Admittedly it's hard to get the curves of a VW just right when using square blocks. The back end should be rounded in three dimensions. But the use of the white wedges on the roof helps to soften things up a little. The model shown comes with grooved jumper plates but mine were non grooved. I prefer this as it gives a smoother look as if it really were canvas. The grooves make the pop-up look like it's built of bricks.
When I was younger I had friends that had a 23 window van. Those curved gallery windows were so cool that you hardly noticed the whopping 42 horsepower trotting along. That and the headlight bezels hitting your knees in the front seat. You could recreate the windowed look by replacing the white double cheese slopes with alternating white and clear single cheese. Some sort of accommodation and reworking would need to be made for the front roof piece to get the two forward most side gallery windows. (The rearmost side windows have no such additional windows). You'll still be shy about 6 windows though.
TLG lists the set as being worth $4.99 on the invoice. This seems way too low in my opinion. With 76 (+2 extra) parts this should be more like a $7.99 set. Several sellers have them listed on BrickOwl for about $18 each while the larger supply on Bricklink has dropped the average price to a little over $16. You can find it for lower if you are patient and snag it at the right time.
If you can, I would recommend making an order at LEGO.com or going to your nearest LEGO Brand Retail Store to get it free. If you're already planning on purchasing $75 worth of stuff then you'll get free shipping in the US and this little set. Definitely worth the purchase.
Of course you could build the bigger brother
as well. Find it at The Official LEGO Shop
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