MPC 1/32 Volkswagen

Developed by Ferdinand Porsche prior to WWII, the 'peoples car' was supposed to be an inexpensive vehicle for the masses. As it turned out, few of the masses could afford one once the war started and all of those produced went to those politically connected. After the war, the basically unchanged car was put into production and became a real hit with buyers.

Though the car was upgraded many times in the decades it was produced, the same layout was kept. Very few people of my age did not own one at some time or another. I had a green 1969 version with a white interior that was perfect for a college student as it got me around and was inexpensive to operate. Unfortunately, these cars were high on the list of those stolen and so it was with mine. It was found 2 days after it was heisted, stripped down to the body shell. The car was in production for 65 years with the last one produced in Mexico in 2003.

I bought this kit many years ago, planning on turning it into a slot car. However, one of the slot car companies released it as a dedicated car so this one has been gathering dust. The kit was not pristine as a previous owner had made a poor attempt at building the kit, which features large areas of melted plastic where excessive glue had been applied. However, it does appear all the bits are there and it includes a display stand, which I thought was rather odd for a car kit.

It is basically a curbside molded in an off-white plastic with some fairly large mold seams on the parts. The wheels are plastic and have been assembled. The kit does include a chrome sprue for the bumpers and some interior bits. Based on the original Airfix release of 1964, this one is probably a 1963 or 1964 version.

The floor pan is where all the suspension bits are attached and it is also where the seats and inner fender pieces go. All the windoes attach from the inside so it would be wise to paint the body first. Interestingly, this is a right hand drive car, which would be appropriate for the UK market. The kit has a one-piece body that snaps snugly onto the floor pan/interior piece. The last items are the lights, handles, and bumpers.

Instructions are ancient with the paper quite brown and nearly brittle. A decal sheet with racing stuff is included, but I don't know anyone over the age of 10 who would actually apply any of them. Besides, the sheet looks to be well past its 'use by' date.

Few people nowadays will actually want a kit like this unless they are specifically looking for one in this scale. The tooling is dated and while it appears simple enough to build, you can get a much better VW Beetle from Tamiya in 1/24 scale.