Atmobil

Thank you for the comments guys

And here I am today: I have started to modify the body for the baja look. Here you can see the body still loose on the floorpan to get a the idea of how it will look when done.

I did more work on the floorpan, removed the molded-in runningboards and with the detailed frontsuspension added. I detailed the frontsuspension with scartchbuilt steeringarms and discbrakes from a Fujimi Mitsubishi kit. Also used the discbrakes from that kit on the back. Here you can see the floorpan with the still not glued in but detailed engine. Still need to make exhaust system and carbrods for the engine aswell as a starter motor.

The kit engine does not have the pushrod tubes, so I added them from a bit of brassrod I took the double Weber carb setup from the old 1:25 Revell kit and it looks quite good. Simple painting and detailing.

The front suspension as it came out of the box: After some work: The wheels I decided on: From left to right: AMT Goodyear Tracker A-T with AMT rim from Ford Econoline "Phantom", Polarlights kit wheel, AMT Goodyear two part styrenewheel from Meyers Manx kit with AMT rim from Ford Econoline kit. The left one is the front wheels for this project and the right one is the rear wheels. I was at first thinking about using the engine from the new tool Revell AG 68 beetle kit because that it a doubleport engine. But comparing the engine from the Revel kit with the engine from the Tamiya 66 and this Polar Lights kit it was very apparent that the Revell one was a lot wider and longer and would not fit between the forks. From left to right: Revell, Polar Lights and Tamiya. So I decided to use the one in the Polar Lights kit, it is quite complete and well detailed and with some aditional work it will come out very well. Here it is, assambled straight from the box:

So I have wanted to build a baja bug for several years but when Olle (Chromecop) started his build last october I really felt it was time for me to start aswell and when I saw his pictures of the nearly finished Herbie baja bug I started on a project based on the Polarlights snap kit in the recent Spider Man release. This is what I started with: First I started to modify the floorpan, they have molded the rear part of the inner body to the floorpan and my inital plan was to keep it there but I soon realized that I needed to take it away to modified the rearsuspension. I cut of the rear part and glued the rear fork inplace and started making a IRS The IRS have been made with brass tube and styre profiles and some coilovers that I got from an old scrapmodel (a Tamiya Mitsubishi Pajero Paris Dakar). I also got other parts from this: I'm not using much of these on this model but the parts may come in handy for some other project.

I'm not sure the roof is too tall, you may be fooled by the wheelarch extensions on the real car. I think the model will need a lot of work to look alright.

I belive this is the same as the Heller kit, I think I have seen some built ups on this forum.

Yes, mk1 Escort kit is long overdue, I think it will sell really well.

I am also a fan of most things commercial. At most of the modelshows I have been to I usually have more models in the Light Commercial class than any other class. If I don't do an exact replica of something or make a model of something that could have belonged to a specific real life company or state/counsil/public office vehicle I do like the idea of coming up with a vehicle with a comedic punchline to it. Back in 2005, I did build Revells 37 Ford deliveryvan in to a hearse and called it To Die For'd and that it belonged to Toten Begravelsesbyrå (Toten is a place in Norway but in german it has the meaning of "to kill" and begravelsesbyrå is the norwegian word for undertaker/funeral business) and I gave it the registrationnumber of D666 (D was the old registrationnumber erea code for Toten, but it could also stand for "Døden" death or "Djevel" devil) and I managed to get a skeleton figure that was about 1:25 scale in a toystore that I made cloak for so that it looked like the hearse was being driven by the Grim Reaper. I once also had plans on making a van with a very inside joke for a business that could possibly have been run by an old school mate of mine. I called the business Johan fra Roan - Kaffemaskinreparatør. The joke here was so inside that only I would ever find it funny. Johan (yes, like the old modelcompany) was a schoolmate of mine and he came from a place called Roan (Johan fra Roan means simply Johan from Roan and kaffemaskinreparatør means coffee maker reapir man) and when we went to school together the class all chipped in on buying a coffee maker. We got a very cheap one, costing something in the region of 15-20 US dollars. It broke after a week and we all wanted to take it back to the store but Johan insisted he was going to repair it. He maneged to get it all apart and in to all its little parts but never managed to get it back toghether again and obviously we could not get or money back or a new one. I never did build the model either...

I thought of it the other way, that the company that made the model is not mentioned and loses sales because the company that sells the box has nothing on the box about who made the model. I can understand that a company that makes display boxes only will have a difficult time showing it in use but what they can do is have a picture of the box with a model like we see here but on the box you will also find information on who made the model. And if AMT sells displayboxes it does feel more natural that they show it with one of their products inside even if the box does not originate from AMT (the kit does not have to either as long as it is currently in AMT lineup). It makes more sense to me anyway.

Yes, I want the power wagon. But is it even legal to show a product on the packaging that you don't sell yourself?

I like the idea of a coroners wagon, I guess I'm a bit morbid sometimes.

Here is a picture of the 1:35 resin kit built up at the 2005 Nürnberg fair, it was made by Plus Model: http://www.ipmsdeutschland.de/Ausstellungen/Nuernberg2005/Nuernberg_2005.html At that time, no one was thinking it was possible that we would get a great plastic kit of this car (Plus Model also had the ordinary G4) but then came ICM and made first a great 1:35 plastic kit and then they released them in 1:24 aswell. I owned the 1:35 resin kit but sold it some years ago but now I'm thinking of getting one of these ICM 1:24 kits and scratchbuilding the wagonpart on the back.

Really nice. I think it looks more convincing as a pickup than a personellcar. I once had a 1:35 scale resin kit of a car based on the chassis of the G4 that was a sort of wagon thing that they used as a radiocar in WWII. I had plans back then to convert the resin kit into a hearse. A sort of 6x6 offroad hearse, for the more remote burials

Cool project, with the colors and the wheels I get the wibe of late 80s/early 90s cal look that one can see in Nigel Grimshaws book The Volkswagen Beetle from 1993 (my copy from 1998 has ISBN number 0 86288 134 X) if you don't have it you should look it up. Great photos in that book

I fully agree

I can reveal that on the model I posted above the builder used plastic spoons to make the fenderskirts/wheelcovers.

Now that is an idea I really like with that kit

Looks like a nice start. You are correct that the tool is of older date, the original release of that kit was back in 68 and it has been out many times since.

Ahhh...look at that...he has made others aswell

Maybe they will, in a new version of Top Gear....maybe even a all-girl team?

That Capri was quite cool, must have taken some work to plan it all out. The first one is the best custom styling job I have seen on a Passat. I wonder what it does with the aerodynamics for the cars and the fuelconsumption?

I have seen that picture before, I think it is a photoshop job but I'm not sure. It's not pretty but still a heck of a lot better than most new stuff you can buy today like the Nissan "Puke" (infact most of Nissans current lineup should be called Puke). If you took the windshield (with the shoulder line and made the sidestripe follow) a bit further down and inlarged the grille a bit the front would be better I think. Maybe make the wheelopening a bit bigger and give it some bigger wheels and possibly add some sidewindows. Someone here good at photoshop?

Well, probably no kit you could buy but the Heller 135 is already mentioned and here is the result of a Norwegian modellers work with the same inspiration: The builders name is André Kristoffersen and he built this in 2011 for the theme class at the Norwegian Challenge show where the theme was non american models before 1940. He also did this to the Delage D8SS