The 1961 Volkswagen T1 bus camper by Revell is one of the nicest kits I have ever built. At first, I was a little intimidated by the kit because of the multipart body and the many little pieces that come in the box, but after starting the VW, I found out that with the new tooling I had nothing to worry about.
The first thing I did was lay out the kit’s contents and examine the parts on the sprues. Once I was reasonably certain all the parts were present, I started building, and it wasn’t long before the interior and chassis were ready for paint. Detailing the interior was accomplished with combination of painting and applying kit decals that included details for the bench cushions that were a dream to work with.
For the body, I was still concerned that paint might interfere with the many separate parts. I methodically fit each part in place and glued it in position, making sure it before moving to the next. I also switched sides, working back and forth, rather than completing all the parts on one side before switching to the other. Working like this, I was able to assemble the main body in little more than half an hour.
The kit offers two options for the VW roof: build the pop-up top either up or down. What’s the point of having the pop-up if it’s closed? Be careful to test-fit the roof to the body and make sure everything is positioned correctly.
All the doors have hinges so they can be opened and closed—and this is where I encountered my first problem: The hinges on each of the doors for the rear body panels were too short to fit into the hinge holes on the body panels. I made new hinges by using braces wire and that fixed the problem.
The side and front doors slipped easily into place. I chose to glue the side doors in position because I assembled a table on the sink cabinet and a stove on one of the doors which made it impossible to close them. Once the doors are finished, all that’s left is the chrome and window. I attached the chrome with five-minute epoxy or superglue; the windows went in with white glue to avoid hazing.
This kit isn’t for novices with its many parts and fairly complicated build. However, if you like Volkswagen buses, it builds into an excellent addition to your collection. The instructions are clearly laid out and, as long as you don’t deviate, they will guide you to a satisfying outcome.