Modlbldr

Jairus- Thanks for the encouragement. Sure wish I'd gotten off of my dead rump a few months ago and focused on this. Sure is a lot of little stuff left to do that I hadn't really though about. Plus, the weather isn't wanting to cooperate. But, you being in Portland, I'm sure you're getting it too. Anywho.... I'm still plugging along. Tony- Somehow I don't think that it's going to be that way. I would send Fletch a PM and ask. I haven't heard him around these parts in a while. I hope everything is OK with him. Whatever the process is going to be I'll need to get in on it. I doubt I'll have the time or money to head to Portland, as much as I'd love too. I've got to meet Jairus someday.... (Just a little sucking up there). Later-

I got a chance today to do a bit of puttying on the bumpers. I ended up having to put another strip of half round (this time Evergreen #242)on each bumper to give it even more height. It looks as if the rear bumper is going to have to sit lower than the drawing in order to clear the engine cover. Oh well. I may get out to the model room tonight to do the taping of the interior for the second color, Coral blue. The white is all painted. Thanks for looking. Any comments welcomed. Later-

Got a bit more progress made these last couple of days. I sanded the welting(??) off between the body and fenders to clean up the front and back ends a bit. I also filled and sanded the original mounting holes for the bumpers and started adding the height to the bumpers. What I did for this was judged where i wanted the extra height. I determined that from the way the bumpers sat in relation to the body the rear bumper needed the height added on the top and the front needed it added to the bottom. I started by gluing the half round strip to the respective edge then filled in the gap with some hex rod that was all I had on hand that was small enough to work. Here is the front bumper before putty and sanding. Once the putty is in place and dry, I'll sand it down and get more photos posted. I've managed to get enough good weather to start the interior painting. Got the panels, seats, steering wheel, and center consoles painted gloss white. Next is to tape off for the Coral blue. Hopefully today. I'll have most of the day alone but I'm working on sanding my bedroom walls for painting too. Always some sort of "honey do". Later-

Ulf- That's looking good. I like the new coat of paint and the smoothed dash is cool. I've got a 50 convertible that I converted to a 50 ford sedan instead of a coupe. It has a longer roof on it. I stretched a roof from the 49 I'll get it finished someday. Here's a photo. I hope you don't mind. I've gotten more done to it than this pic shows. drip rails added, custom frenched tail lights and headlights, etc. Next up for it is paint. Later-

Continued- As I compare the height of the bumpers to that of the drawing the bumpers don't seem tall enough. I'm sure this wasn't intentional by Jairus, but, as we are trying to match the look of the drawing, I think that I will make them a tad taller. Here is the link to the drawing- http://i486.photobucket.com/albums/rr225/Modlbldr/JWAC%20Beetle/TheBeetle.jpg My idea is to add a strip of #240 half round to the bottoms of the bumpers and mold them in. That's it for today. I'm still waiting for a bit of warmer/dryer weather to do some painting. Till then I'll keep on with the small mods. Gonna work on these bumpers a bit and perhaps get the exhaust figured out today. Later-

Got a little more progress done ( very little) and got a couple of pix to show. First of all I shaved the handles off of the interior panels. I'm going to put some P.E. power window switches on. I've had them for years and keep forgetting to use them. here are the shaved panels. I think that I am finally settled on a light blue and white interior color. Blue will be Tamiya TS-41 Coral Blue. For the body, I decided that the closest I could come to matching the color is using the Tamiya Coral blue with some of their X-25 Clear Green mixed with the clear coat and misted on as a highlight. Should work. Next I lowered the mounting points for the front bumper to get it to line up with the bottom of the fender. To do this I cut notches in the body below the mounting holes, which will be filled. More to come. Later-

Great looking idea there Olskool. She'll love it, I'm sure. That's what I like about the guys here (and on other sites in this hobby. They're always willing to help each other out. Keep it up, Guys. Oh, and Thanks Dave!!!! Later-

Welcome to the site!! I like the work you've done so far. Nice work on painting the wheel centers. If you wanted a closer color you should check out something like Tamiya Mica Blue. It's a little darker than the 1:1 color but much closer than what you have there. I also like the silve Caprice in the background. Again, Welcome. Let us see more. Later-

Gil- Another great job!! Is the body color Rootbeer? Must have been a nice display for the show. Later-

Gil- That is a great paint job! Just goes to show that a simple job can be outstanding. Makes me think that I can accomplish it too. Thanks for sharing. Later-

I'm liking this. Nice conversion to a 'vert and the interior is beautiful. I stopped by my local HobbyTown a few months ago and they were just finishing up a Make-n-Take. I got in on throwing together on of these Snap-Tites with a couple of the kids that were there with their parents. I told the guy running it that I liked the wheels on the 57 so he gave me another model of it before I left. So I scored two of the 57's for NADA! Later-

I, too, have used plain ol' Elmer's glue for mock ups. As for the putty, you can get some Bondo at a auto parts store. It comes in an orange and white tube. There are two different kinds. I think that you are looking for the professional type. It won't shrink like the other. Someone else here can confirm this. Later-

Bruce- This thing is turning out sweet. The color combo really suits the lines of the build. And I really like the use of that T-bird hood! Another beautiful job. Later-

David- Thanks for the tutorial on this. As you may know, I've been asking a few questions about how to do a paint job like this. I'm glad that you have answered a lot of my questions and it doesn't look as hard as I thought. We'll see how it turns out when I give it a try. Thanks again. Later-

Got the interior parts all stripped today and ready to start over with the painting. Should be able to get to it tomorrow. I am also going to try to get the exhaust system completed this week. The ball is starting to roll on this one!!!! Now if I could just find a job to relieve mine and my wife's stress a bit! Later-

I bought some of those a while ago to use as custom rings on the rear valance panel for the exhaust pipes to exit through. Still haven't done it yet, but should look real nice. Your velocity stacks look real nice too. Later-

Thanks guys. I sprayed some oven cleaner on the interior parts yesterday and as soon as I finish with a little studying I'm going to run them under some soap and water and begin the repaint. Later-

Art- That would be cool. Let's hope someone takes you up on it. Later-

Here is a quick photo of where my project Beetle sits now. I've been spending the last few days ironing out the details of the Porsche tail. What a pain that was. Anywho, here it is for tonight. I just got done gluing some small Rare Earth magnets onto the body and engine boot so that it will stay in place yet be easily removable. Tomorrow I'll probably strip the interior paint and try and get it repainted in a two tone tan paint again. Later-

Ed- That sounds great. If you've got any I'll take them. What do you need for them? PM Me. Later-

Thanks for the replies guys. I'll check out ESC. Later-

Casey- That is a double A (AA) battery. The part is plastic and has been painted silver. The picture of the back shows the paint sanded off to reveal original plastic. Later-

In the November issue of MCM Gregg mentioned that hopefully we will see some number and race team decals soon. Does anyone know if there are any variations available out there yet? Later-

Can anyone tell me what this part is and from what kit (or kits)? Also, Do you have any to trade? I'm looking for a few. Indents have been drilled out. Back side has been sanded. Lying next to a AA Battery for size comparison and for support. Any help appreciated. Later-

Wayne- I like the way this is turning out and I really like that top chop. Gives it quite a sinister look. Keep at it. Later-