I am a diecast car collector first and far most focused on 1:18 scale… But I do have some model kits made by Maisto and enjoy assembling them. But these assemble kits don’t excite me much but still have a few, the newest addition is this Airfix Quickbuild Volkswagen Beetle. This Volkswagen Beetle is roughly 1:24 – 1:27 scale so I picked it as a trial and also to see if this is any good for modification!!
The box is pretty much straight forward… The bright orange package with blue shade VW bug stands out in any crowd. This attractive package is the reason why I even picked it from the top shelves of the toy store called “Sapphire Toys, Bangalore” The front has some generic information along with exploded view of the model and age at which this product is targeted at!
The back side hold more information of the real car, I would have loved it even more if these are specification of this model car. You could see “No glue! No paint! Just BUILD!” text all over the package both front and back! This being officially licensed product, you could legal details too.
Unlike most other toys that we see in our shelves, this is made in UK and imported by Funskool (India) Ltd. I guess this was imported long back and sitting in these shelves for so long to be picked up. The side of the package hold so much information in multiple language and also recycle details. There also is a hologram that validates the authenticity of this product, which is kind of old school but I like it.
I started unboxing this simple package and the first one come out is the detailed instruction manual… yeah the instruction manual is a must even for a adult like me to get it perfect… Let me confess, I tried building it without following the manual and I failed… So follow the manual if you want to get it right the first time. This manual has 33 steps and very easy to follow.
The package contains 33 pieces that you would use to build… These pieces are snap ons so you don’t need any tools or glue to put it up! All these pieces are packed in a simple plastic bag and I am surprised to see how it is in this mint condition! All the parts are made of plastic except the tires, which are made of rubber.
Build is pretty much straight forward if you follow the instruction… The first step is to get four wheels ready, yeah that itself is 3 step and that shows up in the final output. The center hubcap has a nice Volkswagen logo and it goes pretty well with the wheels. Next we need to get the front bumper set with base plate.
Next we need to get the fenders (front and back) in place followed by the seats and connector to the front. The front headlamps also gets installed, which I like a lot for the details and texture. Now the build start to get shape and looks very much like a bug now.
This step seem to be the simplest as this is where this beetle gets some interiors done.The dashboard and steering added to but these two are just stickers, which I don’t like much! But end of the this is a fullest sealed model so I don’t worry about the interiors much.
The final step that signs off this build is putting the roof on top and get some tail lamps done. The licence plate is also a sticker but here it works perfectly but it refuses to stay there maybe because of its age. More like a icing on the cake the rear bumper is added.
This Volkswagen looks very much like a finished scale model car than kit build car. I personally like everything about this VW Beetle’s exterior, panel gaps are super slim aiding to this clean looks! Though officially licenced product I only see Volkswagen logo in wheels caps, but then I realised the original bug has it too.
From the front side, I like headlamp the most… It has great details like the real car and only missing its chrome surrounds. The bumper is also grey but it should have been chrome, which we assume was to cut cost and keep the build all plastic. Also the front has a small vent with chrome cover but that detail is there but no chrome!
The profile of this is both interesting yet boring, why because it has some clean flowing lines to admire but in this color it loses that charm. Maybe I might change the shade to yellow or red and may change this prospect! I may even add some chrome details to make this beauty, more prettier! A rear view mirror is on card too.
The rear of this car is also very detailed, being a rear engined car gets a air vent to! The licence plate is a simple sticker affair so as the taillamp! The rear bumper is also finished in grey plastic, which may get my chrome treatment!
Though Airfix dint mention any scale in their box but we feels this Volkswagen Beetle falls into 1:27 scale as per our scaling exercise. I have very few 1:24 cars so not many figurines to go with this bug but this cowboy figurine work well. I basically took this Volkswagen Beetle to do some custom work to make it look like the Bumbleebee movie car and this works for that purpose well! Wait for my full review and my mod work… Till then, Ciao.
