Revell 1/24 scale Trabant 601...

[John Masters]

NMCZ.  It's a civilian vehicle and it is of a scale I do not normally build.  But it's really cool.  I'll skip the goofy decals and finish it in a typically well-loved, well-used fashion.  I figure I will go for the very pale light blue color I remember seeing in Bulgaria back in the late 1990s.  There's really good joke about the Trabant I heard back then...

 

Rainy night at the bus stop.  dark, cold, pouring down buckets.  No shelter.  Bus is late.  A crowd waits--children, grandmas, bags of shopping, etc... A Trabant Combi pulls up at the curb.  Driver opens up the door, says, "Anyone want a lift?"  They all look at each other.  They say 'No.'

 

I might have to use some duct tape for this one...

 

 

I'll get the rest of the photos up in the next few days.  Consider this a place-holder.

 

--John

[81-er]

Ah, the Trabant. So achingly uncool it does a 180 to be absolute zero (as Top Gear would say). Much like the Skoda Estelle and Lada Riva, it now has a special place in the heart of petrolheads. Pulling up a pew 

 

James

[AdrianMF]

Isn't a lot of the bodywork cardboard? ISTR reading that somewhere. Just mentioning it now in case you are thinking of doing a rusty one!

Although you could always do metallic purple with flame stencils...

 

Regards,

Adrian

[John Masters]

6 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

Isn't a lot of the bodywork cardboard? ISTR reading that somewhere. Just mentioning it now in case you are thinking of doing a rusty one!

Although you could always do metallic purple with flame stencils...

 

Pressed cardboard and plastic, not unlike the kit I am building.  The kit is probably better quality.  

 

6 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

metallic purple with flame stencils

Oh yes...

 

[81-er]

11 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

Although you could always do metallic purple with flame stencils...

If that idea appeals, Adrian, you'd probably enjoy what the Beardmore brothers did to their Lada and their Reliant Kitten

 

James

[Mr T]

Going to be good I reckon. I am sure I read somewhere that the not too well insulated electrics were sat underneath the petrol tank. We went to Berlin a few years back and you can have a real good look at one in the DDR Museum, Mmmm... 

[John Masters]

2 hours ago, Mr T said:

Going to be good I reckon. I am sure I read somewhere that the not too well insulated electrics were sat underneath the petrol tank. We went to Berlin a few years back and you can have a real good look at one in the DDR Museum, Mmmm... 

I'll have to look for good pictures.

 

I have begun.  I will not be using the hippy-dippy decals.  Straight from the factory is this one.

 

I want it to look more like this, maybe light blue, well-loved.  This image is from the previous 601 kit, courtesy of Scalemates.

 

 

Lots of sprue...

 

 

I haven't painted-on-the-sprue in a while but these parts could use it.  I started with the black pieces.  Mostly chassis.

 

 

I gave the large pieces that called for 'Stone Grey'.  I used Sea Grey from the rattle can.  I can always lighten that up if not correct.

 

 

The first page is the engine block, forward chassis...a couple of other pieces.

 

 

Everything fits.  Neat little thing so far.

 

 

Question...the tires are very nicely detailed moulded rubber.  Very black.  Too black.  Rubber isn't black unless it's shiny and this will not be a shiny car.

Is there a solvent I can soak them in to remove their 'newness'?

 

 

--John

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TonyW]

I dry brush tyres with  dark grey to knock back the blackness. The same drybrushing with tan gives a dusty, used look. Tamiya rubber black works as well.

To just remove the shine, I mist coat acrylic car clear from about a foot away. It dries matt if you don't go crazy with the application.

[AdrianMF]

I would be tempted to seal the tyres with a coat of something to avoid any long term reactions. I have a Revell kit with "rubber" tyres and they are now paddling in a liquid while still inside their original sealed plastic bag.

 

Regards,

Adrian

[Mr T]

I understand that East German rubber for ordinary comrades wasn't a quality product, I have a feeling that they were still running the Buna synthetic plants well into the postwar period. Either a washed out pale blue or tan is the colour I associate with Trabants. I wonder if replacement resin wheels are available? 

[John Masters]

23 hours ago, TonyW said:

I dry brush tyres with  dark grey to knock back the blackness. The same drybrushing with tan gives a dusty, used look. Tamiya rubber black works as well.

To just remove the shine, I mist coat acrylic car clear from about a foot away. It dries matt if you don't go crazy with the application.

Thank you.  I think I'll proceed in that direction too.

18 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

I have a Revell kit with "rubber" tyres and they are now paddling in a liquid while still inside their original sealed plastic bag.

Yikes!  I remember years ago the rubber wheels for the Tamiya SAS Chevy split in half after a short time while on the kit.

17 hours ago, Mr T said:

I understand that East German rubber for ordinary comrades wasn't a quality product, I have a feeling that they were still running the Buna synthetic plants well into the postwar period. Either a washed out pale blue or tan is the colour I associate with Trabants. I wonder if replacement resin wheels are available? 

I will probably go with the pale blue.  

 

This was my plan for the night...

 

 

And I succeeded!

The little engine is all but finished, as is the engine compartment.  I will give the interior some dusting with 'concrete' and 'smoke' before proceeding.  This will, I hope, give it some character and also cover up any cosmetic issues I may have caused.  

 

 

--John

[Mr T]

A good start, that engine does look like something you find on a ride on lawnmower. 599cc and a prewar design cannot have helped it's perform. I understand that renting Trabants to gullible tourists is a good business in Berlin. What engine they use is something I am not sure about, the last batches used a VW Polo engine as the original didn't meet emission standards in the West. 

[John Masters]

3 hours ago, Mr T said:

that engine does look like something you find on a ride on lawnmower.

My thoughts exactly. 

[81-er]

You're progressing nicely with this one, John  

 

As much as they were derided in the 80’s and 90’s, the 601 you’re building came out in 1962, making it contemporary to the Ford Anglia and Mk1 Cortina, as well as the Fiat 124 that is probably now better known here as the Lada Riva of the 80’s. I don’t think the styling looks bad against those, and it’s aged rather well to my eyes.

 

James

[John Masters]

2 hours ago, 81-er said:

I don’t think the styling looks bad against those, and it’s aged rather well to my eyes.

It has become a 'classic' in almost every sense of the word.

[John Masters]

I assembled the suspension last night. 

 

 

 

Any paint touch-ups are not an issue.  This will all get a layer of dust, light dirt and so forth.

The exhaust went on as well and that finishes the chassis.

 

 

I went ahead and began working a bit on the interior.

 

 

There is some nice detail in there so I will try to bring that out.

 

--John

 

 

 

 

[81-er]

Very tidy, John  I love the shade of brown you've chosen for the interior, very appropriate

 

James

[John Masters]

1 hour ago, 81-er said:

Very tidy, John  I love the shade of brown you've chosen for the interior, very appropriate

Thanks James.  The plans called for Brown.  Dark Brown Humbrol rattle can did the trick.  Wait till you see the seat colour!  😄

[John Masters]

A bit of interior work.  The seats are a custom colour...😉

 

 

--John

[81-er]

That's... quite a combination 🤣 One very important question, does it come with a heated rear screen to keep your hands warm while pushing it during the winter?

 

James

[Ray S]

2 hours ago, John Masters said:

A bit of interior work.  The seats are a custom colour...😉

 

 

--John

 

Is it just my imagination or does the interior look like a banana split?

 

This seems to be a good little kit, one I have often thought about getting. You are doing a cracking job with it.

 

Ray

[John Masters]

On 6/9/2023 at 9:17 PM, Ray S said:

This seems to be a good little kit, one I have often thought about getting. You are doing a cracking job with it.

 

Thank you Ray.  And I am back at it...

 

Wheels and tires.  I painted the rubber tires with some Vallejo Rubber Black (not pictured) but then decided on another route.

 

First the wheels...

 

 

Then together with the tires...I seem to have misplaced the fifth tire for the spare.  I'll find it.

 

 

And then I gave them a good coating of weathering powder mixed with some water. I'll wipe them off tomorrow, kicking it all back until it looks right.

 

 

I assembled the interior and I also gave it some wear and tear.  Not too much.  Just a used look.  Flory Wash.

 

 

The engine area got some 'dust' spray, some Flory Wash, etc...

 

 

As did the underside.

 

 

A test fit of the body parts looks good.  I'll prime them in white today and get some paint on there.  Light Blue, I am thinking.

 

 

--John

 

 

 

 

[AdrianMF]

Making super progress there.

 

Regards,

Adrian

[John Masters]

22 minutes ago, AdrianMF said:

Making super progress there.

Thanks Adrian.  It’s a matter of components.  Once I get the body painted I can add the smaller details.  

[81-er]

That's looking really good, John  Your weathering on the interior and engine bay is really nicely done and very realistic

 

James