VW Dave

I'm not sure that 'rat rod' is a good description of that car, with big-ticket items like the 502 and F&F wheels, but I do like the the stance and stretch. *I couldn't make out the rears, but the directional front tires are pointed in the wrong direction

Tim's spot on with his info, it's the EMPI Imp. I had two of those kits that I traded away, and now they're kinda hard-to-find. I'm a Manx guy to the core, but the Imp sure is a cool looking machine; as it was based on a stock Beetle pan, it could actually seat four people(unlike the Manx). There were no less than three gennie Imps at Carlisle this spring, and I'm pretty sure two of them were wearing their original gel-coat IMPORT CARLISLE 2009

The wheels are kinda big, but the style works well with the car; nice job indeed! I've owned 4 Mk2 GTIs, and I'm a big fan of that Fujimi kit. Lee - That kit is a curbside. The revell GTI is a full-detail model, but the Fujimi's proportions are much nicer.

Tamiya sprays are one of my favorites, and I agree with the acrylic brush paints for ease of clean-up(although I still use Testors enamels for brushwork).

I rarely enter contests anyway, so I probably had no business replying in the first place. I'm much more into an NNL-style event than a competitive event nowadays, having burned myself out on contests in my teens. My reasons for building these days is vastly different from when I was 18.

I read the rules carefully, and those two rules made me think you were not around for the summer of '69(a quick peek at your profile confirmed that). My family lived in the town of West Hurley NY, about 2 miles south of Woodstock, and less than a half hour from Yasgur's farm in Bethel.....my folks had 2 Beetles, and in the sumer of '69 you couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting some sort of European compact car(911, 356, Triumph, MG, Healy, VW, etc.). Here's a shot from Bethel when the Woodstock festival was going on.....looks like a few imports and compacts snuck in I'm not into joining the build, but the narrow scope of the rules really caught my attention.

You took the words right out of my mouse, Dave. I'm not keen on the idea of a cash prize for my work; putting a price on something I consider priceless goes against the very reasons I'm into this hobby. A lucky ticket drawn for a cool door prize like a model kit, t-shirt or a gift certificate is more my speed.

I have become a much bigger fan of constructive criticism as I've grown older, and posting pictures on the web opens the door for both good and bad comments....dealing with it just 'comes with the territory.'

The clearance aisle is a regular stop for me at our local store.

I mainly use Zap-a-Gap super glue, and I sprinkle baking soda over it while wet for heavier structural bonds(the kind that don't show). Devcon and Permatex 5-minute epoxy are another couple of my favorites.

You'd be better off starting from scratch to make a Thing, as the two are completely different.....however, as you will not see another Thing model very often, it could be done. Doug Rogers did his from the Hasegawa Kübelwagen, if memory serves correctly. BAJA TYPE 181 I'm also looking forward to that new Bus model, believe it or not.

Those are two of my favorite VW kits, and you did a great job on both. I really like the color on the Ghia as well, and I'm curious what paint you used. Picking out the Beetle's fender beading in black is a nice touch, and not an easy task.

Very nice job indeed....and that front 3/4 view makes it look mean!! I've worked a lot of years in shipping & receiving and I've sent a few finished models to new homes as far away as TX and CA; here's what I've done: The finished model is always secured to a show case base(usually AMT) with small zip-ties; this reduces the risk of future damage by over-handling IMO, and the only maintenance needed by the new owner is cleaning the clear case cover. Wrap the hood separately, and pack it in the end of the showcase box to keep it from banging into the car during transit. I fit the case cover in place and rubber band it before sliding the case into its original box. Wrap the show case box in bubble wrap and pack it in a slightly larger box(maybe even add some foam peanuts if there's room). I then pack that box in a larger one surrounded by foam peanuts to provide a 'crumple zone,' in case an overzealous postal/UPS worker decides it's his turn to kick a winning field goal. Tracking and insurance are two things I recommend, and I've had better luck with UPS when it comes to shipping finished models. PA to TN should only be a day or two via Ground shipping, and you can have them email you tracking info directly with their 'QuantumNotify' system. The packing method I use may amount to overkill, but I always 'err on the side of caution.'

I've used a lot of Eastwood's products with good results; none of their stuff is cheap, but they have yet to steer me wrong. I've yet to use their radiator paint, as the old cars I tinker with don't have radiators, but that would be my choice over hi-temp or hardware store paint. RADIATOR PAINT

Nice pics, and thanks for sharing; I really like your Willys coupe. That clean bubbletop looks very peculiar with a cracked windshield....I wonder what's the story behind that one. I would suggest that you volunteer to judge the next show if you believe you can help sustain a sense of fair play, but as a judge you would be ineligible as far as awards go. Probably not a feasible idea.....I'm not sure that someone who calls another builder's work an "inaccurate pile" can be truly unbiased.

It's obvious the car was special to your uncle back then, and I'm sure he'll be thrilled with the model of it; you're doing it up right for sure. Here's my question, however: does your uncle know you're doing the model? I've done a couple of replica builds as surprise gifts in the past, and they never fail to blow people's minds.

Hearing 'GT500' and 'pink' in the same sentence had me a little spooked, but I am very impressed; your daughter is a lucky girl indeed.

Vince - Bear in mind that, among this group, there are no 'stupid' questions. Ask away, and you are bound to get at least three different angles on how to get over whatever you're working on. Bill's right on the patience part, and don't ever let the work of others intimidate you. It may have been decades ago for most of us, but we too were newbies once.

I recommended Sharpies to my friend Matt when I stopped by one day, and helped solve a couple of problems he had looming on the horizon. The bed 'wood' is simply brown Sharpie used right on the white kit plastic, and it was reapplied randomly to give a better grain look. I know there are ways to get a much more realistic-looking wood, but this was done in mere minutes(I call it the 'stupid easy' method). He also did the 'taillights' in the bumperettes with a red Sharpie: Like a previous poster said, I also use the silver Sharpie for the trim on my weathered models. It looks decent, and it's super fast:

I finally got off my duff and put my NNL East pics up. There's probably nothing there that hasn't been seen already, but you never know. Here's the link: NNL East 2009 And here's a few of my personal favorites:

You took the words right out of my mouse, Bob. Very nice job on the Subie, and I am also looking forward to seeing the Duc.

It's good to see one of those kits put to good use....I generally view them as donors. I have a lot of spares from those kits, just ask me. If you are planning a turbo or N/A motor, I can help out with materials and reference materials(especially for the exhaust). Check out the galleries over at www.thesamba.com for good views.

I've gotten some very nice resin subs & amps from The Parts Box, although you're on your own as far as cabintery goes(it does vary by the car anyway). Check them out at www.thepartsbox.com , and don't be intimidated by the fact that they're in Australia - their communication and shipping time is second to none. To make it worthwhile, I had 2 buddies go in on an order with me, and we split the postage. If you can find the last issue of AMT's Dodge D-50 pickup, the kit-supplied bed cover had 4 subs molded into it....IIRC they were roughly 15" speakers in scale. I made a latex mold of mine several years back and popped out a few epoxy-resin copies before the mold wore out. The recent Revell snapper Caprice police car has a nice laptop-ish computer, and the screen from that unit could make a nice dash-mounted screen as well.

What can I say that hasn't been said already? Looks great, Dan! I'm glad to see you got such good results with the SF set your first time out as well.

I know very few that can be posted here, but I'll give it a try. A blond spots a thermos on her co-worker's desk on Monday morning, asks what it is and what it does. The man replies, "it's my thermos....it keeps hot things hot, and cold things cold." She is genuinely impressed by this new knowledge, and the curious item stays on her mind all week. The following Monday rolls around, and the blond has a shiny new thermos standing proudly on her desk. She points it out to another co-worker and says, "this is my thermos. It keeps hot things hot, and cold things cold." The woman asks her what she has inside it and she replies, "two popsicles and a cup of coffee."