Andrew D the Jolly Roger

Wow, thanks for the blast from the past; thanks for the kind words! Much appreciated 😎

Needing just the body and windscreen/side windows of an Aoshima Beetle hardtop (NOT the Cabri). Anyone know how/where I could acquire one without paying $40-50 for the whole kit (incl shipping)?

Perfect, thanks!

Final step for now was scratchbuilding the large McPherson struts. The struts themselves were made from plastic tubing, then the springs made by wrapping metal wire around an appropriately-sized plastic rod then trimmed to shape and installed. Not perfect, but hopefully close enough for this project.

The excellent Revell '68 chassis actually fit the Aoshima body *mostly* well. Only two issues to face. First, it needed widening on both sides with a .040 strip (easy fix). The bigger problem was that the aft wheel wells and engine area didn't fit. So I took a saw and cut partway into the plastic at that area so that the aft area could be bent upward, and then fit quite well, considering.

On to Hazzard County project #10: Hughie Hogg's Volkswagen! The first thing I discovered was that it was NOT a true convertible. Rather, it was a chop-top, as evidenced by the sedan-style windscreen, and the bottoms of the window posts still remaining. The second thing I had to learn was the difference between the classic Beetle and the Super Beetle. I have no doubt this is a "duh" to most of you here in MCM, but I don't come from a major automotive background. Now that some of you were kind enough to educate me, I see clearly that Hughie's ride was most definitely a Super Beetle with the roof cut off. After much more research and guidance from y'all here in MCM, I realized (after much frustration) that I was going to have to kitbash THREE different kits to do this. 1) Aoshima Beetle 1303S for most (not all) of the body and the bumpers 2) Revell '68 Beetle for the chassis, engine, windscreen, rear body vents, tail lights and much of the interior 3) Revell VW Cabriolet for some of the interior and some of the body details I thank all of you for your immense patience as you educated me through my research and prep! I should also mention part of my research was to go through every Dukes episode in which this vehicle appeared, pause the DVD whenever a good view appeared from any angle, and photograph the scene. I then had the photos made into prints to use as I build. Maybe low-tech, but it works for me.

Well, the Aoshima just arrived, total three kits to make one The Aoshima's really basic in the chassis and engine; anyone ever tried fitting the Revell 68 chassis to the Aoshima's body? EDIT: Disregard....seems most of the chassis actually fits really well! But will need a bunch of cutting and replacing stuff for the fender skirts. This will be complicated, but very promising....

Much appreciated, thank you for the guidance! Gonna have a heckuva junkyard of VW parts now from 3 kits....😁

I mis-worded that, I meant to use the Aoshima and fit the similar-though-not-perfect 68 windscreen to it....

Jeez...not often that I have to purchase 3 kits to build one subject, and still not the windscreen....I may just do a "close-enough" with the 68....

Wow...I've already started the '68, was going to use the chassis, rear suspension, engine, interior, windscreen, and then fit different front end....should I totally abort that and rely far more on the Aoshima?

First, I REALLY appreciate the education y'all are patiently giving me! Second, will this kit (link below) give the correct front end (suspension/trunk/etc)? https://www.ebay.com/itm/184787881963?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

Okay, so it's a suspension issue and not a body issue? Would the Revel Cabriolet have the correct front suspension, since I think an Aoshima is beyond me? If I used the Cabr suspension on the regular Revell '68? Am already using the Cabr's seats and bumpers.

Resurrecting this thread; what exactly is the difference in the front/suspension/front area between the "Revell '68 Beetle" and the Super Beetle? Is it a shape difference that I'm missing? Would the Revell Cabriolet have the appropriate differences since I've got that in addition to the Revell "New" for the purposes of some kitbashing?

Kindest thanks for the kind words; I've learned a lot from you folks and have enjoyed your work as well. Well, yeah, except that in the story they had grown up like siblings from a very young age. In the story their parents had all been killed in the same accident when the boys were very young, so Uncle Jesse was mostly the only parent they had known. When I lived in the Deep South for a time I did see cousins close together a couple of times, so I guess it's partially cultural....