Building a Surf Bug

[OldNYJim]

Thanks fellas!  
 

A little more this weekend…first up, I wanted to finish the two-tone so I can start laying down clear.  I’m not going for a REALLY bold difference, much more subtle…subtle, but visible.  First up, masked…trying Hobby Lobby’s version of Tamiya tape:

It doesn’t stick great on the curved panels but the candy surface I’m masking over is a little fragile, so that’ll work ok…

Then white (and I could stop here if I was going for a regular white/bodycolor typical Beetle two-tone job…)

Next up, some more of the pretty MIG metal color that I used on the frame and ‘underneath stuff’…

And remove the tape…

Super subtle, but in person you get a really nice flip and variation between the candy blue on the rest of the body versus the similar-but-not-candy metallic on the sides.  I’m happy!  Shot of clear, just so I can see it shiny…

Would pop better if I didn’t insist on using my blue background 😬😂

Side project while this was going on - painting some leather texture and color onto the little suitcase that will live on the roof rack.  Shot it black, then stippled on a dark brown…partly for color, but also to add some texture:

Next, stippled on some lighter brown:

Then some even lighter brown:

And then a little darker brown in between the previous two steps just to tone it back down a LITTLE…

And finally some highlights with watercolor pencil:

Those highlights look too bright, but I’m conscious that there’ll be something bright orange next to this on the roof rack when it’s done and I want the two things to work together…plus a dullcoat is going to tame that brightness quite a bit…

…and here it is, next to the REALLY bright orange thing I got into paint today too, plus the in-progress cooler that needs it’s second color and the swamp cooler also:

Bunch of stuff in progress, nothing finished - ha!  While I was dull coating the case I took the opportunity to shoot the chassis pan and all that stuff with dull coat too…I have a theory that any chrome bits or brake lines or whatever else I add will maybe stand out really nicely against a flat finish versus gloss?  I guess we’ll see…

Thanks for looking - more soon, soon as I’ve done more!

Edited Wednesday at 04:54 AM by OldNYJim

[BK9300]

Whole paint scheme looks great, Jim, and the suitcase is a little gem!

[Badge73]

Jim, it's all coming together just as you imagined. The subtly two tone is clean, yeah blue background is tough with the blue but we get it. Accessories are going to look very nice with this paint job, suitcase method is right on point. the fact that you utilized 5 different brands to finish it is amazing.

[Spex84]

Looking good! Loving the bright orange on the surf board, it's going to really pop against the blue 😁

[sidcharles]

it's all about "the layers," eh?

[OldNYJim]

Thanks fellas!

On 11/24/2025 at 9:11 AM, Badge73 said:

the fact that you utilized 5 different brands to finish it is amazing.

That wasn’t really by design…those were just the ones I had in stock of the colors I wanted 😂  Them all being acrylics definitely helps…

 

A little progress while I’m working thru clearcoating the body…painted a bunch of chrome stuff.  The engine in particular needed some tricky masking but Silly Putty made fairly painless work of it…
 

I still need to paint all the ancillary stuff for the engine, but I started making a few upgrades on my lathe, plus a little mounting bracket for the coil from some sheet aluminum and a couple of photoetch fasteners:

And the suitcase needed a couple of decals; the Deutschland decal from the kit doesn’t want to snuggle down but some Microsol should fix that…
 

Working through a bunch of little stuff this weekend so I can start getting some sub-assemblies together - fortunately we’re predicted a foot of snow tomorrow so I’ll have a decent excuse for a bunch of bench time hopefully…more soon, soon as I’ve done more!

[Zippi]

Really nice detail work.  I'm liking this build a lot.

[OldNYJim]

14 hours ago, Zippi said:

Really nice detail work.  I'm liking this build a lot.

Thank you!!  A little more on this one, sponsored by 6 inches of snow…

I’m messing with oil washes lately - both for weathering and adding depth to parts; I didn’t master it yet, but it definitely adds some grime and used-looking-ness to stuff like frames and mechanical components:

The engine got the same treatment; got some assembly done far enough that I can get it mounted to the frame:

Next sub-assembly that needs some proper attention is the interior; first step there is to get the carpet in.  Folk Art makes flocking kits in a bunch of colors, and one of them is a nice blue that will match the body color(s).  First step is a tinted glue:

Let that set for an hour, then apply a second coat (like a contact adhesive) and then apply powder:

Let set for another hour and then knock loose the excess and that’s the carpet laid:

While the glue was drying, came up for a name for this build and painted it on the surfboard:

Drew up and printed matching license plates:

And I had the idea of a Tiki shiftknob…it’s pretty tiny and hard to photograph:

I gave the shifter a wash of black and then brushed on some candy blue…I’ll need to brush paint some of the tiny detail and probably drybrush the rest:

Next major job is polishing out the body, plus some more detailing on the interior and floorpan…thanks for looking, more soon, soon as I’ve done more!

[Kanada Kustoms]

Great progress...  Love the Tiki shift knob!

[BK9300]

So much detail to look at, Jim - quite amazing.  And that shifter is a little jewel!  Very well done!

[Badge73]

Jim my man, nice progress. Tell me this is a Pulp Fiction reference, I love it. Weathering looks good, engine came together nicely as well. Your flocking turned out well, cannot wait to see it all together.