Disney's VW Love Bug aka "Herbie": WIP

[LennyB]

2 hours ago, David G. said:

I also have a spreadsheet but that's a story for another time. G.

David, not sure what your idea of a spreadsheet is(I have a couple spreadsheets with inventories of unbuilt kits)but it just made me realize I need to do something to keep better track of my builds.  Keep thinking I’m close to paint (like the 41 Coupe) and then realize I still have to do xxxxxxx. Need to do something like those pseudo reality builds where I keep a list of things yet to be done.   🤔

[David G.]

Len, Here is a screen grab of the MS Excel doc I worked up to help me keep track of the build projects I have going.

 

I'm not sure what those little black tags are, some artefacts form the program I used for the screen grab.

I do want to go through my stash and do a proper inventory some day but I seem to have less trouble keeping track of what I have than I have with what I'm doing. It probably comes from spending a few years managing inventory as a prep supervisor.

Anyway, maybe this screen shot will give you some ideas about setting up a build log for yourself.

Cheers,

David G.

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

Just a quick update on the Love Bug progress.

The interior. Just a couple of shades of gray and we're on our way! I did paint the door handles, window cranks and ashtrays with some Molotow though.

 

 

A quick closeup of the detail on the dash and steering wheel. I do loves me some detail painting!

 

That's all for now!

As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to post a comment.

David G.

[LennyB]

6 minutes ago, David G. said:

Len, Here is a screen grab of the MS Excel doc I worked up to help me keep track of the build projects I have going.

 

I'm not sure what those little black tags are, some artefacts form the program I used for the screen grab.

I do want to go through my stash and do a proper inventory some day but I seem to have less trouble keeping track of what I have than I have with what I'm doing. It probably comes from spending a few years managing inventory as a prep supervisor.

Anyway, maybe this screen shot will give you some ideas about setting up a build log for yourself.

Cheers,

David G.

David, thanks for sharing. Gives me a few ideas of setting up my own spreadsheet. I'll have to work on it at some point.

I started doing a proper inventory because I was finding I had a lot of things I forgot about and some I don't remember that I bought.  Even though I took a back seat in this hobby back in the 80's I still continued to buy kits and kept my magazine subscriptions active. For example I have had an idea for a 1967 Ford Galaxie as a project since I picked up a derelict promo back at Hershey in the late 80's. When doing my inventory I found I had not one but four '67 Galaxies.

Doing the inventory is a bit of a slippery slope as it brings back a lot of ideas and I have to refrain from diving into too many of them at once. Not sure if that is a good problem or a bad one.,😉 So I now have over a dozen Sterilite boxes with potential projects piling up around me.😀

 

[David G.]

23 hours ago, LennyB said:

 

Doing the inventory is a bit of a slippery slope as it brings back a lot of ideas and I have to refrain from diving into too many of them at once. Not sure if that is a good problem or a bad one.,😉 

 

Yeah, that' my main concern Len.

Once I start to inventory, the complete kits are no problem. But the partial kits? The bagged kits? 

The parts box?!

Arrrgh! How finely do I want to chop the onion?

 

23 hours ago, LennyB said:

So I now have over a dozen Sterilite boxes with potential projects piling up around me.😀

 

Wha?...

Do you mean like these?

 

I keep meaning to pare that stack down a little ...but to do that I'd have to make an inventory to know what I have.

David G.

 

[LennyB]

2 hours ago, David G. said:

Yeah, that' my main concern Len.

Once I start to inventory, the complete kits are no problem. But the partial kits? The bagged kits? 

The parts box?!

Arrrgh! How finely do I want to chop the onion?

 

Wha?...

Do you mean like these?

 

I keep meaning to pare that stack down a little ...but to do that I'd have to make an inventory to know what I have.

David G.

 

Exactly, except at the moment there is no room in my closet as it's filled with LP's I keep meaning to convert to digital. But as most of the kits are up in the attic the list helps me to know what I've stashed away.

As for my spreadsheets, I have one list of complete (or close to it) un-built kits in their original boxes. And another list of so called builders that range from built kits to just resin kits/bodies. The idea here is if I have a mint un-built JoHan '69 Javelin and I also have a builder, it's the builder that I will tackle first. As for the rest of it I have larger plastic boxes, some of which are so old their bottoms are breaking away, separating things into categories. Interior parts, chassis parts, engines and a few like my Fairlane/Torino box that might be of a certain car line.

And of course the question on everyone's lips, yes I have a Herbie.😄

[milo1303s]

Spreadsheets lol too funny !!!

[David G.]

14 hours ago, milo1303s said:

Spreadsheets lol too funny !!!

I think you may be surprised to find out how many model builders actually use spreadsheets to track kits & parts & pieces.

An affinity for charts, graphs and statistics seems to go along with the model-builder mindset. For at least some of us anyway.

Yeah, it is kinda funny though.

Cheers,

David G.

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

In spite of some difficulties I've encountered, this is shaping up to be one of my quicker builds in a while.

Herbie is a Volkswagen Type-1 Deluxe which is typical of the models exported to the United States where Herbie resides. One of the differences between Deluxe versions and standard European models is the inclusion of bright metal trim strips in the black rubber window gaskets. To replicate this feature I started by simulating the gaskets, brushing some flat black paint around the windows.

 

 

After some drying time and a little cleanup, I hit the raised bits around each window with a silver Sharpie.

 

 

I think it all worked out pretty well.

 

As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to comment if you so desire.

David G.

[Bainford]

Adding the silver to the black window gaskets really is a significant detail. Looking good.

[LennyB]

David, the windows looks great. I was thinking of doing something like that on the windshield of the '41 Plymouth but was not sure how to approach it. I think you found the answer, thanks.

[David G.]

21 hours ago, Bainford said:

Adding the silver to the black window gaskets really is a significant detail. Looking good.

Thank you Trevor, it's often the little things that can make the biggest difference.

19 hours ago, LennyB said:

David, the windows looks great. I was thinking of doing something like that on the windshield of the '41 Plymouth but was not sure how to approach it. I think you found the answer, thanks.

Thanks Len. That'd be great if you can make use a technique like this on that Plymouth.

David G.

[Anglia105E]

That technique with the chrome moulding set into the black rubber seal has worked really well David . . . The resulting effect has transformed the window glass, and the body shell as well . . .

David W.

[David G.]

1 hour ago, Anglia105E said:

That technique with the chrome moulding set into the black rubber seal has worked really well David . . . The resulting effect has transformed the window glass, and the body shell as well . . .

David W.

I'm glad that it worked as well as it did. Thank you for taking the time to say so, I appreciate your comment.

David G. 

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

It's time for the next Herbie update.

On its own the trunk section fits into the body shell quite well. But add the dashboard, glass canopy and hinge mechanism for the deck lid and everything gets pushed out of alignment resulting in this unsightly gap. The gap itself is an aesthetic issue and undesirable for that reason alone. But there is a practical reason to address this matter; the displacement of the rest of the chassis.

A gap like this means that the chassis is being pushed down away from the body by about the same amount as the gap. In this case it looks like about 2 to 3mm. That may not seem like much but in scale it's around 2" to 3" of lift. This model already sits a little too high for my liking as it is.

 

 

There are four locators on the trunk insert that need to be adjusted. I've filed down the back edges of the upper locators and filed out the holes on all four of them. Making the holes oblong instead of round. This is just the start, more adjustments will need to be made.

 

Here is the sum total of all the adjustments I've made. I enlarged and elongated the holes and flattened the back portions of the upper mounting lugs as well as removing some material from their tops making them thinner. On the front lugs I've elongated the holes.

Would it have been easier just to cut the lugs off just and glue the insert in place?

Maybe. 

But maybe not. 

I've found that when making changes like this it's best to do it in small increments, that way one can stop when the goal has been reached. Radical changes (like completely removing the lugs) often lead to radical results. These results may not be desirable results and are often irreversible results. 

 

 

This is much better! Not only does the trunk look better when it's opened, the body will now sit properly on the chassis. This will correct the ride height issue that was pointed out earlier.

 

As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to post any comments you may have.

David G.

[LennyB]

Well, I guess we can't blame AMT for this one.🤔 I think inspector #25 is to blame, according to the mark under the trunk lid he approved it.

 

All nonsense aside, I think it's looking pretty good. Considering the simplicity of the kit it has some nice details and you have highlighted them well. The headlights in particular. I am surprise they don't have the VW crest on the hubcaps.

[Anglia105E]

Your extensive work on the trunk insert has paid off David . . . That most recent photo showing the open trunk lid shows what a really good V.W. beetle this has turned out to be. I used to own and drive a 1960 V.W. beetle that had 6 volt electrics, and I always thought it was a good idea to have the spare wheel and tyre in the front trunk, to balance out the car with the engine in the rear . . .

David

[David G.]

16 hours ago, LennyB said:

Well, I guess we can't blame AMT for this one.🤔 I think inspector #25 is to blame, according to the mark under the trunk lid he approved it.

 

All nonsense aside, I think it's looking pretty good. Considering the simplicity of the kit it has some nice details and you have highlighted them well. The headlights in particular. I am surprise they don't have the VW crest on the hubcaps.

Thank you Len. 

No, AMT is in the clear on this one!  

Polar lights snap together kits (at least the handful I've encountered) are certainly on the upper end of the snap-kit spectrum. With the engineering and level of detail in their kits, they the seem to seem to bridge the gap between snap together and full-on glue kits. Almost as if they started as glue together kits and were back-engineered to be snap togethers.

They can be built as snap together kits but you'll need some files, glue and paint.  At least if you want something that looks like the picture on the box.

The lack of corporate emblems in the kit reflects the initial agreement between Disney and VW. The automaker would not allow Disney to use their corporate logos or company name in relation to the car so all the badges and emblems were remove from the car for the first movie. After learning of the first movie's success and the public appeal it generated for their car, VW rescinded its request for the subsequent films.  

Is that really why the "25" is stamped into the boot lid, the inspector number? 

Thanks again for your comment Len.

14 hours ago, Anglia105E said:

Your extensive work on the trunk insert has paid off David . . . That most recent photo showing the open trunk lid shows what a really good V.W. beetle this has turned out to be. I used to own and drive a 1960 V.W. beetle that had 6 volt electrics, and I always thought it was a good idea to have the spare wheel and tyre in the front trunk, to balance out the car with the engine in the rear . . .

David

Thank you very much for your kind comment David. 

I've owned a few Beetles myself. The last one I owned I built from the spare parts of all the previous ones, sort of a FrankenBeetle.   Unfortunately it was involved in a crash and I haven't owned one since.  

Your observation regarding the spare wheel in the front is spot-on. The great Herr Dr. Porsche actually figured that mass intentionally into the car's weight distribution. In part for just that reason.  

If you're interested in the history of these marvelous little cars, I'd like to recommend a book: 

(Unless you've already read it)

Small Wonder: The Amazing Story of the Volkswagen  by Walter Henry Nelson (1970-01-03) 

 

It's long out of print but there are still copies floating around out there, this image is from an Amazon listing.

Thanks again,

David G.

[LennyB]

David

At the time the first movie came out my father worked for VW. While corporate may not have had an agreement with Disney the dealers were all over it. Locally the dealer worked out an arrangement with the theater and they had a brand new beetle on display on the sidewalk in front of the theater. No it wasn't white and no it wasn't #53. I think it was actually red.

 

 

[David G.]

21 hours ago, LennyB said:

David

At the time the first movie came out my father worked for VW. While corporate may not have had an agreement with Disney the dealers were all over it. Locally the dealer worked out an arrangement with the theater and they had a brand new beetle on display on the sidewalk in front of the theater. No it wasn't white and no it wasn't #53. I think it was actually red.

 

 

That's a cool story Len. It shows the difference between those who know how to make the money and those who know how to count it.

David G.

[Anglia105E]

On 4/28/2024 at 1:37 PM, David G. said:

Thank you Len. 

No, AMT is in the clear on this one!  

Polar lights snap together kits (at least the handful I've encountered) are certainly on the upper end of the snap-kit spectrum. With the engineering and level of detail in their kits, they the seem to seem to bridge the gap between snap together and full-on glue kits. Almost as if they started as glue together kits and were back-engineered to be snap togethers.

They can be built as snap together kits but you'll need some files, glue and paint.  At least if you want something that looks like the picture on the box.

The lack of corporate emblems in the kit reflects the initial agreement between Disney and VW. The automaker would not allow Disney to use their corporate logos or company name in relation to the car so all the badges and emblems were remove from the car for the first movie. After learning of the first movie's success and the public appeal it generated for their car, VW rescinded its request for the subsequent films.  

Is that really why the "25" is stamped into the boot lid, the inspector number? 

Thanks again for your comment Len.

Thank you very much for your kind comment David. 

I've owned a few Beetles myself. The last one I owned I built from the spare parts of all the previous ones, sort of a FrankenBeetle.   Unfortunately it was involved in a crash and I haven't owned one since.  

Your observation regarding the spare wheel in the front is spot-on. The great Herr Dr. Porsche actually figured that mass intentionally into the car's weight distribution. In part for just that reason.  

If you're interested in the history of these marvelous little cars, I'd like to recommend a book: 

(Unless you've already read it)

Small Wonder: The Amazing Story of the Volkswagen  by Walter Henry Nelson (1970-01-03) 

 

It's long out of print but there are still copies floating around out there, this image is from an Amazon listing.

Thanks again,

David G.

I like the term ' ' FrankenBeetle ', which conveys the process that you were explaining !

I haven't read the book ' Small Wonder ' but I shall keep an eye out for it . . . We have a very good bookshop in our village, and that would be just the sort of book that you might find there.

David

[David G.]

15 hours ago, Anglia105E said:

I like the term ' ' FrankenBeetle ', which conveys the process that you were explaining !

I haven't read the book ' Small Wonder ' but I shall keep an eye out for it . . . We have a very good bookshop in our village, and that would be just the sort of book that you might find there.

David

Thanks, I'm glad you like it.

Do let me know about the book, I hope you enjoy that as well.

David G.

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

Just a quick update before I dive into the final phases of the Love Bug build.

For the most part, the actual building part of this model is complete, but right now, it's just a VW Beetle. To make it into the Love Bug it will need to have the proper markings added to it, the iconic stripes and numbers that make Herbie "Herbie".

 

 

I did take this opportunity to add some panel line darkener to the rear louvers.

 

As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to comment.

David G.

[Anglia105E]

12 minutes ago, David G. said:

Hello Everybody!

Just a quick update before I dive into the final phases of the Love Bug build.

For the most part, the actual building part of this model is complete, but right now, it's just a VW Beetle. To make it into the Love Bug it will need to have the proper markings added to it, the iconic stripes and numbers that make Herbie "Herbie".

 

 

I did take this opportunity to add some panel line darkener to the rear louvers.

 

As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to comment.

David G.

That is a very nice build David, even before you add the stripes and the numbers . . . The sun roof is particularly good, also the window mouldings, the lights, the rear louvres. the wheels and the tyres and the paint finish. The thought crossed my mind that at this point, you could decide to make this a standard V.W. beetle, and not make this model into a ' Herbie ' love bug . . . That would be a difficult decision for you I would imagine !

David

[LennyB]

Back in the late 60's my family had it's own ' FrankenBeetle '. It was a 63 that had been in a front end collision. My father replaced the whole front clip and got it back on the road. Resprayed the dark grey color in the garage and it looked pretty good. My younger brother used to climb all the way in the back behind the rear seat into the small storage area. One day my mother drove me to school and when she got home couldn't find my brother. She freaked out and drove back to the school thinking he had gotten out there. Needless to say he had fallen asleep in the storage area and see just couldn't see him. 😲

Sadly a few months later the bug got rear-ended and that was the end of that. Maybe a dark grey car that matches the color of the pavement is just not too visible on the road.🤔