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The Interior

Assembling the Beetle’s interior essentially involved building upon the work that was done on the suspension and floor pan. As the lion’s share of Eduard’s photo etch set was used in the portion of the kit construction of this phase proved time consuming. It was here that many of CMK’s details were replaced by thinner gauge metal. Some of the highlights included super detailing the clutch, brake, and accelerator pedals; installing the vehicle’s folding map table; and improving the dashboard’s instrument cluster. I could not find any reference that indicated the Type 87 featured two vertical rifle racks behind the driver’s seat, though the Type 92 SS did; however, Eduard’s photo etch set includes them, so I added them.

Unfortunately, Eduard did not go far enough on detailing the vehicle’s transmission hump. While the set does include an access plate, there are no pieces for the relocated emergency brake or the four-wheel drive lever. These I added from plastic stock based on images found in the Schiffer book. Lastly, I added Grandt Line wing nuts to the front seat runners replicating the mounting points found on the real Volkswagens.

Once the interior was completely assembled and painted I added a variety of different items from Tamiya, Historex, Verlinden, DML, and Warriors. These included a large water can and jug, individual canteens and mess tins, several maps, kit bags, and DAK helmets – both the standard “steel pot” and the tropical pith helmet varieties. As Eduard’s photo-etched rifle racks were rather difficult to work with, I chose not to press my luck by inserting two Kar-98 rifles into them.

Instead, I outfitted the Beetle’s passengers with two Schmiesser submachine guns. One I fitted into its special mount, located within the front passenger’s foot well. The second I placed across the rear seat. The Nazi aerial recognition flag is a piece of tissue paper soaked in a white glue and water mixture and left to dry after folding it into a desired shape. Once firm, it was hand painted using Polly-S and Tamiya acrylics.

Painting and Weathering

Perhaps the most challenging aspect of constructing CMK’s kit is the painting stage. Due the way in which the parts are designed I found it best to paint the interior completely, including weathering prior to gluing the floor pan and fender assembly to the top of the body. Many Type 87s left the factory in panzer dark gray finish, particularly those early models that were shipped to North Africa for service under Rommel’s forces. Consequently, I applied a base coat of Humbrol HM4 8163 German Panzer Gray.

After this dried several days I weathered the interior surfaces as they would have retained their gray finish even after the exterior scheme was modified in the field. Several more days passed until I over sprayed the entire vehicle’s exterior surfaces with Humbrol HM2 Afrika Korps Desert Yellow. My initial reactions were disgust as I noticed the yellow began drying extremely glossy. My frustrations peaked and I left the model to rest and tended to other models I was working on at the same time. About a week later I inspected what appeared to be my ill-fated Beetle. As I felt that stripping the entire exterior would be too much work I began to sand the exterior surfaces of their yellow paint. What transpired next was a miracle as the glossy finish quickly dulled to the desired appearance. In those areas that I wished to depict extreme wear I used a heavier grit paper and worked the yellow to the point that the gray undercoating began showing through – just like on the real Type 87s! I then went over the entire vehicle with very smooth sandpaper to achieve a finer finish. After I got the surface to where I liked it I applied several coats of Model Master’s Dullcote.

Prior to weathering the vehicle’s exterior I painted a Desert Army Korps (DAK) palm tree insignia on the Beetle’s doors with the aid of Verlinden’s German World War II AFV & Vehicle Markings template (VE 1286) that retails for $9.95. Rather than stark white paint I used off-white to better simulate age. In areas of extreme wear in which bare metal may have been revealed I dry brushed the vehicle with Model Master’s Steel. What followed was a series of dry brushing episodes in which I scrubbed the vehicle with lighter shades of its basecoat, achieved by mixing white with the Afrika Korps Desert Yellow. The suspension, particularly the wheels, received a wash of artist’s oil Burnt Umber and Testor’s Rubber.

The Beetle’s muffler then was treated with Rust-All, a highly effective super detailing finish marketed to modelers in the early 1990s. After all of the weathering was accomplished I recoated the entire vehicle in Model Master’s Dullcote, including the windshields, which later appeared dusty once the Dullcote dried. To simulate areas that would have been wiped clean by both the Beetle’s windshield wipers and by its passengers, I cleaned the windows with a chisel brush dipped in turpentine.

Conclusion

Overall, I am pleased with the end result of super detailing CMK's kit to represent a desert version of the Type 87 Beetle. By making the necessary modifications to the body and adding the CMK, Jaguar, DML, and Verlinden aftermarket update and super detail sets the basic kit becomes a real jewel. However, if I had to do it over, I would go several steps further by combining the CMK kit with even more items from other kits including much of the running gear of the Tamiya desert Kübelwagen and CMK's aftermarket engine compartment. I also would open the Beetle's trunk and retrofit Jaguar's Schwimmwagen tires with Kronprinz wheels from the Tamiya desert Kübelwagen. Now that would be a Beetle to behold!

Special thanks go out to friend and fellow model builder Keith Frape for providing images of the Kübelwagen and Schwimmwagens taken at a local military show in November 2003.

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