jbwelda Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Favorite Steve Martin schtick of mine but heres something else that had been sitting around in the ToDo pile for awhile: Gunze BMW Isetta, done up different, what-if-Abarth-did-it style. Mini Cooper alloy wheels and wide tires all (3) around. Rebuilt the interior and got rid of the bench seat, replaced with two racing buckets, one a traditional seat and the other (drivers) a drift car seat, added the rear package tray with spare tire. the kit had a similar setup except that the seat and shelf were all one piece and it was that awful rubber-plastic that Gunze often used in these kits. one look...into the trash, retrieved only to use as a pattern for a replacement. made up an exhaust extractor, actually made up a kinda shadow engine for up in there, there is a high tech version of this kit but this is the low tech one...high tech got detailed down in the engine compartment but I basically just made something to attach an extractor end to. did a bunch of other fiddling too that is apparent on closer inspection. did I mention this body was clear? oh yeah, and also the windows are all molded in! that's why the painted body I show here is a far cry from how its going to look with the window masking all off (fingers crossed on what I find when I pull the tape), with much more greenhouse that is currently colored red. total pain in the rear to paint the body and not only that, when I was doing the black accent on the front (door actually, the whole front end swings forward on the real car) somehow I got a spot of paint on the red. went to remove it and next thing I know I have eaten through the paint, primer and down to the clear plastic! didn't feel like repainting so I am putting the photoetch BMW symbol in that hole, while the scorpion has removed it and replaced it with an Abarth logo. Silly, I know, but you got to be flexible. just got the decals on tonite, will give it a final clear coat in a couple days and then its about ready to mount and go. am going to significantly lower the front end so it is almost touching ground. got to rebend the exhaust pipe a bit too depending on where the body actually sits on final mounting. comments questions critiques always welcome! jb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Very unique and cool. I like it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete J. Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 (edited) I can see that, but with one difference. Abarth is more know for their Fiats. I can see it more as an Alpina/Dinan/M-sport, but what the heck, it's your model, if you want Abarth, then Abarth it is! Great idea and execution. Edited July 25, 2014 by Pete J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbwelda Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share Posted July 25, 2014 I had abarth decals handy actually... jb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaguar man 21 Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Awsome idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Cool little ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DynoMight Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Interesting... but cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Whoa! That's cool. Can't wait to see it finished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skip Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 jb, it's cool! It's also something that Abarth could have done if he wanted to. "Dare to be Different". The "What If?" built models are just that, what if (insert designer/builder here) had done (insert car here). As long as it is a plausible idea, like Disney's "Plausible Impossible" cartoons, where you know what the character is doing is beyond the Laws of Nature and your minds eye fills in the rest therefore it is plausible! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
66belair Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 That is simply cool, goes to show you anything can be hot rodded! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin T Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 Looking forward to this one! After I built my Gunze 500D earlier this year I've been wanting to build another small Euro car and the Isetta would be perfect, sadly I never can find them at reasonable prices on the bay. Love the idea of yours though and the paint job makes it look sinister (Well for an Isetta). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete J. Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 Gunzi kitted the Isetta in a several different forms. They had both a regular and High Tech version with the latter being a bit higher priced. They also kitted it with the Messerschmitt/KR in regular and High Tech. I have often found that the regular version with the two kits is surprising the least expensive to buy. They seem to come up with some frequency on eBay. If you set up a search, you can often get the double kit for less that $40, although most times the sellers think they are unreasonably valuable, like now there is one in Japan that is selling for $93. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modelbuilder Mark Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 Cool project Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 Interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbwelda Posted July 26, 2014 Author Share Posted July 26, 2014 (edited) thanks folks! as for the kit yes pete you are right: it came in a low and high tech version, separately and with the Messerschmidt. this one I am using is from a combo low tech kit, I probably paid less than 20$ for it 10 years ago or so. I have never seen a high tech version of the combination kit but I have of the isetta. as many know, these high tech kits can be a bit of a puzzle because often the "high tech" stuff is kinda crude and/or hidden in the final build. the isetta has a hinged engine compartment (side) panel and at least some engine detail, and some other kool looking underpinnings. that's the high tech version but like I said the one I am using is the low tech version. don't think I will mess with the messerschmidt, I don't really care for the look of it. the clear body and most parts just make these a pain to deal with though it might be kool to build the mess out of box and only detail paint a bit of the internals, leaving the body clear. other than that I think I will just put it back on the shelf. not quite finished with the Isetta yet though; I don't like the headlamps so I am substituting some kustom replica and miniatures of Maryland louvered street rod light buckets instead, and have to trim out the front wheel wells some to get some more clearance for lowering the front end, plus have some body polishing and detailing to attend to. thanks again for looking and commenting! jb Edited July 26, 2014 by jbwelda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbwelda Posted July 30, 2014 Author Share Posted July 30, 2014 (edited) removed the masking from the windows to reveal remarkably clean lines! posed on chassis with front wheels posed. will be trimming off that front bumper support to let the body slide down about another 3/16" in front. single rear fat tire looks pretty neat! thanks again for looking and commenting! ps to add: those big holes in the side are for the headlamps, didn't like the stock ones so substituted Replicas and Miniatures of Maryland resin louvered hot rod buckets. they look too kool. will probably be in the next photos I post. jb Edited July 30, 2014 by jbwelda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelby 427 1965 Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 oh my god that thing is insanely cool. I love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DynoMight Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Will, that is pure awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent G Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Saweet! G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbwelda Posted July 31, 2014 Author Share Posted July 31, 2014 thanks folks, dang photographs make it obvious I need to polish out that black and reduce the orange peel you can't even really see in real life! (yeah I bet you can though!) jb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 I really like it. Looks like a cross of a computer mouse and a Fiat 500. Abarth built hot-rod Porsches as well as Fiats, so just cram a 356 engine in it somehow and you're good to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geewhiz Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Now that just screams "KOOL." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modelmartin Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Very Cool model! Carlo Abarth was born as Karl in Austria and the Isetta started life in Italy as the ISO before BMW bought it. It is a perfect match of tuner and manufacturer - both German/Italian hybrids! The Messerschmidt should be built as a AMG or Alpina or even Gembella! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsc Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 I really like it. Looks like a cross of a computer mouse and a Fiat 500. That is just hilarious!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TFchronos Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Cool little project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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