Tamiya 1/24 Scale Volkswagen 1300 Beetle, 1966 Model [Unboxing & Pre-Assembly Review]

My earliest memory of a car ride was that of a hot, sunny day and how much havoc it was wrecking on my five-year-old tushy. For you see, my cousins and I had been bundled onto the PVC-covered backseat of a Volkswagen Beetle. So there we were, bouncing up and down, trying hard to minimize contact with the uncomfortably warm plastic seats as my aunt's beige-colored Beetle pulled slowly away from the driveway. Fast forward forty odd years later, I finally get to build and paint up a car I'm overly fond of; by using the Tamiya 1/24 scale Volkswagen 1300 Beetle (1966 Model). 

Tamiya 1/24 scale Volkswagen 1300 Beetle (1966 Model)

Side box art showing the exterior and interior of a Volkswagen Beetle in Bahama Blue colors

This Tamiya 1/24 scale model car kit has the item code number 24136 

Even at 1/24 scale, the box containing the Volkswagen Beetle model kit is much smaller than most 1/35 scale model tank kits. That's to be expected as heavy tanks found during World War II easily dwarfed your average car in both size and presence. Inside the box, sprues and parts were kept in plastic bags which Tamiya has traditionally kept 'sealed' using just a few staples. Enclosed info sheet and assembly instructions came in four languages namely English, Japanese, German and French.

Unboxed and ready for a pre-assembly inspection of the parts and sprues

Info sheet and assembly instructions for the Volkswagen 1300 Beetle

Straight off the bat upon opening the box, my eye was drawn to the iconic round shape body of the Beetle (see below). You can't miss it. Details of the exterior and interior parts are excellent. Just looking at them brings back childhood memories of time spent fiddling with the dashboard and steering wheel in a make believe playtime drive-around. Also included are chrome parts for modelers who aren't inclined to paint a fully built up model. However, for those of use who plan to paint and weather the final build, these shiny parts - bumpers/fenders, hubcabs, rear and side view mirrors, etc. - will eventually be primed and painted over. So the fact they're shiny is largely irrelevant. 

Main car body of the Volkswagen Beetle and its distinctively rounded shape

Sprue A: Bonnets/hoods, interior parts, running boards, etc.

Sprue B: Chrome parts such as the front and rear fenders, hubcaps, side mirrors, etc.

Sufficient parts are provided to built a fairly detailed engine. And it will be worthwhile doing so as the rear bonnet/hood, once assembled, can still be opened up to reveal the engine inside. Having the engine located at the rear means the front bonnet/hood, which also can be opened and closed after assembly, will house the spare tyre. Little details like this is a dream for scale modelers like myself.

Sprue C: Chassis and engine parts, seats, wheel rims, etc.

Sprue D: Clear parts such as headlights, tail lights, signal lights, windshield, rear and door windows

Decal-wise it is pretty sparse offerings. Only two but that's all you really need. To be located at the rear bonnet/hood, the 1300 symbol is as how I remembered it with the unique joining together of all the numbers. Meanwhile, the front bonnet/hood will sport Volkswagen logo decal. Last but not least are the tyres, four plus a spare, and poly-caps for the wheels. A poly-cap is a small tubular cylinder used to create smooth joints, or to keep something in place without glue in scale-models. Sporting detailed grooves, the tyres are molded to look like they're fully inflated. That suits me just fine.

Decals provided in the Volkswagen 1300 Beetle scale model kit

Tyres and poly-caps for the Beetle's wheels  

What is this Beetle going to be a proxy for, you might wonder. Well, with my penchant to undertake scale model projects with scif-fi or fantasy connotations, it can only be Bumblebee in car form (see below) as found in the latest movie of arguably the most beloved autobot among that lot of do-gooders. Moreover, the yellow Volkswagen Beetle displays enough weathering to make the project much more interesting to tackle than a straightforward monotone paint job. 

Bumblebee in its classic Volkswagen Beetle form, with Hailee Steinfeld (as Charlie Watson)

I can't think of a better subject to begin my journey into car scale modeling than the iconic 1966 Volkswagen 1300 Beetle. I think I'm going to have a lot of fun with this one. A lot of fun.