[John Cahill]

I've seen threads lately about 1) road-going cars without racing features and 2) slot cars that entice our spouses however reluctantly to play along with us. This is about both of those. We live out in the middle of nowhere (certainly no slotters around) and maintaining any level of slot interest in my wife is paramount to have someone to cruise along with (racing is out of the question *grin*).

For my wife, it's all about sentiment and color...so if i build her a surprise car in her favorite "powder blue" every Christmas I'm good for another 12 months. Some of you may recall the Airfix E-type rally car from last year. This year it's an Ocar Karmann Ghia. We like no-magnet racing and Carrera chassis (among others) suit us just fine. I wanted white sidewalls and was pleasantly surprised to discover that the 57 Thunderbird has exactly the same wheelbase as the Karmann! So it was just a matter of finding a used Tbird on Ebay and then reselling that Thunderbird body (which surprisingly covered the entire original outlay).

Here you go..something a little different. Hope you like it!

PS obviously you'll see a woman driver if you look close. Half the fun for my wife is choosing her clothing and hair color. This year, tortoise shell eye-glasses were the big fun. Hey...whatever it takes!

 

[Slot-Mod]

Very nice John... Looks excellent on your track, colour suits it as well, great job....

All the best.. Martin..

 

[Slots-O-Fun]

Great job! It must have been a lot of work as I know OCARs are pretty rough to start.

 

[tifosi]

Nice Job John, having built a few Ocars I know they can be... taxing

 

[balsaworks]

Wonderful car. It's nice to see something out of the ordinary and you did a terrific job with this one. The light blue with white walls on the tires is beautiful. The details are very well made. Your wife has good taste! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Lloyd.L]

Very nicely finished John, a good looking model.

Regards, Lloyd

 

[Ember]

Nice job John. I've long had a thing for the Karmann Ghia. I believe I had a tendancy to call them "pussy cat cars" at the age of 3, when my kindergarten teacher had one.

The Ocar shells vary greatly from what I've seen. As others have asked, how was this one?

Embs

 

[Koala2]

Great job on a beautifully designed car.
Those nicely curved models do have a special apeal.
Karmann, E-type, Miura, Gullwing, ...

 

[scudbong]

Nice job John, the colour looks terrific.

Pete

 

[Mr Modifier]

A really beautiful car John and VERY nicely made.

I know where you are coming from - I bought my wife the pink Team Slot Alfa GTAM at Christmas as a joke and she was actually fairly pleased - more so when she realised there was jewellery in a tiny parcel taped to the base in front of the car!!!

Your Karmann is several steps above my offering

 

[David Lawson]

John

Your Karmann Ghia is beautifully finished and has the right "look", is that Wedgewood Blue? It looks superb on your impressive track.

David

 

[-claus-]

Hi John,

What a beauty....... Very nice !!
I like it very much.

Best regards

claus

 

[choc-ice]

It looks like a great build, I’ve never seen a Thunderbird kit so didn’t realise you could get whitewall tyres.

 

[John Cahill]

Thanks to everyone for your supportive comments. It is much appreciated, and of course the car has now increased in value in my wife's eyes *grin*

The car is finished in that classic VW blue color (such as on the current Scalextric Beetle release)...which is definitely a Wedgewood blue. To my eye,
Testor's Gloss Light Blue #1208 matches it almost perfectly and that's what I used in this case.

I agree that the quality of OCAR kits "vary greatly" (how did tifosi phrase it? "taxing" *grin*) This seems to be one of the earlier ones, a slush cast of a partially assembled Lindbergh kit IMO. As it arrived it was a fairly thick casting. There weren't many surface voids, but some of the details (such as the rear lights) needed building up and reshaping. The odd thing, which I haven't seen before, is that the body was split horizontally at the bumper line, front and back. So there were two little pieces that had to be shaped quite a bit and epoxied to the body to create the slots that support the front and rear bumper. The white metal pieces were in good shape but the side mirror was missing. There were other minor issues, as one would expect. I offer the negatives just to assist anyone in deciding if they want one of their own...all in all, though, I have to say it was a fun build!

I really enjoyed the background comments, thanks for those...the "pussy cat" car, jewelry in the Xmas slot car...and I agree about those curvy cars of the 50's and 60's...Gullwings, Miuras, E types...and Karmann Ghia's. Maybe it's because i was growing up then, but they'll always be the cars I find the most alluring.

Gareth, I'm attaching a pic (below) of the Thunderbird I got the chassis and tires from.

best regards, and thanks again
John

 

[cabb77]

Great build of a design icon.
Being an aircooled VW fan and owner I would love one of these, can you still get them?
My mate runs a 66 Karmann ghia cabriolet and I'd love to make a replica of his car.

Cheers Cabb77 (guess year and make of my VW?)

 

[Screwneck]

This thread is so cool! I love it!

 

[bosmeck]

very nicely done John... beautiful paint work

 

[John Cahill]

thanks, Chris...very generous of you to say so...

I think this thread has run it's course and just want to thank everyone again for their kind comments.

CABB: I purchased this OCAR kit quite a few years back. I checked into whether they're still available as you requested; and I can't find anyone with any in stock. I also looked into
Lindberg kits, which would be superior really in terms of detail...but came up empty there as well, I'm afraid. If you persevere on Ebay though, sooner or later, right? *grin*

with best regards,
John

 

[abie321]

Hey John - was away for a few days so missed this - nice car and great job!!!!

I have to ask - did you wife read your comments in the first post or did you 'edit' what you said and the replies?????

All the gains I would get for doing this would be lost if my wife read the thread

Great to smile first thing in the morning