'56 Beetle 'RustoRod' **New pics added**

[vwdave]

A local guy picked up a 'barn fresh' oval in June, and he had it on the road within a few weeks; some suspension mods put it where he wanted it(completely reversible stuff, no butchery at all), and he's been driving it almost daily since then. I finally saw it last month, and knew I had to have it..........in scale, of course.
Here's the real one:


And here's my nearly completed one:


More at the link:
[ftp]http://public.fotki.com/VWDave/my_model_car_projects/rustorod-56-beetle/[/ftp]

As it's a curbside, this is looking to be a real 'quickie' build. I'm scratchbuilding a roofrack and header, and adding a modified 'swamp cooler' vintage window A/C unit from a Homie Rollers diecast.

[The Mad Modeller]

Thats a nice looking Bug. Your rust looks like it just came out of the barn. Love the wheels.

[vwdave]

Thanks for the kudos, Bobby; I must admit I'm having a ball with this unplanned project.

The rainy weekend here in the north country kept me indoors, and I made a couple new things.....the little guy has a vintage-style 'swamp cooler' and wood slat roof rack now.
Before wood weathering:

After wood weathering:


And there's a few more pics added to my Fotki as well:
[ftp]http://public.fotki.com/VWDave/my_model_car_projects/rustorod-56-beetle/[/ftp]

[Rollsbug]

Dude, your volkswagen work amazes me!! Awesome stuff!

[stefan]

Hi Dave,

what kind of wheels did you used? Are these empinuts BRM´s?

[vwdave]

Stefan - I have a set of Bill's, but these aren't them. The BRMs I used on this one are actually resin copies of Dennis Chung's white metal ones; I bought a set right from Dennis on Ebay a few years back, and had a hard time deciding which model would get them.....a couple of sets in resin helped make that decision a little easier.

I hear tell that Herb Deeks sells resin BRMs that are also copies of Dennis' wheels, but I also understand he has never credited Dennis as creating the master.

[Nacho Z]

Cool Bug. I think the wheels are pretty cool too. I don't believe I've ever seen them before. What did you use for the weathering? Looks like a lot of work.

[vwdave]

nacho - The product I used is called 'Instant Rust,' and it is sold at Michaels craft stores; the brand name says either Modern Options or Sophisticated Finishes, and it's kept in the paint aisle(not by models). The 2 bottles are available separately, or in a 2-pack like in this photo:


It's surprisingly easy to do as well......if you can brush paint, you can make it rusty. With a little practice you can achieve a more subtle 'patina' look.

[stefan]

vwdave:

Thanks for the info!
Do you know if it´s possible to get a set of those BRM´s anyhow or anywhere?

Stefan

[vwdave]

Stefan - I'm not 100% sure, but I did hear that Herb Deeks was selling them.

Bill M., known as 'empinut' here and on other boards, also makes some nice ones himself; his are actually a little more accurate, as Dennis' were kinda flat(and slightly oversized - they work out in scale to 16.5"). I'm not sure who casts his stuff, but I'm sure he can tell you.