Having started this FALLER – Aurora comparison test many months ago with a German car (Porsche 904), then going to an Italian car (Ferrari GTO), before arriving at a British car (Jaguar XK-E), it completes the circle to come back to where we started and finish off with another German car; i.e. the Volkswagen Beetle. It would have been fun to throw an American car into the mix somewhere, but as it happens, FALLER’s only American car was the Cadillac; one which Aurora never chose to model.

The full scale Volkswagen Beetle had an odd birth, certainly, with the joining of the engineering brilliance of Ferdinand Porsche and the nationally decreed financing of Adolph Hitler. I think its fair to say that the Volkswagen (“peoples car”) exceeded the expectations of both, and while there have been many variations on the theme, the original air cooled, rear engine “Beetle” has not only been the most numerous, but also the most enduring, endearing, and globally recognized of the lot.

In our favorite “scale,” and powered by one or another of the popular slot car motors, the Beetle was first modeled by FALLER, then a few years later by Aurora. Some might say that the Aurora inspiration was closely connected to the popular movies of the era, starring one “Herbie the Love Bug.” I would note, however, that by that point in time (the mid 60’s) the Volkswagen Beetle had so ingrained itself into the average American lifestyle that it didn’t really need a pop movie hit to demand a representation by the HO slot racers of the day. Keeping in mind that the Beetle cohabitated the streets of the 60’s with Muscle Cars, Super Cars and “full size” (really over-size) American luxury sedans, it had acquired a kind of anti-car status. Far less expensive, far less powerful and certainly not “muscular” in appearance, the VW stood out on the streets of America. With its air-cooling fan spinning noisily, it even sounded different from the other cars (Corvairs and the occasional Porsche 356 aside). If neither Super nor Muscular, the Beetle was certainly “cute,” no doubt one of the first cars (the Nash Metropolitan comes to mind too) to have this label so lovingly attached.

Other Slot VW’s

After the First Thunderjet Epoch there were other VW’s making their way around the slot tracks of the world, most esp. (see AFX) the Beetle derivative “Baja Bug,” and the Kublewagen derivative “Volkswagen Thing.” These were followed in 2nd Thunderjet Epoch (which we presently enjoy) by several lovely Bauer Bugs, including the convertible (Cabrio) you see pictured here. Bauer is an interesting phenomenon, combining the FALLER-like body designs with an authentic Thunderjet motor/chassis. VW fanatics please note that Bauer has done a Type 3 Variant, numerous Karmann Ghias, a Herbie replica and “top-up” Cabrio in addition to the cars shown here.

Examples from The Collection

I must apologize for the VW Beetles in my collection since the Aurora example was well raced by both myself and my kids (back when they were kids), and seems to have lost one end of both the front and rear bumper. Since it was never cut, sanded, slammed or modified in an intentional way, however, it has retained its original Aurora lines. The FALLER you see here is really not a FALLER at all, but a Chris Mullis (HO Detroit) resin cast of a FALLER VW. Those of you familiar with the work of Chris Mullis know that one of his reproductions is as close as you can come to “the real thing,” and I hope you find that close enough for this comparison today (HO Wolfsburg by HO Detroit)! Some of the “real” FALLER Beetles had chrome bumpers, while others (cost reduced?) had silver painted bumpers, whereas this example has no chrome or silver at all . . . yet otherwise it’s quite authentic!

Taking Sides

That said . . . looking at both cars from the side we see that they are almost exactly the same length overall, yet the slightly shorter wheelbase of the FALLER motor/chassis seems to give a better (more accurate) front/rear overhang as shown by the curvature of the fenders (front and rear). Both companies have captured the overall shape of the body quite accurately with a slight advantage to FALLER, again mostly due to the shorter wheelbase on their Aurora-copy motor/chassis. Aurora picks up a point by including the door handles (slightly oversize as they are), but FALLER takes one for giving a rather more realistic depth to the running boards. FALLER also has a better arc to the main central bodyline curve and a more accurate shape of the rear side windows. Maybe its just my example, but the Aurora has a fine side window on the right side of the car, and a rather odd shaped one on the left! Perhaps we should just let that aspect go for the moment. I also prefer the look of the FALLER wheels, but since they are really no more accurate than the stock Aurora wheels, I can’t give out wheel points to either brand! Side pillars are also much too thick on both the FALLER and the Aurora, a common trait of almost all cars in the First Thunderjet Epoch. While the FALLERs are perhaps not quite so thick as the Auroras, I’d be hard pressed to give either one “accuracy points” on their pillars! All of which totals out to 3 points for FALLER vs. 1 for Aurora.

Front View

Walking around to the front of both cars now, we see that overall profile of the body and the shapes of the front windscreens are almost identical. From looking at photos of the 1:1 Beetles, I would have to say that both companies got this view spot on. Aurora picks up points for a very legible “VW” emblem on the top of the hood, whereas the FALLER example is blank, and additional points for including the windscreen wipers which FALLER omits. The FALLER does have nicely textured headlights whereas the Auroras seem to be rather “fuzzy on the edges” silver blobs. FALLER has also included the lower “Wolfsburg” badge (Aurora did not), ditto the front air vents near the bumper. Sorting that all out, that’s 2 points for Aurora, 3 for FALLER. So that’s a slight advantage FALLER on the front view.

From the Back

The rear view overall shape is good on both examples, but the details play out quite differently. The rear window is slightly smaller on the FALLER, yet doesn’t look “wrong” on the larger Aurora example. I know VW changed the size of the rear windows on its full-scale cars, so possibly the FALLER and Aurora VW’s were modeled after different model year cars. Below the rear window we have the engine vents, and Auroras are much deeper and better defined than the FALLER example. Size and number of vents look right on both cars, yet the Aurora VW’s vents are definitely more convincing! The main trunk bulge is more accurate on the FALLER, but not bad on the Aurora whereas the license plate lights look completely different. Possibly the German plate light is configured differently from the American (export) version, so I can’t really give points to either side on this one. It is interesting to note that the actual shape of the plate is much more German on both cars, i.e. more square and less rectangular as in the practice in the U.S. FALLER takes the points for accurately textured tail light lens and rear bumper, whereas the Aurora examples of each are completely flat. Both companies seem to have gotten the shape of the trunk lid exactly right! Back view totals then give Aurora 1 point (great vents!) and FALLER 2.

Topping It Off!

Climbing up the stairs of our scale ladder, we have a view of the Beetles from the top. Here we have another example of the FALLER wheelbase advantage as explored in the side view (above). The Aurora VW just looks a bit too long and skinny when compared to the FALLER car. Another way of saying the same thing, really, is that the Aurora is a bit too “flat” in its contours, whereas the FALLER has the proper “rounded” shapes of the 1:1 VW Beetle. The Aurora has the panel lines for the sunroof, but since this was an option on Beetles, I can’t take any points away from FALLER for not showing one! Front side signal lights (on the tops of the front fenders) are simple “blobs” for both brands, with FALLERs perhaps a tad more accurate, but not enough so to earn them a point for it. Finally, I must say I was never too happy about the little flowers Aurora decided to plant on the top and front hood of its Beetle. If they were doing it to be “cute” then I must submit that the VW Beetle is certainly cute enough without them, and they just succeed in making the car look tacky! I’m sure my ELO (East Lift Off) on a paper towel would clean them off! Points wise, then, I would have to say 1 for FALLER and 0 for Aurora, and that’s on general body shape only. No points on for sunroof, no points off for the flowers, but overall a fairly good showing for an American company (Aurora) with a German car.

Bottoms Up!

Finally we come to that obligatory bottom view, whereupon we find that neither car looks anything at all like the 1:1 VW Beetle, yet both bear an uncanny resemblance to the ThunderJet 500. Well, of course, the Aurora IS the Thunderjet 500, though I have always thought the Slim-Line version would have been more appropriate for the Beetle. Not only would it have been smaller, it would also have been scale-under powered, . . . and rightly so! The 1200cc’s of these early Beetles would be an accurate subject for the under powered Slim Line! The FALLER is a copy of the ThunderJet, but from the looks of these pickup shoes, this FALLER example has very few kilometers on its wheels! Regardless, I have yet to assign points based on the underside, esp. since this is really a comparison of body modeling, and not the motor/chassis . . . an no intention to start now!

Adding Up the Points
Aurora /Faller
Side View 1/ 3
Front View 2 /3
Back View 1 /2
Top View 0/ 1
Total 4 /9

In conclusion, the FALLER wins the battle of the VW’s by a healthy margin, yet Aurora does score some points and probably sold more of the little Beetle slot cars than FALLER did anyway!

Taking that and going back to the beginning of this series, we see that FALLER and Aurora tied in the first competition with the Porsche 904. Essentially, Aurora did the racing version of the Porsche 904, FALLER the street (road) car, and each had the same number of credits and debits at the end of the day. When it came time for the Ferrari GTO, however, the tables were turned with Aurora coming out on top. Not that the ThunderJet Ferrari GTO was without a few problems and oversights, . . . its just that the FALLER was so much worse! So bad, in fact, that you really had to look at it carefully (and for quite some time!) to determine that it was trying to represent a Ferrari GTO! When it came time for the Jaguar, FALLER took that victory too, though not by a tremendous margin. It was pretty close, really, with Aurora losing out (mainly) by failing to capture the sleek lines of the E-Type, and rendering it rather “chubby” instead. As we have just seen, FALLER won the battle of the VW Beetles to end our Aurora – FALLER comparison. That leaves the final score at Aurora one, FALLER two and one tie game.

NOTE: The photos that accompany this article include several Volkswagens by Bauer; only one of them a Beetle, and the VW MicroBus by FALLER. Just a little extra for the “HO” VW enthusiasts out there!