Desert Beetle

Rob Ferreira builds Ryefield Model’s new VW.

Something a bit different than the well-known VW type 82 Kübelwagen used by all the German forces during World War II, Ryefield Model recently released a nice little kit of the VW ‘Beetle’. I had a hard time finding any reference photos of this car being used by the Germans during the war, but that didn’t stop me from having some fun with the model.

The kit includes an interior and separate doors and front/ rear bonnets, as well a partial engine, as well as a choice of standard or desert balloon tyres. After studying the box and instructions I noticed that my kit did not include the rubber standard tyres, only the plastic desert tyres modelled in two halves. Instead of buying Aftermarket resin tyres I decided I would just build the model as a DAK car. Other than adding some crew stowage to the interior I would build the model out of the box and just have some fun painting and weathering the model.

Build

Starting the building part of the project, I decided to work on the four tyres, gluing the halves together and then fine sanding once the glue was dry. They proved a nice tight fit so no filler required on them. I then followed the kit instructions to assemble the chassis/floor as well as the suspension components. The rear suspension and motor exhausts are a bit fiddly to assemble due to the small delicate parts, but once glued together look very good. The engine and engine wall goes together quickly as there aren’t many parts, the engine is very basic but looks the part. It will be left off the chassis so as to make painting and weathering easier.