23-window VW bus vignette

[tiking]

Been working on this for the last 3 days now and this is what I put together. Hope you all approve. If you look closely you'll see some bird eggs inside the right side headlight. The wheel lugs or bolts are on the ground next to the tireless axle. I will be adding a couple more details until I am satisfied but so far it looks complete.

[spanner570]

Hello Charles, another magic model.

My wife and I have both been looking at your superb model, and softies that we are we both had damp eyes...Why? Because we had a real one of these when we got married way back in 1970. Mind you, ours had all chrome on the bumpers and both the big V.W sign and the front 'Vee' were also chrome. Also it didn't have the luxury of an opening roof and was painted blue...all wrapped up in a 6v electric system!

What made us softy like was picture 4. We used to lift that rear door and sling our youngest son, firmly strapped in his carry cot, onto the big, warm shelf over the engine. He would stay there for hours fast asleep....

Thanks for bringing back so many happy memories for us both through your magnificent Vee Dubb!

Cheers,

Ron

[Ian M]

Very nice indeed Charles. Come on spill the beans. Just how do you do your rust and weathering. It just looks so real.

Great work.

Ian M

[Ian M]

Ah that would be the DeLux version Ron. Nice arn't they. You had one I want(ed) one.

Ian M

[yak face]

Amazing work charles, truly breathtaking. Everything is superb , the rust effect ,the trees , the little details like the birds nest, wonderful! I work with a guy who has an old split screen camper and hes doing his in the "rat look" i.e. deliberately tatty looking , thing is, his looks in worse nick than yours!!! cheers tony

[tiking]

Very nice indeed Charles. Come on spill the beans. Just how do you do your rust and weathering. It just looks so real.Great work.

Ian M

Thanks gents. Ian, I think I had posted my procedures before but can't remember where. It is pretty simple. I used the hair spray method; more or less to a point. I am sure you have heard of it. Anyway, First;

1. I prime ( let dry for a day or two. If you're like me, I do not wait that long.

2. I then spray a brown color to act as my base or the base for the rust to be precise. Any deep earth brown would do. I do not use an air brush. All painting is done out of a can.

3. Then I would spray hair spray over the brown to act as a shield for when you spray your final color. It is not a must but sometimes when you will remove the top color, the bottom tense to follow with it if it is not dried properly. You'll see in the next step.

4. Then I sprinkle ordinary salt; the grain of salt is totally up to you. The bigger the salt grain, the bigger the area. I use both small and big grains.

5. You can use either water or hair spray to attach the salt to the model.

6. After the water dissipate, you can now spray on your final color.

7. after it dries, you can take your fingers or a stiff brush and remove the salt. You can also spray on some water to help loosen up the salt.

8. The effect you will get is the under-lining area where the salt had been thus revealing the brown areas you painted before.

9. Then I use real grounded rust or in most cases, MIG different shades of rust. I just take a rounded old brush and power the brown area. Now, I tend to mix the rust power with black power to give it the depth it needs to look old or light for new rust build. I think testing is you best teacher to get the results you need.

10. Then I go over the areas with real dust or dirt I scraped up form my work place. It is not necessary but I tend to try and experiment with anything that nature has to offer.

You will probably have to go over and blow off the excess every now and then through out the process, until you are satisfied. Another neat feature is scraping of the paint before it has time to really dry. Say about 4-5 mins after you painted your final coat. This method, I found gives the most realistic effect of dried peeling paint.

Again, as with every method, there are many ways to achieve the desired effect. This is just my way. Hope this helps.

Hello Charles, another magic model.My wife and I have both been looking at your superb model, and softies that we are we both had damp eyes...Why? Because we had a real one of these when we got married way back in 1970. Mind you, ours had all chrome on the bumpers and both the big V.W sign and the front 'Vee' were also chrome. Also it didn't have the luxury of an opening roof and was painted blue...all wrapped up in a 6v electric system!

What made us softy like was picture 4. We used to lift that rear door and sling our youngest son, firmly strapped in his carry cot, onto the big, warm shelf over the engine. He would stay there for hours fast asleep....

Thanks for bringing back so many happy memories for us both through your magnificent Vee Dubb!

Cheers,

Ron

Ron, this made me feel very sentimental. I am glad I was able to bring some happiness to you and yours. My regards to her Ron.

[tiking]

Amazing work charles, truly breathtaking. Everything is superb , the rust effect ,the trees , the little details like the birds nest, wonderful! I work with a guy who has an old split screen camper and hes doing his in the "rat look" i.e. deliberately tatty looking , thing is, his looks in worse nick than yours!!! cheers tony

Thanks Tony. What's the Rat Look?

[Guest]

shhhhh dont tell anyone but i totally love this dio,my grandad swore to his dying day it would be the only vehicle he ever drove and it was.so from me 5*s all the way and dont do anymore to it,round it by all means but not to the camper

mobear

[tiking]

Thanks Ole for sharing. It seems this dio has sparked up some kindle memories. Don't worry. I am just adding very small details. No much. Just subtle enough to appreciate it.

[Guest]

did you use the samba bus from revell?

mobear

[yak face]

Thanks Tony. What's the Rat Look?

Hi charles , basically the "rat look " is taking a sound vehicle and making it look as if it is battered and rusty, even to the extent of sanding areas of good paintwork so they start to rust. Obviously the trick is to do this without compromising the structure of the vehicle. If you Google Image ' Rat look VW ' youll see what i mean . cheers tony

[tiking]

Ok. Thanks. Will google it.

[Guest]

Stunning, just stunning my friend.

Cheers

Andy

[tiking]

Thanks Andy.

[papa 695]

Great work looks so real