Went for a wander at lunch time today, and "accidently" happened upon my local HobbyCo store.

Apart from a model of the modern Kombi prototype that VW did a few years ago (which I bought), I found some 'build your own' plastic models of a 1303S and 1303 Cab.

Links below:

http://www.hwjapan.com/sh/ABK147798.aspx 

http://www.hwjapan.com/sh/ABK147781.aspx 

Naturally I bought them, and it appears you can choose a mag wheel for the 1303S. I think some spray paint may be visiited upon the bodies of both. I'll also have to figure out how to lower them.

Much fun to be had on days when it's too hot to work in the garage (I am a soft office worker at heart).

Craig

Hi Craig

Why are people so unkind to 1302 & 1303s? Nice kits, where did you get them and how much?

Steve

We would'nt know, steve cause we love them. My Dad has had 5 beetles in his life and the three we have had since i was 10 years of age untill now have all been superbugs and thats just by luck cause we wer'nt particuly looking for superbugs. And the 2 he had before i was born were both standards. A 69 blue convertible chop top 1300 and a orange 70 1500 bug. Anyways i love the kits and if they werent in Japan i would buy the red one if i seen them at a hobby store. Also here is a link to another beetle kit you can get. http://www.hwjapan.com/sh/seeke.aspx?seek_code=ARI31064 

From Dylan

Hi Steve,

I don't know why people are so unkind about the beloved Super Beetle, but I know when I saw models of them I'd better grab them because they are as rare as hen's teeth. I love my super beetle.

Anyhow, found them at HobbyCo's store at Rhodes, but suspect I may have got the last in their store. You may be able to have a look at hobbyco's online store. Having opened them now, the kits don't look too bad. Price was about $27 each.

Cheers
Craig

Hi

I just ordered them online, hopefully they have some in the warehouse.

Steve

I just ordered a few through that link you provided. I bought 2 split beetle models though. One is a police car, which I thought would be an odd model to have.

The other thing I spotted was that the Sedan model comes with the option of a LHD or RHD dashboard. And with the cab you can either fit a roof or have the folded plastic at the back. Not quite fancy enough to have the folding fabric

Now what else should I do to make it GL???

Hi

To make it German look, maybe buy a same scale Porsche kit and rob the wheels out of it.

Steve

Steve,

Doesn't look like that model company does Porkers, but they do sell wheel kits, so I'll have a squiz at lunch.

Phil,

Do you have a larger file size version of that ad? It's the sort of thing I should frame and hang on the garage wall. (Along with any other SuperBug ads).

Craig

I have the orginal magazine (Australian Motor Manual) that it was published in!

Hi Phil

The old style and lesser type VW Beetles are called 1200 & 1300s, that's where the 1302 & 1303 numbering came from. When you could buy new parts from VW, the parts Fisches were labelled 1200 & 1300 or 1302 & 1303, never were they called Superbug in spare parts terms.

Superbug is to generic, 1302 & 1303 tells you exactly what your talking about.

Steve

Hi Steve, yes I know the story behind the Euro name. I also know that VW originally planned to use '1301' to distinguish the Superbug from the 1300 torsion bar Beetle, but couldn't because Peugeot had copyrighted model names ending in '01'. So VW just used 1302 instead. Our Superbugs are really like Euro 1302S and 1303S models with 1600 engines - the base Euro/UK 1302 and 1303 models didn't have 1600s engines. Whereas Australian and US Superbugs only ever had 1600 engines.

As soon as you say 'Superbug' then you make the mental connection - Macpherson strut Bug. If you want to be more specific, just say Superbug S or Superbug L. Nothing wrong with S-Bug and L-Bug too.

I'm not surprised about the fiche - they were produced in Germany so they would have German names. Like the way ETKA uses the generic name 'Kafer' now to describe Type 1 parts. I've only ever seen the German-spec microfiche used in Australia - what did American/Canadian dealerships use in the '70s? Was their market big enough to justify their own naming conventions - ie. Super Beetle?

some of the original 1303 adverts were pretty clever

ive always liked this one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSVnZtucXog 

i think some people who dont really know vws well just make associations like... it has elephants feet, it must be a super or has vents in the engine lid it must be a super...

the 76 bug being called a 76L causes alot of confusion too, alot of people think that makes it an Lbug even though 76 Lbugs dont exist

i got a comical reply from someone the otherday selling a 74 pov pak when i explained to them it wasnt a super, you can tell by their spelling of Volkswagen how much they know about them


"Thanks for your comment. However, Volkswagon made a 1300 superbug which consisted of a 1300 twin port engine, alternator instead of a generator, twin pre heat pipes, four stud wheels, torsion bar front suspension, drum brakes all round, tandem brake master cylinder with a plastic facia dash. Which mine has all got. "

Phil, If you've got higher resolution copies of those ads, I'd love to get a copy, pretty please

Anyway, If I'm going to GL these models, I'll need to change the wheels. The model company doesn't seem to do Porkers, but they do sell wheels in a kit.

I have a choice of 19inch scale wheels from Enkei and some wheels for the RE30. Which do you think?

Hi

I wish I seen those wheels before I placed my order, I like them both.

Steve

RE30's!!!!!
sorry thats the jap car side of me,

ah hem, nice models


oh & steve, i think the 02/03 thing is for the more educated on the finer points of strut bugs, try speaking slower to the beam types next time

(for those that dont get it, im having a laugh, just thought it best not to get peoples noses out of joint by letting you know)

us beam people probably dont take it in cos we dont care. Might as well be telling me the intricate differences between different model coronas

I'll make up a high-res scan of the Aussie Superbug ad as I have the original magazine. Can't help with the US Super Beetle ad though - that's the best res I have (I know, I can't read the text either).

Steve's story about the confusion between 1300 beam Beetles, and strut Superbugs, by non-VW people, I think reinforces my argument about not using the European 1302 and 1303 terms if possible. It's OK with most of us as we know what it means, but the great unwashed out there don't - let alone how to spell Volkswagen properly.

1200 Beetle, 1300 Beetle, 1500 Beetle and 1600 Superbug (S or L) seem to say it all. The '76 is the anomaly - VW Australia just called it the 'Beetle' in their sales brochures that year.

Thanks Phil, much appreciated.

Steve, I was looking at the tyres again last night and they're already quite wide and large, so I'm going to hold off on buying other wheels at the moment and have another (closer) look at everything on the weekend.

I must admit that when I bought my L Bug I knew absolutely nothing about the differences between any of them, and was guided by Pete Wood as I stumbled around blindly. It was only once I had the car and got on here and started buying magazines that I began to understand. I'm just lucky Peter guided me towards the best type of Beetle so I didn't end up driving a tractor.

Steve,

If you are interested in the hard top model they are here on ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Aoshima-1-24-Volkswagen-Beetle-1303S-04778_W0QQitemZ280443236892QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAU_Toys_Hobbies_Model_Kits ?hash=item414bb8321c

Kev

Hi

Thanks Camo,

My models just arrived, cant wait to have a look at them.

Joel, that guy on Ebay must hate you and me now, this is the photo that confirmed it for me below.

Phil, I'm sure people on this forum like to be educated, using the term 1302 & 1303 helps people understand what they are, what other VW Beetle model has a name that defines it. So should we stop using baywindow to describe T2 Kombis etc

Steve

yea, i was gonna have a dig about his spelling too

my original glovebox user manual says 1303 too

i agree with phil though if people would just stick with superbug S and Superbug L it would alot less confusing for people who dont know them well