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Mon Feb 06, 2012 10:41 am

buggdude67 wrote: blue baron wrote: Maybe we should start a thread on VW model builds.

That is a good idea, unless there is already one started.

I couldn't find one, so post photos of your built VW models here. You can also post construction photos. Anything goes as long as you built/customized it, and it's not just store bought. Describe the model and the work that went into it.

I have a lot to share, so I'll kick off the thread with some pictures of a 1967 Revell 21-window bus model. This was a freshening up of an old build that I had found.

It had been faithfully built to the original instructions in the kit.

Mon Feb 06, 2012 1:56 pm

Nice idea! I couldent think of anyone better than you Greg to start this topic :wink: Ill post up some pics of a polly kit Ill be workin on here soon. :D

Tue Feb 07, 2012 12:05 pm

Here are a couple of shots of a rat bus I built from an old Revell 23 window bus model.

This was the first VW bus model kit, dating back to 1958. I found it already built, but in pieces. The restoration consisted of some paint detail and weathering, a pair of resin bumpers, some decals, a slam job and wheel replacement, and adding a roof rack with luggage. The interior and chassis detailing was done by the original builder 50 years ago!

Tue Feb 07, 2012 8:39 pm

Here is a Hasegawa kit I modified to turn it into a barndoor. Bunch of photos here:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_search.php?...ts=summary

Wed Feb 08, 2012 8:56 am

That looks amazing.

What did you use for taillights? They look spot on.

And are those Kubelwagen wheels?

Wed Feb 08, 2012 9:39 am

Yes, the wheels are from a Kubelwagen kit. I made copies for the barndoor.

The project has sat stalled for quite some time.

Wed Feb 08, 2012 2:42 pm

You made your own rims?

What's holding you up? I hate to see projects left in limbo.

Wed Feb 08, 2012 2:59 pm

Since it's all buses so far, here's a granddaddy Beetle kit, the Pyro VW Sunroof Sedan from 1959.
It was officially approved by the Volkswagen factory.

The kit was old-tech, with multiple piece construction. It came with two mechanics and an engine stand.

There were several versions of the Pyro released through the '60s and '70s.
The earliest versions had no windows or chrome plated parts.

I built this one box stock nearly 25 years ago.

Wed Feb 08, 2012 3:03 pm

The brown rims are from the kit, the white rims and hubcaps are the molded copies I made.

Never enough time for all the projects....

Fri Feb 10, 2012 10:55 am

I picked up these old kits yesterday. I'm thinking Jersey Looker and Tribute to my old '66 roadster with side exhaust.

What does that weird emblem on the nose mean/signify?

Fri Feb 10, 2012 11:39 am

WOW!! Excellent job!! The guys working on the car and buses are awesome!! I'm an amateur but how do you remake rims or pieces and parts?

Fri Feb 10, 2012 10:04 pm

Mike Fisher wrote:
What does that weird emblem on the nose mean/signify?

It's a CB emblem. The old Revell VW microbus model started out as a window van (pictured above), and was eventually reissued as a panel van. One version was called the "Rubber Duck" which came out during the CB radio craze of the 1970s. The California Roller was a reissue of that old kit.

Fri Feb 10, 2012 10:09 pm

Some background on me.

I've been building VW models since I was old enough to hold a tube of glue. Here's one I built when I was 9 or 10 years old, a Monogram Thunder Bug.

I found it in storage about a year ago and spent some time cleaning it up. It's just the way I built it in the early '70s.

There are better model builders than me, but probably few who have done as much with Volkswagens.

Sun Feb 12, 2012 5:11 pm

I built this Scirocco model 15-20 years ago to replicate the '80 S I was driving in high school. I wasn't brave enough to cut in a sunroof.

Sun Feb 12, 2012 5:20 pm

wow, great thread! Might make me break out some of my old vw models... hope I can find all the pieces to those ones i started a decade + ago.

Sun Feb 12, 2012 6:21 pm

1-4-3-2 wrote: I built this Scirocco model 15-20 years ago to replicate the '80 S I was driving in high school. I wasn't brave enough to cut in a sunroof.

Nice old-school AMT kit. I don't blame you for not cutting the roof.

Here's of my oldest surviving kits. It's the Revell "California Bug" that I built in 1975 when I was 13 years old. This one captures the style of the '70s.

It features three-toned candy paint (purple, red and blue), custom seats and interior, chromed engine, and wheels from a Duster. I freshened it up by giving it a good cleaning, gluing a few broken parts and adding some chrome trim.

Sun Feb 12, 2012 6:22 pm

Here's another restoration of a hard-to-find kit.

This is the Revell Cadet Beetle in 1/40. It was made by Revell Germany in 1962, and is similar to the 1/40 Wiking.

Sun Feb 12, 2012 6:33 pm

Slightly off topic.
A few years back there was someone that was selling cast resin parts to convert the 1/6th scale R/C Herbie into a KDF sunroof.
Does anyone know how to contact this person or have the parts they would sell ?

Fri Feb 17, 2012 2:26 pm

Where are our model builders?

Question: What happens when you take these two kits and bash them together?

Answer: You end up with something like this.

Tue Feb 21, 2012 12:56 pm

Blue Baron wrote: Where are our model builders?

Question: What happens when you take these two kits and bash them together?

Answer: You end up with something like this.

The rear view almost looks like a real bug...nice work Blue Baron.

Mark