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Revell VW Samba 1/16


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Hello modellers, 

 

time for my first WIP. It's my second build after a looong time-out, just recently having returned to the hobby. I was already well into this build when I came across this place while looking for some pictures of other people's builds (activexp was nice enough to share his progress). Seeing all the other inspiring builds I decided to join this forum. And since I'm taking I should also be giving. So here goes. 

 

It should come out something like this. I liked the box art on this thing and it was so prominently displayed at the local shop that I just couldn't resist. I mean who doesn't like these VW busses.

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I did decide to go for a slightly lighter colour on the body. I wanted to try out the Tamiya spray cans and liked the "French blue" (TS-10). I bought some very cheap kits first to have a go at the spraying. It takes a little getting used to the "all or nothing" approach of these cans, with that I mean it's kind of hard to just spray a little bit. But it's fun. Airbrush is on the wishlist though. 

 

OK so here's the current state of affairs. I didn't take too many pictures at first, only started when I found out about this place. 

 

This is the engine bay. 

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Btw, I only use the rattle cans for the larger areas. For the smaller parts I just use brush and enamel paints. Although the kit is large and contains a lot of parts it's a joy to build and the instructions are easy enough to follow. Good thing too, for someone who's getting back into this hobby. I'm doing it more or less by the book. 

 

This is the bottom of the chassis with all the parts on it. 

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Looking back, and seeing here what you can do to/ with a kit, I would probably have gone with a different colour for the floorpan. But this colour was close to what the instructions said (Tamiya spray instead of Revell's enamel) so I was just being a good boy. 

 

There are 2 floorpans, one for the chassis and one for the interior. Here they are joined together. 

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Lesson learned: check whether large pieces of plastic are actually straight before painting them. When I was all done with the chassis plate and put it on its wheels I noticed the right front wheel wasn't touching base. 

 

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Hmmm... I asked around on the forum, and tried to apply some heat to it but was more than a little apprehensive about that as the thing was painted and assembled. Just then I noticed that the part for the interior was also not completely straight. Well, as things turned out, when I joined them together and put some clamps and some weight on them, the whole thing straightened out rather nicely. Maybe it was by design 😉

 

So now I'm working on the seats and benches. They're also supposed to be grey. I didn't want to make them too clean and "sterile" looking but not too dirty either as the rest of the interior is sprayed quite cleanly. I don't dare to dive into weathering just yet, not in this expensive kit anyway. So maybe just a little for the seats. So I assembled them (not too hard to do) and primed them in white. Then I sprayed the backs and sides in a dark grey colour while (intentionally) not having masked the front, getting some overspray in the dark colour. 

 

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Then I got out the glossy white, masked the dark bits and lightly sprayed the fronts. 

 

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Lightly, but not very consistently... So while I was happy with some, I was unhappy with others. They kind of looked like bleached jeans or something. Ready for round 2. I applied a couple of coats of clear and thought I'd give it a go with some dark grey and white washes mixed together.

 

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Hmpf... Different color scheme, but still happy and unhappy at the same time. A bit too dark now, and still not very consistent. The driver's seat is almost blue-ish, while the double seater on the left is a lot darker. And they're supposed to be right next to eachother in the front cabin. I was almost ready to abandon ship and start a fresh prime and spray everything in the dull grey. Then decided that's not showing the right spirit. 

 

So then I mixed up some different grey enamels into something I thought would work, crossed my fingers, got a brush and started painting. Much to my surprise 1) the different paints etc that I put on didn't react badly and 2) I'm actually quite happy with how they turned out. I applied 1 coat of clear and I'm leaving well enough alone. About the clear: I used Humbrol's matt clear because I didn't want the seats to shine. Tricky stuff that. I tried it on one of my throwaway kits when I first bought it. Luckily it already was a throwaway or else it would have been. Speaking for myself, I'm never again putting that stuff on anything that's not already white-ish/ grey-ish and is meant to stay that way. Only after I saw what it did to my kit did I go online to check other people's experiences with the matt clear and found a lot of modellers in various stages of enragement. However, for these benches it's actually creating the desired effect. 

 

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Only thing left to do is to mask the fronts and put some paint on the backs of the seats because they rather suffered from my efforts. 

 

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This is where I'm at now. A final thought. As I'm going to re-paint the backs anyway, I'm thinking to do something about said backs not really looking like you would expect a real seat to look. 

 

 20200207175742-2afc76d1-me.jpg

 

I'm thinking the edges are way too obvious, and some sanding/filling is in order. Any thoughts on that are appreciated!

 

Thanks for bearing with me, have a good day. 

 

Jeroen

 

 

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The edges to those seats look like they could be done as beading to me. Do you have any way of making them silk finish as opposed to matt as I think that could work quite well.

 

Incidentally, you said about my Corvette that it was good for a second kit on the return to the hobby. I think this is looking great, definitely looks as though you've done more than one kit on your return before it:clap:

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10 hours ago, Spiny said:

Incidentally, you said about my Corvette that it was good for a second kit on the return to the hobby. I think this is looking great, definitely looks as though you've done more than one kit on your return before it:clap:

Thanks Spiny, I'm learning as I go and I'm happy with the bus so far, but there's still enough to mess up on this thing ;-)

 

10 hours ago, Spiny said:

The edges to those seats look like they could be done as beading to me. Do you have any way of making them silk finish as opposed to matt as I think that could work quite well.

 

I'm not quite sure what you mean with "beading" (not a native speaker and google didn't help this time, sorry). Could you please explain? 

 

Thanks, Jeroen

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Thanks southpier for using the proper word and explaining it much better than I did. Sorry Jeroen for not looking closer at your location, but your English is much better than my Dutch.:thumbsup:

 

car-seat-piping-blue.jpg?itok=4SgIbgaS

(Hope this doesn't breach any copyright issues, but if it needs taking down I took it from the site below:)

https://www.doylesincar.com.au/?q=leather/special-effects/piping

 

Just to be absolutely clear, something like this was wgat U wa thinking of, although when I looked at your pics I did think it might look pretty good in the same colour as the "fabric" on the seat back, just slightly shinier. But it's your model to build how you want

 

 

 

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Black leather seats in a VW bus, that's a nice touch 🙂

 

Oh man, but now you've got me thinking. I came across this more or less similar bus online:

 

20200207175733-fcb05307.jpg

 

(same with the copyright, if someone takes offense let me know)

 

I like this look! So now I'm going to have to decide whether I'm happy with this look in plastic (more or less as it is now) or that I'm going to go for broke and try my hand at some upholstery...  I want I want... Think I'll run it by the mrs. first, see what she has to say. I will be needing some assistance on that as I didn't pay much attention in school to this sort of thing when I was a kid. 

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The matter is settled; a plunge in the deep end it is. This morning we went out and scavenged some fabrics. 

 

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I have absolutely no idea what I'm getting myself into, nor what I will end up with. A lot of T&E, which is my favourite method of doing stuff so in that respect I'll be fine. And if things go south there's still enough paint in the cans 🙂

 

 

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Good morning all. Lots of lessons learned this weekend, also of the type "let's not go there ever again". But, these lessons sometimes add more value than the "wow that's great" lessons. I spent some time trying out different approaches to the upholstery thing. Most important lesson: even at 1/16 scale you need the finest of materials. And as I'm definitely not an interior decorator like my grandfather was, from now on I'll just stick to the plastic 🙂

 

Well, apart from using felt for carpet that is, that's one thing I did get out of this little excercise. It's a bit of work to cut out all the holes for the benches, handbrake, pedals etc but I find it worthwhile. Could have used flock, of course, but I wanted proper carpets and anyway I wanted to at least do something with the fabrics I bought. The felt is a keeper for me. 

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Once I decided to stick to the plastic it all went a lot faster and I was able to make some good progress on the assembly of the interior. 

 

In 1/1 scale this is likely a great place to store the spare wheel.

 

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However, as activexp also concluded, you will never ever see the spare again once the seats are put on. 

 

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So I'll be putting the spare wheel somewhere in the back.

 

To finish the seats and benches, I did sand off the edges from the backs, to make them rounder. 

Before: 

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After:

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I do like them better now. Then it was time to put them on their "feet", and at Spiny's suggestion I put on a couple of coats of satin finish on the fronts of the seats (I matted them at first but they do look better now, so thanks Spiny). Then it was finally time to assemble the lot and complete the interior, which I did. 

 

Here's the current state of affairs. I'm just about halfway through the instruction manual. 

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Now it's on to the "body parts". They will need to be sprayed a couple of different greys on the inside, and blue/white on the outside. 

 

Thanks for watching!

 

 

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Thanks. It's quite the mountain of parts alright. 

 

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A bit of sanding needs to be done on some excess plastic but not too much. I did a quick test to check the fit and it looks good, although I expect it's going to be a bit of a pain to get the front doors in. They're hinged and are suppposed to go "up and under". I couldn't get them in just now, but decided against pressing my luck. Didn't want to break anything or risk not being able to get them off while still unpainted... 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi all, I see it's already been 2 weeks since my last update. I think I have too many other hobbies, and also the hobby that my boss pays me for took a rather big chunk out of available time in the past 2 weeks. Finally, as for the VW, I was kept busy with a bit of a learning curve regarding "painting stuff white". 

 

I decided to try out my "whites" on the wheels before I started on the body panels. Once I started spraying I immediately realised I made a mistake by already glueing the "rim halves" together in a bout of enthousiasm. And as the glue really works well that was it so I had to go with the completed wheels. 

 

I started off with Tamiya's white primer, then finished with the super white TS-26. First result: not very white wheels. The ridges and other details were still very much their original colour. So I went out and purchased the flat white TS-27, which I hoped would give me better coverage. Not really, and I ended up spraying way too much paint on the wheels! End result: still not white and also completely messed up with a thick layer of paint. I did manage to keep the blood pressure down by saying to myself that I really enjoy doing this as a hobby.

 

Here they are after my botched paint job.

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I read somewhere that dumping painted things in isopropyl alcohol will "get the paint to come right off". Well, I left them in a jar for a week (had no time for them anyway) and was indeed able to rub some of the paint off quite easily. And some of it not at all. 

 

This is them now:

20200207175720-bf6e71f7-me.jpg

 

There are some very hard i.e. impossible to reach places where there's still paint. I'm leaving them for now, still a long way to go before they're needed anyway. I'm open to suggestions for other methods of paint removal. 

 

Next, I took another look at activexp's build of this bus. I noticed that he had similar issues with the coverage of the super white (TS-26), and that he went with Kobra paint which is much used when spraying walls. I was able to find a webshop but had to buy at least 10 cans to fill the minimum order amount so I took a pass on that. 

 

Eventually I found Montana paint, also used for graffiti, in a store with a lower minimum amount. So I went ahead and purchased their most covering white, a can of primer and, to fill the order, a can of metallic black. Not needed for the VW but I can see myself using it on some other car in the future. 

 

Then I found a piece of plastic to try the new paints. Long story short (well, too late for that actually): the primer works really well so I'm keeping it. The white paint is quite thick and has too much texture. I'm not using it. So, over the weekend, I managed to get all the body parts primed and some of them painted. It's indeed a lot of work with the masking, and the spraying, and the masking... etc

 

The engine cover is done. It's only one colour inside and out 😉

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For the white parts on the outside I went with: the Montana primer, then a nice coat of the Tamiya matt white (TS-27) and then 2 fine coats of the super white (TS-26). The result is: white. At last. 

 

I got the roof done: 

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And I really wanted to get the "nose" done too. That part is two-toned and is a bit difficult to mask because the part that's supposed to be white sticks out (there's a ridge or something, I don't exactly know what to call it). 

 

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I did manage to get it done with a minimum amount of bleeding of blue on white, and it was easily removed. If I can get the rest of the body looking like this I'll be very happy!

 

More later, thanks for watching. 

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White primer never covers straight off - it shrinks away from the edges. I always prime in grey first to give the white something to grip, then you can get a consistent white.

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17 minutes ago, Jo NZ said:

White primer never covers straight off - it shrinks away from the edges. I always prime in grey first to give the white something to grip, then you can get a consistent white.

That's a good tip, thanks! I'll give that a go once the wheels are ready for round 2.

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Looks good, I'm particularly impressed by that front. Personally, I haven't got onto doing a two-tone paint yet so can't add anything to that other than well done. I'd say 'ridge' is perfectly fine to use for that piece - certainly I can't think of a better term:smile:

 

As for stripping paint, again I only have very limited experience. But from the little bit I have done, I've found that the best way was to soak in IPA for an hour or two, then rub down the softened paint with an old toothbrush, then soak again. Keep going until you have the paint off. I found when I soaked it for a while without brushing, it didn't strip any easier so I presume that the IPA can only penetrate the outside few microns on paint and doesn't get down to the base, hence why the toothbrush seemed to be a necessity,

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I think the correct terminology for your "ridge" is a Swage line, but any term that gets the idea across is good with me.

 

As to paint stripping, the IPA method may need several attempts to work thorough layers and yes a stiff bristled brush is best to work into the crevices. Also there's the 50/50 mix of Dettol and water or the spray on Oven Cleaner e.g. Mr. Muscle. Best to put these in an air tight container to avoid the fumes and the IPA from evaporating. Take care with these and wear gloves and goggles.

 

I'm also doing a 2-tone scheme on my 1/24 Type 1 van and the masking is indeed a nightmare. You're doing a grand job.

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Thanks! A Swage line... I learned something new there :-) "Ridge" was the only English term I could come up with ^_^

 

I'm off to the supermarket for some of that Oven Cleaner, I'll let you know how that turns out!

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Your English is far better at any attempt at Dutch I may try. The IPA is IsoPropyl Alcohol not India Pale Ale, I wouldn't waste beer on stripping a kit! I'm attempting to strip a classic mini but the oven cleaner didn't work even after 24 hrs, it is now in a bath of IPA. I don't know what the paint is as the kit is second hand. Good luck with your attempts.

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The oven cleaner didn't do anything for my wheels either, however a couple of IPA soak/scrub cycles later and they are now devoid of paint. Maybe a tiny bit of sanding is required but otherwise they're good to go! Thanks for the help guys, one happy modeller here. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hello all, just a minor update. Still working on the body panels, I'm hoping to get some painting done today but it's raining hard and I have to go outside to the shed to paint. Don't really feel like it 🙂

 

I did get some work done on the interior of the cab. The steering wheel: 

 

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That wasn't too hard. The dash, though, did give me some trouble. I assembled and painted it, added the decals for the gauges etc. Then added the large decal in the middle, and I don't know whether the clear coat I gave the dash was too thin, or I didn't add enough setting solution for the decal, but it got stuck immediately once I put it on. Which I noted when I tried to move it a little bit. It looked like a celebrity photoshop glitch, all bent out of shape. 

 

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That, and the fact that I really didn't like the "radio" decal made me take them off. There were some ridges on the radio part as well so it wasn't that pretty. And I wanted actual knobs. 

 

Well, trying to replicate the "striped" look of the large decal wasn't that easy (for me). Various methods were tried. In the end I decided to give it a "modern" look and paint the whole thing black 😁

 

I made 2 tiny knobs for the radio (yay, scratch building haha) and managed to paint something vaguely resembling a radio. Still not very pretty but at least it's my own doing! I think it will look ok inside the cab. My wife liked the black so I'm calling it done.

 

20200207175721-ddd03202-me.jpg

 

 

 

 

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