Airstream Caravel 1969

 I have been dreaming of a vintage trailer since I can remember. And ever since then, I have been nagging my husband to get one. Now, before you go off thinking "why did she need her "husband's" permission ?? Isn't she her own person??". The answer is simple-an old trailer is going to need some major reno and he's very good at that!! So, despite his rejection to the idea I just kept plugging away on Craigslist and looked at thousands of trailers over several years. Once in a while, I would show him a picture and he would say "that one is too big", "that one is too heavy" and so on and so forth.  But, during my hunt, I had come to the conclusion that an Airstream was the way to go. It made sense, they are so light weight and most of them have a bathroom and let's face it, they are just stinking cool. Where was I--oh yes, "resistance is futile", I saw an Airstream on Craigslist which was very close to home, so I talked my hubby into looking at it and we both fell in love on the spot. Who knew ??

We brought her home-she was in rough shape but she was ours. A 1969 Airstream Caravelle!!

So, this is a 1969, Airstream Caravel, in slightly rough shape.

Interior shots

Out on the road:

Most trailers are measured by the size of the box but Airstreams are measured from the ball to the end of the box. So, even though this Caravel is considered an 18 footer, it is actually only a 15 footer since you must deduct 3 feet to account for the length of the tow hitch.

We named her Charlene and fell in love with her on sight. But, alas, after taking her to her first Airstream rally and spending a couple of nights in her we decided that she was just a wee bit too small. Maybe her size wasn't right because we took our four chihuahuas with us, maybe we had size envy because lots of folks at the rally had very large Airstreams (27-31 footers), or maybe it was just because the bathroom was right next to the bed.

So, it was time to fix her up and send her on her way.

We did a lot of scrubbing and cleaning. And re-built some of the missing features. Although we didn't realize it at the time, we were extremely lucky that the sub-floor was in excellent shape.

The sub floor always seems to look better than what was on top of it.

Now a word about renovating an Airstream. At first we thought that it was important to stay as original as possible and there are still many folks out there who stand by that rule. However, we have met many more who did their own thing, gutted the insides and just did whatever they wanted to. It was liberating to realize that there was so much freedom. There are however a couple of things to keep in mind. The original engineers put certain items where they are for weight distribution. For example, the fresh water tank is located in the front of the unit and balances out the weight with the black water tank, which is located in the rear of the until.

The front of the Caravel came with a Gaucho bed. It's kind of like a futon and folds from bed to couch and back again. after living in it for a bit, we decided that what it really needed was a dinette. So, we tore out what was originally the front gaucho (what was left of it  anyway) and built a dinette instead.

As you can see, the table can be pushed down flat for an additional sleeping area.

Underneath the new seating area is the new fresh water tank.

The galley kitchen needed some wood replaced and some re-finishing.

We took out the wood cabinet above the fridge to make room for the new retro so cute microwave.

And now for the bedroom area.

The bed slides back to create a couch with storage bins underneath it. At bed time, the top piece slides out to be a bed.

We angled this piece slightly to make more room to walk when trying to get to the bathroom.

Here is the new fuse panel and a new converter.

Gotta have new tires and red rims!

Charlene"s wet bath:

What is a "wet" bath ? Basically, it means that the shower floor is also the bathroom floor.

So, we feel really good that we left Charlene in much better condition than we found her and after three months of hard work we sold her to one of the "sisters on the fly" and was renamed Hi Ho Silver.

Gypsy Wagon a miniature in half scale!

Hi Y'all! I have been wanting to build a gypsy wagon for years now. I ordered a quarter scale kit because I have so many quarter scale accessories but after spending a great deal of time on it, I finally realized no matter what I did to it, it would never be very good. So, I stopped working on it and went in search of a new kit. I love the 1" scale kits but after seeing a completed one, I thought it was just too big for me. Finally, I came to the conclusion that half scale was the way to go.

I chose this kit, from Mcqueenie Miniatures, because the undercarriage looks very authentic, the wheels look real and I love the fact that it came with some of the built ins. Also, because it is fairly plain on the outside, I can decorate it my way.

So, the build begins:

Opening the box is always intimidating! So many pieces! So much work to do! But, the thought that I will turn this pile of kits into something three dimensional is exciting!

The first job is to pick the colors of course. Always difficult. After looking at many vargos on line and doing a bit of research I decided that red and yellow and gold where my favorite. I learned that many gypsies took a great deal of pride in their wagons and spruced them up as elegantly as possible. So, I wanted to honor that and make my wagon look very elegant. Well, I will try anyway!

So, at this point I tried to do a bit of the ornate painting, like the gypsies did to decorate their wagons, but guess what ? It was too darn hard to do! No matter how small the paint brush I used was, I just couldn't get the nice smooth lines I wanted. I tried using ver fine pointed pens as well, but just couldn't get the right colors! What I needed was some sort of stencil! But, where would I find stencils small enough?? Then I had an epiphany! Flower soft makes stickers that are very small what if I could use those somehow? So, here is what I did;

First I painted the stairs in my base color.

Then I added the red in the center of where I wanted my decorative painting to be;

I looked thru all my Flower Soft stickers and picked the one I liked.

I carefully stuck it onto my red color, repositioning it until I liked the placement. I rubbed it down with my nail to make sure that it was completely adhered.

Then I painted my main color over the sticker. This took two coats of paint.

Then, after it dried, I slowly removed the sticker!

As you can see, it looks pretty good! I took the sticker off a bit too soon, of course, so I had to do some touch up painting but for the most part, it looks a lot better than what I would have been able to do by free styling it by hand!

I apologize for my very messy work bench. If you stood at my work bench and turned around 180 degrees you would see my husbands very pristine workbench. But, alas, no matter how often I clean mine, I always end up with about six square inches of work space. I am like a mad scientist when I start working, stuff flies everywhere!


So, after discovering the flower soft sticker idea, I just kept going with it on all of the different undercarriage parts.

I should add that the wheels in this kit are made out of metal. So, to prep them for paint I first sprayed them with a metal primer. I borrowed the primer from my hubbies stash and it was actually some sort of barbecue spray paint!

I am not using the wood trim that came with the kit for the sides of the wagon because I wanted to do my own thing. Here I just painted two plain pieces of wood across the sides of the wagon. One is on top of the window and one below. I then added a piece of decorative would trim below the bottom one. It is hard to tell but all the painting on the undercarriage is yellow and all the trim on the body of the wagon is actually gold.

Here is the back of the wagon so far. I really wanted ponies on it since the gypsies really love their gypsy horses. I used some Jolee's for scrapooking ponies as templates. They came in three pieces, the mane, the tail and the body. But, I realized that they were too big. So, I carefully cut the three pieces apart and traced around them on plain paper flipping my template over so I would have mirror copies. Then, I reduced the drawings on my printer. I then glued them onto index cards. I cut them out, glued the mane and tail back on and painted them gold. The fact that the mane and tail were done separately, makes them three dimensional. It's hard to tell on the pics but it looks pretty good in person.

On this side, I have added the chicken coop and some more wood trim. The vertical wood trim is porch railing that I cut in half length wise. I do have a wonderful Preac mini table saw so I was able to do this. I don't think it could be done by hand but I could be wrong. The problem is that some of the pieces are thicker than others and this really bothers me. No matter how hard I tried to center my cuts, it just was never perfect. I will have to think about this some more!

If you have any ideas or constructive criticism please let me know. I could certainly use advice and ideas to help with this build!

Two steps forward, one step back. I really didn't like the fact that many of my posts were not the same depth because when I cut them in half the blade wasn't centered. I can't live with it so I tore them all off and started over. Good thing that I had another package of them!

It took me forever to adjust the blade just right but I think I finally got it!

So, back to painting and sanding and painting and sanding.

Time for red. I kept the ends of the post on until after I was done painting because it made it easier to hold onto them!

So, I painted them and then cut off the ends.

I cut the ends off by hand with one of those hand held choppers. Then it was time to glue them back onto the wagon.

Sorry that the picture is blurry. But, I am so much happier with the results. It was worth it to spend an entire evening re-doing it because I know that if something is off it will bug me every time I look at it.

Now, that the wooden posts are looking good-I removed them yet again to paint behind them. I tried the same sticker technique which I used on the other pieces. I must say-I am trying to stay calm but I am sporting a cheshire cat grin on my face. I'm so stinking happy that I came up with this idea. (I'm sure I'm not the first person to do so). Never the less, I am padding myself on the back!

Here is how it's done.

 I painted a couple of coats of the gold. This is a reverse stencil technique-so the gold is the color I want the pattern to be. The parts I cover up with the stencil will remain gold. Keep looking at the pictures and it will make sense.

 These are the "flower soft" stencils I used.

 I stuck them over the gold and rubbed them down really well with my nail. It is important to make sure that every piece is sticking very well.

 Now it is time to paint over the entire thing. The parts covered by the stencils will remain gold.

 It took a couple of coats.

 Then I let it dry very well.

 Now, the fun part-removing the stencils. Slowly carefully. Holding my breath.

 Ta da ! The reveal!!

Now it is time to glue the posts back on.

Looking pretty good! And a whole lot better then if I had tried to paint all this by hand!!

I thought it was time to update the gypsy wagon. It is still not done yet but getting a lot closer. I have ordered an acrylic box to put it in but it hasn't arrived yet.

The roof hasn't been installed all the way yet. On the inside there is still some trimming that needs to be done. Of course I still need to add many more  items to the outside. But here is some progress that I have made.

Here is how I decorated the shelving units.

I still need to add trim around the door, as you can see. I replaced the divider around the bed. I used scrolled pieces that usually go around a door opening in a victorian house.

I need a lot of pillows but I hate making pillows!!  Also need some pictures and trim. So, I still have a little ways to go but getting closer that's for sure!

As always, I welcome any advice and or suggestions! Thank you!