Okay I'll admit it - I have a thing for vans, maybe it was too many episodes of Scooby Doo as a kid, but there is something appealing about the practically of owning a van.
Now if you read my Lego posts regularly you'll know I own the furthest thing from a van so maybe it's just a case of wanting what you can't have
Or maybe it's a reaction to lockdown - as I've not been more than 5km from my house in about 4 months (seriously Google Map tells me I drove 19km in July and 17km in August) the idea of being able to throw a mattress and some sleeping bags in the back of van and hitting the road has some appeal.
But Vans are expensive and I have a lot of Lego pieces so it's probably more logical to just make one out of Lego.
So that's exactely what I did. As always when making Lego vehicles the most important things to start with are the Windscreen - which is a quite rare tall, 8 wide one that I originally bought for the convertible. The Wheels - I like the chunky balloon type of look these have - very seventies. The Wheel arches - this is where this started to not really work for me - I had to go with white, which wasn't ideal. I would have perferred a darker colour - maybe black like the A-team van - but we are restricted by the things we own (both in life and in lego).
From there the design is pretty simple (As a guy who worked a Renault once told me - Vans they are just two seats and engine and heap of air - that's why there is some much money in them) highlights:
The coloured stripes kinda worked but kinda didn't - it was cooler in my head, potentially would have been cooler on a darker colour, and maybe I shouldn't have put the white in between.
I like the roof a lot, the spoiler at the back feels realistic to me, the yellow rear end maybe not so much, again a darker base colour a maybe it works.
The front end lights and grill feels right - it's sort of a US style, late 70's early 80's vibe which I like.
The back windows worked, the lights up the side and the rear bumper bar all work, the ladder is a little less successful.
All in all I think it works - it's not quite a cool as I imagined, but for a first effort at this type of thing I think it was a reasonable effort.
Oh yeah! I've been looking to see how I can afford a new van too! (I can't). I'd love to have a small table, chair, and place to lie down in the back. Whenever I got bored I'd just drive somewhere and work from the back of the van for awhile, since I can work anywhere there's internet (which I can get through my phone). That'd be just too much fun.
There is certainly something appealing about it - there won't be international travel anytime soon so it might be the best holiday option.
It's an adorable little van! I love that livery, and your attention to detail like those flared arches. With how Covid has kept us locked within our four walls, it's certainly an appealing idea to just camp out in a van, and travel safely from one quiet place to the next :-D
Thanks - that Gif is giving me the idea that I should have done a pop out top and spare wheel on the back - maybe for version 2
That would be fantastic! I don't know how you'd do a pop-out top with Legos, but I'm sure you'll figure that out for my amusement 😆