VW Sandwinder Baja Bug

[djway3474]

I wanted to recreate my first car, a 57 VW ragtop. I started with a 56 Gunze and a 66 Tamiya which I combined to make the body. I had to hand make the baja kit, wheels to mimic Jackmans, bumpers, exhaust, intake system, skid plate and cut the roof open. I found some seats like I had and put those in. I added all the interior body panels to make it like a real car which I set on a modified pan. Lots of cutting and grinding. I just need to figure out a way to replicate the ragtop and it is finished.

Hosted on Fotki

Hosted on Fotki

Hosted on Fotki

[Danno]

Wow! Terrific little bugger, Dwayne!

(Emoticon indicating 'Terrific little bugger!' here.)

[RodneyBad]

Awesome Looking BAJA

[djway3474]

Back when I built a half dozen Herbie's for a client, I used tablecloth vinyl. I purchased a 3 foot by one foot piece of grey vinyl, at jo-anne fabrics I think. Then I cut a chunk out a little larger than needed and shaved the fuzzy backing off it. At about 1mm it was a bit too thick, but it worked like a charm. Three of the Herbies had closed tops with plastruct to represent the ribbing underneath. The other three were open tops and the vinyl folded and glued down nicely, representing the open sunroof. There may be a thinner usable item out there but the only thing i've ever found that was better was masking tape.

Get a roll of the 3M 2 1/2 inch wide tape and it goes on over the surface ribbing or can be doubled on itself to make a working sunroof. Hope these ideas help.

Thanks for those ideas, I had not thought of either one. I am going to do an open top.

[ChrisR]

Being a Beetle fan I love the VW models. Great model.

[Foxer]

Looking good! Will be awesome to see ya go at a ragtop.

[crazyjim]

Great looking Baja Bug. And SHINY too! :)

[Dr. Cranky]

Makes me want to build one for my collection. Great job.

[VW Dave]

Great job, Dwayne; I really like how it's coming out.

I may have the solution to your ragtop dilemma: I used MCG self-adhesive vinyl top material for the open ragtop on my '56. I folded the material over on itself(a couple drops of CA helped ensure it stays together), and I later added a strip of styrene for support across the leading edge. If your Baja was a factory ragtop car, you may need to make the opening in the model's roof bigger.

Edited August 15, 2011 by VW Dave

[djway3474]

Great job, Dwayne; I really like how it's coming out.

I may have the solution to your ragtop dilemma: I used MCG self-adhesive vinyl top material for the open ragtop on my '56. I folded the material over on itself(a couple drops of CA helped ensure it stays together), and I later added a strip of styrene for support across the leading edge. If your Baja was a factory ragtop car, you may need to make the opening in the model's roof bigger.

VW Dave Is that material a cloth or more like masking tape? It was factory but I am not one that worries too much about being Exact I just like a nice reperesentation as you can drive yourself nuts trying to correct everything. and I am already nuts LOL

[VW Dave]

The MCG material looks like vinyl, which would be correct for a '57 Beetle's ragtop; after '53 or 54 they went from canvas to vinyl.

Edited August 15, 2011 by VW Dave

[Tony T]

Being a VW Beetle and a Herbie fan, I like this one!

[MikeeD]

Coupla sweet bugs there guys...keep em comin...I, for one, can't get enough vw's...someone should start a thread for just v-dubs and see what you guys have out there...I know there's some really cool ones hiding on your shelves...

[djway3474]

Here it is with the folding top. I used some Kinese Luko tape, folded it over with some plastic strips embeded between the two pieces. I then painted it black, shaped to fit and glued it on. It is a little thick but the texture is perfect and I am very happy with the look.

Hosted on Fotki

Now if I could only find me a !:! 57 ragtop I would be a happy man

[bsoder]

Great lookin' Bug man!!

[Tony T]

In So Cal you are in a great location to find a 1:1 '57...keep your eyes on www.thesamba.com. There's a search function that is good at weeding through the vast listings!