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Mon Oct 24, 2011 3:05 pm

:roll: What can I say :roll:

Mon Oct 24, 2011 4:43 pm

Well, we've seen that you are Always up for a new/big project! :wink:

Mon Oct 24, 2011 5:13 pm

That sucks!

Quote: What can I say
I would say the box was too small, it looks to be almost the same size as the toy.

Mon Oct 24, 2011 9:58 pm

Just drive it thru your magic tunnel and it will be fine :wink:

Tue Oct 25, 2011 5:48 am

FAIL.

Tue Oct 25, 2011 6:06 am

Three words--------hot melt glue.

Tue Oct 25, 2011 6:20 am

The box doesn't look like it was damaged in any way. I would say the person who sent it to you didn't pack it properly. He should have used a bigger box and surrounded the item with a generous thickness of packing material on all sides.

Tue Oct 25, 2011 10:50 am

Oops, I think Rich gets an F on packaging.

Tue Oct 25, 2011 12:49 pm

Oh Yes rcraigbug,

I forgot about the Magic Tunnel shown in this link:

http://www.kdf-wagen.de/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=131

BTW, I actually got an e-mail from Rich Kimball that he had this broken ARNOLD Split and he knew that I would be able to repair it.

So I made a trade with Rich for it as this VW would become a Labor of Love and I would want it for my collection.

When I received the "little" box from Rich with the already broken VW inside, I just could not resist to take a photo of it sitting on top of the box with the "Fragile" label.

With that photo, it just goes to show the saying "Perception IS Reality" is true.

Sorry Rich and the US Postal Service for taking a hit on this one . . . . :cry:

Here are some additional photos of the project and I will update as the project continues.

Tue Oct 25, 2011 2:51 pm

Good one, Bob. I was completely taken in.

I have a large collection of Arnold N-scale trains that I bought new in the '60's. I wasn't aware of other toys made by Arnold, even though I knew they are an old toy maker. Nice to know they made VW car models too.

Tue Oct 25, 2011 3:39 pm

Hi 79SuperVert,

Some additional information on the 1950s ARNOLD Split Window VW :wink:

The German toy firm by the name of KARL ARNOLD was in business from 1906 to 1965 primarily manufacturing toys, games and trains. Included in the Arnold product line and introduced during the early 1950s was a large 1/18th scale (215mm in length) Split Window Volkswagen toy car. The body of this large scale Volkswagen toy was made of plastic using the injection mold process and the chassis was stamped out of tin plate metal that was painted to prevent rusting. The body represented the basic silhouette shape of the VW Split Window Sedan and there was great attention to details of the body proportions. There were cut out windows and the seam lines of the VW as represented in the plastic mold are quite accurate. Indentation of the front hood stamping is well defined and the rear section shows such details as the bumblebee wing rear deck lid and engine compartment air louvers under the split window. Seam lines of the roof section and doors are clearly visible. Other details included round horn grilles in the front fenders, VW emblem, trim piece and front hood handle. The taillights and license plate light was molded in the plastic body. Silver paint was applied to the taillights, license plate light, headlights, VW hood emblem, horn grilles and front hood trim. The running boards were silver and a silver line was also painted along the doors, front and rear quarter panels to detail the body trim pieces. The plastic body was produced in many colors of the rainbow such as red, blue, green, orange, metallic green, beige, maroon, gray or black with the red and blue being the most common of the colors.

Arnold did not stop with the fine details of the body, but went one step farther by including a super detailed tin plate lithographed interior. The lithograph design depicts the pre October 1952 style Volkswagen with twin glove box dashboard, speedometer and clock panels. Also visible is a radio, foot pedals, plaid seats and even luggage, brief case and magazines in the rear section of the inside. A two spoke plastic steering wheel was attached to the tin plate for the final touch of the interior detail. Some interiors had a slot in the drivers seat although the Arnold has not been seen with a driver inside which some other toy Volkswagen had during this same time period.

The chassis was stamped out of tin plate with a brass-plated look or silver and did not have any chassis details as such. The chassis was equipped with a “push and let go” friction motor. Rubber tires mounted to metal rims and axles were used and shinny metal disks were used for the hubcaps. Some versions had “DUNLOP” molded into the rubber tires and on most of the Arnold VW toys, the front wheels did not steer, just straight forward driving. Although a less often seen variation had a special mechanism that allowed for the front wheel to turn and lock into a notch which then allowed the toy car to turn. Shinny nickel-plated tin bumpers were secured to the chassis with metal tabs bent over. The chassis was stamped “Made in Western Germany” along with the manufacturer's name and Arnold insignia that makes identification of this toy VW easy. The lithographed interior was secured to the chassis with bent over metal ears and the body was then attached to the chassis with four melted plastic extensions of the body aligned with holes in the chassis. Variations have been seen with two metal brads in the front and rear of the chassis and slots along the running board securing the body to the chassis. Because of the large scale, lithographed interior and very good body details of this vintage Volkswagen toy, the Arnold Split Window has become very collectable especially in very nice to original condition along with a box.

Tue Oct 25, 2011 4:56 pm

Sell it to the Pickers.

Wed Oct 26, 2011 8:36 pm

OK . . . :D

A drive through the Restor-Version Shop begins :!:

The body pieces were held together with tape over the years that when removed made the body sticky and gooey that had to be removed.

Then the body pieces need a good soap and water cleaning.

The body pieces were taped together and then glued with a Testors liquid glue that bonds the old plastic pieces together very well.

A bead of epoxy resin is appplied along the cracks on the inside of the body for strength.

Then the body receives white model putty to fill in the chips and cracks.

The windows, fenders and body edges are filed to remove flashing from when produced.

Wet sanding with 400 and 600 wet & dry paper to create a smooth finish.

After wet sanding, the cracks and damage will still appear in the body.

The body needs to be painted to acheive a nice look.

A custom paint and decal theme is to be created.

The body is then primer painted and ready for the next process.

Stayed tuned as the progress continues :!:

Thu Oct 27, 2011 7:34 am

Hacksaw-BoB wrote: Hi 79SuperVert,

Some additional information on the 1950s ARNOLD Split Window VW :wink:

Thanks for the info, Bob. I was surprised to read that Karl Arnold made toys only until 1965. I started buying my Arnold trains around 1968. I remember that the name on the train boxes was "K.Arnold and Company, Nurnberg". Maybe they reorganized after 1965.

Mon Oct 31, 2011 8:12 pm

Now that the broken and fixed body is primered, I have a theme in mind for a custom paint and decal creation.

If I am going to do a "labor of love" in bringing back the life into a Vintage VW toy, making it look "only just original" is not my vision.

Here is the first step for my creation painting the fenders VW blue.

Stayed tuned :!: :!:

Tue Nov 01, 2011 2:57 pm

Lookin' good, Hacksaw ...

Thu Nov 03, 2011 10:59 pm

As the progress continues :!:

The fenders are masked off in preparation for a multi-colored custom paint scheme. So far, VW blue fenders and yellow sides . . . . . . .

Sun Nov 06, 2011 3:36 pm

Now the sides and fenders are masked off and a green paint is applied :-k

Sun Nov 06, 2011 4:30 pm

Keep it stock. :D

Tue Nov 08, 2011 10:32 am

The wheels and bumpers are taken off of the chassis.

There is quite some surface rust on the chassis and it will be sent out to a sandblaster for cleaning.

This ARNOLD Split Window VW is missing the tin lithographed interior and steering wheel.

I took a trip through my toy junk yard looking for an interior . . . . .

. . . . . . and found one :!:

Will update soon :D