BUILDING OF THE
1/24 MACGYVER'S JEEP

A Swiss Army knife, an adhesive tape, a charming smile... and a Jeep!
Thus can be defined MacGyver in a few words!

This character, king of the handymen who made beautiful days of the tv screen during 90's, was played by charismatic actor Richard Dean Anderson. For further information about the character and the show, you can connect to MacGyver Web Site, a great source of information on this subject.

The Jeep driven by MacGyver is a 1987 or 1988 Wrangler YJ type, the basic type without improvements, except a brown colour not in the official colour chart of the mark.
As always in shows, some difference appear on the vehicle in various episodes. The most visible: a licence plate or a winch on the front bumper.

MODEL SEARCH

 I thought I could find easily a model of this type, but it has been harder than expected. Only Tamiya had released two Wrangler YJ type in 1995, an open top version with the same rims than MacGyver one, and a hard-top version with different rims. These two models are no more in model shops. I found a hard-top version on E-Bay, so with the bad rims!

DOCUMENTATION SEARCH
As always, the best document is the show. After a contact with Nahalie from the website previously named, I can have a few episodes in the divx format and the number of the licence plate, so almost all is needed to start the conversion. Almost, because divx files are not of enough good quality to see all the details from the YJ type. After a lot of investigations on the web later, I have a good quantity of reference informations, difficulty is to find documents on the basic type, because most of the "Jeepers" greatly improve their vehicle (suspensions, accessories...)
Luckily, I see a Jeep with the same rims than MacGyver one, with ability to take pictures...

ERRORS ON THE TAMIYA MODEL
Although the model is of the usual quality from the Japanese manufacturer, some parts are largely simplified, as front suspensions mounts, very visible under the bumper. The tailgate is also simplified, with a T shape to fasten the spare wheel.
In the next chapters will be detailed the numerous improvements and modifications to obtain THE MacGyver's Jeep.

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