the film.

[seven]

Being inspired by tanayan.ojaru.jp/Diary2702.html I decided to remove the hood from the van so it could open to see the engine compartment inside. I used a hobby knife to score around the hood over and over again. This is a slow and tedious process but I didn't want to use a powered cutting blade because I am prone to make errors in my cuts. However, my patience did run out and I grabbed the Dremel, and with a sander bit, removed the extra material under the hood, so I had less to cut through with the knife. Unfortunately I ended up melting the plastic were I didn't want it to melt, so I will have to repair it later. Eventually I did separate the hood from the body. With a styrene lip around the new opening for the hood to sit on while in place.


Another thin strip of styrene around the hood to close the gab between the hood and body as well as give it a smooth finished look.

[Harriet]

Thanks for putting that guy's site up what a lovely conversion he's done! The OB (Old Boy) used to rally an A35, and was very impressed with the outcome ...

Are you going for the full A series engine in yours? Or doesn't the film van have the same engine, I can't remember?
It's looking good anyhow, nice one!

[pat]

That build on the link is awesome wonder if we could get that on the stand to display that has taken converting the kit to a whole new level.