The Beetle

[Jairus]

Check out optional aero side skirts in the Revell 92 Thunderbird lowrider, or any issue of that era TBird. The scoops in them look almost identical to what is on the bug.

Makes sense... I had kit on the shelf when I did the illustration. ;~}

[Modlbldr]

Well, I PM'ed Highway on those scoops and hopefully he comes through on them. If not, I'll be looking for a set from someone. Till I get them I'll be working on the interior and trying to get it finished.

Later-

Edited January 7, 2011 by Modlbldr

[Modlbldr]

So Highway came through and sent me these side scoops.

With some modifying they should work better than my first run. I started by thinning down the thickness of the openings to make them look more realistic. The original is on the right, the modified on the left. Then they were cut to approximate length.

Here it is in place on the driver's side.

Next I fine tune the scoops.

Later-

[Modlbldr]

With the scoops glued in I needed to modify the front bottom of the scoops to introduce a gradual curve to the bottom. This is what I came up with.

I had to sand the top and bottom of the mating surfaces to get them flush with the body and putty in the old door lines of the T-Bird that are molded into the centers of the scoops. Once I get a bit of warmer weather here I'll get a bit of primer on the body to see what work remains.

I've decided to change the interior paint scheme again. I'm going to go back to a tan interior. I painted the trunk area with the Chezoom teal paint that I had but it ended up being too dark. A friend of mine has recommended Tamiya Benetton blue. He says that it is dead on with the drawing. I'll have to check it out on my next trip to the LHS.

Any comments and crits welcome.

Later-

[crazyjim]

The scoop looks good, Tom. But since the part came from another kit, it will be most difficult to duplicate in another build. Didn't happen to make a mold of the pieces, did you?

[SSNJim]

I'm glad to see you making progress again. It looks like those scoops will work pretty well. I'm looking forward to seeing this in primer.

[Space Cowboy]

It's good to see you work out the problem Tom and it looks great..I hope it goes smoother for you..