David G.

Thank you Dave, I'm glad to know you like it. Knowing your level of work, I value your comment, thanks Mark.

Nicely Done! David G.

Excellent work! David G.

Thanks Tom, I do try to be reasonably accurate in most cases, but I try not to be a slave to it. I've owned a number of Volksies over the years and have always wanted to convert one from LHD to RHD but never did. When I learned that this one allowed the option, the choice was obvious. I've decided to make it an Aussie Bug and have been researching 1968 NSW number plates. Thanks Eric. I'd like to build a Tamiya kit one day too. I believe that they are a little closer in design (chassis structure, etc.) to the prototype than this one is, correct? The Revell kit is a nice kit but having worked on many Bugs first-hand, the kit's chassis seems kind of weird to me. David G.

I'm going to see if I can finish this one this year. If I don't get it done, at least I'll have an early start on 2018. I used gasket material to make some tar-board insulation for the engine compartment. It's probably not factory correct for 1968 but I had a '72 Super Beetle very close to this color and it just feels right to me. The dashboard is finished and ready to install. As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to comment. David G.

Thank you Gary, it's very kind of you to say so. David G.

Excellent work! David G.

Nicely Done! David G.

Excellent work! Well worth the effort. David G.

Nicely done! Everything looks very solid. David G.

Time for a little update To bring out the relief detail of the seats and door panels I lightly traced over the pleats and seams with a mechanical pencil then washed most of it off with dish detergent and a toothbrush. Revell thoughtfully provides a decal of the Wolfsburg crest for the horn button. It's probably not factory correct for 1968 but I had a '72 Super very close to this color and it just feels right to me. As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to comment. David G.

Thank you Carl, I'm glad you like it. David G.

Impressive as always G! David G.

Thanks Ron! Thank you Túlio. I agree with you on the wipers, they're clunky and tricky to mount. One of the thin, delicate locating pins on them had broken off in transit and the one that remained didn't provide didn't provide a strong indication of proper position in relation to the windshield. I ended drilling them both out and pin-mounting them with wire. But that's all a part of building them, eh? David G.

Thanks Bill! David G.

Thanks for the tip David, I'll look into that.

It's an uncommon kit but it was not one of the more popular kits of the day. It took a couple of years of keeping my eyes open before one turned up at a swap meet for $50- not too expensive for a forty year old kit. If it were up to me, I'd surprise him with the kit and give him the option of building it. Most craft stores should have suitable paints and supplies, of you're lucky you may have an old fashioned hobby shop nearby. There are also a lot of online vendors of paints and supplies. I have a couple of great hobby shops close by I don't buy very much online but a google search should turn up a number of options. Good Luck, David G.

Time for a little bit of an update: Wheels on the ground. I always consider getting the wheels mounted the unofficial half-way point. Chassis- complete with frame horns and lightly seasoned with weathering pastels. Started detail painting of the interior. I painted seats and most of the interior in Tamiya white primer with the intention of using that as the Flat White in the color call-out. It looks like I'm going to have to use a wash or some kind of weathering to bring out the relief detail. Test fit the bits. As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to comment. David G.

Very cool, nice photos too! David G.

Looks great so far! David G.

Thanks John. That's exactly what I did. After painting the engine case and trans-axle with a combination of Testors Aluminium Plate and Titanium, I used a thin wash of Tamiya Flat Black Acrylic on them. The heat boxes are painted with some old Poly Scale Rust and dry-brushed with Testors Flat Light Tan Enamel. I then used various shades of powdered artists pastels to even everything out. Thanks Bill. The rear frame and suspension are installed as a unit, sort of K-frame style. Thanks everybody for your comments. I hope to be posting more pictures soon. David G.

Cliff and Brian- Thanks, I'm glad you like it. David G.

Nicely Done! David G.

The next kit on deck is Revell's 1968 WV Beetle. This is a reboxing of Revell of Germany's Euro-spec Type 1 in 1:24. Most of the cars I build are 1:25, but most people would never notice the difference between the two scales. This is a decent representation of the standard Type-1 engine. There were of course, a few compromises made in creating the kit, but nothing that detracts from the overall impression. The tan things that look like bratwurst are the heater boxes. The instructions called for them to be painted steel colored. Anybody who has ever built an air cooled VW engine knows that it only takes about three day's worth of driving to start to turn the pretty new heater boxes to a chalky rust color. Not exactly true to an 1:1 VW chassis, but good enough for this model kit. So there's about ten hours worth of work. I may get this one finished this year. As always, please feel free to comment and thanks for taking the time to look. David G.

Looks great so far. David G.