Minicraft 1/16 1931 Ford Model A Delivery Van

The Ford Model A (1927–1931) was the second huge success for the Ford Motor Company, after its predecessor, the Model T. First produced on October 20, 1927, but not sold until December 2, it replaced the venerable Model T, which had been produced for 18 years. This new Model A (a previous model had used the Model A name back in 1903–1904) was designated as a 1927 model and was available in four standard colors, but not black.

The Model A was produced through 1931. When production ended in March, 1932, there were 4,849,340 Model A's made in all styles. Its successor was the Model B, which featured an updated 4-cylinder engine, followed by the Model 18 which introduced Ford's new V8 engine.

There are times when one is digging around for something and finds something else that was long forgotten. So it is with this Minicraft car kit. I'm not sure why I bought it or when, but with a date of 1998, it must have been a while ago.

The kit is molded in a variety of colors including yellow, black and brown. Oddly, though the upper body is supposed to be yellow, it is molded in brown. The molding of the parts is generally quite good and I found only a hint of flash on a very few pieces.

This is by no way a curb side as you get a complete four cylinder flathead engine with a transmission. The frame is made up of a number of pieces with two main rails and the crossovers as separate bits. Minicraft does a fairly good job trying to replicate wire wheels. I'm pretty sure the front wheels do not turn, though it is a rather complex affair. In fact, the only moving part of the truck, aside from the wheels are the back door, side doors and the engine hood. The kit comes with five very nicely molded vinyl wheels and a rather large chrome sprue. Chrome bits are of the hub caps, radiator shell, bumpers, headlight mounts, some side trim and other miscellaneous pieces. This leads me to think that perhaps this is a top of the line van as normally one would think that many of these chrome bits would be painted in a more utilitarian version. This kit even has what appear to be additional running lights or perhaps spot lights on the cowl.

Instructions are fairly well done with 32 construction drawings. There are hints and tips on many of them in terms of what to attach where or when. One thing that seems to be missing is any sort of painting guide. I have to assume that one is supposed to use the box art in this regard. The decal sheet that comes with it is well printed and one should have no issues with it. 

Not a kit for everyone, but if one is interested in older cars like this and the larger scale, then I'd give it a go. I'm sure that many have used this for the basis of a hot rod or custom car.

November 2009

Thanks to me and my fondness for anything different from the norm for this one.

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