1975 Volkswagen Beetle 1303S Cabriolet

[70 Sting]

Tackled this kit as a bit of a pallet cleanser. Didn't know going in, but it looks like in a previous release the kit was roughed in for battery powered lights and perhaps a motor. 

The body was painted with Tamiya TS-51 Racing Blue over Gloss Black and clear coated with Mr. Color GX100. The soft top was painted Tamiya LP-43 Pearl White and the interior LP-39 Racing White. Used Ranger Navy Blue embossing powder for the carpeting. I went with a kind of restomod look by removing the bumpers and eliminating much of the chrome accents.

 

What I Learned

1. Decanted TS paint seems 'brittle' compared to Tamiya's LP. I noticed a number of little chips missing during final assembly. Not the first time this has happened.

2. Should come up with a 'full' build plan before starting a kit. Ended up with a little too much of "wonder how this would look?" For example, I'm not crazy about the side decals and the chrome wheels and mirrors should have been shinier. This lead to #3.

3. Got kinda lazy and sloppy with this build. I didn't paint the windshield trim;  chickened-out on painting the outer area of the doors panels which should match the body colour;  left a paper towel with paint remover in my workspace which made contact with driver side rear fender (I just painted it in with coloured marker).

4. The headlight bezels were a terrible fit with huge gaps... which leads to #5.

5. Tried Mr. Hobby's Mr. Dissolved Putty for the first time. This stuff is pretty cool as it seems to self level a bit - filling in tiny holes and gaps. I used it over multiple applications of Tamiya's White Putty which likes to shrink.

6. The kit wheels are way out of scale but looked better than other wheels in my stash. On a positive note, the glass fits beautifully on this kit.

 

That's it for now, Cheers.

Edited June 6, 2023 by 70 Sting

[Rattlecan Dan]

Just about one of the finest little bugs I've seen in a great while. Thanks for posting.

[bisc63]

In spite of your troubles, you made a fine looking model. Very cool color choices. What VW kit did you use?

[Jim B]

Cool Beetle.

[Zippi]

Your little Beetle turned out pretty kewl looking.  I like the wheels and tires and and the windsheild trim seems to blend right in.  Nice job man.

[atomicholiday]

Love the look of that.  Very cool.

[rickcaps55]

I like it perfect color combo the tires and wheels look great nice clean build.!!

[crazyjim]

Looks pretty cool.

[ChrisR]

Very nice!

[radiohd10]

way to overcome the issues! looks awesome to me. that racing blue is probably my favorite tamiya color.

[happy grumpy]

Turned out really great. That paint job looks perfect.

[espo]

Great looking paint finish and color. Like the stance and the wide tires. The interior color looks good. Nice clean look without the bumpers. Did the kit have a "down top" option as well? 

[70 Sting]

18 hours ago, Rattlecan Dan said:

Just about one of the finest little bugs I've seen in a great while. Thanks for posting.

You're too kind Dan. ?

15 hours ago, bisc63 said:

In spite of your troubles, you made a fine looking model. Very cool color choices. What VW kit did you use?

Thanks Rusty. It's the Aoshima kit.

[70 Sting]

8 hours ago, Zippi said:

Your little Beetle turned out pretty kewl looking.  I like the wheels and tires and and the windsheild trim seems to blend right in.  Nice job man.

Thanks Zippi. I recently discovered your YouTube channel... good stuff.

[70 Sting]

4 hours ago, radiohd10 said:

way to overcome the issues! looks awesome to me. that racing blue is probably my favorite tamiya color.

Thanks Ryan. It's my first try with this colour and I'm pretty sure it will find its way onto another car. The metallic flakes don't look out of scale. The paint is quite thin, as you know, and looks radically different over a black vs grey base coat.

[70 Sting]

2 hours ago, happy grumpy said:

Turned out really great. That paint job looks perfect.

Thanks Mario. There's a little orange peel in places but it looks good enough for government work.  :^)

2 hours ago, espo said:

Great looking paint finish and color. Like the stance and the wide tires. The interior color looks good. Nice clean look without the bumpers. Did the kit have a "down top" option as well? 

I lowered the front a couple millimetres to better match the rear which has a metal axel. The kit comes with a 'top down' option that looks like this:

Edited June 6, 2023 by 70 Sting

[Ulbo]

Great One?Racing blue - paintjob is stunning!

[radiohd10]

20 hours ago, 70 Sting said:

Thanks Ryan. It's my first try with this colour and I'm pretty sure it will find its way onto another car. The metallic flakes don't look out of scale. The paint is quite thin, as you know, and looks radically different over a black vs grey base coat.

100% 

i shot it over black on a 69 chevelle and it’s my favorite paint job to date ??

[ncbuckeye67]

I usually like chrome on my builds, but the lack of it on this beautiful V-dub looks incredible!

[70 Sting]

On 6/7/2023 at 12:08 PM, ncbuckeye67 said:

I usually like chrome on my builds, but the lack of it on this beautiful V-dub looks incredible!

Maybe in hindsight the ‘dull’ chrome ain’t that bad… thanks Jeff.

[grodudulle77]

Awesome work, i really like the color, very nice build !! ??

[KWT]

Very nice looking Beetle

[ATHU]

Looks great!!

[slusher]

Outstanding Volkswagen Beetle ?!!

[ewetwo]

Awesome build