The Volkswagen Beetle, officially the Volkswagen Type 1, is a small family car produced by the German company Volkswagen from 1938 to 2003. Considered a global cultural icon, the Beetle is widely regarded as one of the most influential cars of the 20th century. Its production period of 65 years is the longest of any single generation of automobile, and its total production of over 21.5 million is the most of any car of a single platform and the second-most of any nameplate produced in the 20th century. There are few people of my age who either did not own one or did not know someone who did.  

I bought this kit as I owned a 1969 Beetle and drove it for several years before it was stolen and stripped of parts. This is one of those multi-national kits with the parts molded in Poland, the decals are from Italy and the box was printed in China. This one differs from my '69 in a few ways, specifically it has smaller tail lights and a different bumper design.

This is not a curbside and contains a complete engine with an engine cover that is hinged so you can display its 1500cc engine. There is a full interior with separate front and rear seats. This kit includes an optional cover that went over the small cargo space behind the rear seat. Revell has tooled the kit so that either a right or left hand drive car can be modeled, the first time I've seen this option on any car kit.

There is a full front and rear suspension provided and it is quite nicely molded. There is a fair number of chrome parts which includes the running boards. It will be a bit of a challenge to properly paint over the chrome areas of the running boards. Also fully chrome are the wheels, which also will be a bit of a challenge as only the hub covers were chrome with the wheels themselves normally painted the body color. A nice touch is that all the clear parts are installed from the outside so no need to mask.

Instructions are quite complete and well printed. generic color information is provided where needed. The decal sheet provides trim, white walls for the rubber tires, instruments, and license plates. On this subject, I may have missed it, but the kit does not supply license plate housings for the front or rear.

This is a very nice looking kit and I'm sure it will make into an equally nice model when one is done with it. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Beetle#History

August 2025

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