VW Microbus Deluxe 23-window

Today I picked up a new kit from my pile.

I'll build this for a dutch modelling magazine.
It's the ''new'' Revell T1 Microbus with 23 windows.

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/inhoud_001_%28Medium%29~26.jpg

It contains a lot of parts, but most of them are from the separated body. I don't like this at all, but after reading some other their work, the fittment is quite good, so nothing to worry about :)

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/inhoud_002_%28Medium%29~26.jpg
http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/inhoud_003_%28Medium%29~26.jpg
http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/inhoud_004_%28Medium%29~24.jpg
http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/inhoud_005_%28Medium%29~22.jpg

I wanted some original colors, but most people use the red/white combo (which is also beautifull!!) but I wanted something else. Cause it is a Deluxe version, I also wanted some luxery painting. I came up with the red/brown combo. The orginal paint names are Dunkelbraun and Siegellackrot. I ordered them at Hiroboy and here they are:

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/inhoud_%28Medium%29.jpg

And here some referencepics i'll use for this project.

http://www.oldbug.com/342%20063.jpg
http://www.oldbug.com/342%20003.jpg
http://www.oldbug.com/342%20062.jpg
http://www.oldbug.com/342%20037.jpg
http://www.oldbug.com/342%20176.jpg
http://www.oldbug.com/5623.htm

I heard some people don't like the original wheels in this Revell kit, cause they should be to big. If you look at the real pics you can see that this bus is equiped with those ''big'' wheels. Maybe this was an option or something?

I'll start this project very soon. First thing to do is the engine which will be wired.

Kris.

woow!!!
looks like it will be an interesting project!

this one should be good

Interesting subject, but the way they breakdown the body might make it difficult to align or be square!

Interesting subject, but the way they breakdown the body might make it difficult to align or be square!

It is not that difficult. Chassis/engine/interior build up amazingly well. Body panels assemble fairly well over the finished chassis/interior. Assembly isn't bad, but all the various masking/painting/masking of all the various interior & exterior colors before final assembly is tedious, since the interior side panels are molded to the exterior parts.

Looking forward to seeing this one build, love the color scheme of the older T1.

Last days I started on this bus. First thing to do was the chassis and engine.

First of all I painted the chassis with semigloss grey as the instructions says. After that I painted some details black and aluminium. The suspension etc was painted semigloss black and some engine details were painted gun metal and aluminium.
After placing the parts I wheatered it a bit.

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/chassis_%2B_motor_001_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/chassis_%2B_motor_002_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/chassis_%2B_motor_003_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/chassis_%2B_motor_004_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/chassis_%2B_motor_005_%28Medium%29.jpg

I painted the engine bay with Zero Paints Siegellack rot (L53) after it was dry, I clearcoated it with the pre-thinned clear also from Zero Paints.

The engine is painted semigloss black and gun metal. Some other paints were used to paint the smalle details and parts. I also added some sparkplug wiring.

The battery is also on his place.

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/chassis_%2B_motor_006_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/chassis_%2B_motor_008_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/chassis_%2B_motor_009_%28Medium%29.jpg

Kris.

Nice, the wash or dry brush on the tank is awesome.

After some sanding on every bodypart, I finally could spray some Zero Paints primer on it.

Today I masked of the exterior, and paint the interior. The interior will be light and darker brown, so I first painted the light brown. This is Revell Matt 94 to be exactly.

Here's my inspiration. It won't be 100% the same, but I'll try to replicate it for about 90%
http://image.vwtrendsweb.com/f/9311092+w750+st0/0406vwt_06z+1958_Volkswagen_23_Window+Interior.jpg
http://image.vwtrendsweb.com/f/9311086+w750+st0/0406vwt_05z+1958_Volkswagen_23_Window+Interior_Fro nt_Seats.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/1e_kleur_004_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/1e_kleur_005_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/1e_kleur_006_%28Medium%29.jpg

Kris.

Following this with great interest - can't wait to see more!

I painted the interior with a second brown color, but this time a darker one.

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/kleuren_001_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/kleuren_002_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/kleuren_003_%28Medium%29.jpg

After that I masked of the interior, to paint the exterior. First I painted all parts red.

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/kleuren_004_%28Medium%29.jpg

When this was dry, I masked of the red, to paint the upper area brown. I had a lot of masking to do, cause there must be some brown also beneath the ''deluxe'' trim.

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/kleuren_005_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/kleuren_006_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/kleuren_007_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/kleuren_008_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/kleuren_009_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/kleuren_010_%28Medium%

Tomorrow I hope to add the decals, so I can clearcoat the body parts.

Kris.

Yesterday I tooke my time to add the decals. The decals from Revell are very nice, and they allow you to move them a bit during the weakness proces.

I also painted the wheels, and bumpers because I want to clearcoat everything together. For clear I used Zero 2K Clear.

I think there are about 3 layers on every item.

On some pics the shine isn't visible, but believe me it's there. I think I'm not going to polish this paint with micromesh set, but i'll only use some different waxes and compounds.

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/blanke_lak_001_%28Medium%29~9.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/blanke_lak_003_%28Medium%29~9.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/blanke_lak_004_%28Medium%29~8.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/blanke_lak_005_%28Medium%29~5.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/blanke_lak_006_%28Medium%29~4.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/blanke_lak_007_%28Medium%29~3.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/blanke_lak_008_%28Medium%29~2.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/blanke_lak_009_%28Medium%29~2.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/blanke_lak_010_%28Medium%29~2.jpg

Kris.

Great progress, any fit issues so far?

Great progress, any fit issues so far?

So far not any. It seems like Revell is making good models these days!

Kris.

Amazing kit Kris!!!

You did a really nice paint job w/ these all separeted pieces!!!

Keep us posted bro!!

Cesar Bossolani

Today I decided to polish the paint.... So here is the result:

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/Polish%21_001_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/Polish%21_002_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/Polish%21_003_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/Polish%21_004_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/Polish%21_005_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/Polish%21_006_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/Polish%21_007_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/Polish%21_008_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/Polish%21_009_%28Medium%29.jpg

I also painted some parts semi gloss black with Modelmaster paint. First both roof options. Opened or closed sunroof:

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/Polish%21_010_%28Medium%29.jpg

And a part of the interior.
http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/Polish%21_011_%28Medium%29.jpg

And of course the ''vinyl'' floormat. (how do you guys name this?)
You can also see the ScaleProduction interiorflocking at the backside.

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/Polish%21_012_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/Polish%21_013_%28Medium%29.jpg

Yesterday I went nuts! I alway hate to paint windowtrims on the clearparts..... This bus have got 23 windows for me to be done..... :banghead:

First I added some masking tape on the backside. Than put another masking tape over the outside and press it donw with some toothpicks and earcleaners ( :?: ). Then cut out the center of it and you'll have a smooth cutted windowtrim. Now it must be painted semigloss black. I used Revell SM85 enamel for it.

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/Polish%21_014_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/Polish%21_015_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/Polish%21_016_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/Polish%21_017_%28Medium%29.jpg

Meanwhile I glued the windows in the bodyparts, and I have to say the fittment is not great at all. Almost every window shows some gaps here and there. I think I'll fill up these gaps with some thick black paint.

Kris.

Meanwhile the extreme heat whe have in Netherland, I found some time to go further with this project.

First of all I stripped the bad Revell chrome. I could easy pull it of with my nails :S Now that is bad chrome!

After that I could paint it Aclad chrome.

I did the bars behind the windows and some logo and light parts.


http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/opbouw_001_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/opbouw_002_%28Medium%29.jpg

The dash is also finished. I added the steeringwheel after some white paint and also added the Wolfsburg logo on it.

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/opbouw_003_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/opbouw_004_%28Medium%29.jpg

In the interior I placed the seats. First I painted the mountings in black. On the top of the seats there are some handles which where painted white and alclad chrome.

The handbrake and gearshifter are painted white also.

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/opbouw_005_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/opbouw_006_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/opbouw_007_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/opbouw_008_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/opbouw_009_%28Medium%29.jpg

I also start to add the body panels :)

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/opbouw_010_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/opbouw_011_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/opbouw_012_%28Medium%29.jpg

I'll have to be patient to add these body parts, the fittment is great at first impression, but I think it will need some work though.

Kris.

WOW, really great work :eek2::eek2::eek2:

It will be good to see the body panels come together over the chassis and interior!

Nice work! I like the color scheme.

I have a question, why did you use the decals for the exterior trim? Wouldn't you get a better finish if you use chrome bare metal or Alclad? the decals provided are silver-grey not chrome

Keep it coming

Nice work! I like the color scheme.

I have a question, why did you use the decals for the exterior trim? Wouldn't you get a better finish if you use chrome bare metal or Alclad? the decals provided are silver-grey not chrome

Keep it coming

I tried one door with BMF but the stripes were so thin, I wasn't able to get them straight. The decals are prettey good, cause beteween the 2 silver stripes there's a clear stripe. So if you put the decals smooth on the bodypanels, you got some nice straight striping. They are not chrome unfortunatally but I think they are still looking good.

The airvents on the back, and the chrome trim at the underside of the doors are done with BMF because it was much easier to do.

Kris.

Great work and great colour scheme, I like to the combination of red with black!

Great work and great colour scheme, I like to the combination of red with black!

:nono: It's red and brown :D

Kris.

Before I went to Turkye for holiday, I did some work on the van.

First I finished the dasboard by placing the steeringwheel. I painted it gloss white and clearcoated it after addding the WB logo.

I also added a PE sunglasses.

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/front_%2B_accesoires_001_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/front_%2B_accesoires_002_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/front_%2B_accesoires_003_%28Medium%29.jpg

I wanted some extra detail in the thrunk, so I added a skateboard and skates in it. They're from a Fujimi accesoire kit. The skateboard got some sanding paper to get the rough surface.

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/front_%2B_accesoires_004_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/front_%2B_accesoires_005_%28Medium%29.jpg

And some magazine's on the bench.

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/front_%2B_accesoires_006_%28Medium%29.jpg

And glued the front bodypanel on the chassis.

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/front_%2B_accesoires_007_%28Medium%29.jpg

As you can see, the hood is placed in open position. I'll do it with all doors, cause the doors don't fitt properly. Some of them can't be closed, and some have big gaps between the body. So this should be the best way, and it will be placed in a display box once it's finished.

Kris.

It will all fit together pretty well when you install the roof. The doors may not work very well, since the hinges are so fragile. There's also an interference from the front "hood" with the front edge of the inner floorpan that causes the entire front to bow outwards (at the top), so the doors are tight at the bottom but big gaps at the top. Trimming a bit or sanding that leading edge where it contacts the front should make it fit better. The big pins that locate the roof will help tremendously at final assembly.

Looking great so far :smokin:

Now I got my own house, I had to be quick to finish the VW bus. The next weeks i'll be very busy but this model must be finished for a magazine.

I started with the tyres. The tyres needed some whitewalls, but it was hard to paint on rubber. Several times I rubbed it off, and started again with some other paint but nothing worked. Before I gave up, I had a brilliant idea..... Using some whitewall decals from a Ford Pickup. The fit after some modifications, and after some SOL and semigloss clearcoat they are done :)

The chrome wheelcovers had also some very bad chrome on it. After removing it from the partstree, the chrome was already gone. So i painted it alclad chrome, but the result wasn't like i hoped. So I used some new chrome wheelcovers from a VW beetle kit.

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/banden_%2B_details_001_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/banden_%2B_details_002_%28Medium%29.jpg

Next: the body. I placed the front lights. I also glued the driverside door closed.

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/banden_%2B_details_003_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/banden_%2B_details_004_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/banden_%2B_details_005_%28Medium%29.jpg

And the rearlights are also placed.

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/banden_%2B_details_006_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/banden_%2B_details_007_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/banden_%2B_details_009_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/banden_%2B_details_010_%28Medium%29.jpg

The wheels and tyres are placed on the axles.

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/banden_%2B_details_011_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/banden_%2B_details_012_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/banden_%2B_details_013_%28Medium%29.jpg

I improved the exhaust by using a alluminium one.

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/banden_%2B_details_014_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/banden_%2B_details_015_%28Medium%29.jpg

Glued the doors opened.

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/banden_%2B_details_016_%28Medium%29.jpg

Alse placed the alclad chrome painted logo, wipers and doorhandles

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/banden_%2B_details_017_%28Medium%29.jpg

For the roof you can chose closed or opened.

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/banden_%2B_details_018_%28Medium%29.jpg

http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/albums/coppermine/albums/userpics/10027/banden_%2B_details_019_%28Medium%29.jpg

Meanwhile it shines in my cabinet, cause it is already finished :) I just have to find some time for the final pics.

Kris.

Great job! congratulations!!