VW Dave

Totally off-the-wall and cool...me likey

The one time I tried VHT Night Shades it etched the kit glass so badly it was unuseable. I've had good luck with tinted report covers from Staples or OfficeMax; it's thinner than kit glass so it's more 'scale correct,' and it cuts/glues very easily. I used it on my Rabbit limo, and put the door glass halfway down: Another tip I heard of many years ago but never tried was developed-but-blank 35mm film negatives, but the narrow width limits its uses except on chopped hot rods

If the stock ones are the '66-67 'open' style(with holes all around), and the deeper rears are the earlier solid ones, I'm pretty sure you got them from (un)Reliable resins. He sent me a set as a freebie once to make up for leaving me twisting in the wind, and I sent them back for 2 reasons: they were mismatched(open and solid), and the deeper ones have a nasty weld bead-looking line part way around them that must have been glue weepage on the master that was never cleaned up

I hate to say it, but I'm pretty sure you're looking at some scratchbuilding to get those items

You might find them in 1/18 from GMP, but I've never seen them available in 1/16

As not every kit is precisely scaled, I usually do my plates on a 'model-by-model' basis....but even that method can be wrong - I used the rear plate assembly on the repopped AMT Manx buggy to reduce/resize my custom plates for it, and the front one turned out to be too wide for the recess under the nose(DOH!!!). I simply made a spacer to move it out a smidge and called it done.

I haven't seen anybody offering resin stuff, but you can source good bits in a few places: * The Revell Beetle kits and the Monogram 'Lil Van' buggy have nice dual carb/manifold assemblies * I use soft aluminum rod(also called 'armature wire') for headers I haven't seen resin wheels for wide-5 VW models, but you may wanna take a look here...make sure you're sitting down first: http://motohashi-mww.com/ I have a set of Motohashi's excellent white metal BRMs, which are sized to fit the Tamiya kit's Continental tires: They are priced at 1800Yen for a set of 4, which www.xe.com says is currently $22.73. Shipped to the US I paid about 30 beans for the set, and they came in just a few days He offers machined BRMs pre-painted/polished as well, for a mere 35000Yen(about $441); he told me the painting process is very tedious when I got my unpainted ones: His Centerlines are beyond amazing, but also beyond my budget: 38000Yen(about $479) He says that each wheel takes over 8 hours to fully machine, which would explain the high admission price:

As of yesterday the model is complete....I'm finalizing a few details on the raffle itself before I actually 'pull the trigger,' but here's a look at the little car all together: Note the November '08 issue of MCM, with Tim Boyd's Manx build on the cover:

I don't have any pics, but in my stash I have a set of 18" Ruf wheels by Fujimi that would just about match those perfectly.

You won't be sorry ordering from Hideo-san; his communication, speed and safety of shipments are only rivaled by the quality of his work. Many stateside suppliers could learn a thing or two from him.

Along with the excellent buggy windshield frame I posted this past week, my friend Hideo from Japan makes very cool machined wheels: Note the seemingly huge match sticks.....these wheels are for 1/64th-scale Hotwheels cars!! http://motohashi-mww.com/

Great job, and I really-really love the color

The first time I clicked on the site, I got a message about a language pack; you can probably find a free download online. If you're not into that, email Hideo Motohashi through the site...his English is better than that of some people in the US, and he's always glad to answer questions.

Here's Motohashi's website address: http://motohashi-mww.com/ He does some amazing machined wheels....for 1/64 Hotwheels cars!

Glad to help, and I really think you'll like those nails as baby moons; the nickel plating is far better than any kit chrome. If you have trouble finding them locally, PM me your mailing addy and I'll send you a set.

Took the words right outta my mouse, Charlie. If others like it, I consider it a bonus....and if they don't, I'm alright.

My best Ebay score was an OOP Esci Rabbit GTI kit for $3.99 plus 6 bucks for shipping; those kits rarely pop up for less than 20 beans unbuilt. The seller misspelled 'Volkswagen' in their listing, so I was the only bid, and I got it for the opening bid amount.

Thanks for the kudos, it really means a lot coming from you folks. I'm hoping that the handful of personal touches I'm adding can make the raffle a big success, even though I'm starting to get kinda attached to this little gem. Gluebomber - The flake paint job is a special system I've developed, which utilizes Tamiya sprays and craft store brush-on(yes, BRUSH) acrylic glitter paint. The flakes are technically out-of-scale, but I feel that dune buggies are flamboyant and kinda 'larger than life,' so it's OK: http://public.fotki.com/VWDave/how-tos/dune-buggy-approved/

Check the hardware section of your local Lowe's or Home Depot for 'furniture nails.' I got a pack of 25 smooth, nickel-plated ones that really look the part...for about $1.25

While perusing the clearance aisle at our local 'Great Wal of Mart' the other day, I found these sequins among the craft ribbon: After a little snipping of thread and maybe 20 minutes of 'down time' during the TV news, I stripped the bottom roll(1/2" x 12 feet) clean and yielded a lifetime supply of CDs for car interiors. Snipping them in half makes for a convincing 'in-dash' player, like I did in my Miata in the 1990s:

I've been keeping this one kinda quiet, but it's hard to do so when the end is in sight.....so I'm offering a little sneaky-peeky. A local young couple had a baby girl in March of this year, and at 11 days old she was diagnosed with a heart valve issue that needed surgery to remedy; as of now, she has had 3 surgeries. Needless to say, the medical insurance shortfall they are facing is staggering. After donating all we could, I hatched a plan to donate much more than I could alone: build a totally one-off custom Manx and raffle it. In 1999 our VW club did the very thing, and the Tamiya New Beetle I built helped out a local animal rescue group. Stay tuned for more details, but for now enjoy a little preview: Hideo-san sent me his new website address: http://motohashi-mww.com/ Prepare to be amazed by his stuff.......especially the machined Hotwheels(1/64!!!) Weld & Radir wheels

I recently became acquainted with a guy named Hideo Motohashi via Facebook, and boy am I glad I did. He is a fellow VW nut from the far east, and an extremely talented machinist to boot. Not long ago he shared pictures of his machined Duralumin windshield frame for the AMT Meyers Manx kit, and once I regained consciousness I knew I had to have one...or three. The kit-supplied part is awful chunky and inaccurate: Motohashi's is head and shoulders above the kit part; I even fabbed my own polished aluminum roll bar to complement it, because it made the kit-supplied bar look like a booger: Here's a link to my whole set of photos: http://public.fotki....ashi-engraving/ I'm not sure how much the windshield will sell for, but it will surely be worth every penny. I will follow-up with details and his own website address very shortly

Love it!!

It's been said already by everybody, but I really like where this one is headed too. Aluminum foil maybe? Cuts easily with a #11 or small scissors, and offers a nice scale thickness.

Me likey.