The VW Beetle (longer version) is the oldest passenger car in the Lego H0 range of cars. Amongst other differences, it can easily be distinguished from the later shorter version in not having a name underneath, being marked with just the Lego trademark.
Its construction is essentially a scaled-down version of the larger (1/38 scale) toy Beetles Lego had already been producing for a while, though those had a metal diecast chassis riveted to the body and rubber tyres on spun metal wheels.
Its construction also predates the innovations Lego would be granted patents for, in that the body doesn't clip to the chassis but is glued. Which is unfortunate because this means these cars can't be taken apart without risking damage.
The most common damage to Lego Beetles is broken bumpers, which are often missing an end if not having disappeared altogether. I have replaced three of them, one each on the black Beetle above and my example in silver, both with genuine rear bumpers cut from a donor chassis supplied by a friendly fellow-collector (note traces of glue and plastic on edges of donor chassis).
A pale blue Beetle received a replacement bumper end at the front, cut from the same donor chassis. The remaining centre part at the front of the donor chassis was added to a very damaged Beetle so it can be towed again by a tow truck.
The trick in getting a replacement bumper end sitting straight is to apply superglue to both surfaces and have that dry for a few seconds before fitting them together. This should keep the replacement part attached and hanging down without falling off while the car is held on its side. Next twist the bumper end to correctly match the rest of the bumper from left to right. It can then be gently tapped right next to the join to have it line up from from front to back (or the other way round). Once it's evenly matched, lay the car down on a surface which can be tilted, so gravity will keep the replacement part pointing the way it should sit while the superglue dries completely (incl an extra drop if need be). A secondary support (visible just behind the bumper above) can help if need be.
Beetles were moulded in transparent plastic and then painted in realistic VW paint colours. Which can chip and get scratched and often were in play. I tend to leave most paint damage as is, but the example above had had a scratch touched in rather crudely by a previous owner. Despite taking care and using very fine 2800 grit wet/dry sandpaper, I did sand through the rather thin layer of paint while flattening the touch-up.
Like on a real car, it's easiest to treat the entire panel. So a lightly sanded roof received a few coats of ancient Humbrol enamel, properly thinned down to obtain a smooth even finish. Mixing paint should be done in daylight, preferably a bit cloudy, to get as accurate a match as possible.
Another Beetle had a broken axle mount. Which means the axle needs to be removed so the mount can be repaired. Much like on the VW pickups (see earlier post), a bent forked electrical connector was inserted between wheel and chassis to avoid damage to the latter while jimmying the wheel off the axle with a flat screwdriver. The car was resting on a (clean) dust rag to avoid damage to the paint.
As with the VW pickups, the wheel should come off the axle without -too- much effort. The wheels on the donor chassis were an exception, requiring two pairs of pliers and quite a bit of force to be removed. If that chassis had still been on a car, those would have been impossible to take off.
An axle mount was cut off the donor chassis, as straight as possible. It was superglued in place on the receiving chassis, which took a few tries to get right. Once in place, more superglue was added, drop by drop to avoid runs. The hole under the mount was restored by gently turning a drill bit (as lower down).
The wheels were put back and pressed in place with plumber's pliers, with bits of plastic taped on to avoid scratches to the wheels (as shown in detail for the VW pickups in an earlier post). The repaired Beetle now stands straight again.
The first time an axle had to be removed from a Beetle was after a cracked wing was properly reattached with superglue on a beige example. Superglue has a tendency to run where you don't want it and in this case had managed to reach an axle mount and stick the axle in place. Thankfully not too firmly so twisting the wheels managed to get it loose. But firm enough that it wouldn't turn very freely anymore. So off came a wheel and out came the axle, so the superglue under the axle mount could be bored out by gently inserting and twisting a 1.5 mm drill bit through. This is also the Beetle at right in the image below.
Other common damage to these Beetles is a caved in roof with bent or cracked window pillars, probably from having been stepped on. I doubt this can be much rectified, if the car could be taken apart for a start. Even worse is a roof with a crack starting at the windscreen or rear window, where I think that's from the roof warping with age and changes in temperature. Again I don't think much can be done about that. As you can see; I have one of each, obtained in lots, where that damage wasn't very visible in the images. The crack isn't that bad yet, I hope it stays that way. The caved-in roof I've decided to try and fix (I'll add another post later).
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