Hughie Hogg's VW Beetle (DOH)

[Andrew D the Jolly Roger]

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.  

[Andrew D the Jolly Roger]

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.  

 

[Andrew D the Jolly Roger]

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.

[Casey]

Try wrapping the wire around a machine screw to make the coil springs. That way, each coil will be equally spaced apart from the next one.

I would also suggest buying a razor saw (or two, they come in different tooth counts) and you'll get much better control while cutting.

Neat project, and good on you for turning three kits into one. 😁

[slusher]

Real nice interesting subject. I am very interested in watching your kir bash build..

[Andrew D the Jolly Roger]

9 hours ago, Casey said:

Try wrapping the wire around a machine screw to make the coil springs. That way, each coil will be equally spaced apart from the next one.

I would also suggest buying a razor saw (or two, they come in different tooth counts) and you'll get much better control while cutting.

Neat project, and good on you for turning three kits into one. 😁

Perfect, thanks!

[espo]

First, very impressed with your research on the subject. The way you have done the floor pan gives me an idea for a future project with a Type 1. The nice thing about putting your ideas out there is that there are many here with actual 1:1 back grounds to help on the details. Look forward to watching your build on this.