TAMIYA 1966 Volkswagen Beetle Model Car 1/24

Nicer than the Amazon picture. Love it.

Tamiya makes great models. The quality of the molding and the fit of the parts is beyond most other brands.

A fun detailed model, had fun doing this car.

So why would anyone build this model? Well, because I found out my father-in-law owned one of these when he was stationed in Germany in the 60’s - when he dated my mother-in-law… so yeah I thought it would be a nice gift. Pros: nice Tamiya quality with parts fitting perfectly - except - ugh, see below; great detail as usual for Tamiya; metal etching parts for two of the body details; all tires turn (always a plus for me); front steering linkage works left to right; decent amount of chrome detail; clear plastic is crystal clear!; instructions are detailed and include era-appropriate painting schemes. Cons: the hood and engine cover are designed to be installed during post full-body assembly - it’s awkward and neither fit optimally - it takes quite a bit to setup for a fully closed hood/lid display, which obscures all the detail, but terribly difficult to open without disturbing the entire model. Perhaps a pro could make that work; the metal flashing around the windows is near impossible to paint if you are not a pro - I did without, but I did try the chrome pinstriping on the hood and side panels - see pic); surprising lack of decals - the license plates had to be painted by hand - I used a pen. Overall it was a fun build; I give it a B. (Notet: a “B” is actually low for Tamiya, but since they are the only company making a 60’s era Volkswagen model kit, perhaps they should get an A).

Bought as a gift and it was a hit! I also bought paints, brushes, etc. and if you plan to do the same, not all the paints in the instructions are required, which is a bit misleading. You'll need just about everything else, though some are only required in one step, but I've added a list below to indicate which are optional paints, depending on what color is chosen for the exterior and interior (note: these are the official Tamiya brand paint codes/names and some exterior/interior choices require mixing paints):-TS-14 Black: exterior paint option-TS-36 Mica Red: exterior paint option-TS-7 Racing White: exterior paint option-X-14 Sky Blue: only if mixing exterior paint (Bahama Blue)-X-15 Light Green: only if mixing exterior paint (Bahama Blue)-X-22 Clear: only if mixing interior/exterior paint (Fontana Grey, Platinum, Sea Sand)-X-28 Park Green: only if mixing exterior paint (Java Green)-X-3 Royal Blue: only if mixing exterior paint (Sea Blue)-X-5 Green: only if mixing exterior paint (Java Green)

unironically a really cool scale model. i managed to find some paint that matched my dads beetle and we built it together

This was my first Tamiya car kit, and I can't say enough good things about it, everything went together quite nicely.

This is my first Tamiya model in nearly 40 years -- and I could not be happier. Like most things Japanese, Tamiya models (and paint) are well ahead of their American competition. On top of that, prices are very competitive, and usually cheaper for a far superior product.