Okay, I must admit a fascination with WW II Volkswagens. I'm a wheeled military vehicle fan - and American armor modeler - by hobby trade, but these vehicles are hard to resist. To date, I've built more VW Kubelwagens than Willys MB Jeeps - but I'm working to correct that...

Tamiya's retooling of this light field car is wonderful, and you can't just build one! The basic model kit doesn't call for a great deal in additional detailing to satisfy even the hardcore miniaturist - and it makes the perfect weekend relaxation project. You might see I needed a lot of relaxation by building three of them.

This is an excellent model kit and subject for a novice to military vehicle modeling too. The many different schemes exhibited by the German Armed Forces in WW II, plus the ease of assembly and magnificent detail already present, allows any modeler to render a nice piece in the end. Actually, it's difficult to ruin this model. The basic additions I added to all of these models were electrical wiring, brake lines, engine wiring, MV Products Lenses behind the headlight covers, mirrored plastic for the rearview mirrors, and selected equipment and other gear to make the vehicle more interesting. All are painted in Tamiya acrylics - my usual - with pastel weathering and camouflage patterns.

My first VW Type82 Kubelwagen was a Hasegawa model kit - which has long since been lost to moving. I haven't been able to find photos of it to upload here thus far. Shown above is my second VW Type82 Kubelwagen. This one is marked for service in France, late in World War II. Before Tamiya's Engine Maintenance Set came out, I scratched together my own engine to put in the bay. Many years later, this Kubelwagen would join my Tamiya FAMO and Sd.Ah.116 Trailer in this scheme and time period.

The third VW Type82 Kubelwagen I've built. This is another Tamiya kit - with Hasegawa balloon tires mounted. This was some time before the recent Afrika Korps VW Type82 release by Tamiya. Yes, I've got that one on the workbench somewhere awaiting completion too. This Kubel has the Tamiya powerplant in the engine compartment.

Tamiya's fantastic Schimmwagen at the rear deck. The light rusting of the Muffler is done with Tamiya Flat Black as a base color, and a light overspray of thinned Tamiya Flat Brown. A Warriors resin Helmet, SMA Ladle, and some Verlinden German Infantry Equipment lie in the rear seats. I added nylon mesh to the Grill openings on the rear deck of the Schimmwagen. The leather seats are painted Tamiya Flat Brown, and lightly drybrushed with oils to simulate wear and sun fading.

The wood effect on the Paddle and the Shovel is done with Burnt Umber oils over a base coat of Tamiya XF-60 Dark Yellow acrylic paint. Done properly, the parts look like wood. The rear view mirror is mirrored .010" sheet styrene. Air Valve Stems are simple lengths of .010" brass wire trimmed to size. The miniature is weathered with pastel browns and oranges. The markings are Italeri water-slide decals.