Since I had fairly good success making the swamp cooler for the Beetle diorama, I wanted to continue to add by making a roof rack for the Beetle. I kicked around ideas for materials and finally decided to use small paper clips for the frame. I didn’t want it to look new, so removing the kinks from the paper clip gave it just enough wear. I used needle nose pliers to bend and shape the frame, trying my best to keep in to scale. I also tried different methods to hold the frame together. JB Weld didn’t work very well and it was very clumpy. Epoxy didn’t well either and like the JB Weld, it was clumpy. I had a little success with super glue gel, but in the end, it just didn’t work out. I ended up soldering the parts together. It’s still a little clumpy, not too bad. For the wooden slats, I was going to use a popsicle stick, but the scale wasn’t so great. What I ended up doing was folding a piece of paper 4 ways and gluing it together. This gave me a good thickness that was close to scale. After the glue was dry, I cut it into strips, dunked them into stain and let them dry. I did use the super glue to secure the slats to the frame. All in all, I’m pleased. It’s not perfect, but building one from scratch at this scale is very difficult.
Diorama Update / 1:64 Scale VW Beetle Roof Rack
Diorama Update / 1:64 Scale Swamp Cooler
Working on the diorama is always a good way to pass time on rainy days. I haven’t had any updates to it since the end of winter, but had an opportunity to add a couple of things this past weekend. I’ve been wanting to add a swamp cooler to one of the shop beetles, but finding material to build one at 1:64 scale proved to be a challenge. I ended up finding a few pieces of plastic tubing in my “junk drawer” that seemed to work perfectly. I can’t remember where they came from or what they were initially intended for. I didn’t take photos of the entire process, but basically these 2 pieces of tubing, a little super glue and JB Weld got the job done. I’m pleased with the way it turned out. Next project for this shop beetle is a new roof rack.
Latest Diecast
I haven’t been keeping up on this as well as I should be, so here’s a little catch up note. These have been either gifts or local pickup’s over the past couple of months. Of course, most of these are VW’s since that’s mainly what we concentrate on. My favorite out of the lot is by far the Dharma VW Bus. It’s got great detail and if you’re a fan of Lost, it’s a must have. I promise to make more posts in a timely manner as we continue to pick up our favorite diecast along the way. Hopefully soon, we’ll get some pics of the full collection which by now would be impossible to guess the amount. Soon hopefully…..I have a new custom coming up as soon as I can find it on the pegs….Happy hunting….!
New Hot Wheels and Roof Wrap
Added two more Hot Wheels to the collection. 50th Anniversary redline Beetle and Walt Disney Classics Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs T1 Bus with real riders. Very nice! Both of these were found at Walmart. When I first read about the 50th Anniversary Redlines, it was obvious that people were snatching them up and trying to sell them for a profit. Ebay was flooded with them for a few days. However, a recent visit to our local Walmart proved that these were readily available. Don’t fall for the trap. I also began wrapping Mabel’s roof rack with rope. I’ve always like this look and decided to give it a try (sorry video of the process). Just the top part required 90 feet of rope. Don’t know if I’ll take it any further than this or not, we’ll see.
New Die Cast and a New Redline
Lenora knows all of my vices! She got me some really nice additions for the collection. For the VW collection, she got me a VW Bus from the TV series LOST which we finally started watching a week or so ago. She also got a VW Beetle from the movie Forrest Gump. These are the Greenlight Hollywood brand. We’ve got a few others from this manufacturer and they’re nice, quality pieces. She also got me an original “Sweet Sixteen” Antifreeze Hot Heap redline. When you look at this car, it’s hard to believe that it’s 50 years old and has survived to be in this kind of condition. It’s a near mint piece that looks like it’s never been played with. Very, very nice! The redlines are finally adding up. Happy Valentines Day!!!!
Diorama More Bits and Pieces
Just a few more bits and pieces and this project will be done. Lenora has inspired me to do a 1:43 or 1:18 scale diorama in the future. The biggest satisfaction is making most of these pieces from scratch, most of them, you can’t buy at a hobby shop or anywhere else. When I first thought about this many months ago, I was hoping for an aged, neighborhood shop where everybody takes their car to be worked on late at night, over a few beers and some good music. I think I’m pretty close to that.
Diorama Update
Added some new items to the diorama that I’ve been working on, mainly the tool chest. I had to build this one from scratch to get the right scale and I think it turned out very nice. It’s made of plexiglass (top) and the drawers are made from wire holders for old DB9 connectors. I also made a couple oil barrels for used oil, they’re made of old diodes. I try to make as much stuff as I can from scratch, makes the process more interesting. I also got the headlights and taillights painted on the flatbed. It’s coming along nicely.
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