Bumblebee, Autobot Transformer in vehicular form [WIP - Tyres, Wheels, Rims and Hubcaps]

 With the pandemic situation in the country going from bad to worse, I have been spending even less time on the hobby in my free time. The lockdown's new normal is infinitely more tiring on an old guy like me because it has made regular errands more time consuming and complicated. So whatever little free time leftover is being spent on less energy-sapping hobbies like computer/video gaming. Thankfully though, I still have some yet-to-be uploaded work-in-progress photos to work with, hence the blog you read today about the Tamiya 1/24 scale Volkswagen 1300 Beetle tyres, wheels, rims and hubcaps update for my Bumblebee Autobot Transformer in car-form project.  

Tamiya 1/24 scale Volkswagen 1300 Beetle work-in-progress: tyres, wheels and rims

 Already impressed by the level of detail inherent in this Tamiya scale model kit, I would not have thought it possible to be furthered wowed by the molded details. But I was. Everything about the 1/24 scale Volkswagen 1300 Beetle's tyres, wheels, rims and hubcaps looked like an accurate replica of the real thing, all the way from the hubcab logo to the brand name on the tyres. Putting them together was also simple as the instructions (shown directly below) can attest to.

Assembly instructions for the Volkswagen Beetle's tyres, wheels, rims and hubcaps

1/24 scale rubber tyres are provided as individual parts ...

... separate from the wheel and rims of the Beetle ...

... as well as from hubcaps engraved with the Volkswagen logo

Coated with chrome, the hubcaps only had a wash applied and weren't painted

 Still at two minds as to whether I should weather the tyres, wheels, rims, and hubcaps with a dried mud/dusty effect, I decided to limit the actual work done to just painting the wheels/rims with metallic chrome and them applying a black wash on the said wheels/rims as well as on the already chrome-coated hubcaps. The rubber tyres were left in its original state. Final decision on the dried mud/dusty weathering effects will only be made once the entire Volkswagen Beetle has been assembled.   

All the parts (after paint/wash where applicable) prior to assembly

Rubber wheels after being attached to the wheels/rims

It's optional to either put the hubcaps onto the wheels or not

Like in real-life, hubcaps are only available for the main wheels, and not the spare

 If there was one thing that truly encapsulated how fantastic the molded details on the 1/24 scale Volkswagen 1300 Beetle were, it was the Continental brand name molded onto the rubber tyres (see below). It's such simple attention to detail that to this day still has me in awe of the hobby's potential to mimic reality in miniature form. It's what has been dragging me back year after year, even beating out a long-drawn out malaise that threatened to scupper all interest in miniature painting/scale modeling.

Even at 1/24 scale, you can still make out the brand name on the tyres

 Next in line for the Beetle is its bodywork and paint. In the past, the only option available to me when painting large surface areas would have been spray cans only. While results were usually not bad, the finish was never as smooth as I would have liked it to be. Now with airbrushing as a viable and more accessible technique, I finally get to work on a car's bodywork which requires a smoother than usual paint finish compared to say tanks. Getting back to the hobby in this pandemic should be a good diversion. That's better than raging at hypocritical politicians who continually flout pandemic lockdown rules without repercussions. As they say in The Good Place .... What the fork? Bullshirt ashholes. Okay that's out of my system for now. Rant over. FourEyedMonster, over and out.