CabDriver Posted February 10, 2023 Share Posted February 10, 2023 Last year I came up with my take on what the whole Cal-look Beetle trend would’ve looked like if New York got there first and built this: I tried to think what an east coast bug would look like compared to a west coast build - probably a little more ride-height for those potholed city streets, less emphasis on performance and less drag influence - and I figured the cars would look a little tougher and would probably need those bumpers front and rear because people park by feel, not sight, in the five boroughs. Anyhoo, I enjoyed building that Revell kit and wanted to do a companion piece - kinda the same but a little different. Here goes… I’m gonna use the same 356-inspired wheels I used last time - I like the ‘jewelry-ness’ of them (I know that’s not a real term) but I want to fix a couple of things I didn’t like about the Revell kit. The kit engine is built in two ‘layers’ - and it looks ok-ish when it’s done, but the construction is a little weird to me…anyone who’s built one of these will know what I’m talking about. So, I’m ditching the kit parts and swapping in a 3D printed version from Blackbox STL: First job is to drop the kit suspension some - I’m not going for ‘slammed’ here, but a realistic practical-ish drop. To go that, I had to separate the rear trailing arms and reglue them, whilst narrowing them a little in the process to fit wider wheels, and do a similar process on the front axle too: It’s all a little wobbly here but I tested with some Elmers and it all works how I hoped. Ride height check: Going to drop it a smidge more in the rear, but it’s close to what I imagined… Next job, use this handy dandy template (also from Blackbox…): To open up a moonroof: The interior on these kits is so nice, it’s a shame to hide it… I’m going to try and really push myself on the paintjob for this one and try some new stuff…more on that later, but it’ll definitely have some sparkles: And that’s about how far I got so far…more soon, soon as I’ve done more! 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89AKurt Posted February 10, 2023 Share Posted February 10, 2023 Sorry I have to ask, will it have lots of rust? 😉 I was just looking at Texas 3D Customs, he has a turbo Porsche 4 cylinder engine, and I have the Gunze Sangyo '56 Oval Window. But I have too many projects as it is. Look forward to seeing what you come up with. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted February 10, 2023 Share Posted February 10, 2023 Fantastic. I remember your previous NY Bug build. I'll be checking in on this build, daily. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxer Posted February 10, 2023 Share Posted February 10, 2023 Looking great! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted February 11, 2023 Author Share Posted February 11, 2023 21 hours ago, 89AKurt said: Sorry I have to ask, will it have lots of rust? 😉 I was just looking at Texas 3D Customs, he has a turbo Porsche 4 cylinder engine, and I have the Gunze Sangyo '56 Oval Window. But I have too many projects as it is. Look forward to seeing what you come up with. Haha! Not as much as most of the cars I see in the Midwest now I’m here…some of them have more holes than car 🤪. 9 hours ago, espo said: Fantastic. I remember your previous NY Bug build. I'll be checking in on this build, daily. Thank you sir! 9 hours ago, Foxer said: Looking great! And thank you too! Today’s tiny bit of progress was getting the body straight and into primer. The nose took the most work, but it wasn’t terrible… I’ve got some semi-complex airbrushing ideas that I’d like to try on this one, so I’m getting a jump on the body before anything else - laid down a base color of that nice Testor’s Ice Blue as a starting point: And then after a shot of intercoat to protect the blue, I got to start taping up for some airbrushing fun… Got a bunch of ideas for this one…hope I can pull off what I’m shooting for…I’m excited to lay down some more paint tomorrow! Thanks for looking! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted February 13, 2023 Author Share Posted February 13, 2023 (edited) This weekend’s progress was a BUNCH of painting. I’m trying to push myself and do something wild, paint wise, and play with some high-contrast colors. I figured out a better way to do what I wanted to achieve so I shot silver over the blue I had painted already and used that as a base for the rest of today’s work: My plan is to mix some traditional airbrushed paneling with some graphics and a BRIGHT colorscheme. First step after masking was some black and white, for contrast: After that I removed SOME of the masks, but not all, and then shot Createx candy blue over top of the silver, black and white: Next up, masking ready for some more white, black and hot pink - I’m planning to make the sky behind the skyline fade from blue to white to pink then finally to black on the roof panels: Some BRIGHT paint later… Looks kinda chaotic right now, but the subsequent layers will (hopefully) bring it together some… Removing all the masking so far to reveal some silver: Lots of touch up needed but nothing too difficult…. Next up, masking for some white pinstripes: Then add some door lettering: And that’s about the progress so far this weekend: Plenty still to do, but I’m having fun playing with paint! Thanks for looking! Edited February 13, 2023 by CabDriver 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted February 13, 2023 Share Posted February 13, 2023 (edited) Really cool paint work! Edited February 13, 2023 by slusher Typo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted February 13, 2023 Share Posted February 13, 2023 I like the city skyline on the sides of the body, almost a shame to cover it up with the logo. Great looking paint design. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie8575 Posted February 16, 2023 Share Posted February 16, 2023 Amazing paint. I have to agree with Dave, though, the logo is kind of a distraction, although that's also well-done. Charlie Larkin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted February 16, 2023 Author Share Posted February 16, 2023 Thanks fellas! I had an idea for a more subtle version of the same kind of paint job (sans logos) that I’d like to try too - but I’m having fun with painting something modern and in-your-face! Next couple of little bits of paint were masking up the hood for some subtle shading… I wanted to add some subtle airbrushed texture, just a mottled kind of look over top the candy: And then tonight’s adventure was shooting some little pinstriped dots on the front and rear fenders, trailing off the lights: And that’s about all the ideas I had for paint on this particular one…it’s probably a love it or hate it type look, but I managed to mostly pull off all the tricks I wanted to try on this one - time to start laying down some clear: Next up will be some work on the interior pieces, which I’ve made a start of painting already… And, for my own amusement only (seeing as this will be a curbside entry for one of the shows this year that my first NY Beetle won at) I practiced some weathering on the underside…I’m not going for completely ruined, but well used and a little grimy if you look past all the sparkles and color - kinda like NY itself! Thanks for looking…more soon! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted February 20, 2023 Author Share Posted February 20, 2023 It’s the weekend, so I’ve been prepping and painting a bunch of parts and playing with some little details the last couple of days…and handling some other stuff I hadn’t handled yet… First little job was printing some horn vents - my last kit was missing them so I had to design and print some: Shot some color on the interior pieces - went with Createx opaque white as a base, followed by clear with Pearl Ex with white pearl power and a little blue flake (not that it shows up in the photo 🤪): Next up was some more silver and candy fades for some of the less interesting bits I hadn’t handled yet - interior parts, firewall, trunk inners and so on: Then, shot some Vallejo tire black on the tires - it’s actually more of a brown-y gray but I like it more than straight black: By the way, I printed those little Christmas trees to help hold tires when I paint them - they’ve been a LIFESAVER… Next up, a bunch of chrome: And then a bunch of engine parts in a mix of metal tones (but mostly in the brighter end of the spectrum - more chrome, polished aluminum and so on…) Brush painted some little details with this AK chrome as a test - worked great! My wife picked up some chrome blue vinyl for me because “I know you’ll find a use for it” and I laid down some number graphics with it: It has a real nice flip to a green-y gold…definitely not going for a subtle look on this build… And then final bits of progress today were starting to lay down some foil on the door cards, 3D printing some window cranks and fitting them, foiling the dash, making a ‘chrome’ ring for the speedo with some wire and filling up that cool vintage cooler with a bunch of 3D printed drinks cans (in matching candy blue:) I need another weekend to rest from this weekend after all that painting…but I think that’s MOST of the major stuff painted to where I can start some assembly now. Definitely need to figure out the exhaust and stuff like the taillights and license plates, but it’s starting to come together! Thanks for looking - more soon! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted March 1, 2023 Author Share Posted March 1, 2023 So, most of the rest of this build was just assembly - these Revell VW kits practically build themselves once you’ve got the main assemblies together…so this past weekend I got this one about finished up and on the shelf: And a pic with it’s sister build that I did last year: And my new favorite photo location - in the gloomy ol’ parking garage: Thanks for all the nice comments everyone - onto the next one!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calb56 Posted March 1, 2023 Share Posted March 1, 2023 Insane paint job. Wow. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOBLNG Posted March 1, 2023 Share Posted March 1, 2023 I agree, your painting skills just amaze me!!!😎 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglia105E Posted March 1, 2023 Share Posted March 1, 2023 Yoy have put a lot of effort into building and painting that VW Beetle Jim, and the finished model is just stunning . . . I haven't seen a VW Beetle done like this before, and when you started out, I thought no this 'aint gonna work . . . but it sure as hell did work! Brilliant job David 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bainford Posted March 1, 2023 Share Posted March 1, 2023 Very cool, Jim. Digging the wild paint. I am intrigued by the vinyl number on the window. Is this stuff a thin self-adhesive vinyl? Is it available in other colours, especially straight chrome-look without the colour tint? And did you make the number with a cricut, or something similar? I have a 70s stock car project I'm gathering stuff for, and have yet to find a solution for the chrome-look numbers on the doors and roof. I was aware of chrome-look adhesive vinyl, but figured it would be quite thick, but yours seems very thin. The cutting of the number looks very clean, too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted March 1, 2023 Author Share Posted March 1, 2023 10 hours ago, Calb56 said: Insane paint job. Wow. Thank you! 2 hours ago, NOBLNG said: I agree, your painting skills just amaze me!!!😎 Thank you too Greg! 1 hour ago, Anglia105E said: Yoy have put a lot of effort into building and painting that VW Beetle Jim, and the finished model is just stunning . . . I haven't seen a VW Beetle done like this before, and when you started out, I thought no this 'aint gonna work . . . but it sure as hell did work! Brilliant job David And thank you too David! 1 hour ago, Bainford said: Very cool, Jim. Digging the wild paint. I am intrigued by the vinyl number on the window. Is this stuff a thin self-adhesive vinyl? Is it available in other colours, especially straight chrome-look without the colour tint? And did you make the number with a cricut, or something similar? I have a 70s stock car project I'm gathering stuff for, and have yet to find a solution for the chrome-look numbers on the doors and roof. I was aware of chrome-look adhesive vinyl, but figured it would be quite thick, but yours seems very thin. The cutting of the number looks very clean, too. Yes sir, it's a thin self-adhesive vinyl. My wife picked this up at Michael's, but any Cricut / Silhouette vinyl would work just as well. I don't know if they sell a straight chrome, but I have seen that product available elsewhere: https://www.amazon.com/VViViD-Chrome-Permanent-Adhesive-Silhouette/dp/B08HR79R9C/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3T8HU3DXW10JU&keywords=CHROME+VINYL&qid=1677686068&sprefix=chrome+vinyl%2Caps%2C137&sr=8-3 Generally, the good quality vinyl (3M for example) is better quality and usually thicker, and the cheaper stuff tends to not be as thick, which is important for a scale look. This stuff that I used is way too thick to be in-scale too, but it's not SUPER noticeable at least... Most important thing with any chrome/reflective vinyl is to make sure the surface underneath is as smooth and glossy as you can possibly get it - nothing shows imperfections like chrome! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted March 1, 2023 Share Posted March 1, 2023 (edited) Great model, but every time I see "New York look" I immediately think either completely gone to rust from halfway down the doors and beaten like a 30-year old unlicensed cab, or covered in graffiti inside and out like the subway cars used to be. Edited March 1, 2023 by Ace-Garageguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted March 1, 2023 Author Share Posted March 1, 2023 1 hour ago, Ace-Garageguy said: Great model, but every time I see "New York look" I immediately think either completely gone to rust from halfway down the doors and beaten like a 30-year old unlicensed cab, or covered in graffiti inside and out like the subway cars used to be. I'll probably do a 'New York-aged' version at some point too My original train of thought was 'what would happen, in an alternate reality, if the 'SoCal-look' trend never happened out West, but on the East Coast instead. I reasoned less emphasis on performance modifications (less hot-rod / drag influence than in Cali, worse roads), less lowering (same reason) stock bumpers would remain (because - crowded city, people parking by braille), and a little more emphasis on paint and styling given the lack of modification elsewhere. Oh, and I'd want a moon-roof, because I like seeing the buildings and sights when I'm driving around the city There's a clear difference in look between early East and West Coast hot rods - I wanted to do a little thought exercise to see what the logical version of an East Coast VW might end up being. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slotto Posted March 1, 2023 Share Posted March 1, 2023 Great looking Beetle 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve H Posted March 2, 2023 Share Posted March 2, 2023 Always love your builds Jim. I don’t know how your brain reverse engineers these paint jobs, but they are always amazing. Very creative, and thanks for showing the step by step. The sisters look great together! Cheers, Steve 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted March 3, 2023 Author Share Posted March 3, 2023 On 3/1/2023 at 4:09 PM, Slotto said: Great looking Beetle Thank you! 23 hours ago, Steve H said: Always love your builds Jim. I don’t know how your brain reverse engineers these paint jobs, but they are always amazing. Very creative, and thanks for showing the step by step. The sisters look great together! Cheers, Steve Thank you too Steve! I was actually a little out of my depth on this one - one of my more complex paint jobs for sure but a LONG way off what the guys who build lowriders, for example, do. Got a long way to go and a lot of learning to do - but at least it’s fun! 🤪😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superbird McMonte Posted March 3, 2023 Share Posted March 3, 2023 On 3/1/2023 at 11:16 AM, Ace-Garageguy said: Great model, but every time I see "New York look" Living on Long Island, First thing I thought was, completely stripped out on cinderblocks, and left on the side of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway. 😜 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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