Mods for Baja Bug by Soarpix

These are mods for the excellent Soarpix model at:

https://www.printables.com/model/191471-vw-beetle-convertible-baja-bug-cabriolet

The original model has no remixes in license, but his Thingiverse editions allow for such, so am hoping he doesn't mind the modified parts here. They are intended only to make his model easier to print for some. You will need most parts from the link above. Parts here are only mods I found useful in my making of this car.

Soarpix makes some great models and I've made a few for young friends. On my MK3S+ I have no AMS capability, but if you look at this model on Makerworld you'll see some excellent multi-colour makes. 

My biggest improvement was in printing the body at 0.1mm layer height and you'll notice the difference between my print and other makes here. The "stair stepping" is greatly reduced, although it might be an overnight print. Well worth it for me. I also used painted-on support, but you should have some experience doing this. You'll need to add extra support around the rear, where the tailpipe exits and around the outside of the fenders.

All other parts used 0.2mm layer height.

I printed the tyres in TPU, using 10% infill and 2 perimeters and one top/bottom wall. I found the white wall effect makes the tyre very stiff just on that side because of the extra walls and so did not use the white wall version. Reduce infill and walls to get a softer tire. I used 95A TPU.

Printing round items like axles and tail pipes horizontally is a challenge for FDM printing. I found the original axle fit too loose in original rim, and the rim fit loose into the TPU tyre;  and so I redesigned the rim's size and to be one part. The 2 colors are changed by layer height. I made the axle octagonal in profile and designed it to fit snugly into the rim; and the rim to fit snug in the tyre which can flex. The octagonal axle will rotate fine in the chassis. If you notice some "clicking" of the edges you can gently sand the edges. Test the chassis, axles and 4 tyres (press fit)  before gluing both RIMS onto the axle! You can verify the smoothness of the wheels and sand the axle if necessary.

The bottom (rug) on the seats used a tan brown filament and then I changed to dark brown (layer height color change)

I found the engine "holder" was too thin at the top and you can see PrusaSlicer could not render the top wall (bottom part in pic). I added 0.2mm of thickness and you'll see the top pic printed fine. I also found that the tail pipe would not fit onto the chassis pipe section since the chassis section became larger because it required support. So I made a new, larger tailpipe section. I also modified the steering wheel to print easier on its face. I flattened the engine bar slightly for ease of printing.

I may mod the seats so the speakers are a separate "drop in" part and so can stand out in black. Here I used a black, permanent marker to color.

For the engine, I did a black, color change on the top few layers to make the pulley/belt stand out.