Ok, Herbie is just a wanna-be. Straightened out the rear bumper and looks like it could (have been) a Rag top. I got a few ideas for both. The oval is a cast of mine and realy needs a fold back. I have three molds that I am going to play with and one is going to get the sunroof. The windows are another project. Any ideas of sunroof looks especially in small scale? Clothe of course. All responses are appreciated. David (W deck lid for sure)

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p8/hotrailz/CALLOOK.jpg

I'll hack the casts first and I don't want to ruin a good Herbie. Any ideas for a cloth fold back sunroof. VW folks will chime in first as it is not normal for regular cars. Go ahead and throw those ideas towards, David

how about the citroen cv look?thats a classic cloth rollback roof!

Straight from the hip I would try something like jock tape. You know...the white athletic tape, somewhat water resistent, AND has a weave pattern that may simulate the approximate texture of a Zuffenhausen raggy. The raggy itself should be a few milimeters above the roof surface (proud) even when closed, so the tape thickness should be about right scalewise.

You'd have to 'speriment with something to put underneath to simulate the bows, maybe wire or some mono filiment something or other. There should be three spaced evenly in the opening. Actually there are five, one being the rear bow that has bolts to secure it to the roof and another being the forward bow which also houses the suitcase type latch for opening. Once ya figure out how to make the bows it should be a simple matter to stick the rag with bows to the roof of a coupe and take your impression.

Remember that all four corners have a slightly rounded corner, not humongously rolled but neatly rounded, say an inch and a half radius maximum. The dash version has its rag correctly posistioned, more forward, with more realestate out back than forward.

If you need them some wheres I have the exact 1:1 measurements as I have cut several of these assemblies into coupes over the years.

were you wanting it functioning?or static?i was thinking you could cut grooves on either side of the opening,and bend the wire so it fits in and is able to slide back and forth..with an interior that would be pretty cool,but too much headache probably for a runner...

I'll hack the casts first and I don't want to ruin a good Herbie. Any ideas for a cloth fold back sunroof. VW folks will chime in first as it is not normal for regular cars. Go ahead and throw those ideas towards, David

Hi there,

nice oval window beetle casting you did!!! Please share your further efforts with us!

I did a bunch of resin beetles myself a couple of years ago. One blemish cast (had a pinhole in the middle of the roof...) ended up as a ragtop just like my dad´s VeeDub had 40 years ago.

What I did was using a simple piece of fine cloth, soaked it in white glue (usually used for wood) and held it in shape with pins and clamps while letting the stuff dry. Then added some flat black paint and placed that thing on the back of the roof opening with CA superglue.

That´s what it looked like (and probably still does look in a showcase in Vienna...):

http://www.aus-dem-rahmen-gefallen.de/slotcars/ch_vw_bug_blu_25.jpg

http://www.aus-dem-rahmen-gefallen.de/slotcars/ch_vw_bug_blu_07.jpg

I´m expectant to see what solution others might show up with and of course your final result!

Best regards and greetings from Germany,

Claus

cool VW's !!!!! Is your cast from a hot wheels VW????I have one I was gonna cast an a matchbox but have yet to get around to it.

Thanks, yes the oval is from a Hot Wheels. had to fill in a little around the lower portion of rear fenders for asthetics. I slosh cast them and get one good one for every eight or so. Too thin and it is flimsy, too thick and the window holes are hard to expose with dremmel.

Claus, I have always admired your work and your site. I tried the other day and the pics wouldn't show. David

Claus,
Another great looker! Ragtop looks just like it should. :thumbsup::thumbsup: rr

Hi there,

nice oval window beetle casting you did!!! Please share your further efforts with us!

I did a bunch of resin beetles myself a couple of years ago. One blemish cast (had a pinhole in the middle of the roof...) ended up as a ragtop just like my dad´s VeeDub had 40 years ago.

What I did was using a simple piece of fine cloth, soaked it in white glue (usually used for wood) and held it in shape with pins and clamps while letting the stuff dry. Then added some flat black paint and placed that thing on the back of the roof opening with CA superglue.

That´s what it looked like (and probably still does look in a showcase in Vienna...):

http://www.aus-dem-rahmen-gefallen.de/slotcars/ch_vw_bug_blu_25.jpg

http://www.aus-dem-rahmen-gefallen.de/slotcars/ch_vw_bug_blu_07.jpg

I´m expectant to see what solution others might show up with and of course your final result!

Best regards and greetings from Germany,

Claus

I used to have a grey 63 sunroof. That was a fun little car. Now I know how to copy it. Thanks for the tip on the sunroof

Today I practiced on cutting a hole in the roof of a mis-cast oval. roof needs some filing to straighten and corners cleaned up. Then I got carried away and ground through a fender. No loss, just good practice.

Thanks Claus, good information. Danke


http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p8/hotrailz/OVALHOLE.jpg

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p8/hotrailz/OVALHOLEB.jpg

Don't feel bad, most of us customizers have done something similar. A little more clean up and fix the hole, you can send her to the paint booth. :thumbsup::thumbsup: rr

I'll slosh out a few more and see if I can get better at that then I will try out a few tops. I like these little jewels and love to see others. I also love those 356's Claus has done. David

If you don't already have some, go to harbour freight or something similar and pick up a set of needle files. They work great for finishing up rough cuts and cleaning up window openings and such.

http://search.harborfreight.com/cpisearch/web/search.do?keyword=file&Submit=Go

I got one today or should I say I cast one today. Only one bubble on the very edge of a fender. I almost hate to cut any more but there is more alumalite out there and I am having fun. Gotta find a cool bumper mold and use Claus's "rag top" tips and I will have it. I have a water-based paint system I have been wanting to try. Cans are still availible and time will tell. this cast took 30 minutes to harden and is one of my favorites. David

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p8/hotrailz/OVALA.jpg

One reason I am so excited is that no one has an oval rear window car of any HO style let alone a sunroof. It took me years to find a good 1:1 let alone a HO scale. I am trying to "one up" Claus on this one as of now because his is not an OVAL rear window. All due respect. I will send him one if all goes good but I want one in my garage. A split is in progress.

Thanks TomH, I found a 6 pack of mini files at the hardware store and they truly do make modeling more pleasurable.
Hats off to Claus, it's not near as easy as he made it look. My first material I used was synthetic from some old swim trunks. No Go. Second what you see hear is from a collection of too small clothes from my son's dresser. It worked out a lot better and held its shape better but for the scale it seems a little thick and texture is a little large. I will keep on plugging away until I find the correct combination. David

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p8/hotrailz/lookdownon.jpg

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p8/hotrailz/rightprofile.jpg

were you wanting it functioning?or static?i was thinking you could cut grooves on either side of the opening,and bend the wire so it fits in and is able to slide back and forth..with an interior that would be pretty cool,but too much headache probably for a runner...

I think I will just try too accomplish static. LOL functioning woud be cool but now I realize bifocals or magnifiers might be in my near future.

Looks like the cloth top problem may be solved !!! Add a little color and do some crusing...RM

Thanks. It's getting there. I would at least to be half as cool as Claus's and I have a new piece of thin black cloth from my old GM tech clothes and some practice. I don't want it to just look like a lump on top. David

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p8/hotrailz/Halfandfullpulledback.jpg

1/72 scale armor modelers use tissue paper or paper towel soaked in white glue for tarps and canvas truck tops. It is thinner than fabric and comes out looking pretty good. The white glue makes it adequately stiff.

:drunk::hat::freak::dude:

an old trick from when i was doing military models was gauss.just normal folded gauss,to replicate camo netting,what not.if it was impregnated with glue and paint,and the weave was fine enough it may work...crepe paper would be good aswell...raw silk,as it is strong and thin...

How about masking tape? You can paint it or magic marker it and it would be thin enough to look right.

David,

A ragtop VW oval window bug...Kool Beans!!!!!!!!! Digging all the pics here and looking forward to seeing the finished product in color!

Bob...this is what I am talking about...zilla

Out crusin' and stopped by the diner. Everyone liked my new ride. Check out the hottie. The open roof really turns her on and she can't wait for the new paint job.

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p8/hotrailz/chicksdigit.jpg

:thumbsup::thumbsup: rr

Diggin' the raggy, man! :thumbsup:

You guys make this look easy! I suspect that it really takes a deft and gentle touch to get it all square and in line. Great work!

We ain't in Cali so we gotta have bumpers here in Missouri so I found a quick dip and mold for the Rag Top. I just smashed the bumpers of my Dash into some clay and poured in some resin. These are the Euro type as Claus can attest to. Still a little work to go on the curve and the mounts. Probaly why paint is not on the bug yet. Sorry the semiphores are out of the question. Well as of now. David

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p8/hotrailz/BUMPER101A.jpg

David,

you did a great job on that project so far! I´m really keen on seeing pics of the finished prototype!!!

The ragtop looks nice - but why don´t you do yourself a favour and make a 2-part mold for the bug body?

It´s really not that much more work (if not less in the long run)! Nothing more annoying (for me...) than sloshing the resin around and having to dremel out the excessive stuff, add resin in areas that got too thin and finally having to mount screwposts for every new car!!!

For the bumpers: They´re a real pain in the you-know-where to cast! I did a 2-part mold for them way back when my bug mold was alive - looked like this:

http://www.aus-dem-rahmen-gefallen.de/slotcars/forum/ch_vw_bug_bumpers.jpg

Oh yes, and the "Export" bumpers with the added "pipe frames" would be so much cooler! I tried building some from my resin parts and wanted to mount brass wire to resemble, but I didn´t manage to get it right...

Keep the good work up!

Greetings from Germany,

Claus

very cool... can't wait to see the finished product

You got it going on now man. Glad I could turn you on to the files, they are almost as handy as a Dremmel for resin casting. Take a good look at how Claus makes his mold. He is one of the top resin casters.

Oh Yeah, I totally respect those little cars that Claus makes. I gotta get some more mold making material. I dream of two pice molds like that. New pics turned out very poorly. I will try again in natural light as these "green" bulbs may be energy freindly but not so photo freindly. Thanks guys, David

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p8/hotrailz/BUMPER101B.jpg

Really not happy so far with this project. I am pleased with the knowledge I have gained but not with the toy. The toy is not the only problem, but the camera and computer are showing it in a totally different color. I'm over the finger prints and the unseen pinholes. I did however find a way to get rid of credit cards. They make excellent bumper brackets for slot car bumper brackets for Bugs. This pic is way to light for reality. Looks like a repaint is coming soon. Don't even know what is going to happen when I get to the "glass." Still fun and challenging all the time. David

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p8/hotrailz/BUMPER101D.jpg

Looking great! :thumbsup:
You will keep us posted, yeah?