Volkswagen Thing Kitcard

Introduction

Here's an interesting one, the Volkswagen Thing. The Type 181, as it was originally called, started as a cheap military vehicle built for the West Germany in the late 1960s. It was a mashup of parts from cars like the beetle, the karmann ghia and the microbus. Production ran from 1968 through 1983. It made its way to civilian markets and was named the Thing when it was sold in the US from 1973 to ‘74.

Model Info

This kit card assembles into a 1:50 scale model of the Volkswagen Thing. The model has a collapsible top that can be stored in the back and a functional hood that opens to reveal a spare tire. The windshield also collapses to lay flat onto the hood. 

Kitcard sections

The parts are broken into three separate sections, so they can be printed in different colors without a multi-material system and combined into one card. The brake lights are separate pieces you can print in red and snap into the body. I recommend inserting the brake lights while the model is a card. 

Tolerances

The tolerances weren’t easy to get right, but they print well enough for me. The roof hinges are definitely the most tight and they need some turning to break free. Please do let me know if you have issues with certain parts and I’ll try to get the model to print consistently for everyone.

Instruction card

This one was fun to design. I went for a minimalistic 1970s style car poster design and I’m happy with how it turned out. I used Blender to render the car and designed the card in photoshop. Included are files for printing the card on an A4 paper that you can cut into 4 instruction cards.

Recommended Print Settings

Filament: PLA

Nozzle: 0.4mm

Layer height: 0.2mm or less

No supports