Multa paucis qui coeperit finiatur

The Volkswagen corporate website states the company got its start in 1945, under British military control. While it is true

that British army officer Major Ivan Hirst saw the need for automotive manufacture in post-war Germany, the company

roots go back to 1932, when Adolph Hitler’s request for an economical ‘people’s car’. Ferdinand Porsche would lead the

design of the new car taking some design liberties from the Czechoslovakian Tetra V570 and utilizing some of his own

engineering ideas, such as the rear mounted air-cooled engine and torsion bar

suspension. Porsche had tinkered with these concepts at other companies, but

this new car had plenty of financial backing from the Nazi regime.

As the prototypes went through the development stages, a factory (with its very

own town) was being built to construct the new vehicle in 1938-1939. About the

same time, the automobiles named changed from Porsche’s Volkswagen model

VW38 to Kraft-durch-Freude (KdF)-Wagen (“Strength-Through-Joy” car). KDF

was the government organization that was financing the new car development.

Porsche disliked the name change, but had no control over it.

During the war years (1939-1945),

Volkswagen built light utility vehicles for the army including the KdF-wagen, the

Type 82 Kubelwagen, and the amphibious Type 166 Schwimmwagen. The Type

181 and some variants of the KdF-wagen were 4-wheel drive. The Porsche

designed stamped steel chassis was a self-supporting structure and could

actually be driven without a body attached to it. This allowed multiple bodies to

be used on the same platform.

After the war, the Volkswagen factory was partially destroyed and the town where it was located

had been renamed ‘Wolfsburg’ by the occupying British forces (there was a castle there with the

same name). The officer in charge, Major Ivan Hirst saw the need for light transportation and utilized

the factory. The employees used spare parts to build the first cars and production reached nearly

2000 cars by the end of 1945, and after a year, 10.000 cars were produced. Not only did this

provide the British with transport, but helped the local economy as well. In 1947, Hirst would appoint

Heinrich Nordoff to run the company. Nordoff had been a senior manager at Opel and unlike Hirst,

actually had automotive manufacturing experience.

The British government, not being in the manufacturing business, sought to

relinquish control to someone more capable. The VW company and factory was

offered (at no charge!) to Ford, but Ford wasn’t interested. Eventually, the West

German government would take it over in 1949, by then, Hirst had left the

company.

The little car had success in its native Germany, but what about the rest of the

world? Some cars were being sold in Europe, and a few in England. Ben Pon, a

Dutch importer, brought 2 cars to the US in 1949. He met with no success. Max

Hoffman, who had seen the cars Pon had displayed at the German industrial exhibit

in New York, accepted the sole importation rights from VW. Shipments of the

FEBRUARY 2016

EVOLUTION OF THE

VOLKSWAGEN EMBLEM

SCHWIMMWAGEN

WOLFSBURG CREST USED

ON EARLY CARS

VW TYPE 1 ‘BEETLE’

Beetle began in July 1950, and he would fare better than Pon, selling over

300 cars in 1950. Unfortunately for Hoffman, the Beetle sales would remain

slow for the next two years and he would call it quits in 1953. Back in

Germany, Nordhoff understood the need for the American market, and would

continually make improvements to the car. He also contacted Arthur Stanton,

another importer-exporter in New York. Stanton set up sales into two regions,

east and west. He controlled the east and John von Neumann of California

sold cars in the west through his Competition Motors dealership. Stanton also

had a German-US liaison in Will van de Camp, who in 1955 would set up

Volkswagen United States, this would later become Volkswagen of America,

Inc. Sales would make a dramatic increase with 33,000 sold in 1955, to over

50,000 sold in 1957. By 1973 VW will have sold over 16 milllion Beetles worldwide.

Volkswagen offered more than just the Beetle (officiallly the ‘Type 1’) In 1950, the

Transporter was introduced. The Transporter was a cab forward van and later pick-up truck

based on the same platform as the Beetle.Later, these were updated and became the Type

2.There was the sporty Karmann Ghia (Type 14 and later Type 34) which debuted in 1955.

This used the same platform as the Beetle but with a low slung coupe body manufactured

by Karmann that was designed by Ghia, who also did the Beetle convertibles. In 1960, an

efforrt to modernize the company’s offerings, the Type 3 was developed. This car was

larger and could be had as a sedan, a fastback or a wagon and had modern styling, a

Macpherson strut suspension and larger engines. Later, a Type 4 (411) and the SuperBeetle would appear in the late

1960’s. There was also the ‘Thing’ a modern version of the WWII Kubelwagen. All of these continued with the rear air-

cooled engine design.

The 1960’s were the peak of the Beetle’s popularity.The car had proven to be

reliable, economical, and fun to drive. The chassis and drive train were

sometimes converted into dune buggies and were often the basis for many ‘kit’

cars too. Hot rodders and off road enthusiasts found the the little flat four could

produce a lot more than the factory rated 50 HP (the earliest ones were a mere

26 HP) and were easy to work on. The Type 2 bus became a symbol of the

‘Love’ generation.

In 1974 Volkswagen would introduce their first front engined, water cooled car,

the Golf (Rabbit in the US)) The old flat four thay had served VW for 40 years could not meet the ever changing emission

rules being imposed by the various governments. The Beetle would however, continue to be bult and sold in Mexico until

2003.

For a company whose future seemed bleak in 1945, Volkswagen has become one of the worlds largest automotive

corporations in the world. It not only sells the Volkswagen brand, but owns Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche,

SEAT (Spain), motorcycle maker Ducati, commercial truck brands MAN and Scania (Sweden) and has manufacturing and

financial components worldwide. Recently the company has been caught rigging emission tests for their diesel engines

and is facing millions or perhaps billions of dollars in fines and lawsuits.

Needless to say, just about every model company has produced a VW Beetle in one

scale or another. Revell has done several over the years ranging from 1/32 scale to 1/16

scale, and currently offers a nice one in 1/24 scale. A 1974 Rabbit kit is currently

available too. They also offered a couple of van kits, a panel and a bus. Tamiya kitted a

1966 model along with a Karmann Ghia a few years back, and these are both excellent

kits complete with engines. Hasegawa not

only did a 1967 Beetle, but the pick-up, bus

and panel versions of the Type 2

Transporter, these are nice kits but are curbsides. They also have a 1/24

scale Kubelwagen. Monogram did a Tom Daniels inspired 1/24 scale van and

a 1/16 scale Beetle. Airfix did the Beetle in 1/32 scale that was also offered

by MPC. Pyro had a couple different versions of their 1/25 scale bug, and

IMC did a Beetle that could be built as a gasser. AMT briefly offered a

shortened gasser inspired Beetle and has recently reissued a 1980’s era

Scirroco.And there are many, many more...

TYPE 3

KARMANN GHIA

CLUB BUSINESS SECTION FEBRUARY 2016

FROM THE PRESIDENT by Rockne Riddlebarger

GREETINGS MODEL CITIZENS! First I’d like to say welcome once again to our new members, thank you for joining and

sharing in the fun. Also a thanks to all who stepped up to be part of the Scale Model Expo at Entertrainment Junction on

March 5 and 6, it will be a good opportunity to publicize the club and the Challenge. Speaking of the Challenge, I’m

working on award artwork and will have several samples available soon. I’m working on a VW for the theme contest on

Feb. 8 and am looking forward to seeing you all then. Don’t forget its dues time and that we’d like to wrap that up in

February.

VP VIEWS by Randy Wilson

For whatever reason, every time I get down to the workshop this month, I just can't get motivated. There is a '68 VW sitting on the bench that I planned on bringing for the February theme, I've sanded the mold lines and gave it a couple coats of primer,, and there it sits. I want this model to be a special build for me because the very first car I bought, way back in 1970, was a '68 VW Bug. I plan on replicating that very vehicle. Baby Blue with black interior, Cordovan red stripe wide ovals with Keystone Klassic mags. This was the car I drove to my High School graduation. This was the car I got my license suspended in, this was the car I went on my honeymoon in. I'm sure by now you've realized that I'm spending way too much time trying to make a right turn, off memory lane. Honestly, it may take longer than a couple months for this model to come together. JRW

FROM THE EDITOR by Mike Jinkens

I dug out an old Revell Baja Bug kit for our upcoming meeting. It’s pretty rough: lots of flash, poor chrome, hit and miss

detail, mold seams everywhere, and to top it off, 2 piece tires, the bane of old model car kits. The body in this older kit is

not typical of one of those. It has what appears to be canvas for the nose. This kit was originally the VW that raced in Baja

for Valvoline in 1973. I could not find a single picture of this car. The old box art shows a ¾ view from the back, so it was

no help. With all of the newer Beetle kits out there, no one has done an off road version with the bobbed fenders and the

headlights moved to the trunk lid. Add some dual Weber carbs and an exhaust header, decent off road tires and a correct

interior now that’s a Baja Racer!

MEETING NOTES by Edgar Linz

Light turnout on the tables last month, only 33 models. We did have 30 members/guests in attendance.

Door prize winners: Randy Wilson - MPC/ERTL Dodge Van Robert Rudney - Revell Chevy Police Car

Raffle winner: Derek Grau - Starsky and Hutch Torino

WINNER’S CIRCLE by Curtis Epperson

Hey guys its Feb and the theme is VW's. And it is also a swap meet night so buy- sell-trade them if you got them. I will

have all of last month’s Ribbons. I am sorry I left them at home. I hope to have my VWs done and on the table.

Everybody should have a bug or bus in their collection or a Rabbit or Golf or Jetta. .See Y'all Monday

JANUARY 2015 CONTEST RESULTS

FACTORY STOCK: 1st Chad Selvaggio ’65 Corvette 2nd Dennis Tull ’51 Henry J

CUSTOMS: 1st John Ginandt ’69 Corvair 2nd John Ginnadt ’49 Ford

STR8 LINE COMP: 1st Bill Bench ’76 Gremlin 2nd Curtis Epperson ‘Too Much’ Dragster 3rd Jesse Talmage ’67 Camaro

COMP. OTHER: 1st Curtis Epperson ’50 Alfa Romeo 2nd Curtis Epperson ’49 Talbot 3rd John Ginandt Model T.

STREET ROD: 1st Jesse Talmage ’36 Ford 2nd Liam McCreary ’41 Willys 3rd John Ginandt Ford Roadster

CURBSIDE STREET: 1st Jeff Spraul ’70 Buick Wildcat 2nd Rockne ‘Who-dey Mobile 3rd Bill Schneider ’97 Ford F150

PRE-DECORATED: 1st Vinced Kelly ’69 Camaro 2nd Bill Bench ’68 Mustang 3rd Jesse Talamge ’68 Charger

COLLECTOR’S DIECAST: 1st Bill Bench 2014 Mustang 2nd Robert Rudney Sunstar ’59 Dodge Royal Lancer

OUT OF BOX: 1st Bob Baker ’49 Ford coupe 2nd John Ginandt ’70 Chevelle 3rd John Ginandt Monte Carlo

OUT OF BOX PLUS: 1st Bill Owen ’67 Corvette 2nd Mike Jinkens ’74 Torino 3rd Derek Grau Torino.

THEME AWARD: Dennis Tull ‘51 Henry J

MODEL OF THE MONTH: Bill Owen ’67 Corvette

DENNIS TULL

BILL OWEN

ROCKNE

JESSE TALMAGE

JESSE TALMAGE LIAM MCCREARY

CURTIS EPPERSON

CHAD SELVAGGIO

JEFF SPRAUL

RANDY WILSON

DEREK GRAU

BILL BENCH

CURTIS EPPERSON

CLUB T-SHIRTS, HOODIES AND JACKETS

Last month we took orders for club t-shirts, hoodies, and jackets. We needed to get a minimum order of 100 items in

order to get the discounted price and unfortunately, we fell way short.

We are going to try again at the next meeting. I’d like to encourage the membership to order more items in order to

achieve our goal. If each member orders 3-4 t-shirts alone, then we should easily exceed our quota. If you think about it,

at $6 apiece, 3 OR 4 is less than the price of a model kit these days!

Remember, you don’t need to put any money down. You pay only when the merchandise is delivered, which should be

either the February or March meeting.

We will have a signup sheet at the next meeting.

Prices are as follows

T-SHIRTS $6.00 ANY SIZE AND COLOR

LONG SLEEVE T-SHIRT $10.00 ANY SIZE AND COLOR

SWEATSHIRT $14.00 ANY SIZE AND COLOR

HOODIE $19.00 BLACK ONLY

JACKETS $40.00 BLACK ONLY

Bill Bench told me about this glue. It is a water based super glue which dries clear and will not fog

plastic. I’ve used it to attach many different materials but chiefly use it for windshields and other

clear bits. It is white when wet and is pretty thick, almost like caulk.. Dry time is fairly long, usually

a few hours depending on humidity and the amount of glue used. Clean-up is easy, just use water.

Once dry, it is very strong and quite flexible. One 8 ounce bottle runs about $5.00 and should last

quite a while. Larger bottles are available. Hobby Lobby and Michael’s Crafts both carry it.

Revell Starsky & Hutch Torino Revisited

I manage to complete the kit in time for January’s meeting. This is a

pleasant kit to build, but I had a couple of issues.

The first issue, the wheels were wobbly after I had attached them using

the provided pins. This is the first time I’ve had a problem with Revell’s pin

and wheel system. Maybe I did something wrong, but a dab of the

aforementioned glue took care of the problem.

Issue two: the body is a tight fit onto the chassis assembly. A little coaxing,

and everything went together without any unpleasant snapping sounds!.

Jesse Talmage suggested shaving down the rear wheel wells.

This kit was nearly as simple to build as a snap kit, some details were soft, but Revell did a fine job of engineering this kit.

IN THE GARAGE CRAFTERS PICK

THE ULTIMATE!

GLUE

C.A.R 2016 THEMES:

Jan 14 - Odd Ball 50s-Not from the big three-contest

Feb 8 - VW Night-display/swap/gravity drags.

March 14 - Going Racing-contest

April 11 - Galaxies & Comets Night-display/swap/gravity drags.

May 9 - Cops & Robbers-contest.

June 13 - Dart Night -display/swap/gravity drags.

July 11 - 1966 (Fifty years ago)-contest

Aug 8 - Chevy Nova Night-display/swap/gravity drags.

Sept 12 - Show Rods-contest

Oct 10 - Same Kit Night - Revell ’29 Ford Model A Hotrod-display/swap/gravity drags.

Nov 14 - End of the year contest.

Dec 12 - Pizza party & Gift exchange

UPCOMING EVENTS

IPMS- Blizzcon – Saturday, Feb,20, Arts Impact Middle School, 680 Jack Gibbs Blvd. Columbus, OH 43215

Info: Graham Holmes 614-379-BLIZ IPMSColumbuscontest@gmail.com

IPMS- Roscoe Turner - March 12, Raymond Park Middle.School 8575 East Raymond St. Indianapolis, IN 46235

Info: C.Haines 317-507-8898 chaines601@sbcglobal.net

2016 Model Expo – Saturday and Sunday March 5 & 6 Entertrainment Junction

7379 Squire Ct. West Chester, OH 45069 Info: 859-380-8708 gcgrs@fuse.net

Buckeye Classic Model Car contest and swap meet – Sunday March 20 Franklin Co. Fairgrounds

4100 Columbia St. Hilliard, OH 43026 Info: Matt Gedert-(614) 271-1948- mcgedert@gmail.com -

www.facebook.com/buckeyeclassic

Cincinnati Challenge – Saturday April 9 Clermont Co. Fairgrounds Multi-purpose Building 298 Locust St.

Owensville, OH 45160 Info: J.R. Wilson JRW68GT@AOL.COM (513) 831-6879 or

Rockne Riddlebarger THEMODELCITIZEN46@GMAIL.COM (513)471-0809

Newsletter: CARTIMESEDITOR@AOL.COM

Club info: CINCINNATIAUTOREPLICAS.ORG