# Charles; a new driver for the Brekina railcar



## Paulus (May 31, 2008)

Meet Charles! 

He is the replacement for the dwarf like figure that Brekina putted in it's 1:22,5 scale VW railcar. Actually, during the making of this figure I figured out why Brekina put a likely 1:32 scale figure in the vehicle; the seats are placed way too high! 
I discoverd this after I had placed the figure and did a test fit on the body. The (sorta) 1:22,5 scale figure get his head bumped by the roof while both his feet were swinging above the floor. I could redo the figure to fit the seat correct, but that would mean I had to make separate legs and body the are glued up and in front of the seat. Instead I sawed a hole in the seat to place the figure a bit lower. You can see that in this picture. 










He can use the clutch!











Because Charles is not planning to get out of his van he does not get too detailed. So a simple paintjob is all. I decided to give him a light grey sweater, so he is better noticeable from the outside when the body is back on place.










A comparison between Charles and the Brekina dwarf...










Charles has clear visibility now!



















BTW: Perhaps you notice the Brekina car is in a different color. I'm rebuilding it at the moment in to a battery powered model, using a Simple Critter Control to operate it.Paul


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## ThinkerT (Jan 2, 2008)

Actually Charles and the dwarf look pretty dang good together. I can easily see them knocking back a brew together or watching the big game side by side. In short, they look like best buddies...


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## rkapuaala (Jan 3, 2008)

Nice job on the figure. The cutaway in the seat makes the rest of the seat look like arm rests. You need a couple of cup holders in it though.


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## Fritz (Jan 11, 2008)

Charles looks good, but he´s too large. I had one of those split screen VW busses in the Seventies. We could comforably seat three of us on the front seat and we were sitting much higher than in a norml passenger car. 

Have Fun 

Juergen / Fritz


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## Paulus (May 31, 2008)

Thanks guys! Well I guess Charles is a bit of a big guy indeed. I have to discus a diet for him








However, sitting _*comfortably*_ with three on the front seat??
That I can't imagine; those vans are 1,5 meter wide inside (see blueprint / measurements below).
Perhaps three skinny people could sit in front, but I doubt if it is comfortable. Cosy perhaps, between 2 nice ladies...









On the other hand, hippies managed to get in these vehicles by the dozen...


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## rkapuaala (Jan 3, 2008)

I owned two vw vans, both that vintage, and nether seated 3 comfortably. 
Both my vans only had cargo space in the back and no seat, and I enjoyed the occasional situation 
where two ladies needed a ride. 
Shifting was always a thrill in those situations


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## Fritz (Jan 11, 2008)

We were skinny in the Seventies. Maybe 60 or 65 Kilos, whatever that is in US pounds. We needed most of the space in the micro bus for all the amps and instruments. After all, I made my living with a Travelling band. We spent more money on gasoline than for food. 

Have Fun 

Juergen / Fritz


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## rkapuaala (Jan 3, 2008)

I've always had broad shoulders, but it never stopped me from cramming 2 more people in the front seat,,, especially if they were women. It wasn't comfortable, but sometimes it was fun


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## Madman (Jan 5, 2008)

AH, I miss the VW buses







. I had a couple of Beetles back in the day. The last one I had, in the eighties, was one of those two speed manual/automatic jobs. I could never figure out







if I was supposed to shift it or not. It ran equally well no matter where I put the shifter. I pulled the back seat out, to carry my tools, and made a sort of van out of it. Once I was taking some Lionel Trains to a swap meet in Hamburg Pa., and had some of the trains on the floor in the back. When I unloaded the stuff at the meet, one of the locos was all melted







. It had been sitting, in it's box, in front of the heater vent on the toe space of the back seat. I sold that one, believe it or not, but at a slightly reduced rate







. Another instance was during a snowstorm. We made the brilliant decision not to leave work early, figuring that if we left early we'd get caught with all of the other people leaving early who wanted to get home before the snow got too bad. I came out of work, got to the VW, and found a bean shaped canister hanging from under the motor. It's snowing like crazy, I can't figure out where the dammed thing goes, so I pulled it loose from a small hose it was attached to







. I made it home without incident, other than alittle slippage in Chestnut Hill on the cobblestones, and about three hours late







. the next day I called the mechanic that always serviced the car for me and asked him about the canister. He said don't worry about it







, you didn't need it anyway and the car will run fine without it. And it did for a few more years







. 
*By the way, this thread is supposed to be about your figure. Well, your little figure. I mean the one you made for your VW bus. I like him. Great job.*


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

I have this Brekina, if its 1/22 scale then I'm a Chinese Test Pilot, much more like 1/25 in my eye


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

Sorry, but I work for a golf company and the idea of putting somebody into the car brings up a wild image.


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