Chuck Most Posted January 1, 2012 Posted January 1, 2012 I know some of the more recent molded in color AMT kits had the opposite thing going on- the parts were molded in, say, red- but when you stripped the chrome the plastic used on the plated parts was grey. Many did have the plated parts in the same color as the rest of the kit. They probably just use whatever color plastic they have on hand for the chrome parts, whether it matches the raw kit pieces or not.
Art Anderson Posted January 2, 2012 Posted January 2, 2012 I've been checking my VW kits for a better engine, pickings are slim.... Well, if it's a highly detailed flat 4 air pumper you want--pretty hard to go wrong with the engine from any one of Fujimi's EM-series Porsche 356's! Sheesh, did I just mention "checkbook modeling"? Forgive me puleeeze! Art
VW Dave Posted January 2, 2012 Posted January 2, 2012 I think the Revell Vanagon kits had IRS, but it's not the greatest. You'd end up having to modify so much of it you'd probably be best off just scratching your own. I agree 110%, Chuck; I looked at my remaining Vanagon kit, and those late type 2 suspension parts look more like GM lower control arms than Beetle IRS parts. I also looked at my Imai Super Beetle, and it was an even bigger disappointment - the chassis is set up for batteries and a motor, so there's no discernable rear suspension detail.
Chuck Most Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 (edited) if that's the same Super Beetle kit that was boxed in Aoshima boxes, yeah that was a disappointment They're the same. Aoshima- http://public.fotki....hima-vw-beetle/ Imai- http://public.fotki.com/ChuckMost/kit-contents/imai/volkswagen-1303s-beetle/ Edited January 3, 2012 by Chuck Most
Rob Hall Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 Speaking of Beetles, Revell was supposed to reissue one in '11 but it never happened...I assume that is an old Revell tool?
Craig Irwin Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 Speaking of Beetles, Revell was supposed to reissue one in '11 but it never happened...I assume that is an old Revell tool? Then we didn't miss much.
VW Dave Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 if that's the same Super Beetle kit that was boxed in Aoshima boxes, yeah that was a disappointment Even as a curved-windshield Super, it was a disappointment all around....and I have 2 of them. Luckily, the one I paid for only ran me 10 bucks at a train show. The other came as part of a trade.
Ben Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 Also, in every carton of the standard white Meyers Manx, there will be a special special red metallic version. There is no way to tell which one will be the red metallic one, there is no special markings or anything on the box. The purple metallic one is only available through Auto World's online store and at the Auto World retail store. The five lugs are from the Fujimi Porsche 356 kits. They are us VW freaks favorite five bolt rims/tires. Hey Gregg, I couldn't find it listed on the Autoworld website? Are they just not out yet?
VW Dave Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 For the 'best' kit engine out there, IMO you can't beat the Tamiya '66 Beetle and Ghia....the Fujimi 356 is beyond nice, but seeing a Porsche mill like that in a buggy is plenty rare in the 1:1 world. As you can see below, I'm pretty happy with my 1600cc VW mill
Ben Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 So far the clear kits are a little brittle. I will be sanding underneath the body of the purple one this weekend, getting rid of the sink marks, then painting silver, then semi-gloss black (thanks, Jairus.) Everyone, please send your high-res pics to me of your Meyers Manx (only) Dune Buggy models and real cars. There is a Corvair motor in the Barris buggy kit, can't get to it right now, I know it's yellow. Dwayne, I'm from Kailua, sorry. Us Kailua boys don't like dem Kaneohe guys.... We would take the Pali over the Likelike every time.... I'm going to do the same thing (if I can get one!) but I'm going to try white and silver to see which looks better (on a sprue piece first)
Ben Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 Okay, did a test. Do not paint the purple metallic with just black. It ruins it!!!! Stock chassis, unpainted Painted semi-gloss black from underneath: Ouch!!! That ones is getting painted black top and bottom!!!! Just paint a moon on the floor and tell everyone it's a mural of the night sky! LOL
Gregg Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 Ben, I like the idea of trying white under it first, I'm glad I thought of that!!!!
whale392 Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 The Revell Beetle Cabriolet (last seen in the 'Skips Drive In' series has engine detail. I am hazy at best on it, but I do remember building one up 15 years ago or so. Dave, I agree with you on the 'Brittle' glitter plastic. When I scraped the chrome and saw it, I wondered how it was going to react to glue and white styrene. It glued ok, but I still haven't got to mixing it with styrene yet (as I haven't got to filling and shaping the engine cooling cover/fan and cylinders yet.
Chuck Most Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 The Revell Beetle's best aspects are the engine and bellypan, the rest is a bit iffy. Being 1:25, it would be a perfect parts donor for the Manx. Some issues of the kit had cool wheels ( the 'Lightning Rods' kit, for instance), and a 'Stinger' style exhaust setup.
whale392 Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 (edited) So I see I am not alone then, Dave. My white plastic kits' chrome was Metallic Purple underneath! Also, on the Revell Beetle Cabriolet kit; the 'Skips Drive-in' issue had a pretty nice set of Fuchs in it too...if I remember correctly. I need to see if I can find another one of those kits to swap parts back and forth with this Manx issue. Edited January 3, 2012 by whale392
Foxer Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 got me all curious and had to scrape some chrome .. mine was white plastic and white under the chrome.
Rob Hall Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 got me all curious and had to scrape some chrome .. mine was white plastic and white under the chrome. May have to do the same...I haven't taken any of trees out of the bags yet..read through the instructions...
Gregg Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 You know what's weird? My clear purple one has plain white under the chrome!! That is so weird!!! Unless I switched the chrome trees, but I don't think so.
Chuck Most Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 I'm waiting for somebody to get the chrome sprue that's a blend of white and purple. I've seen that before on a JoHan kit ,though it wasn't purple, I think it was white and red IIRC. I guess they just use whatever color they have on hand to do the chrome parts.
whale392 Posted January 4, 2012 Posted January 4, 2012 Hmm. Interesting that AMT would do that. You would think either all chrome trees cast in the same material, or cast in the material of the issue they are destined for. I first noticed the purple when I looked down into the headlight buckets and saw that the chrome didn't get all the way to the bottom. It looked like the Euro Blue/Purple H4 HID bulbs were installed! Then, Like you Dave, I noticed the cast plugs where the chrome wasn't on them...Metallic Purple. The real kicker was when I took the fan shroud halves and sanded the ejector pin marks off and squared up/flattened the mating surfaces. Now, the kit itself has been OK to build so far, if you don't mind the typical for the time AMT parts breakdown and instruction call-out. I am modifying mine. Will I get any more than just the one I have.........not unless I can get a better deal pricing-wise. I was intrigued enough to buy one at current pricing, but once I got into the kit, I personally don't believe it is worth the MSRP price of admission. I like the kit, but not 'like-it-enough-to-pay-that-much' like.
Edsel-Dan Posted January 4, 2012 Posted January 4, 2012 Since all parts start on One tree, that is cut into the separate trees we get in the kit, including the Chrome tree(s) I bet there are an Equal number of Red, Purple & White Chrome trees as there are kits of each make. They could easily have been mixed at the Factory in CHINA After Plating. Remember, once plated, they are not looking at the underlying base plastic, just What trees go in what box. That could have happened Even if they were manufactured here in the US. Plus, if the kits are only Final Boxed here, that would also cause the mixing of parts! Only the Clear windows & lenses are Separate tooling.
Foxer Posted January 4, 2012 Posted January 4, 2012 Since all parts start on One tree, that is cut into the separate trees we get in the kit, including the Chrome tree(s) I bet there are an Equal number of Red, Purple & White Chrome trees as there are kits of each make. They could easily have been mixed at the Factory in CHINA After Plating. Remember, once plated, they are not looking at the underlying base plastic, just What trees go in what box. That could have happened Even if they were manufactured here in the US. Plus, if the kits are only Final Boxed here, that would also cause the mixing of parts! Only the Clear windows & lenses are Separate tooling. What you say makes sense and would explain the various colors under the chrome. Although I've seen many injecting molding operations in my work, I was not in the industry itself and I wonder if all plastic kits are cut into one mold. The bodies especially need more than just a two part mold ... they have 4 or more parts with sliding pieces to allow freeing the body from the mold. Since the body is the reason for the color differences it would have much to do why the chrome tree differs in color. It could be just due to using excess colored beads in the chrome tree to balance out all the costs and efficient quantities. It would be interesting to hear from someone with experience in the industry speculate on this. And sorry, Dan. if that includes you .. I'm not doubting what you said.
Gregg Posted January 4, 2012 Posted January 4, 2012 The "Official" word:" Well, basically this is what would have happened: the factory produced all the white, metallic red and metallic purple shots during the same production run. They'd run the white ones, clean out the press, run the red ones, clean out the press and then run the purple ones. Then, all the trees that need chroming would get gathered together and sent off to the chroming vendor - so the white, purple and red trees were all sent together and all chromed at the same time. When those chromed trees returned to the factory for pack out, the factory didn't concern themselves with the plastic color under the chroming. ***********
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