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‘66 VW Beetle


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Hi all,

 

Today I actually managed to start my first model... the Tamiya 1966 VW Beetle.

 

I was originally going to build this to be the same as the beetle I used to own however I believe it would be too difficult for a first model, I would have to change too much on it as mine was a ‘74 and therefore had different lights, bumpers etc. 

 

So I’ve decided to do it from the box (I may fit the opening rear windows I’ve seen on HighlightModelstudio.com). I’ve spent ages searching through the Hycote colours online to find one I like, I originally was looking at VW colours but got drawn to some Ford colours I like instead... I ordered Ford Green Jade Metallic originally, not realising it was actually out of stock so I’m still waiting for that to arrive, and in the meantime found Ford Sierra Beige and decided that suits the car much more and ordered and received that very quickly.

 

I haven’t done loads to start, I have laid down 2 coats of primer (Optima grey plastic primer)

 

A18D3825-AC9D-477F-80BF-24CA8280AA61_zps

 

and 1 coat of Hycote Ford Sierra Beige 

 

CCB783B5-6FD6-4D05-BB14-809D58BE3723_zps

 

09525602-E83E-452D-9E2B-3FC4D794F288_zps

 

Quite happy with the colour and how it’s looking so far... for a first attempt.

 

comments and criticism please people.

 

 

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I agree that the colour suits, and you have a good covering with the beige, particularly from one coat. Well done on avoiding getting runs too - that was something I was guilty of with my first couple of paint jobs,

 

If you'll permit a couple of comments (you did ask after all!), it does look as though there are still some mould lines on the model - the most noticeable being on the front wings behind the headlights and along the edge of the roof which I believe on the Beetle are meant to be smooth curves. It's not too late to sand these back and you will end up with a much better model in the long run. With these, it's often the case that they show up much more when you prime a piece than when it's bare plastic, so after priming is usually a good time to check you haven't missed any. If you do decide to sand these back, I expect you will be back to bare plastic where you've sanded, so I would recommend giving it a light spray of primer in these ares before going with the colour coat again.

 

The other bit isn't a comment on the paint as it's come out ok apart from the orange peel effect which you can sand and polish back if you want. However, you say that you've achieved that colour with one coat of beige which is impressive, but in future if you have amore agressive paint it might pay to lay down a couple of 'mist coats' (very light coats which don't give full colour coverage) before you apply the main coat(s). That will help prevent the top coats reacting with the plastic.

 

Please don't let any of this discourage you, you have made a good start after all and it has the makings of a model you can be proud of. But I would hate you to make all that effort and then be bugged by the mould lines once you've finished when you still have a chance to sand them back relatively easily now.

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50 minutes ago, Spiny said:

Please don't let any of this discourage you, you have made a good start after all and it has the makings of a model you can be proud of. But I would hate you to make all that effort and then be bugged by the mould lines once you've finished when you still have a chance to sand them back relatively easily now.

 

Thank you Spiny, they’re exactly the sort of comments I need! I thought when I looked at the model before starting that the primer and paint might cover up the mould lines as they looked so unnoticeable, but they are definitely just more noticeable now so will set about sanding them down before spraying any more.

 

thanks

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Sanded the mould lines this morning using a fine sanding stick...

DDDF1C54-3109-456A-B402-654D4FB480EF_zps

 

and the body now has its second coaut of Hycote... and no mould lines! 😁

B396ACE7-3098-44D5-81E4-DCD5C98C8428_zps

 

CDA29821-C027-4502-BF74-21222923FA6C_zps

22A496D1-C826-41F4-A1CE-5447D9334758_zps

 

still looks like there’s a bit of orange peel on the roof, I’ll see how it looks once dried and decide whether to sand it back before a polish.

Edited by Chris Taglialavore
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20 hours ago, Chris Taglialavore said:

 

Thank you Spiny, they’re exactly the sort of comments I need! I thought when I looked at the model before starting that the primer and paint might cover up the mould lines as they looked so unnoticeable, but they are definitely just more noticeable now so will set about sanding them down before spraying any more.

 

thanks

That was pretty much my thoughts when I did the Mustang which was my first spray paint and first car build on returning to the hobby, so I was surprised to see all the details as well as mould lines look so much sharper in primer than in bare plastic.

 

The body looks so much better now, not just in terms of lacking mould lines but also in that the paint looks much smoother too. From the photo it looks like you may well get away without polishing it, but if you do decide to I can understand you wanting to get it polished and see the finished appearance. However, I would recommend leaving it at least a week before doing so to let the paint harden up, two weeks would be even better. You can always concentrate on the other parts of the build if the build order allows.

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49 minutes ago, Spiny said:

The body looks so much better now, not just in terms of lacking mould lines but also in that the paint looks much smoother too. From the photo it looks like you may well get away without polishing it, but if you do decide to I can understand you wanting to get it polished and see the finished appearance. However, I would recommend leaving it at least a week before doing so to let the paint harden up, two weeks would be even better. You can always concentrate on the other parts of the build if the build order allows.

The finish certainly does look a lot smoother thanks again for the advice. 

 

And with regards to waiting a couple of weeks before polishing it, I don’t think I have a choice with that... I’m sure my 9 month old little girl will make sure it takes long enough for me to get round to polishing it 😂

Edited by Chris Taglialavore
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Paint NEVER hides flaws. First lesson learned. :)

 

With regards to polishing, if you're going for an 'authentic' used-every-day-and-washed-every-weekend look, don't go overboard with the polishing, as even modern cars don't have a mirror finish polish (unless they're show cars, and even then it's rare). Older cars seldom got much more than a smooth surface, basically a high satin sheen. Have a look around on your street, go to a classic car show and you'll see what I mean. It's a real bugbear of mine- I see many otherwise fine car models that look like toys because they are overly shiny. Please don't fall into the same trap (although it's your model, so do as you will :) ) By all means remove orange peel and any grit or fluff that's got stuck in the paint, but IMO too much shine looks wrong.

 

Converting the '66 to a '74 is a pile of work - the SuperBug was larger from the front windscreen forward, with a larger rear windscreen and had lots of other changes as well, as you note. Besides, the early ones are prettier (Gunze Sangyo do a '56 oval window, and both Hasegawa and Aoshima have a number of Type 1s in their ranges.)

 

Looking good so far, and I agree that the colour suits the car perfectly. I'll follow along. And maybe, possibly, get inspired to finish my Tamiya Karmann-Ghia, as well.

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7 hours ago, Rob G said:

don't go overboard with the polishing, as even modern cars don't have a mirror finish polish (unless they're show cars, and even then it's rare).

 

Converting the '66 to a '74 is a pile of work - the SuperBug was larger from the front windscreen forward, with a larger rear windscreen and had lots of other changes as well, as you note. Besides, the early ones are prettier (Gunze Sangyo do a '56 oval window, and both Hasegawa and Aoshima have a number of Type 1s in their ranges.)

 

Looking good so far, and I agree that the colour suits the car perfectly. I'll follow along. And maybe, possibly, get inspired to finish my Tamiya Karmann-Ghia, as well.

Thanks Rob

 

I’ll make sure I don’t go overboard with the polishing, I want a realistic finish... I may even be tempted to add a little rust but we’ll see.

 

could be a hell of a project once I have the experience and a lot of other models completed already! I didn’t realise there was an oval window model available 😍 (in my opinion that’s the prettiest, and your right the earlier models are all much prettier).

 

and I love the Karmann Ghia! Beautiful car!

 

5 hours ago, dnl42 said:

Ah, my first car! The perfect car for a poor university student.

 

Looking forward to seeing this!:penguin:

 

Thanks dnl42

 

I certainly miss mine! Get tempted every now and then when I look to see whats for sale... I’ll have one again at some point I’m sure. 

 

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5 hours ago, Chris Taglialavore said:

 I love the Karmann Ghia! Beautiful car!

 

Well, the Tamiya KG is the Beetle kit with a KG body, so it'll be a cinch for you to build once you get this one done.

 

I'm sure that I've seen a split window kit too... :D

 

Here's a good place to start looking

 

https://www.scalemates.com/search.php?fkSECTION[]=All&q=volkswagen+beetle

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