Volkswagen T2 Bus

Yea!  I've been waiting for this kit for so long.  Love the old Beetles and buses.  Probably will end up buying two or three of this one and the same when they release the camper version.  Hpiguy on youtube did a great "rusty & crusty" build up of this kit if you're interested.  Anxiously awaiting your next posting.  Take care & stay safe.

TJS

Cool Mike!  My brother had one way back.  I always remeber the 3' stick shift :)

Ordered the kit when I saw it was available.  I had a 68 that I drove to high school.  My friends called it "The Tan Pneumatic Tube" but could carry just about the whole church youth group in it while we enjoyed the 8 track (Class of 83).  Not a lot of fun to drive on the interstate in any type of wind.   Would have to cut the wheel towards any 18 wheelers that passed me to keep from leaving the road.

My dad was a mechanic and we rebuilt the engine after he bought it.  He drove it for several years before letting my brother and I start using it.   Also pulled the engine and replaced the clutch a time or two.   

Kit has good detail.  The only down side to me is the orange styrene.   Mine will be tan and white. 

Looking forward to your build and getting any ideas for improvements.

Thanks Tom, John and dhenning!

I saw a picture of a VW Bus with dual tailpipes and I just had to replicate them!  I started thinking about the parts necessary and I found them in the Revell '29 Ford Model A Roadster kit.  Out of the two kits I have, I found four (2 each) lower radiator hoses for exxhaust pipes and two metal exhaust tips from a 2006 Mustang GT that I did not use.  

More VW T2 Bus to come...

This VW T2 Bus is coming along smoothly!  I added the whitewall decals and I tried to get them centered and round since there is nothing on the tire to line it up with.  The engine has been painted, assembled, decaled and modified to a dual exhaust vehicle.  The front and rear suspension have been painted and assembled.

More VW T2 Bus to come...

Your progress is moving along nicely.  The engine looks very good.  Still waiting for this kit to hit the shelves around here.  Take care & stay safe.

TJS

I like it! I like it!

Jim 

Stay Safe.

Looking good.

Thanks Tom, Jim and lurch! 

This may be a snap kit, but it is loaded with detail and I am trying to bring that detail to the forefront and make it visable.

Hello!

I like it too, and Iäve been working for Volkswagen for several years!

Once I've been walking around the outskirts of Wolfsburg, Germany - it was around 2004 - and at Volkswagen Individual (Volkswagen's customization workshop) they had a bunch of brand new T2s... As it turned out they imported the last produced T2s from Brasil and they were offering them for sale in Germany, but they had to retrofit them with things like ABS in order to make them street legal here in Europe. Even so - those babies are almost 20 years old now - how the time flies!

Good luck with your build and have a nice day

Paweł

Looks like a fun kit, Mike.

Sure like the paint scheme you have planned.

Cool subject Mike.  Engine looks good and the white walls will look great on that color scheme.

Thanks Pawel, Greg and John!

Some masking and the interior got a bit Tamiya TS-29 Semi Gloss Black.  I painted the wheels with Tamiya TS-26 Pure White.  Now to add the tires.

More Volkswagen to come...

Progress is moving right along and everything is looking so good!  I can't wait to see this project when it's finally completed.

TJS

Hi;

 If anyone can make it POP you will!

Thanks Tom and Tanker-Builder!

The interior is underway as we speak.  All the seats are complete and I added the spare tire to the interior.  The chassis is underway as well.  I added a tool box to the drivers side of the engine compartment.  The wheels and tires will need a coat of flat clear as one of the whitewall decals came off.  I tried to replicate the whitewall with some flat white paint since my white Jelly Roll pen didn't want to work properly.

More Volkswagen to come...

That engine compartment looks amazing!

TJS

Thanks Tom!  Adding detail to an engine compartment sometimes helps to bring out the detail in an otherwise stale engine compartment.

Coming along very nicely Mike! 

Jim 

Stay Safe.

Thanks Jim!  Staying safe my friend!

I got all the seats installed on the VW, but they do look somewhat plain.  I dug into the parts box and I found these decals from two Revell '29 Model A Roadsters and I thought that they would look good on the seats.  That was when I discovered the two different decal colorings.  Time to rethink my process!  I removed the decals from the tires since I found some new decals in my parts box.

More Volkswagen to come...

I went and used Tamiya X-26 Clear Orange on the plain seats of the VW T2 Bus.  This change the look of the interior!  I just need to tone down the glossiness with some flat or semi gloss clear.

More Volkswagen to come...

They look great

I agree, I think that they look great too.  I wouldn't dull cote them because now they look like new vinyl seats.  Can't wait until your next update.

TJS

Thanks John and Tom!

The seats looked too glossy to me, so I dull coated them.  Even new vinyl seats in a car is not that shiny.

Oh My!

 Those wheels, And that Engine! Mr Mike they are awesome!! This is going to be another of your Jewels for sure! Your later comments about the seats is right on. I just got a JEEP Grand Cherokee and the leather is Not shiny. The Vinyl ones I looked at on another model were definitely Semi-Gloss at best!

Thanks T-B!

I found new whitewall decals in my parts box and I believe they came from the Revell '68 Dodge Charger R/T.  I had mounted the spare tire on the left interior sidewall, but as I looked at it, I didn't like the fact that it was too close to the sidewall.  I made a bracket to space the spare tire away from the wall some.  This will allow some room when the body is placed over it.  I used Model Master Semi Gloss Clear on the seats and the paint ran which indicates that the clear is too hot for the paint.  I'll repaint the seats and use Tamiya TS-79 Semi Gloss Clear instead, which shouldn't be as chemically hot.

More Volkswagen to come...

I got the body, roof and doors in primer.  Soon to be ready for Tamiya TS-26 Racing White for the upper half of the VW T2 Bus.  The bottom half will get a coat of Tamiya TS-13 Gloss Clear.

More Volkswagen to come...

Yesterday, I applied the decals to the dash panel and then I added the steering wheel and column, the parking brake and dash panel support and I did a little paint detailing.

More Volkswagen to come...

Its coming along really nicely. The dash looks great. I do have one recommendation though. I would paint the orange plastic. Unpainted plastic looks like...well, plastic, not painted metal. Just my two cents.