Käfer Cup

[studioRS]

With Carrera's latest offering of the Grp.5 Käfer ('Beetle' in German) a flood of emotion and memories erupted in my little noggin. The smell of old horsehair seats, thumping of a flat four boxer, dripping petrol down twin Webers, sliding sideways and always the best—that smile you get from running a real Käfer hard out and embarrassing a Porsche 911. I realized I need to do something about it. I don't want to take anything away from the new beautiful Carrera Grp.5 Käfer, simply stunning. This emotional burst is geared more towards the super scale builder and slot junkie.

With all the recent postings lately of all you guys and your vintage Volkswagen experience, I just can't seem to stop thinking about building one of these Käfer Cup racers. I found this photo on a German slot car site of a brown UPS livery Käfer GT2 style early swing axle. It is a 1966 6 volt Tamiya kit that the builder bashed with Tamiya Porsche 911GT2 flares and Cup 1 wheels. (note: early for me is anything pre IRS 12 volt. I realize that 'early' for others would be anything pre-1959 :clap: ) The real Käfer Cup cars are mostly later Super Beetle's VW 1302 RS style due to the front suspension being able to tune, but I like the look of the retro flat 6 volt chassis with the flatter glass headlamps and a flavor of new. Anyway, I'm pretty handy at making things look the stance and would be happy to sport for buying these two Tamiya kits and making a Käfer Cup body with the flares so it could be resin cast for a Proxy race series.

Anywho, on the other hand, I've never built a brass chassis! :think: Heck I'm still finishing my very first proxy build on the RSR and you guys have totally corrupted me! I'm done. Spent. This sport and hobby is so wicked addictive. JB said you can do it Thompson, just have to have the confidence. Ok, I'm checking out some more confidence and jumping right down the HRW rabbit hole with a big 1:24 scale build brass chassis, resin cast body.

Anyone else interested? :dance:

So, to get the most on-board here for a build I figure it would go something like this…

- Custom resin 'pressure cast' trick eurospec looking Käfer Cup 911GT2 wide flare body
- All-out anything goes brass chassis build
- Wild rear-biased Hawk or ? motor
- Sticky fat low profile PG tires
- The widest rear CB rims you can use
- Porsche only style rim inserts (Fuchs, Design 90s, Cup 1, Cup 2, Boxster, Porsche twists, 996, 911GT3, 997, BBS, etc…) These will be easier to source in 1/24-25 scale.
- Full blown anything you want graphics (european flavored of course—think Porsche Carrera Cup or modeled after the real Käfer Cup cars or something totally retro)
- HRW sponsors (What Carrera part(s) can we use on this build? I'd like to also have them as a sponsor, even if it is the new red guide flag!)
- Kind of like a RSR IROC series gone wild and haywire

Please all the regular experts chime in with your organizational skills, expert resin casting, decal designing (oh, ok I can do that) and any sponsors you think would be interested. This is a build where the scale details matter as much as the way it will rip up the tarmac slot track.

I'd like a portion of what ever the costs are to go back to the Boss at HRW so he can present the General with a small gratuitous check. I know they have to keep the Sperry UNIVAC server running at full tilt—we saw them live the other day working hard at it! I'm just good at generating enthusiasm and inflicting scale Porsche Volkswagen Audi police tactics along the way, so not sure I'm much help.

Please donate your thoughts and enthusiasm.
Cheers, Thompson



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Real Käfer samples — for some reason, my google image search at home is showing different results than my search at work (during lunch of course).

[studioRS]

[HomeRacingWorld]

Yeah, still here and a great idea.

[studioRS]

Thanks, I re-wrote the thread this morning and came out a little better. I've got a Tamiya 911GT2 kit and will order up a Volkswagen to start with. I'll keep this updated as I move along. UNIMOG build is in front.

[studioRS]

My intensions are to take these two Tamiya 1/24 scale kits...



To make one Käfer Cup GT2 racer.

I already have the Sogo Kiebi Porsche 911GT2 kit, just need to buy the Tamiya 1966 Volkswagen Beetle 1300 and make some flares.

Question for the slot resin body sculptor gurus…

Is there a method of making a mould of the 911 GT2 flares with out having to sacrifice and cut my plastic GT2 body kit up to bits?

Cheers, Thompson

[studioRS]

Also, received this email on Monday from Hornby USA (we are a dealer), Airfix has a new pre-1967 Volkswagen Beetle starter set in 1/32 scale, will have one on it's way soon. I just need to start sourcing a ProSlot Porsche 911GT2 1/32 body, and then both scales can be raced!



http://www.hornbyamerica.com/products/v ... tarter-set

Edit: ProSlot 1/32 Porsche 911GT2 should do the trick.

[studioRS]

Ok I'll bite! In my RSR IROC shipment I will include the 1/24 Tamiya 911 GT2 kit :P :text-thankyouyellow: Please let me know your expense costs. On a limited budget, but still designing your T-Shirts too. Cheers, Thompson

[studioRS]

[studioRS]

My mind is going bonkers again with T-Shirt design ideas… rhuro.

[ListerStormGT]

Will you two just stop it! :lol: I don't need another project right now, but these are too cool not to want to build one. I will probably just do one in 1/32 out of the Scaley beetle first and the Ninco Fuch wheels. You guy's are nothing but trouble! :auto-driving:

[studioRS]

Yeah, sorry. I'm the instigator :oops: Hopefully after my custom UNIMOG build, when the Käfer GT2 is finished it should look dakine and like that UPS German built unit.