68 VW Beetle

[bluestringer]

My wife has always liked the VW beetle. Last week when I went to HL for the 40% off week she ask me to get one and build it for her. I said well I've never seen a beetle kit at HL. But when I got to HL there it was, a 68 VW beetle. They must have just got some in. So here I am about to start the build. I ask her what color she wanted it, she said pink, so I ordered some Tamiya X-17, should be here today. I know nothing about the VW beetle so I'll be winging it. If anyone has built this kit let me know of any problems I need to watch out for. All comments are welcome, and thanks for looking. 

[steveracer]

This is an excellent kit.  I built it just this year after getting the same model from HL as a Christmas gift from my wife! 

I had no problems building the kit, it is really super detailed for the simplicity that it has.  The engine parts are a bit tiny but builds up nicely.  I even wired the distributor and shoved the wires "back there" since they aren't really seen.

Interior builds up real easy with separate panels and lots of detail, headliner too....

Really can't think of any tough spots,,,,maybe make sure you sand the mold marks and shape the front fenders around the headlamp area correctly, they just need a little putty and filling primer and you are good to go.

A negative may be the tiny and fiddly tiny decals for the air cleaner and radio, but just be patient.  

 

[bluestringer]

1 hour ago, steveracer said:

This is an excellent kit.  I built it just this year after getting the same model from HL as a Christmas gift from my wife! 

I had no problems building the kit, it is really super detailed for the simplicity that it has.  The engine parts are a bit tiny but builds up nicely.  I even wired the distributor and shoved the wires "back there" since they aren't really seen.

Interior builds up real easy with separate panels and lots of detail, headliner too....

Really can't think of any tough spots,,,,maybe make sure you sand the mold marks and shape the front fenders around the headlamp area correctly, they just need a little putty and filling primer and you are good to go.

A negative may be the tiny and fiddly tiny decals for the air cleaner and radio, but just be patient.  

 

Thanks Steve. Yours looks really nice. I did notice how small some of the parts are, I'll need to take it slow with my bad eyesight and shaky hands. I do plan to wire the distributor and was looking at some images online to see where the heck the spark plugs were. 

[steveracer]

James, just drill some holes in the black "sheetmetal" next to the intake manifold runners, that is where the plugs end up in the real cars.  Just under that sheet metal are the cylinder heads, and the plug wires go through the sheet metal to get there...

Enjoy!

[Zippi]

That's going to be a really kewl builds James.

[ea0863]

Wonderful level of detail! Thank you for posting

[bluestringer]

13 hours ago, steveracer said:

James, just drill some holes in the black "sheetmetal" next to the intake manifold runners, that is where the plugs end up in the real cars.  Just under that sheet metal are the cylinder heads, and the plug wires go through the sheet metal to get there...

Enjoy!

Thanks Steve.

 

12 hours ago, Zippi said:

That's going to be a really kewl builds James.

Thanks Bob.

[bluestringer]

Hope to get it painted this week. Started on the engine and there are a lot of small engine parts, and seems like each one has 2 or 3 different colors on them. 

[Joe Nunes]

A great start on a nice model.  Glad I picked up a kit at HL 40% sale.  Your build brings back fond memories of my first VW driving experience with a '68 Bug...fun to drive!  Bought a new '71 Super Beetle, red with black interior, auto/stick tranny and much needed optional heater that mounted in the front "boot".  Should have held onto that car.

Joe

Edited October 25, 2022 by Joe Nunes
Needed it.

[khier]

Very nice. I built it a while ago. Highly detailed but somewhat troublesome to fix the body on the chassis.

[slusher]

Another build I look forward to James!

[bluestringer]

On 10/25/2022 at 10:10 AM, Joe Nunes said:

A great start on a nice model.  Glad I picked up a kit at HL 40% sale.  Your build brings back fond memories of my first VW driving experience with a '68 Bug...fun to drive!  Bought a new '71 Super Beetle, red with black interior, auto/stick tranny and much needed optional heater that mounted in the front "boot".  Should have held onto that car.

Joe

Thanks.

 

On 10/25/2022 at 9:54 PM, slusher said:

Another build I look forward to James!

Thanks Carl.

[bluestringer]

Got the engine done. Lots of small parts.........

[Zippi]

Engine looks pretty kewl James.

[bluestringer]

Got the pink on it. I'll give it a few days before I put on the Tamiya X-22 clear. 

[FLHCAHZ]

Engine and Paint look great!

[slusher]

Very nice James!

[bluestringer]

On 10/27/2022 at 11:53 AM, Zippi said:

Engine looks pretty kewl James.

Thanks Bob.

 

On 10/27/2022 at 2:42 PM, FLHCAHZ said:

Engine and Paint look great!

Thanks Chaz.

 

On 10/28/2022 at 2:16 AM, slusher said:

Very nice James!

Thanks Carl.

[mustang1989]

That engine does indeed look good. Nice!!! 

[bluestringer]

8 hours ago, mustang1989 said:

That engine does indeed look good. Nice!!! 

Thank you.

[bluestringer]

Got a little more done on the beetle.

[slusher]

Looking great,  James!   You’re making nice progress!

[bluestringer]

On 10/29/2022 at 7:58 PM, slusher said:

Looking great,  James!   You’re making nice progress!

Thanks Carl.

[bluestringer]

Got a rolling chassis...........

[TransAmMike]

Looking great James, keep up the good work Buddy!!