1/24 or 1/25 Ford American Road Camper

[McColm]

Hi Guys,
I stumbled on a company called StarCraft who during the 1970's to the 1980's provided a kit which could convert your Ford Cortina Mk3/4 into a campervan for the modest sum of £1600. This included the new twin axel chassis and new body known as the Ford American Road Camper .Inside there's accommodation for two adults and two children sleeping. in the overhanging section (Luton). Full shower, toilet cassette, two hob cooker and twin settee. Either two single beds or a double queen size with cushions filling the gaps. A side door was fitted as standard although you could move the door to the rear for better access and add a bike rack. Wardrobe and plenty of storage space. Two windows at the front with  large windows on the sides. An extra window in the roof would probably provide extra natural daylight if fitted.
Although other cars in the Ford range could be used such as the Ford Serria ,  Capri, Granada and Mondeo. The American market favoured the P150 pickup truck and a few Mustang exceptions.
I guess that this was a cheaper alternative to the VW campervans .
I've yet to find an owner's club here in the UK, but they do turn up on eBay in need of restoration.
From the pictures I have seen on Google , it appears that the rear chassis is based on a twin axel trailer. That has been reinforced to take the weight of the camper body. The Cortina wiring was extended to the rear tail lights.
The mirrors do variey from vehicle to vehicle. Some keep the original Ford Cortina, whilst others go for the longer lorry type.
Of course there are other companies such as HEKU and Starburst that provide a similar products but the StarCraft looks great and not dated.

The plan
I do have a few Ford Capri kits in the stash including a built ZakSpeed with the blue decals.
Unfortunately I haven't seen a 1/24 or 1/25 plastic Ford Cortina kit, although some of the Japanese car kits do come very close, so I only need the front end. Or a double cab? Whilst there are plenty of Ford Mustangs to choose from.
There are Ford Serria kits and the odd Ford Capri model does come up for auction on eBay. There are die-cast models that also could be used.
The extended chassis could be made from an old trailer or plastic tubing and as with the camper body scratch built.
I will practice on the Revell Austin  'black cab' and the oversized Marx Jaguar E-type.
I do have a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III which I am converting into a Ute which might make a suitable base for the Ford American Road Camper.
The Camper shell could be extended upwards as I have seen a three deck variant on YouTube.