Who let the dogs out!

Custom Selecta Series

Boredom can be grueling, especially on rainy nights. It’s been raining “cats and dogs” these past few days, and a perfect time to be on the PC. How about doing Custom “Selecta” from scratch? Now that definitely kills time and boredom. Doesn’t it?

Starting with a regular early 60’s Sedan, was easy enough. Channeling it to squat close to the ground is easy still. I did not draw any fenders, so that took care of ridding them, out of sight. But the real tricky part is getting the top chopped. Mind you, chopping the Bug is not that easy, due to its curved shape and proportion. On the real McCoy it must be a nightmare of a task, and doing the Selecta made me appreciate, the great skills of those who got them perfect.

Anyway here’s my attempt on the slicing the top….of these mean but loyal dogs.
“Pulis Dog” Volksrod….
“Askal” Volksrod….

An Italian exotic - VW connection and an unusual Vrod.

Lamborghini Murcielago? Or Gallardo? If you were thinking that this is the VW link, you're kinda right. For, Lamborghini is owned by Volkswagen AG. Good guess, but not these two hot exotics. This particular exotic is not that simple to guess.
Two Christmas seasons ago I got hold of this rare Italian beauty. Talking VWs and anything with wheels with a buddy in Lawson Street that lazy December afternoon, our topic shifted to two wheels.
This buddy remembered he has an old bicycle in the attic. Taking a look at it, I was surprised to see a gem in the rough.
A week later, just before Christmas, that friend needed a part for a VW Golf 2. He knew I have a spare ECU lying around and that I was drooling over the Italian vintage lightweight bicycle. Without hesitation we traded and that exotic was mine. That treasure came about because of VW, and that unusual connection was sealed by destiny.

My 1960's CINELLI Vintage Lightweight Bicycle.
This bicycle carries the badge of one of the most sought after vintage light-weight road bicycles, proudly displaying where it was made; MILANO. Lugged chromed frame with Campagnolo dropouts. Campagnolo wheel hubs. Cinelli stem and Cinelli Unicator saddle. 

I restored my Cinelli taking cues from prevailing car culture combined with road racing bicycle influences.

"GTV" Gran Turisimo Velo
Or Grand Touring Bicycle.
In touring guise...taking a Resto-Custom approach...the name is a tribute to EMPI's Joe Vittone of Italian descent and inspired by Grant Peterson's Rivendell bicycles.

"Vrod" Velo Roadster
In Hot Rod guise...strip down, fender-less lightweight....Classic Rod combination; Black, chrome and splashes of red…Vintage Rebel.

Cinelli trivia
- The Cinelli bicycle is an icon of great Italian designs which include the Ferrari, Lamborghini and Vespa. All of which have cult followings.
- The founder and the company bearing his name, is credited with landmarks in cycling history, innovations and designs.
- Vintage Cinelli lightweights can fetch prices beyond the US$4,000 mark today. Many enthusiast-collectors even consider them investments.

Concept Collaboration

The history of Volkswagen and Porsche are intertwined. Fame Ferdinand Porsche was tasked to develop the first VW and later this paved the path for a car company that would later bear his name. It is no wonder that even in the decades to follow; the houses of Wolfsburg and Stuttgart collaborate and thus enjoy the benefits of their common lineage.
Such is project code 914. Essentially a co-op car, a mid-engine boxy shaped design and built by Karmann, no less. Marketed as a VW and Porsche, side by side, depending on which showroom it was shown. Frankly it was one of the misunderstood cars from the era it was introduced. Yet today, it has a growing and loyal fan base. Especially true is the 911 engined derivative, of which was packed with a 6-cylinder motor and suspension upgrade. The car was officially named 914-6 and has under its belt, successful foray in car races. You can identify this 914 on a steroid, externally by bulging bumpers, bulging wheel arches and ultra-desirable Fuchs alloy wheels. It would be an honor and a pleasure to own today, such a rare variant of this co-op car.
Meanwhile our local chap “Sakbayan” somehow resembles the 914 boxy silhouette. A wrecked 911 offers crucial transplant such as the 6-pot boxer mill and suspension, to make this plain local guy turn into our local hero. Muscles bulging from the pulled-fenders, tucking those Porsche alloys making for a much wider stance. A two tone Carrera paint, a targa top and swept windshield transform this into a Co-op Boxster racer.
Sketchy Super hero, Sakbayan Karera…..S914-6Boxy Silhouette Selecta....

Razor treatment

Getting colds can be annoying. It takes you away from your usual weekend habit of being with cars and bicycles. I particularly missed pedaling, the wind-on-your-face blast you get atop cool wheels. So what have I been doing that time? I reckon if I have to spend time squeezing my nose red, might as well do some doodling.
For starters, I got into my usual pencil and marker pen sketches. Subject chosen, is the not-too-oft model that is the Karmann Ghia Type 34. While I’m doing the lines and curves of this particularly queer Volkswagen made me realize something. The guy who originally designed this was a pervert. A genius of a pervert that is, having the creative passion to do a very complex massing of clashing shapes. I would attempt to read that Italian artist during those moments as saying (complete with animated hand gestures), “Controlled chaos is magnifico!”.
Here is my attempt to recreate his sketches…. After a while I went into perversion mode myself. Got unto the PC and made a Razor Selecta with a few twists. Ahh, what do you know… creative perversion can also be contagious like colds. I think it too doesn’t have a cure.
My T34 Selecta…."Pulis Matulis" or Police Razor.
Fastback T34 anyone? ...."Labaha-Kuba"

Miniature Runtrods

Fans and collectors alike agree that, "Hot Wheels" is the coolest car company. Fittingly so, you can find almost all types of custom vehicles in their range of diecast cars. Volkswagens are well represented and generally, they are highly prized and thus very collectible.Even “ire of the purist” lookers exist as one of the “off-the-shelf” variants in their VW Bug model. Primer painted with blazing flames graphic tampo. Halibrand Big and Little wheels giving it the raked stance and red Bug interiors.
Here's mine, parked on my shelf....
Another variation on the theme is the Hoodride. Prevailing feature is the raw and weathered look of classic VWs. Drop stance or mean camber, anything goes. Here a fellow member of MCC has this to share. Totally customize Vdub (not necessary "Hot Wheels") to capture the look quite well. It goes to show, “If you can’t buy it off-the-shelf, build it yourself”, is the way to go.In rust we trust....Thanks much Jerry! Keep on customizing and collecting those cool mini-mean VWs.

DeafVolks

The love for Volkswagen really transcends boundaries. You’ll be sure to find a Volksbuddy in every part of the world. You’ll get pulled with the common interest generated by this powerful force of Volks-fever.
In this case as a diecast collector, it is easy to find your place in the sun in forums around the net. Vdub based collectors are easy to spot, and this holds true with Donald. Being a member of MCC too, I quickly noticed his avatar and his pseudonym….its a ‘65 VW Notchback 1500S. And it wasn’t that hard to see this guy is a real enthusiast of miniature and 1:1 VWs. He even hails from “Notchback City”, California where the action is. Club affiliation is “DeafVolks”; a special brotherhood of enthusiasts, that is worth the admiration of all who loved VWs. Needless to say I do.

Thanks Don, the Big Brother for sharing these pics…