VW Dave

I've yet to see one in person, but if it's half as nice as their stuff I did get......it looks like a winner. If you need a DC, it's definitely worth the money.

After one of my models received an award at a specific event, I 'retired' that car from that event. The only time I've brought a car back to has been the NNL East for their theme classes, which are non-competitive. I haven't finished anything in a few months at least, and my green '66 Beetle is headed back to NJ with me next month for the 'showroom stock' theme class.

'Impressive' seems like an inadequate term here.....I love it!!

I like it, but couldn't resist saying it: "trailer queen."

My booth has its own dryer-style outside vent on the back wall of our house; I had also considered the Y thing, but the size of the booth dictated it should be farther away from the dryer.

While not a car model, I did something off-the-wall for a C-130 cargo plane model I'm doing for my son. We live in the flight path of the famous Stratton ANG 109th Airlift Wing's 'Snowbirds,' and my 3 year-old is crazy about them. A couple of years back I got one of those 1/130 Testors 'QuickBuilder' snappers, and I added the orange graphics to it before assembling it and hanging it from his bedroom ceiling. A buddy scored me an old 1/72 MPC kit, and I began researching the paint scheme because I felt the larger model deserved more accurate markings. Google yielded almost no good views of the underside, which is IMO everything on a hanging model, and the 1:1 on static display @ Stratton is too far from the road to really get up close to. I called a number listed on Stratton ANG's website and pleaded my case to a very sympathetic Sgt; she said she would forward it to her Lt., but she couldn't make any promises. Lo and behold, about 10 days later the Lt. called me to set up an appointment for me and Dominic to come visit the base and get some 'face time' with the static display plane. I got the needed reference photos I needed, and made Dominic's year....and I may even get an interview in the base's magazine when it's done.

I'll have to go with buying as small a portion of material as possible at Jo-Ann Fabrics for seat upholstery. I'm pretty sure I had to get a fraction of a yard, and I was left with a lot of spare material....TWO colors, both of which were hideous on their own: **DISCLAIMER** No muppets were harmed in the making of this model

The 'Dave' part of my screen name is the easy part to explain. As the story goes, on Christmas day 1970, the newborn me was brought home from the hospital in my aunt's orange '69 Beetle. My parents had a parade of various Volkswagens over the years, and I've had a good number myself as well. I still have my first VW(my '68 Beetle) and my unrestored series 1 Meyers Manx, and I got myself 'marked for life' about 18 years ago: My avatar also changes periodically; it's usually something VW-related, and often one of my own photographs.

After the research I did on the real movie car....and I use the term 'real' loosely....I need to chime in and help disspel some of the misinformation and speculation above: The car is not a Superbird. It is a clone Daytona Charger, based on a very solid and rust-free white 318-powered non-R/T Charger. The rear window plug was indeed taken from a Vega, which is pretty standard practice when making a 'Dayclona.' The west-coaster who started the conversion had a real '69 Daytona at the time, and he was building a clone that he could actualy drive without fear of destroying a 6-figure(at the time) muscle car. His plan was to make it plum crazy purple(with a white tail stripe and interior), which no real Daytona Charger ever came in; that info has been verified by Mopar guru Galen Govier. A strong but stock-appearing 440 is in there now, in place of the original 318. The underhood area had been shot purple, as well as the door jambs, in anticipation of the car's new hue; the purple on the gray primered driver's door was from him clearing out his spray gun. The trunk lid, which had been sitting outside at his house awaiting installation, was black primered and had developed a nice 'patina' that ultimately worked well on the movie car. The story goes that David Spade himself insisted that Joe's ride be a Mopar, and he emphatically picked out that clone Daytona while the film was in pre-production. The guy building it had loaned/rented cars out to the movie industry in the past, so he was no stranger to the process. The car was white with gray primered front fenders and doors when the movie production crew got it; they added the yellow paint, blue paint & faux rust. high-back 1970 Charger buckets, the chain steering wheel and other interior bits were added, as well as air shocks in the rear. The deep Cragars in the rear and one on the right front have been treated to faux rust as well. There are no 'zoomie' pipes on it, but it does have one steelie and some really nice curb feelers. The engine runs strong and makes no smoke, but the movie crew thought it should...rather than mess with a perfectly good engine, they installed a small reservoir and pump which injects a bit of oil into the exhaust for effect. When he got it back from the movie company, the owner liked it so much that he left it as-is. He later sold it on Ebay, and the current owner resides in the Baltimore, MD area. I've seen it up close and personal at the Carlisle 'All-Chrysler Nats' on more than one occasion. Sorry to sound so long-winded, but I've done a good amount of research on the car for my build from a few years ago...and I've been told it shows. http://public.fotki....aytona-charger/

I can't resist, plain and simple....I'll be there again this year, along with Matt T.

No. Many people use future on their clear parts, but the most I've done is polish them.

My first thought when I read this thread was I'd arrive in my classic style: Hmmmm....if money were no object, eh?

I agree, if it's flat glass you can use clear acetate(or any clear material from product packaging); if it's a curved piece, you can often modify the original kit piece.

I keep most of my tutorials in their own Fotki folder.....as my Fotki is in my favorites, there's little or no searching needed(for me or anybody else) http://public.fotki.com/VWDave/how-tos/

I'm a big fan of Tamiya's TS-29 semigloss black nowadays, but my old technique was to lay down a misty coat of flat black enamel, topped with a light coat of clear enamel.

I've heard the same thing about his autographs and the charity donation thing from local Shelby owners that I know.

Nice job on one of my favorite cars...and that MM French blue is another old favorite of mine as well.

My '98 Subaru Legacy daily has a 2.2l flat four with 200K 'break in' miles on it; my '68 Meyers Manx summer toy has a single-port 1600cc with dual carbs and an open header....looks great, sounds better, but it's still slow enough to keep me out of trouble.

I bet that wreck caused delays in people getting their orders from Reliable Resin

(voice from inside the bus)"And now, for my next impression....Gloria Estefan."

Same here. I read, "it took a while, but the products are excellent." Doesn't sound malicious to me, just stating two basic facts...and the compliment isn't backhanded at all.

Nice job on a model of one of my favorite cars...and I too love the color you chose. I missed a green 'flake Manx in 1999 by just a day, only to have my blue one pretty much fall into my lap later that summer.....I still secretly want a green one some day.

I'm not going to hijack the thread by posting pics of my 'Joe Dirt' Daytona, but I can offer a lot of reference material to anybody else looking to build this car as well.

I like it a bunch, and it looks like you did your homework

If you're replicating 'rough cast' aluminum, I recommend Testors One Coat 'Diamond Dust' lacquer without primer, topped with Dullcote. When I was doing my son's chopper, my older brother's 1:1 SofTail inspired me; his engine and primary case are in a very cool semi-rough texture, and I tried to replicate it on the wee V.