TOPIC:

Hi All,

If i would live in the States i would be a Hotrodder, no doubt about it, everything about it i love, the 200 mph bellytank rodders, all the different Calfornia styles, movies like 2 lane black top, can't get enough of the stuff.
I was never taken by the european influences in hotrodding except one, this one:



Don't know what it is about this little Herbie, maybe the over the top stance, but ik like it, through the years this look got mixed with the Rat look and i am sold.
Talking about this with a good friend who also has the double star sickness, i said i could do my vision of these cars using only Tamiyaparts and he offcourse called my bluff.
In februari my club is present at a modellingexpo and wouldn't it be nice to put it there on display, maybe wiyh a shadowbox garage background......

In for a penny... is the English version of what i answered so off whe go.
He even donated a Blitzer Beetle body so there's a start, the chassis will be made of TA03 parts, i am very fund of this chassis and i collected a lot of parts for it.

Well it's a start:



Somewhere in there lives a full blown Bug Hotrod i guess, it has to be RWD so start there, a TA03R diffhousing is a nice
beginning, keeping it very narrow and tidy so the body wraps around it, the suspension doesn't need much travel, 4mm was
enough and there was room needed for the huge reartires, i went with a old FRP chassis because it's easier to change if
needed, the driveaxles are the wider ones:



I had to find a way to get that radical stance, it must look like a sumo wrestler, big shoulders and a lowered front, i
really was thinking hard about that...



So the body has to be changed, starting with a topchop which sounds easier than it really is, after some thinking i thought
it would be best to leave the C-pillar intact, cutting into that ment re-shaping the whole backside and ending up with all
bugfeatures lost.
So i took out 6mm from the doorpillar and 9 mm from the frontpillar, after that i clamped a weight on the roof at the front
and with a paintstripper heated up the back resulting in a drop of the roof without the C-pillar disforming.
The cut pillars were heated also to line them up, i shaped little strips of Evergreen to glue behind the pillars and now whe
are getting somewhere, slowely but surely the look appears:



What about the front? I did some brainstorming with Edo who also posts here and is known for thinking outside of the box,
every option passed, F103 front or maybe a RWD Buggy front which could have something that looked the part?
looking through some parts the answer came quick, how about a truck front axle?
I had one laying around and it looked the part, just like a 34 deuce you can put it on upside down to create the classic Hot
Rod look, sorted!
I could not be happier when i found a aluminium one, it really looks good, ofcourse it's not a VW suspension but i gave myself
some creative freedom, it just looks really spot on!

On with the body, sanding and shaping it, to be a bit different i decided to widen the rearfenders instead of removing them,
i had some slicks laying around, a hopup for the fist version of the Blitzer and in those days very expensive, glad i kept
them!
F104 wheels with rubber tires looked good at the front and some Stadium Thunder Wheels at the back did too.
Filling up the holes left by the frontfenders with Evergreen left a sleeker look.



I redefined the doors and 'frenched' the doorhandles, i make some new ones to make a suicide door look.
The rear i closed up with a fantasycover, kept a bit off with spacers to suggest there's a bigger engine in there.



A bit fed up with sanding and putty i decided to make a interior first, so if needed i still could some alterations on the
body, i set out to keep it simpel as it is in real hotrods, i dryfitted the esc and receiver behind the servo to see how
much room i was left with and started there.
I wanted to use the original holes in the chassis to bold it on, after the mockup i will plug the holes not used, for a
clean appereance.
I had some vacu-formed lightweight seats lying around which fitted with some work, the rest i made with 1mm styreen from
Evergreen.





Detailling the interior followes later, first getting the body ready for paint, this will be a big paintjob, not only the body
but also the wheels, interior and chassis.

Here's were i am now:





Next up making velcro body supports, and doing some bodywork, keep posted and thnk you for watching!

All the best, Rick

Good work, I will be following the progress on this

Making some progress with the Volksrod, after i was happy with the look i took it all apart again, time for some paint, the chassis which is a old TA03S FRP one could do with some work, i sanded the scratches out and filled the holes i won't use to get a cleaner look:



The interior will be put on the chassis with bolts and nuts, to keep the body on i use Velcro, the masked pieces.
Two tips which could be usefull, if you use this method to fasten the body put it on or mask the spot before painting,
the glue used by Velcro is very agressive and will weaken the fresh paint, because it's only attached to that paint it
will come undone when used.
Tip #2, maybe it will a bit more expensive but use only the brandname Velcro or brands who produce it under the Velcro patent
like Tesa, the patent is there for a reason, they make the most durable version so you won't get frustrated.



Some clear primer and satin black and the chassis looks the part, rebuilding it again:



And after clear primer, grey primer, filler and satin black the body has a color, i'm thinking hard about the finish, it
has to be a bit different because it's for a expo, a bit wacky and not everyday.... We'll see:



Thanks again for watching, Cheers Rick

Looks good

Wacky finish? I don't think I've ever seen completely black tartan "woven" in satin, gloss clear & matt lacquer

yeahhhhhhh a Nice volksrod.

Thanks Jonny, i was wondering how to do that, i tried it once with another body, matt grey and gun metal, it is not as easy as it seems....

But it's for a expo and it has to show what the club does, it has to be a bit off the beaten track.
The hairspraymethod is not new anymore but i think that most visitors will see the effect for the first time, so the roof got the treatment:



Going through my paintsupply i decided to do a metallook, done it before but it's not a general finish,painting and mixing as i go i made a start:



If it's finished i will make some good shots in daylight to show the meaning of it all, and i
guess it's not everybody's cup of thea but i think it will get some attention once done, specially with a garagebackground.

Thanks for watching! Cheers Rick

Very cool project. Looking forward to the finished product.

Interior almost done, the electronics are in, still have some work on the body but it's getting there:










Thanks for watching, cheers Rick

nice detailing. Maybe the interior needs to be a little used

A bit further with the project, the Bug is almost done and i made a start with the Garage background, i decided to do it in wood to get the most out of the weathering once painted,
only few weeks left for it goes on display....














Thanks for watching guys! Cheers Rick