Playing with my "Thing"
-
Nothing spectacular, just a VW Thing I started a while back (not sure why) and never finished. Was gonna make it really detailed, full suspension and everything, but then I started some other projects and sort of lost interest.
Anyhow, thought I would post some pics, otherwise it would just rot on my computer.
But first, a little background. The Volkswagen Type 181 was a two-wheel drive, four-door, convertible, off-road, military vehicle manufactured by Volkswagen from 1970 to 1983. The 181's design echoed that of the wartime Kübelwagen. It went into production at the Hanover factory in 1970, and though initially 1500cc powered, the engine was soon replaced by the 1600cc unit. In 1973, production transferred to Mexico, and the car officially was imported into the US. Because of its military-like appearance and high ground clearance, 2000 were actually built for the German army in 1970. Some also went to the Belgian and Dutch armed forces.
It was sold to the public as the Kurierwagen in Germany, the Trekker in the United Kingdom, the Thing in the United States, and the Safari in Mexico. Civilian sales began in mainland Europe and Mexico during 1971; in the U.S. in 1972; and briefly in Britain in 1975, where it failed to sell well and was dropped fairly quickly. Civilian sales ended after model year 1980.
In America it was sold only for two years, 1973 and 1974. Because it had been reclassified as a passenger vehicle it was subject to stricter safety standards, and it failed to satisfy the the 1975 DOT Windshield Intrusion Rule (the front seat occupants were too close to the windshield). The 1973 and 1974 were classified as "Multi-Purpose Vehicles" and were exempt from those tests
Only about 25,000 Things were imported. They appealed mainly to the younger crowd, which was good because you needed to be limber just to get in and out of it. The only problem was that few of them could afford it. In 1973, the Thing cost $3150, almost as much as many sports cars and nearly $1000 more than the '73 Beetle. Prices dropped slightly for 1974, but the Thing remained expensive for such simple transportation.
Acceleration was ludicrously slow: 0 to 60 mph took more than 23 seconds, and the top speed was 68mph. In its ads VW boasted that the interior could be hosed down for cleaning (there were several drain holes in the floor pans), which was probably a good thing since the removable side windows were plastic, didn't fit very well and tended to leak a lot. Above 40mph the convertible top lifted and the wind noise made conversation very difficult. They only came in 3 original colors - Pumpkin Orange, Sunshine Yellow and Blizzard White.
It has been listed as one of the 10 ugliest cars ever made, was described in one magazine review as looking like "the illegitimate love child of a corrugated shipping container and a dumpster", with "orange crate aesthetics and marshmallow performance". But despite it's shortcomings the Thing is very sought after today and has a very loyal following. They take great pride in their vehicles and have made many creative modifications, including more powerful engines and greatly enhanced off road capabilities.
Anyhow, here's my Thing -
The spare tire fit very tightly in the "trunk", and if you installed larger tires you were unable to fit one in as a spare.
Was going to detail the trunk but never finished. The large cylinder was a gas heater, and actually used gasoline from the gas tank to provide heat to the interior. The 1974 models used engine heat instead, probably a much safer method.
The rear seat/deck area. I had started work on the convertible top frame but didn't get very far. Very difficult to model it so that it would fold and unfold properly.
The interior was very spartan. The only instrumentation was a speedometer that housed
a fuel gauge on its dial, and the glove box was really just a glove hole, since it lacked a door. The black object above the speedometer was the windshield wiper motor, which unfortunately blocked the flow of defrosting air directly in front of the driver.
The windshield could be folded down, and the doors easily removed.
A yellow version, one of three colors offered. NOTE: the engine is NOT mine. I was working on building my own engine, but, well, you know.
And an orange version. Could never get the color to look right, always a problem when modeling a car without benefit of rendering. With the optional removable hard top I was working on.
Was also working on an Acapulco version. These were built for use in Mexico, mainly as a means of transporting tourists around. They are very desirable now, and hard to come by. I know, the "surry top" looks plastic, never got around to putting in the folds and sags that would make it look like cloth.
Just for kicks some 40 Ford fenders (from another unfinished project)
More kicks. I used parts from this to dress up John's jeep.Well, there is my unfinished Thing. Had a lot of fun with it, hope you enjoyed seeing it.
-
I was almost afraid to click on this with that title
This is extremely impressive! love it.... so jealous of people that have the patience (and skill) to put this much detail and love into a model. the lifted version is awesome.. someone needs to build that.
-
Thanks for the kind words. I couldn't resist the title
-
In France we have this one 4*4
(little movie on the link)
-
Love it! I'm old enough to remember these "things" - there was one in my town that was painted pink and had the doors removed. GREAT model and I really enjoyed reading the descriptions too!
-
Great as usual.
What happened, your garage burn down???
That blond looks like she she just caught site of you and about floor it. -
Looks really good as usual.
What happened, your garage burn down?
That blond looks like she she just caught site of you and about to floor it! -
Fantastic
the more you look at your models the more you realize how much detail is packed into them! almost everyone models only what is necessary and will be seen, but not you.... your a maniac 
John -
I know there are some rules about the number of the icons in a post, but this one worth breaking them !(actually they won't let you post more than 15 - I had like 40 )
There you go, I think I broke it now !
-
@unknownuser said:
In France we have this one 4*4
(little movie on the link)I couldn't understand what was being said, but, wow, that Citroen was quite nimble, especially considering how extremely narrow the tires were!
Although the Thing was advertised as an off-road vehicle, it's abilities were very limited.
-
@unigami said:
Love it! I'm old enough to remember these "things" - there was one in my town that was painted pink and had the doors removed. GREAT model and I really enjoyed reading the descriptions too!
Thanks Rick. As near as I can remember, I've never actually seen a real Thing, although I suppose I must have at some point in my life. After doing all the research on this I was actually considering getting one, just for fun, until I found out it's not really a car for up North
-
@jpalm32 said:
That blond looks like she she just caught site of you and about to floor it!
Yeah, that happens to me a lot
maybe if I put some clothes on? -
Eat your heart out hellnbak!
(Pipe along path did the spokes
Pretty bad uh?
-
@jpalm32 said:
Eat your heart out hellnbak!
(Pipe along path did the spokes
Pretty bad uh?I want one! Can't wait to put baseball cards in the spokes
@ely862me said:
:thumb:
I know there are some rules about the number of the icons in a post, but this one worth breaking them !(actually they won't let you post more than 15 - I had like 40 )
There you go, I think I broke it now !
[attachment=2:297d2j55]<!-- ia2 -->thumbs.jpg<!-- ia2 -->[/attachment:297d2j55]I really would have taken an IOU for the extra thumbs, but thanks!
@tadema said:
the more you look at your models the more you realize how much detail is packed into them! almost everyone models only what is necessary and will be seen, but not you.... your a maniac
JohnYeah, I do seem to be detail-oriented sometimes. Was planning to really detail this particular model, not sure why. Did do some work in that direction, like the pedal cluster...
[attachment=0:297d2j55]<!-- ia0 -->s.png<!-- ia0 -->[/attachment:297d2j55]
and the floor pans were coming along nicely...
[attachment=1:297d2j55]<!-- ia1 -->12.png<!-- ia1 -->[/attachment:297d2j55]
Oh well, like I said before, it was fun
-
incredible work! do work in real scale or do you scale it up, as sketchup is having some trouble sometimes with small items?
-
Thanks Carloh. Yeah, I normally scale my models way up, makes it much easier to work on.
-
....excellent!
-
Great models as always, Mr. M.
Have a great weekend!
_KN
-
Those are great.
-
Thanks guys, I appreciate the positive feedback (the checks are in the mail)
Advertisement