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Thanks Victor, Agent, John, Mr Franz, h6 and everyone else for keeping up on the Tiny Two’s progress!
I certainly hope I’m not misrepresenting my love for their Bugaloo… because I adore it!
Overall, the little beetle has been perfect for what is most important for me, playing with my dolls. Throughout the decades, there’s countless numbers of “doll cars” made, but I doubt any can match the capabilities of this little 1/12 beetle!
If you want one for your 1/12 friends , I know you won’t be disappointed!
And on that capability subject…
B & Z’s yellow military bug they drove all last year is designed to be a scale replica of a WW2 German Kommanduerwagen. To that end, these vehicles were occasionally equipped with a tractor style tire.
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The Moggie mud tire is a pretty good approximation of it!
I didn’t have time to spend figuring all the mounting out this morning, but I’m confident the tire will work well. I’m likely to super glue it to the wheels to keep it on, and from what I can see, it should clear all of the suspension.
Giving the sisters free reign to drive plenty of places they shouldn’t!
home from work now, and I noticed I could edit my post!
Here’s a photo of the clearance between the tire and rear suspension… an issue I think I’ve solved that the person who came up with this tire swap idea didn’t! More another day, after I try gluing a tire…
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Ok… I can hear them rummaging through boxes… I better check on them…
Yep, it's hard to deny that the car is awesome, despite the difficulties you're overcoming! If I were in the market there would have to be a pretty good alternative before I wouldn't get one of these for myself. I can't wait to see it in blue!
That photo is the right amount of silly. Big wheels, ridiculous military headlight covers (I get it's for stealth, but how useful would they have been to the driver?), and a whip antenna that probably goes quite a ways out of frame. Maybe it's nostalgia (I had 1-2 antennas on my first three cars) but I kinda like a big antenna on a car.
Trouble for them is fun for us! Watching the build is the adventure before the adventure.
Mr Franz wrote: ↑Wed Feb 14, 2024 7:29 am
Couldn't do a little body lift? Like longer screws and spacers of some sort between the chassis and body?
Nope.
The suspension and floor pan are combined together, just like a real beetle. Unlike the 1/1 car tho, many suspension parts are molded to look like separate bolted-on components, but they aren’t. On an actual beetle, doing a lift typically requires cutting and welding. It wouldn’t make enough difference to matter on this tiny car.
Really, my biggest issue with how FMS designed these 1/12 cars is the use of unique wheel connectors, making swapping to aftermarket wheels and tires impossible. That is the biggest limiting factor to their upgradability.
I think I might have figured out how to put the Moggie tires on tho…
What do y’all think? Does it look Pixie FUN-style???
Yeah, I figured that. That's why I suggested a body lift. The suspension wouldn't need to be touched. You just raise the body up off the chassis a little. Even simpler, just hone out the wheel wells to accommodate bigger meats.
I'm not much into the off-road stuff myself. I'm more your Saturday night cruiser type. If it were mine, I'd just leave it alone. One of the best detailed scale cars I've ever seen, RC or otherwise. Can't wait to see it finished
“Yeah… Haha! I even found this cute little knapsack!”
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Ahh… I see the sisters have been digging through the Playmobil boxes…
I’m very grateful to have discovered Playmobil!
Not only have they produced Booberry’s beautiful and tough bug body for the Zoomy Minxes to drive around, but all the little accessories, bits and stuff, are just about perfectly sized for B & Z to play with. They are all molded in tough bright plastic… and just scream FUN!
Of course, the Playmobil accessory everyone is most familiar with is Zimzoo’s camera. Coming this year, the plan is to outfit the girls with more things on their treks… and deck out the new Bugaloo with some proper Playmobil gear!
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Starting with some luggage!
The beetle’s front “trunk” compartment opens up, just like a real bug… but it’s more of a place to hide the electronics and battery, instead of being useable. There’s an actual spare tire in the compartment, but that’s about it.
I’d like to take one of the 2 brown suitcases I have and modify it to cover up the electronics. I don’t know if I’d leave it in place all the time, but possibly. Most likely, if I’m doing a shoot of them digging in the trunk, I’d pull out the car’s battery, but I might even make a way to camouflage that too.
I don’t anticipate the trunk being a visual feature very often… but the rear parcel shelf sure will be.
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I gotta hide that ugly bracket!
The bracket to hold the engine hood is mounted conspicuously on the parcel shelf… it isn’t on a real beetle. On B & Z’s yellow beetle of last year, it doesn’t stick out because everything is yellow. On the new bug, it’s really obvious.
Instead of just painting it, I’ve decided to make a little bundle or package to cover it up… like it’s sitting on the shelf with other sundries. I also might start putting some magnets in stuff to keep everything under control and not bouncing around the car.
Or, at least as controlled as any Pixie adventure can be…
“Hey… what else is in this box for us???”
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“Haha! Zimzoo… look at the hat I stole from the school bus driver!”
agent0013 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 15, 2024 12:12 am
Okay, all of that stuff is surprisingly well scaled to these two cuties!
Hmmm... Did Playmobil even release a satanic/demonic set? I need accessories for Helena... lol.
“They’re so dorky! Haha!!!”
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All I can say is, maybe… Playmobil has made a bazillion things!
It’s definitely not obvious that their stuff can “work” for the 1/12 Pixies when you look at Playmobil figures… they are a LOT smaller. But this is where the weirdness of what I call “Toy Scale” comes to the rescue. Playmobil… like Lego, Mega Bloks, and other makers of children’s imaginative play sets… doesn’t care about proportional scale relative to “real” life people and objects.
They make their things sized for tiny hands to play with!
Consequently, most Playmobil things are way too big for the “scale” of their figures. There are definitely many accessory pieces that are too small for B & Z… it’s a little random. Once again, I feel a little lucky. It’s possible that one reason the stuff “works” for the sisters, is due to their own playful distortion. Bisboo and Zimzoo are, what my pal LoneRanger likes to call, Bobble-Head Pixies.
They have their own ideas about what is FUN-sized scale!
Well… we all know B & Z like to play… but there has to be limits!
Otherwise Bugaloo is gonna look like this!
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And that just isn’t cute enough for me…
Don’t get me wrong, I love how Baja and “overland” beetles look in real life… but on the trail with the Tiny Two, all that stuff would just hide the little beetle’s lovely curves.
Before starting sanding and paint prep, I need to figure out and make all the scale details and additions I plan on adding to the bug. Right now, it’s not looking like much. I considered making new bumpers, but without modifying the fenders, and putting big wheels on, it wouldn’t add anything interesting… except a lot of work.
I’ve also ruled out adding extra off-road lights. Mostly because the girls will likely break them off, but also because they will interfere with the body lines. Ultimately, I think I’ve only got one thing to make before painting… their folded sunroof. That’s probably a good thing too…
Because I’ve been procrastinating about painting for a long time!
This is what the folded sunroof is supposed to look like…
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Shouldn’t be too hard… right???
Fortunately, I have committed to not trying to make a WORKING sliding sunroof… madness!!!
As I said, I plan on making the whole “folded” sunroof assembly quickly removable as a unit. This will make accessing the interior and swapping to the “closed” sunroof easy and convenient. First problem to overcome is understanding how the sunroof looks. The above gif I put together from the internet was super helpful.
First mock-up is out of paper.
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Now… what to make it out of???
This is more of a challenge than it at first might seem. The materials must be durable, colorfast and not too difficult to work with. We all know the Pixies like to drive in muck… so it’s gotta be something I can clean.
I imagine they are gonna sit on it too. Of course, if you did that on an actual beetle, you’d break the braces… but Pixies can get away with it. Also, whatever black material I make the roof out of needs to not stain their tiny little TPE bodies.
Nobody wants to see ugly black streaks on their cute bums!
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The current plan is to use some black “marine grade” upholstery I have.
I bought a length of this some years ago with the intention of making some black straps that wouldn’t stain my “big” girls… that project was a non-starter.
I’ve got a lot of this… enough to make 20 sunroofs… lol. I think the thickness is good. It won’t lose its shape easily, or get torn. Being an actual fabric, I won’t have to worry about making something that isn’t, but still look like it is… something notoriously difficult to do well…
I also won’t need to paint it… YAY! But I will need to fasten it to a rigid base in order to install it in the bug. What do I make THAT out of???
First attempt was a fail…
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I sawed a panel out of the roof of an old styrene model kit… and it crumbled.
I half expected this… polystyrene is brittle.
I’ve been digging through my basement for other plastic, but not having any success. The base I make for the tough vinyl has gotta be tough itself. Most likely, I’m going to have to use pretty aggressive measures to fasten the tight folds to it.
Ultimately, a thin piece of metal is likely to be the best candidate. But there is one other obvious choice… one I’ve been trying not to choose.
I could cut up the tan sunroof that came with the yellow beetle…
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This may be the best solution… but I’m gonna need to sleep on it.
Ever since getting the black “closed” sunroof with the newer FMS beetle, this yellow one has been in a drawer. Realistically, I’m never going to use it again. Since it’s molded in a tough plastic… and curved to match the bug’s roofline… it really is the perfect choice.
What about just using a piece of thin cardboard. Wet it, temporarily affix it to the plastic sunroof to give it the shape you need and let it dry. Paint it, glue on your material. I've used that technique to make convertible top boots for scale model cars.
Mr Franz wrote: ↑Sun Feb 18, 2024 4:27 pm
What about just using a piece of thin cardboard. Wet it, temporarily affix it to the plastic sunroof to give it the shape you need and let it dry. Paint it, glue on your material. Did that a few times when I was into building scale model cars.
I’ve definitely considered this route, sort of paper-mache like, but I know the folded sunroof needs to be more robust than that. I’m sure the Pixies will be rough with it… and I’ll be worse!
Probably, I’ll manhandle it in and out of pockets and bags… dropping it frequently!
Proud servant of 
