Modelmartin Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 Yes, Porsche just designed it, but had nothing to do with production. Nobody but the military got any. After the war it was spoils for England who could never get it going because no one was interested to make a go of it and gave it back to Germany. You are close. If my memory is close to be being useful Wolfsburg was in the British zone and the Army officer who headed up the plant was a car buff and had followed the VW's development prior to the war. I believe that he was actually angling to be assigned to the job. I have read that Ford Motor Co. turned down an offer to buy the whole thing cheap. Thank goodness for that. The Brits eventually found Heinz Nordhoff, a former European GM exec, who very successfully ran VW for almost 20 years. There are a couple of the original 1938 beetles that survive. I don't know their history but they did end up in private ownership eventually before VW acquired them back. The story and history of the Beetle is fascinating. It and the Model T are the 2 most significant cars manufactured in terms of putting the population on the road. Obviously they both set records for production and longevity. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jairus Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 Jairus! Such hostility! I think you are proving my point. Andy Please explain how I am proving your point please? Hostility? I never used the angry face... like you did Andy! No group is intrinsically better than any other. If you think your group is superior to any other then you are a few short easy steps away from genocide. This statement suggests that those who strap bomb vests to their bodies and detonate them in a crowd of innocent people are equal to my church youth group that collect canned goods for the poor and helps out at the soup kitchen here in Salem, Oregon. Or did I mis-interpret you somehow? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modelmartin Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 Please explain how I am proving your point please? Hostility? I never used the angry face... like you did Andy! This statement suggests that those who strap bomb vests to their bodies and detonate them in a crowd of innocent people are equal to my church youth group that collect canned goods for the poor and helps out at the soup kitchen here in Salem, Oregon. Or did I mis-interpret you somehow? Yes. Completely. Smiley face better? Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaronw Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 Illinois Nazi's, I hate Illinois Nazi's. This kit should have been an orange Pinto wagon. No coffee this morning in case its not obvious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outsider Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 Illinois Nazi's, I hate Illinois Nazi's. This kit should have been an orange Pinto wagon. No coffee this morning in case its not obvious. Alright Elwood!....lol still one of the best movies made IMHO. obviously somone screwed up on this poor kit. its sux that they decided to use this scheme on a superbeetle on top of that (1303s is the 73-79 superbeetle) its hard enough to find kits of these particular bugs as is. but to simply deny that this horrific chapter of history never happened would be a injustice to those who went through it! because if we bury it it will come back because we did not learn from it. our sense of the past only extends as far back as the last thing Brittany Spears did wrong! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
george 53 Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 LEAVE BRITTANY ALONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lordairgtar Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 pentastars have no inherent power on this earth! If they have Hemis they do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samdiego Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 beetles float Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest roadkill2525 Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kasteer Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 ok. I finally read through this thread and I'm surprised at the feathers it's ruffled. Nobody denies that any genocide is terrible nor that genocide has happened in the past. But it is part of our history, as well as that nazi beetle model. If anything the symbol should make you stop and think, not flip out. The most important side to all of this is that we do not participate in, endorse, nor promote genocide in any way. The symbol means diffrent things to different people, what's important is what it means to you. Compasion and understanding is the key. I would NEVER display that symbol in my house, but how different is that kit from a nazi tank or airplane model with the same symbol? I wouldn't feel ashamed to have that kit (minus symbol) sitting on my shelf (or the unfinished kit in the box in my garage for that matter... it's history and you can not deny history). I have nazi coins I've collected and have read books on WWII history including the Germans becasue it's very interesting. Our government has done things that you would be ashamed of, but we don't know everything they've done. Does that make it better? I say build the kit however you want (I doubt you'll use those decals though ). I intended to keep this short and simple. Oh well... EK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick F40 Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 Sweet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samdiego Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 I'm not thinkin' that's the ad copy that Doyle, Dane and Burnbach originally wrote for that one, although it does have it's selling points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAL Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 I read somewhere when they did the ad where the bug was dropped in the swimming pool it floated for over 45 minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slantasaurus Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 Wasn't this kit modeled durring the same era as the Monogram Rommell's Rod Tom Daniels kit??? Wasn't this also from the same era that one of the top rated TV shows was Hogan's Heros??? Put things into perspective, times change along with fads and fashon. What was tolerable 40 years ago is very different than what is acceptible today. Also, didn't Aurora have a series of sports car kits with WW2 style graphics ? We live in a different world today,......... mostly for the better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotRodaSaurus Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 As a collectors item or model kit if you tried to sell it on ebay it would probably get reported and taken off. I listed a RIO Mercedes 770K with Nazi flags and also a box of Atlantic plastic soldiers that included a figure giving nazi salute. Both were taken off as symbols of hate? Now I'm not into this nazi stuff but I think that was a bit extreme as I bought these items with other WWII stuff including a model of Emperor Hirohito's Mercedes Grosser(Fujimi kit) that did not get taken off, and some other aircraft kits This stuff also came with a tatty Rommels Rod(kept that one) and a skull of Ghost of the Red Barron also by Tom Daniel. Mind you I would have thought this (Ghost of RB ) might have been a bit offensive to the Richthofen family Personally the Japanese got this wrong because it is not even a wartime VW so I cannot see any connection. J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kk916 Posted May 7, 2008 Author Share Posted May 7, 2008 No that's actually a National Lampoon parody of the VW ad. IIRC either VW or DD&B sued them & lost. More than likely VW. They've even gone after Volkswagen enthusiast clubs for using the word "volkswagen" or "VW" Which also has me thinking.... I wonder if thats why this one is no longer made... BTW, the wording in my first post was wrong, I dont own the actual kit, a friend just sent me that picture. Wish I did though, despite the decals that come with it, it appears to be a pretty ###### cool kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kasteer Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 Good point slantasaurus... what's acceptable changes over time. Mostly depending on what people choose to be offended over. I was aware of ebay's policy over referencing or reflecting ANYTHING nazi getting booted. Just to be clear... I'm offended by things (I started to list some, but thought better of it), maybe we should remove everything from society that offends anyone...? Oh wait, aren't we already doing that? Well, the ones that a priveledged few get to pick. Oh wait, isn't this the home of the free? Unless it has to do with a German WWII symbol. But that's ok because we've got no skeletons in our closet (what native indians?)... and the Japanese and Russian symbols are ok. Since we're at it, lets ban the cross because of the Holly Wars that oppressed and killed Muslims, and really started this whole terrorism thing. (to self) Shut up! I need to get off the soapbox. I gotta stop reading this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olle F Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 (edited) Wasn't this kit modeled durring the same era as the Monogram Rommell's Rod Tom Daniels kit??? I believe so, I think it was issued in the late '60s. I built it in the early '70s and was actually hoping for a reissue so I can build a better one, but I guess I can just dream on. Still, I'd buy it with or without swastikas, I'm not as obsessed with them as those who want to remove them. BTW: Here's a nice build of this kit: http://www.showrods.com/gallery_pages/rommel_super.html Edit: Seems like there is a reissue: http://www.modelmansion.com/models/detail/MOE03.php And not surprisingly, the swastikas are gone... Edited May 7, 2008 by Olle F Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outsider Posted May 11, 2008 Share Posted May 11, 2008 being a 1303 its at least a 1973 super beetle. the vent behind the rear side window and the curved windshield sets it as a 73. if it had the vent and a flat windshield than its a 1302 71-72 super beetle. wish i had one of those kits sans decals as I have a 72 super beetle and i could kit bash to build a 72. standard beetles never got mcpherson struts like the super beetles did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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