IT WAS in 1969 that Volkswagen introduced the successor to the
famous Kübelwagen, the so-called type 181 courier car, marketed
in the USA as The Thing and in Mexico as Safari. It shared with
the Kübelwagen its flat sides, four doors and the folding
canvas roof. The Thing, being aimed at a possible army contract,
was not built with commercial price requirements to the fore,
and therefore it was rather expensive (about as much as a Beetle
convertible). This multipurpose vehicle had a good ground clearance
and was not available with four-wheel drive, but due to its rear-mounted
engine which guaranteed sufficient traction, it was liked by forestry
workers and country folk. But it also has always been a true fun
car. Initially The Thing had a 1.5 litre engine of 44 hp, but
the last cars were equipped with a 1600cc engine and 50 hp (destined
for the US market). All in all more than 88,000 Things were produced
up to 1979. In ten years only slight modifications of the body
and mechanical parts were carried out. Though not being a real
best-seller, many model car makers decided to include a model
or toy of The Thing in their range. I have tried to make this
survey as complete as possible, but I have decided not to include
colour variations.
1) CH # 978:
as far as I know, the biggest model of a type 181. This toy was
made in Hong Kong in the 70s and measures 250inin, so its scale
is 1:15. It is made of plastic and coloured in olive green. The
front screen can be folded down onto the bonnet. Behind the front
seats is mounted a large battery-operated machine gun with flashing
light and sound. 'UN Army' stickers have been applicated on the
sides and bonnet. A rather curious toy, but surely not a bad one.
(A 'UN Army' would please some hawks in regard to Bosnia. Ed).
2) NOCH:
the smallest Thing comes from this German maker of models intended
as railway accessories. Entirely made of solid rubber, it measures
17mm, so its scale is 1:220. Though being so small, this is a
good model with very good detail paintings of the closed roof,
wheel, tyres, lights and bumpers. Still available in various colours.
3) FALLER:
in the series Hit Car in the 70s there was a small, 1:70 scale
(57mm) model of an open Thing with cut-out doors and folded screen.
The body is made of plastic, the baseplate is diecast. A nice
model, spoiled, however, by the horrible whizzwheels.
4) AURORA, USA:
a kind of Cal-Look Thing with long bonnet and without bumpers.
This was a plastic model for electric roadways made around 1980.
It bad a nod blue plastic body with white closed roof and glazing.
A neat reproduction with details printed in silver and red. Measuring
66mm, the scale was about 1:60.
5) STROMBECKER, USA:
this was a very simple toy made of smooth plastic. It consisted
of a one-piece body coloured in blue and a baseplate with incorporated
bumpers and interior. No glazing. The body shape is not bad, but
the whole thing looked (and indeed it was) cheap. It measured
140mm, so the scale was 1:28. Like the Aurora and the CH model,
this toy had the huge rear lights typical of the US version of
The Thing.
6) WIKING # 39 & 40:
issued in 1972, these were excellent models of a Thing in 1:90
scale (length: 43mm). The body shape was excellent and even the
interior sufficiency detailed. Versions with open or closed roof
existed in various colours. Especially nice are the recent post-office
version and the dark blue THW (Technisches Hilfswerk) model with
two blue lights on the closed roof.
7) C & D: German silver model in 1:90 scale;
this was a copy of the above mentioned Wiking type 181.
8) FERRERO:
one of my favourite models: in the early 80s this Italian maker
decided to include model cars within their Kinder Surprise Eggs.
Well, these were scaled-down Wiking copies made in Hong Kong by
Crown Toys for Ferrero. All in all 29 (!) Wiking copies were made,
four of them representing VWs. The scaled down Thing measured
39mm, so its scale was 1:102. Otherwise it was identical to the
Wiking model. Available only in military green with open roof.
Quite rare today.
9) SIKU:
between 1976 and 1984 this maker from Lüdenscheid in Germany
had a few really nice Things in the range. These were good diecast
models that measured 67mm ("trailer hitch not included),
so the scale was 1:60. Like many other Sikus the body shape was
very good, however, the plastic wheels spoiled the overall aspect
a little. All models had a sufficiently detailed plastic interior
and the front screen could be folded down onto the bonnet. The
listed variations are known:
# 1032: Thing in yellow
or black, without roof.
# 1332: Thing in military livery. This one was available in light
olive and had two antennae made of plastic mounted at the rear.
Also a closed roof was supplied.
# 1333: this was called
Beach car, available in white or orange. It had stripes on the
bonnet, closed roof and dinghy with two paddles.
# 1335: fire car in red
with closed roof in black on which there was mounted a chromed
siren and two blue lights. Further features included a search
light on the right side and two antennas.
10) BRINQUEDOS REI:
in the 80s this Brazilian @maker bought the old Siku moulds and
produced various Things in 1:60 scale. Among these there were
the basic version without roof, the military version and the one
with a rubber dinghy on the roof. The models in my collection
are all high quality products and the only way to know if these
are original Sikus or not is to look at the baseplate on which
is clearly stated that the models come from Brazil.
11) POLISTIL:
in 1978 this famous Italian model car maker presented the first
1:43 scale diecast model of a Thing. Though I lived for many years
in Italy, I never quite understood the numbering system used by
Politoys for this model. On the baseplate it is stated to be #
EL 73, but on the boxes it is called CE 41. Polistil's Pescaccia
(this was the Italian name for the type 181) was a really good
diecast model that measured 88mm. Unfortunately the closed roof
was part of the casting and not (as on the Beetle convertible
by the same maker) a separate plastic casting. It is interesting
that in its first year this model had no glazing and it had fixed
doors. From 1979 on, on the other hand, the front doors could
be opened and glazing was supplied. Also' the first models did
not have clear lenses for the front lights that were on the later
models. Some Pescaccias had a roof rack with luggage, others also
had a spare wheel on their bonnets. The box design for the later
models was changed too. The production of the Pescaccia was stopped
in the mid 1980s. Many colours were available, for example red,
beige, desert yellow or blue.
12) IDEAL: this was a fairly good model made in
Macao some years ago. It was a plastic toy made of plastic and
supplied with a pull back motor. It had a closed roof, a spare
wheel mounted on the bonnet and American tail lights. Measuring
76mm, its scale was 1:52.
13) MONOFÉ:
this 1:43 scale metal kit of a Thing was announced in 1993, but
only in 1995 could I manage to find it. Two versions exist, the
only differences are at the rear sides of the car: engine louvres,
for the older and large air intakes for the newer one. Both kits
consist of 25 parts (excluding screws), only the tyres, lenses
and the windshield are not made of metal. All in all these German
kits are not up to modern standards. The casting is a bit crude,
no photoetched parts, the folded roof is wrong and filler caps,
mirrors or sun visors will be searched for in vain. Also, I was
not pleased when I noticed that Monofé's Things are rip-offs
from the 17 year old Polistil models.
14) Wiking 1:40 scale:
I decided to conclude this article with the rarest of all models
of the Thing. Yes, Wiking did produce a VW 181 in 1:40 scale,
but the model unfortunately remained a one off. As far as I know,
the photos that you see here have never been published before
in a model car magazine or in any book. They show the best big-scale
model Wiking ever made; it even has two mirrors, sun visors, an
accurate reproduction of the dashboard including the passengers
handle and an excellent folded roof.
For such an 'exotic.' car it is astonishing that so many models and toys in all sizes have been made of The Thing. Indeed good models of this car exist in all popular scales. Unfortunately, however, no-one ever made a nice 1:24 scale plastic kit. How about Tamiya or Hasegawa, which both have proved in recent times to be able to create excellent kits of VW models?
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