Hughie Hogg's VW Beetle (DOH)

[Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy]

Now the interior.  The Classic's side panels seemed best, except I liked some of the details on the Revel Cabriolet better.  Solution: graft the details onto the better panels.

The Classic's seat bottoms are terrific, but the Revell Cabriolet's seat backs are the closest to the real thing out of the 3 kit choices.  Again, graft them together.

 

 

[Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy]

Noticed that more of the back end had to be totally redone.  Fenders are totally curved, as the tail lights are not embedded in the structure.  So, they have to be totally altered.  Also the panel below the engine door, has to be totally flat and not contoured. 

 

 

[Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy]

On to the wheels.  I had a choice of 4 different sets of Beetle tires, all of varying widths.  I thought the closest to what I see on the TV show was the ones from the Revell Cabriolet Beetle.  The outer wheel hubs came from a most generous overseas donor (thanks Les!).  However, they needed some work to fit the selected tires.  As for the inner wheel hubs, they needed their center holes enlarged to fit the suspension I used. 

 

 

 

 

[karl h]

pretty cool project, i buit one of these in 1:1 scale, although based on  63

[Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy]

Thank you!

 

What an unbelievable battle with the body of this little beastie!  I thought it would be so simple; get a beetle and chop the top off as per the TV show.  Ha!! 

 

Finally just about have it straightened out with the myriad of alterations.  Then to add the (presumably) canvas cover over the area behind the back seat.  Used 0.015" strip for the edging, then 0.005" sheet for the rest. 

 

Then, following photos of the actual thing, mark where the bolts/snaps/whatever they used are located, drill holes with a #74 drill bit, insert .020" rod, trim and sand to shape.  More primer, and now I'm finally starting to feel relieved!

 

[Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy]

Here's the next problem:  The Aoshima Super Beetle has the super-modern dashboard and steering wheel, while both the Revell kits had the older, classic style dash and larger wheel.  Which to use?  I sorted through all the footage I could from all six episodes it appears in, and almost no clues....except a couple views like the one below.  Definitely the classic dashboard.  Looks to be the large wheel, I'm mostly certain.  Had to widen the classic dashboard to fit the wider Super Beetle, though.

 

 

 

[Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy]

Ever notice how often the kit vinyl tires come nice and glossy, when the real ones are usually quite the opposite?  A good treatment of sandpaper all over helps, then later a scraping of the tread through sand-dirt outside the front door.  The wheel hubs are painted, then detailed including a light wash of watercolor sludge with soap to make it stick.

 

[karl h]

ahem - i buid aircooled Vws for all of my life, so i just have to chime in: you use the earlier rims with 5x205 bolt pattern, on the pix of the movie car i see the later (post 68) 4 lug wheels with the 4x130 pattern....

[Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy]

6 hours ago, karl h said:

ahem - i buid aircooled Vws for all of my life, so i just have to chime in: you use the earlier rims with 5x205 bolt pattern, on the pix of the movie car i see the later (post 68) 4 lug wheels with the 4x130 pattern....

 

Unfortunately, those were the closest I could find after much searching.  None of the 3 kits had anything remotely similar.  I was very fortunate that someone overseas offered the ones you see as a gift, even though I could see minor differences.  If I ever find anything better, believe me, I'll get them....

[karl h]

the revell 68 kit has the rigth rims, but they have the hubcaps on and seem to be molded on

these are just clip-on on the real thing, so you can use these. in movies or racing they are often left off because by hard driving you can launch those into the countryside easily

[Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy]

10 hours ago, karl h said:

the revell 68 kit has the rigth rims, but they have the hubcaps on and seem to be molded on

these are just clip-on on the real thing, so you can use these. in movies or racing they are often left off because by hard driving you can launch those into the countryside easily

 

Absolutely.  Except, as you point out, in the kit items, the hubcaps are molded on, putting me out of luck.  If you can tell me an alternative, I'd love to know!

 

Edited May 15, 2024 by Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy

[karl h]

i looked at all of the kits on scalemates, but they either have hubcaps or custom rims

by looking closely at the movie pics, the wheels seem to be later brazilian versions, chromed (never on german cars), with the square cutouts

if i would do it, i´d use the wheels with the hubcaps, there is just no way you can use a 5lug rim on a mcpherson front end without major custom suspension work

only good option would be to scratch one rim and cast copies...

[Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy]

Ok, fine...not perfect, but close enough for now.  Definitely hoping not to do that again....

 

[karl h]

WOW, nice work!

[Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy]

Gettin' there, folks!

 

First, windscreen had to be made from scratch, since the windscreen frame was significantly widened from the Revell Classic VW kit.  Thankfully, it's flat, so, not impossible.  Started with the original windscreen, traced it, then added the appropriate fill plug, on paper.  Then, cut the new shape from packaging from something-or-other that my lovely wife bought (no idea what, it was in the recycling).

 

 

 

Next, the bumpers.  Closest option of the 3 kits is the Aoshima, except these represent the slightly later style with embedded lights. 

Removed the chrome with bleach, grind off the rubber strip (too wide), fill the light slots, add a new rubber strip.  Prime, spray black, mask the rubber strip and spray Alclad chrome.

 

 

 

[Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy]

The rest of the glass is from the Aoshima kit; just gotta cut the forward sections off and discard the rest.  Once black is applied for the rubber lining, I use BareMetal Foil for the metal bits.  Then, all the glass is tinted with a special blend of Clear Floor Polish, food coloring and acrylic thinner.

 

 

 

Now, here's how I make headlights.  I take the appropriate size acrylic rhinestone/gemstone.  Make sure it's acrylic and not glass.  Use sandpaper to remove the facets, then "paint" with clear floor polish.  Voila.

 

 

[Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy]

Ok, a little more.  Finished the modified/corrected bumpers, plus the re-chromed parts, corrected the taillights from the Cabriolet kit, and started the steer horns.

 

[Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy]

Okay, while making the horns, I still had to keep readjusting, as I realized they were a bit too long out to the sides.  Finally got the bodywork on it sorted, and painted.  I deliberately used brush painting for the central mount, as from the photos it appears to have that "wrapped" look.

 

Had a license plate made by a decal company that does custom work.  Turns out they were not waterslide decals, but photo decals in which you use the paper backing.  So, I used bare metal foil for the reverse side of the plate, in case anyone was able to glance behind it from one of the corners.

Edited August 22, 2024 by Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy

[JohnEB]

Sorry for being a few months late...

Your attention to detail is outstanding.

Most people would have cut the roof off of whatever Beetle kit they could find and call it good enough.

 

I did not realize the pre-73 Super Beetles had flat windshields, I thought they all had the curved units and the large round tail lights.

I was a teen when they were new, so that shows you how much attention I paid to VWs. in my neighborhood, you'd see more Japanese cars than VWs. My family bought a nice '73 Pinto for us kids.

 

While its too late for your build you might be interested in this website devoted to Super Beetles..

https://www.superbeetles.com/

 

I'd like to see more of your DoH collection.

BTW..do you have a 1/25 basset hound for the sheriff's car? I have a basset and know there are a lot of pre painted small toys out there. Tamiya recently put one in a "Live Stock" kit.  While bassets are a bit sedentary, they're not quite a cow.

 

[Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy]

On 1/18/2025 at 4:27 PM, JohnEB said:

Sorry for being a few months late...

Your attention to detail is outstanding.

Most people would have cut the roof off of whatever Beetle kit they could find and call it good enough.

 

I did not realize the pre-73 Super Beetles had flat windshields, I thought they all had the curved units and the large round tail lights.

I was a teen when they were new, so that shows you how much attention I paid to VWs. in my neighborhood, you'd see more Japanese cars than VWs. My family bought a nice '73 Pinto for us kids.

 

While its too late for your build you might be interested in this website devoted to Super Beetles..

https://www.superbeetles.com/

 

I'd like to see more of your DoH collection.

BTW..do you have a 1/25 basset hound for the sheriff's car? I have a basset and know there are a lot of pre painted small toys out there. Tamiya recently put one in a "Live Stock" kit.  While bassets are a bit sedentary, they're not quite a cow.

 

 

Hey there John, thanks for the very kind comments!

YES, how did you know I put Flash (basset hound) into the Sheriff's car?  Found a resin one which I thought was a bit oversized, but I altered it to have the correct collar (black with stainless steel studs).  You can see him best through the windshield view in this thread:  

 

 

As far as the whole fleet to date, here it is:  https://hazzardnet.com/forums/topic/9137-hazzard-fleet-so-far/

[JohnEB]

Great looking Flash. You nailed the "old basset" look with the gradual white face. They start turning white at about 7, our current basset is 13 and his face is almost pure white.

 

I got the idea for the dog in the car from a local MOPAR collector. He has/had a bunch of beautiful Chargers, B and E-bodies. One is a General Lee, another is a Hazzard County Sheriff's car. He put a full size plush basset in the back seat.

[Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy]

Man, that's just priceless! The guy has taste! 😄