Herbie the Love Bug

[philp]

Ok, late to the party but going to see if I can get this one done.

Kit is from Polar Lights in 1/24th scale and is a snap together but, of course, I will be trying to glue it.






the parts


and instructions (French version on the back of the sheet)

One of the issues with the kit is the markings are stickers, not my favorite option. I finally found a set of decals on evilbay and they came a couple weeks ago. Still not sure if the white is printed on the new decals or if I need a white background before applying them. Will test first.


kit stickers on left, decals on right

The other thing that has been holding me up is the paint color. All of the Herbies (they used about 70 Bugs throughout all the movies) were painted Volkswagen L87 Pearl White which is more of an off white as you can tell when you compare it to the white in the markings. Unfortunately this color is not readily available for models (the color isn't really a pearl color so this makes it harder to match up) and the guy at the parts dept at one of my local VW dealers told me it would cost about $38 for a spray can to be ordered and would take about 3 weeks to get here. Not really helpful for this GB and my wallet. Some web research showed many other options but one that kept coming up was Ford Wimbledon White which Dupli Color makes. So after buying several different colors to see what looked better to me I have decided to go with the Wimbledon White which I acquired at a local auto parts store.

So, the parts have been washed (another first for me) and are air drying. May start the engine and some of the interior tonight. Tomorrow will spray the body (passenger compartment Gull Grey) and see how that works out.

Still trying to decide which version of Herbie to make. Wanted to do the one from the first movie but the wheels don't have the covers on and that is not an option with the kit. Also he needs a roll bar but if I decide to just try this as OOB will have to forgo that. Another change from film to film are the stripes. In the original they don't go past the hood (or is that a trunk on a bug?) or over the louvers under the rear window. Might go with that and have it just before customizing for the race in the first movie or add the markings and do him from Herbie Rides Again.

Wish me luck as there are only 4 days left and body paint may take too long to look good but we shall give it a go.

[JohnRatzenberger]

I do not think that it there is a slight mismatch between the fuselage hull body color and the number it will look all that bad as long as they're complementary .... but then again, I have no artistic capability ...

[philp]

Ok, no new pictures but did make a start. Got most of the engine together and sprayed aluminum. Sprayed the black bits flat black and interior bits gull grey except the seats which I broke down and added some putty around the huge gaps in their backs. Also sprayed the interior gull grey. Still need to paint the exterior bits and see if I need to put a white coat on first to mask for the decals. Should be able to get everything ready to add to the body by the time it is dry (fingers crossed).

Car models are not my usual forte but I do like TV/Movie vehicles and Tom Daniels designs.

[philp]

Finished for today. Got the interior, engine and chassis done.







Also confirmed that the decals do not have the white so sprayed the body, hood and trunk along with the rag top in white so I can mask the appropriate spots.

Of course, this has lead to some runs on the body and pointed out some seams that need to be addressed so tomorrow I will get the sanding set out and see what I can save. If that works than it is circle template time on some Tamiya tape and see if I can get them positioned correctly and try and get a coat of the final color on.

[Molly-new]

Zooming along with this one, and very smart looking too.

[Dirkpitt289]

Very cool. Are you doing the clean version or the rusty one?

[philp]

I will be doing him clean.

The kit really doesn't represent any of the movie cars though it is close to the first two.
No roll bar, no racing seat belts (heck, no belts at all), no antenna and the wheels need to be changed for the original.
In the second movie they added a fog light up front. This is probably the car the kit best depicts.
From the third movie on there were even more changes. These are documented pretty well here.

[iggie]

Looking good so far, and well remembered from the first film

[Purplethistle]

"Oh, come on, Ted. A Volkswagen with a mind of its own? If thats not scary, I don't know what is!" - Father Dougal Maguire

[philp]

Quick update.

Sanded out the issues with the base white coat and resprayed with Tamiya Pure White last night.
This coat promptly wrinkled all over the place so spent today sanding out the issues and went to Walmart and bought a can of their Gloss White.
Just resprayed and looks like it might be good enough to mask for the markings. Hopefully can get that done tomorrow and a coat of the body color on.

Problem is I half to head 2 hrs down the highway to meet my daughter who is coming up to do some stuff on Saturday. Then Sunday I get to drive her back down to meet her mom so another 4 hours on the road. If I get time to put the body coat on tomorrow and it looks good still a chance I can finish it on Sunday but that is outside of the GB so looks like a non finish for me.