1/35 Ryefield Type 82e Staff Car-Completed

[mustang1989]

I’ve really been tied up with my Ford Maverick build. Never before have I had to do so much in the way of plan out and precise fit to get a model to “work” convincingly before. It seems like it’s been one step forward and two steps back for over a half of a year now. Right now I'm stuck with trying to get an AMT '67 Mustang engine bay to work with the Jo-Han '70 Maverick body and all line up with the frame at the same time. The last few months I’ve needed distractions to keep me motivated in building so that I’m at least getting something accomplished at the bench. With this latest snag with the Mav I again…..need something to keep me motivated. I thought long and hard about either another OOB auto build or something else.  I pondered my options and thought to myself, “What if I combined the best of two worlds and satisfied my auto craving while at the same time doing something militaristic in nature?”. What I came up with was something that’s a little outside of my scale preference but something that I’ve been wanting to build since late last year.

Ya see…..I’ve got this 1/35 scale Ryefield Type 82E VW Beetle in my collection and right of the box it’s one helluva kit. It’s got an engine and full interior as well as lotsa details under the “hood” where the spare tire and all that stuff is. I’m going to order some 1/35 scale small arms and equipment to kind of set it off a little bit but it’s going to be an OOB build with some teeny mods done to it to enhance what is already there. 

And with that……we’ll be starting with this……

 

Edited October 21, 2020 by mustang1989

[Gazzas]

Ooh...  consider me interested!

[mustang1989]

14 hours ago, Gazzas said:

Ooh...  consider me interested!

 

Glad to have you on board Gaz!! 

 

Prior to posting the OP I'd been working on the chassis pretty much all week and I've gotta say that I am thoroughly impressed at all the detail in 1/35 scale. I managed to get all the rear suspension and exhaust work done (except for the tail pipe that I'll install later on to keep from snapping it off). I've also got the weathering done in the way of chipping and dirt effects. I tried as hard as I could to achieve the right balance but then again I'm no expert in the military vehicle field as far as WWII is concerned.

[chrish]

Looks very convincing to me!...at least going by what I’ve seen of 1:1 Vdubs in real life.

[LSP_K2]

Too bad you're apparently not an armor modeler as such, Joe, as most of my 1:35 German military related kits are chock full of goodies that could be used here. 

[mustang1989]

On 9/13/2020 at 4:16 PM, LSP_K2 said:

Too bad you're apparently not an armor modeler as such, Joe, as most of my 1:35 German military related kits are chock full of goodies that could be used here. 

 

I've only got this kit, a 1/48 Citroen Staff Car and a 1/48  BMW R75 kit in my military vehicles collection but since I've got this kit I've obtained a small stash of goodies. More coming.

 

Managed to finish the base chassis off this morning. Still gotta install the wheel/ tires but that'll come after I get through with the engine and interior. Might even come after I get through installing the body onto the chassis so I can play around with ride height and stance a little bit.



Speaking of engine....that's next up. At ten pieces in 1/35 scale it provides an excellent platform for adding some extra details. 
 

[CATCplSlade]

What you have so far looks nice, although I have to say I haven't ever seen a wear pattern like that on the bottom of a VW and I have been under many of them. An 82e especially shouldn't as they had more ground clearance than a regular Beetle since they used the Kubelwagen chassis. Now, you will see some surface corrosion on the ribs going across the floor pan and plenty of dust and dirt accumulation, but they just don't seem to get scraped up that much.

 

And as far as ride height goes, an 82e with gas in the tank but no passengers sits so that the axle nuts sit a bit below the running board. In the box pic they are about even, which likely accounts for the driver, but they sit lower normally.

 

Here is a beautifully restored 1943 model:

 

http://ww2vw.com/galleries/kdf-beetle-type-82e-1943/

 

Also, for full authenticity know that these were all delivered in black, and it was up to the receiving party what final color they should be painted. For the purposes of showing paint wear, especially for a DAK vehicle.

Edited September 15, 2020 by CATCplSlade

[mustang1989]

7 hours ago, CATCplSlade said:

What you have so far looks nice, although I have to say I haven't ever seen a wear pattern like that on the bottom of a VW and I have been under many of them. An 82e especially shouldn't as they had more ground clearance than a regular Beetle since they used the Kubelwagen chassis. Now, you will see some surface corrosion on the ribs going across the floor pan and plenty of dust and dirt accumulation, but they just don't seem to get scraped up that much.

 

And as far as ride height goes, an 82e with gas in the tank but no passengers sits so that the axle nuts sit a bit below the running board. In the box pic they are about even, which likely accounts for the driver, but they sit lower normally.

 

Here is a beautifully restored 1943 model:

 

http://ww2vw.com/galleries/kdf-beetle-type-82e-1943/

 

Also, for full authenticity know that these were all delivered in black, and it was up to the receiving party what final color they should be painted. For the purposes of showing paint wear, especially for a DAK vehicle.

 

Thank you a million for that input Mr. Slade!! That's what I like about being a part of different forums. All kinds of good information can be gathered.  I hear you on the "weed drag" pattern. I have no other experience with undercar wear like this except for a customer of my dads growing up that used to drive in the field occasionally and it had clean spots where the weeds had worn away paint over the years. This post this morning was actually going to show some of that surface corrosion and dust / dirt accumulation that you're mentioning. Like you, I knew that she needed  a little more wear/ usage marks. I did alot of research on this car prior to building and ran across that beautiful bug that you provided the link for and it was indeed very useful to me.

 

Updated weathering/ wear:

 

 

Edited September 15, 2020 by mustang1989

[Kagemusha]

Looks very convincing. 

[mustang1989]

Thanks Kagemusha!! 

 

Even though I've been working like a dog at work I have NOT given up my benchtime. I managed to build the engine and install and start work on the interior.

The engine originally had 11 parts to it but in typical fashion I added the spark plug wires, fuel line from the pump to the carburetor and installed the circuits leading to the generator. I would've posted progress sooner but I took Macro shots and spotted more boo-boo's than I could count so I made all the corrections and now have a presentable bit of progress. If anyone is thinking about getting this kit...I HIGHLY recommend it. Plenty of detail and goes together very well.

 

[chrish]

Very nicely done!

looks great!...as always

[CATCplSlade]

I don't imagine they thought to include any placards for the engine area, like the Bosch logo for the distributor?

[mustang1989]

48 minutes ago, CATCplSlade said:

I don't imagine they thought to include any placards for the engine area, like the Bosch logo for the distributor?

 

That would be a "Negative Ghost Rider". I imagine that there'll be a flood of aftermarket for this kit before its all said and done that'll probably include stuff like that.

[mustang1989]

3 hours ago, chrish said:

Very nicely done!

looks great!...as always

 

Thanks Chris!! 

[chrish]

I’m in automotive mode as well at the moment, converting AMT’s 1971 Dodge Charger to a 1974 Charger. (My old car) I’ve chopped 4 kits up so far for the parts to do it...Automotive mechanics should never build model car kits!