JeroenS Posted June 22, 2022 Share Posted June 22, 2022 Hi all, a question this time. A friend of mine has a VW Golf III, the 3-door version. It is exactly like this, which is why (after a loooong search) she bought the kit online from a second hand site and asked me to build it. It was sent directly to me so she didn't notice, but there's a slight problem. This is not quite the same vehicle, the box art is delusive indeed. This looks more like a GTI body to me, although the box says "GL". And there's a couple of doors too many... Could I pick your brains about this please? I don't think "sending it back" is an option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnlambert Posted June 22, 2022 Share Posted June 22, 2022 That's annoying, but as far as I can tell the only Volkswagen Golf Mk.3 that's been kitted is the five-door shell, which has been offered in all sorts of guises including GL, GTI and VR6. It looks like someone has made a 3-door GTI shell, Scalemates link here but no pictures. Or you can get creative with the saws and filler to convert the five-door to a three door. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anteater Posted June 22, 2022 Share Posted June 22, 2022 1 hour ago, JeroenS said: This looks more like a GTI body to me, although the box says "GL". And there's a couple of doors too many... Could I pick your brains about this please? Try counting again. If upon completing the count you have used all four fingers and one thumb, then it's definitely not a three door. Does that help? 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeroenS Posted June 22, 2022 Author Share Posted June 22, 2022 6 minutes ago, Anteater said: Try counting again. If upon completing the count you have used all four fingers and one thumb, then it's definitely not a three door. Does that help? Gee, I do hope you were just being funny and not sarcastic 🙂 It does help, although I'll just go with @johnlambert's answer I think... Maybe I'm hoping someone has done something like this before. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anteater Posted June 22, 2022 Share Posted June 22, 2022 Just trying to help, mister!! 🤗 Seriously though, what a swindle. Nothing like the box art at all! I do suspect somebody somewhere will have made a resin Golf 3 door shell, considering I have seen Golf Estate and Vento saloon bodies in resin. Almost certainly won't be cheap though. Potentially easier for your friend to change her real car for a five door... 😉 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeroenS Posted June 22, 2022 Author Share Posted June 22, 2022 15 minutes ago, Anteater said: Just trying to help, mister!! 🤗 Seriously though, what a swindle. Nothing like the box art at all! I do suspect somebody somewhere will have made a resin Golf 3 door shell, considering I have seen Golf Estate and Vento saloon bodies in resin. Almost certainly won't be cheap though. Potentially easier for your friend to change her real car for a five door... 😉 I think the resin shell will indeed be worth more than the actual car haha 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vesa Jussila Posted June 22, 2022 Share Posted June 22, 2022 I don't know very well Golf models, but I think that what you need to do is extend front doors and move pillar. I assume other-vice car is similar. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmwh548 Posted June 22, 2022 Share Posted June 22, 2022 You can still find the diecast version. It's made by Schabak and it's an ancient model (so the body isn't exactly sharp). You might be able to use the kit's other parts to give it more detail (like the underbody, interior). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiny Posted June 22, 2022 Share Posted June 22, 2022 If it was me I would just show what the kit is like in the box and say I'll build it as near to her car as the kit allows if you still want me to. I know there are side skirts etc,. plus the incorrect number of doors, but I honestly think if you mask it so you can spray the bumpers satin black it will probably be close enough for the average person - just remember most people aren't anything like as much sticklers for detail as the average modeller. And if she's like some people I know she wouldn't even notice the different doors for a few months 😄 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob G Posted June 22, 2022 Share Posted June 22, 2022 The 3 door conversion of the shell is a bit of work, but nothing that the average modeller with a bit of experience couldn't mange. Fill panel lines, move the pillars, cut down the rear door glass (Hopefully the belt line is the same between 3 and 5 door models, or else it gets... more complex). More difficult is the front door glass (which could be left 'open' to ease the workload), and the interior tub, which will need modifying to represent the 2 door set-up. None of it is impossible, in fact Scale Auto magazine used to have a lot of that sort of thing. There may be back issues available online through the Finescale Modeler website if you want some reference (I'd send you some, but I threw all my magazines away a few years ago). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeroenS Posted June 22, 2022 Author Share Posted June 22, 2022 Thanks all! I'll go for the conversion, it should be feasible and I'm not shy to take a saw to a piece of plastic. I'll be taking measurements of the real car concerning door length etc. I think the side profile is a little different, but I'll have to check. It will be a while before I can start so there's time to gather intell. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnlambert Posted June 22, 2022 Share Posted June 22, 2022 I think we all know you're skilled enough to succeed at this conversion. I don't know if it is an optical illusion but the rear pillar (C-pillar in popular parlance but D-pillar to most body engineers I've met) looks like it might be thicker on the five-door than the three-door Golf. I don't think the shape of the roof or the lower edge of the windows is different. The side windows are probably curved but it will only be a single curvature and easy enough to bend a piece of thin, transparent plastic to the right profile. It's funny how I don't like this particular version of the Golf and yet because I have this love of kits of ordinary cars I sort of want to get it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeroenS Posted June 23, 2022 Author Share Posted June 23, 2022 I think you're right about that rear pillar. Luckily it's not the other way around. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anteater Posted June 23, 2022 Share Posted June 23, 2022 Top marks for planning a conversion to three doors. I'm going to be well impressed when (not if) you pull this off! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochen Barett Posted June 24, 2022 Share Posted June 24, 2022 You're not the first one with this kind of a problem, do check: https://www.wettringer-modellbauforum.de/forum/index.php?page=Thread&threadID=51211&pageNo=1 "Bau abgebrochen" means something like "this ordeal is discontinued I couldn't take it any longer it will go into the bin". C-pillar will definitely need "some work". "she bought the kit" hmh, do you love her a lot? Any chance of marriage or at least some um-eh self-made cookies around Christmas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeroenS Posted June 24, 2022 Author Share Posted June 24, 2022 31 minutes ago, Jochen Barett said: You're not the first one with this kind of a problem, do check: https://www.wettringer-modellbauforum.de/forum/index.php?page=Thread&threadID=51211&pageNo=1 "Bau abgebrochen" means something like "this ordeal is discontinued I couldn't take it any longer it will go into the bin". C-pillar will definitely need "some work". Hi Jochen, thanks. I found one on a Dutch forum last night, that worked out pretty nicely. https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=40134&sid=df1d5df11f7b2f89f92c29095ff6b283 I have pretty good faith that I can do this 🙂 32 minutes ago, Jochen Barett said: "she bought the kit" hmh, do you love her a lot? Any chance of marriage or at least some um-eh self-made cookies around Christmas? Ha! 🙂 I don't actually love her, she's a friend from work. She does pottery, quite well, and she's making me (and my wife 😉) some nice bowls in return. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochen Barett Posted June 24, 2022 Share Posted June 24, 2022 55 minutes ago, JeroenS said: Hi Jochen, thanks. I found one on a Dutch forum last night, that worked out pretty nicely. https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=40134&sid=df1d5df11f7b2f89f92c29095ff6b283 I have pretty good faith that I can do this 🙂 Ha! 🙂 I don't actually love her, she's a friend from work. She does pottery, quite well, and she's making me (and my wife 😉) some nice bowls in return. Maybe a combination of both build methods will help. Depending on your taste it might be simpler to transplant large areas including the front door handles rather than scratchbuilding new door handles. Pottery can be nice too - so the cookies will have proper storage on the table. I'll have a Koffie verkeerd with mine 😉 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeroenS Posted June 24, 2022 Author Share Posted June 24, 2022 50 minutes ago, Jochen Barett said: I'll have a Koffie verkeerd with mine 😉 My parents tried getting me to drink the stuff when I was younger, but it didn't take ... I just don't like coffee. Maybe there wasn't enough "verkeerd" in there 🙂 52 minutes ago, Jochen Barett said: Maybe a combination of both build methods will help. Depending on your taste it might be simpler to transplant large areas including the front door handles rather than scratchbuilding new door handles I was indeed thinking of the "transplant" option as a method to try first. Just make the front door longer and move everything back as such, while at the same time shortening the rear pillar. That way, I can keep the front door's panel line (I suck at rescribing) and the handle as well. And I just have to cut the middle pillar at the top. We'll see! It's time to build some Benz trucks first 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochen Barett Posted June 24, 2022 Share Posted June 24, 2022 Plan B: https://www.super-hobby.de/products/Volkswagen-Golf-MK3-Kit-Car-Mcrae-Laukkanen-35.-Manx-International-Rally-1997.html?partner_id=15&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_Oakw5jG-AIVWOd3Ch0MZgXeEAQYASABEgIzAfD_BwE https://www.super-hobby.it/products/Volkswagen-Golf-MK3-Kit-Car-Kuchar-56.-Rally-Poland-1999.html (Sorry to learn about your coffee-condition! How cruel can parents be to give up so soon? I can only hope Stroopwafel and tea is OK.) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeroenS Posted June 24, 2022 Author Share Posted June 24, 2022 2 hours ago, Jochen Barett said: Plan B: https://www.super-hobby.de/products/Volkswagen-Golf-MK3-Kit-Car-Mcrae-Laukkanen-35.-Manx-International-Rally-1997.html?partner_id=15&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_Oakw5jG-AIVWOd3Ch0MZgXeEAQYASABEgIzAfD_BwE https://www.super-hobby.it/products/Volkswagen-Golf-MK3-Kit-Car-Kuchar-56.-Rally-Poland-1999.htmle Stroopwafel and tea is OK.) I think that's more like plan D or E 🙂 ... really nice stuff but a tad expensive! Definitely more than some clay bowls! 2 hours ago, Jochen Barett said: (Sorry to learn about your coffee-condition! How cruel can parents be to give up so soon? I can only hope Stroopwafel and tea is OK.) Dude you've got Dutch culture down to a T haven't you 😄 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochen Barett Posted June 24, 2022 Share Posted June 24, 2022 5 hours ago, JeroenS said: +++ Dude you've got Dutch culture down to a T haven't you 😄 Even know the difference between an Anteater and a mierenneuker 🙊 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anteater Posted June 25, 2022 Share Posted June 25, 2022 13 hours ago, Jochen Barett said: Even know the difference between an Anteater and a mierenneuker 🙊 I never knew there was such a thing! 😮 Call me traditional but I strictly stick to eating them. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richellis Posted June 30, 2022 Share Posted June 30, 2022 resin 3dr body shell https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/274997939087?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=ZolQivUlTNK&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=BhMyOpm2TdW&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeroenS Posted June 30, 2022 Author Share Posted June 30, 2022 Oh that's a nice one @richellis, and cheap too.... I'll see if I can convince my friend 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richellis Posted July 1, 2022 Share Posted July 1, 2022 It’s not perfect but OK. I’ve got a couple as I had a 3 door anniversary and a cabriolet amongst the Mk3 golfs Ive owned Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now