1/16 Volkswagen Transporter Samba Bus

[The Creative Explorer]

So, after a long period of waiting after the rumours started, the moment was finally there, I got my hands on the new Revell Samba bus. It is an all new tooling kit, but there is more new than just that.

Starting with the boxart, it has a new style for the European Revell modelkits, I have seen it on a few more new models, so I guess it is the new corporate style for the European market. As usual, it has a very nice box-art on it.

The box is also nicely filled, what a good thing is, is that the box is perfect in size. The parts are not cramped together, nor completely loose.

Next are the many sprues, all are nicely packed. No more than 2 sprues in one plastic bag.

 

The chromepieces are packed seperate

 

The decals seems to be nice, but for this size of a kit, I would've expected more decals

 

Unfortunately, the clearparts are packed together, I would've liked to see that they were seperate.

 

 

 

 

As you can see, the 1/16 is based upon the same construction as the 1/24 ones, multipiece body, but it is more detailed

 

 

And another new for Revell; a new style manual. In colour!

I must say that I really like it, these are the color outings

And this is the new style construction drawings. They have been using 3D digital drawings for a while now, but with adding color, it looks so much nice.

 

 

I am very happy with what I have found in the box. The parts look nice and I have no doubt they will fit together nicely.

However; I am somewhat dissappointed in the little detail on the technical side (engine, suspension etc...) They could've gone a few steps further in this scale. But it does look better than the 1/12 Mustang.

I also find the price a bit steep, over here the going rate is 70 euro's retail. I have seen a little lower prices, but still around the same ball game. I think 50 or so, would be a bit fairer in price.

[Mark]

I already have too many VW Type 1s in 1/24 and 1/25 scale...but, will be looking for one of these nevertheless...

[DeTomaso]

Great in box review.It looks to be about 90% the same as the 1/24.

Agree about the level of detail.Very much like a diecast in places.

Good to see they are using a proper box an not the awful end opening carton.

Two quick questions please,are either of the main floor/chassis parts twisted and is there a copyright date on them ? Thanks

 

[The Creative Explorer]

No, All parts seems to be pretty straight, even for those big pieces.

And I have not seen a copyright date on them, but haven't looked very much into each single part. Although I would think there would be a date somewhere.

 

I don't think it looks 90% the same, even though it appears to be the same, all the parts are more detailled than the 1/24 counterpart.

It is not as similar as the 1/12 Mustang and the 1/24

Edited December 19, 2015 by The Creative Explorer

[pharoah]

Thanks for the review!  I have the 1/24th version too. The only complaint I have is that the instructions are printed too fine. It's hard for me to see. The lines need to be heavier.

[Adhsdad]

Where did you get your kit?

[unclescott58]

Great review. But, nothing I'll be pursuing. The scale is wrong for me. Plus as others have noted, it doesn't look like it really offers anything over Revell's 1/24 scale version. Which is also very, very nice kit. But again, thanks for the great review.

[socal76]

Mark, since you have "too many" in 1/24th or 1/25th sell me some cheap so you have some funds to get one of the 1/16th scale ones!  LOL

[Jordan White]

So I'm guessing it's about on par with the 1/16 Beetle kit? I have that one and there are some parts that are lacking in detail in relation to the scale of the kit (engine is a big one).

[stavanzer]

Just noticed, three different styles of  Bumpers. None on the Chrome tree though.

I wonder if there will be a US / California version kitted, with Chrome Bumpers and California Lic Plate decals. Be nice to have but I don't know it it will ever happen.

What year excatly is this bus? My Folks had a new 62/63 Bus when I was born. Might be worth buying one of these kits to build for them. They called her "Boo Boo, the Baby Bus" They didn't sell her until I was about 11-12. I rember helping my dad rebuild the engine on the Kitchen table when In was 7-8 years old. It was the most "Interesting Thing" I'd ever seen, up until then. I remeber playing on the floor with the old Pistons, Conn Rods, and Wrist Pins. Wonderful stuff for an 8 yr old boy!

[The Creative Explorer]

There are only 2 bumpers mentioned in the booklet, so that indicates there will be more 1/16 transporter vans in the future. I put my money on a panelvan, looking at those bumpers.

About the US version, it is in the box. Those bumpers with extra guards are for the USA version, but you have to make your own licenseplate and chrome the bumpers. But that has to happen with the Euro version too.

[stavanzer]

Ah, thanks, Eric.

That puts this kit on the "If I ever get Lucky" list.

[Casey]

On 12/19/2015 at 7:14 AM, Mark said:

I already have too many VW Type 1s in 1/24 and 1/25 scale...but, will be looking for one of these nevertheless...

Not sure if you picked one up yet, but for anyone interested in doing so, here's where I bought mine. It took the full 14 days to ship after I placed my order, and there's no tracking for your package when you use the cheapest two methods, but it arrived almost exactly one month after my order was placed:

https://www.shop4megastore.com/model-kits/vw-t1-samba-bus-cars-116-level-5-revell-model-kit

 

I looked on eBay for a few weeks, and didn't want the newer Technic kit with the working lights, so this was a good option for me.

On 12/26/2015 at 1:55 AM, The Creative Explorer said:

There are only 2 bumpers mentioned in the booklet, so that indicates there will be more 1/16 transporter vans in the future. I put my money on a panelvan, looking at those bumpers.

Erik, did you purchase the panel van version, too?

Edited April 26, 2021 by Casey

[The Creative Explorer]

On 4/27/2021 at 12:12 AM, Casey said:

 

Erik, did you purchase the panel van version, too?

No I haven't yet, I broke my wallet on 3 Pocher's :-(. So, I might later on, maybe, perhaps....

But I had the idea of getting the panelvan, design a trailer for it and put a 356 on it.

[Casey]

Content images here: https://modelkitreviews.proboards.com/thread/1626/16-revell-volkswagen-samba-bus?page=1&scrollTo=1727

[The Creative Explorer]

I am sorry my pictures can't be seen anymore, don't know exactly why they are gone.  Since I can not edit that post anymore, I can't restore it either.

[Luc Janssens]

18 hours ago, The Creative Explorer said:

I am sorry my pictures can't be seen anymore, don't know exactly why they are gone.  Since I can not edit that post anymore, I can't restore it either.

You can always repost them in a new reply, provided that you still have the pics handy.

 

[David G.]

18 hours ago, The Creative Explorer said:

I am sorry my pictures can't be seen anymore, don't know exactly why they are gone.  Since I can not edit that post anymore, I can't restore it either.

Send a PM to one of the Admins, they may be able to help with back-editing your post.

David G.

[Casey]

Content pics:

 

[Casey]

[Casey]

[ChrisBcritter]

Body assembly breakdown looks like the original 1/25 kit.

The '62 CA plates are wrong... 

[Ragtop Man]

Because I could not leave well enough alone at gunpoint - are there 1/16 VW customizing parts to drop one of these on some Fuchs alloys, stab in a Porsche flat 6, etc?  I've walked past the RoG big scales on a few occasions, but it would be fun to do one.

Second part of the question: Has there been a good solid recent summary of VW kits - Beetle, Golf/GTI, Van - that someone who likes the subjects but hasn't paid a lot of attention could use to get up to speed on them? 

[stitchdup]

1 hour ago, Ragtop Man said:

Because I could not leave well enough alone at gunpoint - are there 1/16 VW customizing parts to drop one of these on some Fuchs alloys, stab in a Porsche flat 6, etc?  I've walked past the RoG big scales on a few occasions, but it would be fun to do one.

Second part of the question: Has there been a good solid recent summary of VW kits - Beetle, Golf/GTI, Van - that someone who likes the subjects but hasn't paid a lot of attention could use to get up to speed on them? 

revell mk1 golf is one of the best detailed kits out there. revell mk2 feels off somewhere in the body but mechanicals are decent for the time. revell corrados the golf mk2 mechanics but it looks more right in the body. fujimi, tamiya fwd vw kits are all curbside but there are parts available to fix that. amt have their own old 1/25 mk1 golf version but are currently selling the equally old esci 1/24 kit instead. amt do a 1/25 scirocco too and there a 1/24 motorised kit too. the jettas are available as trans kits or 3d prints and almost all of them are in 3d now

[Luc Janssens]

On 2/13/2025 at 10:19 PM, ChrisBcritter said:

Body assembly breakdown looks like the original 1/25 kit.

The '62 CA plates are wrong... 

That's one of the things I'm not fond of, yes it mimicks the original kit, yet when it was tooled, sliding parts in model kit tooling were not yet implemented, nostalgia only go so far.

IMHO it makes the build, especially the painting more difficult, where the parts breakdown of a kit should help the builder in presenting a decent end result and then I'm not talking about warped parts. 

But who am I.

Edited February 16 by Luc Janssens