Jim B Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 Great looking interior. I like the black & orange. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckyr Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 Canadian National Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 Yep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Can Am Garage Posted May 8, 2011 Author Share Posted May 8, 2011 A few more pieces and this will be done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Anderson Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 A few more pieces and this will be done. This project gets better with each passing day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwaltz1 Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 I was very, VERY lucky in that I was granted permission to bring home the Moebius International LoneStar kit that was on display at NNL East. Over the next week or so, I'll show you what's in the box. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QCDOC Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 Delivered On: Monday, 05/09/2011 at 1:25 P.M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Can Am Garage Posted May 10, 2011 Author Share Posted May 10, 2011 Mechanically, it's finished. I decided to go above and beyond and added a drop of black to the center of all the dots on the steps and deck plate. 500+ and I dang near went blind. For what it's worth, my shipment of LoneStars has arrived. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackinac359 Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 Mark, I agree! Why the kit manifacturers insist on putting the fuel tank part seams in visible locations is beyond me. The Revell of Germany Pete tanks are the worst for the seam location. Tim I'm not a regular truck builder, but I must say 2 things. First, this looks like an amazing kit. Second, why don't the manufacturers mold the fuel tank ends separately? There's always a huge seam where 2 chrome parts come together, and it's a royal pain to fix without stripping and re-chroming the whole assembly, or using Alclad, BMF, etc. There...my rant is done. I don't build trucks that often, but I feel for the guys that do because they spend a ton of time dealing with those needless seams, or settle for fuel tanks that have a big line through the ends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 Mark, I agree! Why the kit manifacturers insist on putting the fuel tank part seams in visible locations is beyond me. The Revell of Germany Pete tanks are the worst for the seam location. Tim I totally agree. It is very unseemly! Seriously, I do agree. I don't know why they cannot go to the slight effort to give us tanks with unmarred chrome. Might as well not chrome them if they're gonna run a glue seam down the middle of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 I guess what bothers me most is the solution is so simple. They could still mold the tank in halves (just be careful where the break is so it's less noticable from the side), and mold 2 Moon hubcap-like parts seperately to put on each end. It's not like they'd have to re-invent the molding process, and it would make a huge difference to the finished look of the kit when built as-molded. You and your stupid logic... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highway Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 I guess what bothers me most is the solution is so simple. They could still mold the tank in halves (just be careful where the break is so it's less noticable from the side), and mold 2 Moon hubcap-like parts seperately to put on each end. It's not like they'd have to re-invent the molding process, and it would make a huge difference to the finished look of the kit when built as-molded. You and your stupid logic... Harry, for Mark not being a truck builder, his logic is NOT stupid at all! Actually Mark, I forget which kits they are from AMT (come on Tim, help me out here! ), but there are at least a couple of the old AMT truck kits where they used the idea you mentioned. The tanks were done in four pieces, two halves and two end caps, somewhat similar to the real 1:1 units. There have been a couple of TV shows showing trucks being built, and they showed the 1:1 tanks being made from a rolled sheet of aluminum and then welded together, then the ends welded in place. If you can ever get a chance to see a tank on a 1:1 up close, you can see the weld seems on each end of them, they are rarely ever cleaned up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 The AMT Kenworth W925 kits, Alaskan hauler and K123 cabover kits all have four piece chrome fuel tanks. I use really nice, one piece, highly polished machined aluminum fuel tanks on my builds. Jamie Rahmoeller makes them. He's making two sets to my specs right now. One set for a Revell Kenworth cabover and one set for a IH Transtar. I wish I could get him to make them more often! They are gorgeous!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highway Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 Highway, the White Freightliner uses those fuel tanks. I don't know about any others. The AMT Kenworth W925 kits, Alaskan hauler and K123 cabover kits all have four piece chrome fuel tanks. Ok, so you guys aren't Tim, but I knew they were in some of my collection! Thanks guys! Also, that kinda got my memory fired up (that takes a while sometimes! ), and I think that the Peterbilt 352 cabover, Mack R (the one with square tanks on the box art but round tanks inside), and GMC General also have the four piece tanks. I'd look to make sure, but I'm just too lazy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highway Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 OK, now I just feel worse...knowing that they have made them better, then apparently forgot how. Yeah, pretty bad early 1970s technology is better than it is in 2011! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Metzner Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 (edited) I am well aware of the four piece fuel tanks in earlier truck kits however at some point choices get made to make some things in fewer parts.. Since there is really almost no way to see the seams in the tanks on the finished model without turning it upside down (Something that I don't do very often with a model as big as this one) we went with two piece tanks.. On the first test shots the air cleaners were only two parts with a seam right thru their tops - after a suggestion that those would be better with separate tops we did change them.... On the two first test shots that I built & painted I simply hit the tops of the air cleaners with a file and chrome foiled them - doing the same with the tanks would be pretty easy... If we do something with exposed fuel tanks in the future we may do something different on the part layout.. Dave Edited May 11, 2011 by Dave Metzner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 I am well aware of the four piece fuel tanks in earlier truck kits however at some point choices get made to make some things in fewer parts.. Since there is really almost no way to see the seams in the tanks on the finished model without turning it upside down (Something that I don't do very often with a model as big as this one) we went with two piece tanks.. On the first test shots the air cleaners were only two parts with a seam right thru their tops - after a suggestion that those would be better with separate tops we did change them.... On the two first test shots that I built & painted I simply hit the tops of the air cleaners with a file and chrome foiled them - doing the same with the tanks would be pretty easy... If we do something with exposed fuel tanks in the future we may do something different on the part layout.. Dave Well, now, Dave, you make a very good point there! In looking at the assembled chassis, I see you are right ~ the tank seams are not very noticeable if at all. You guys did a very good job of hiding the seams and making the best of the situation. And most models aren't going to be picked up that much, they're going to be viewed on a shelf. And, I appreciate that you'll look at a different treatment for any future products with more exposed tanks. I guess we sometimes get carried away with the "small picture" critiquing when we shouldn't lose sight of the "big picture." The seams may seem to be a big deal when the tanks are seen by themselves ... but when we look at the finished assembly ~ not such a big deal. Having said that, let me say once more - what a remarkable kit you've produced here! WOW! Just incredible. Thank you all so much for all the effort to bring such a spectacular kit to market! Hope it sells beyond your wildest dreams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 OK, now I just feel worse...knowing that they have made them better, then apparently forgot how. When you're tooling up a brand new model from the ground up, little details like that are what the manufacturers need to pay more attention to. Either they dropped the ball on that, or it was a matter of saving a few tooling bucks by simplifying the tanks into two pieces instead of four. I can't imagine the $$$ difference between two-part and four-part tanks would have been that great. Same deal with the molded-in lights along the cab bottom. Separate pieces would have been better than the builder trying to foil or paint each one without messing up the cab color, but doing them as part of the cab vs. separate pieces on the chrome tree probably saved them a few bucks. Good for them, bad for the customer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Metzner Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 (edited) Once more, as I said there are choices that are made in the design of any model... there comes a point when some "nice features" won't be added. That was the case with LoneStar and will be the case with the next kit we produce... To be perfectly honest when we started this project - almost 2 years ago - we looked at some of the newer kits that are on the market and followed their engineering practices for some parts including the fuel tanks. Yes we could have made the lights along the bottom edge of the cab as separate chrome pieces and we could have added separate chrome inserts for the hood sides, we could make separate tools for the red lenses and the amber lenses and four piece fuel tanks, separate tools for steer tires and drive tires and probably at least a half dozen other items that would have been nice ways to do things. We could make this 300 part kit into a 350 part kit pretty easily...(4 piece tanks - adds 4 parts - separate chrome parts at bottom of cab & sleeper adds 4 more pieces - lets add chrome inserts to the hood sides - 2 more parts - Now the 306 part kit is 316 parts!) I can keep adding neat features to this thing until it's way more than 350 parts... The fact is that some things just didn't get done as separate parts simply because we looked at the other kits on the market and tried to do something ALL NEW that would be able to compete with them at a reasonable retail price I think that we did that pretty well...If we dropped the ball here I'm sure we'll figure out how to pick it up on the next project or the project after that... Dave Edited May 11, 2011 by Dave Metzner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Can Am Garage Posted May 11, 2011 Author Share Posted May 11, 2011 The clear coat has now been polished (with a polishing pad), glazed with Meguiars professional Glaze and waxed with Meguiars professional Hi Tech Yellow Wax. I am now ready to finish it up and it should be finished before the end of the weekend which would make a less than a month spent building this beautiful truck kit. As I said yesterday, my shipment of LoneStars has arrived. FWIW, they're not all mine. Half of them are for others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 Once more, as I said there are choices that are made in the design of any model... there comes a point when some "nice features" won't be added. That was the case with LoneStar and will be the case with the next kit we produce... To be perfectly honest when we started this project - almost 2 years ago - we looked at some of the newer kits that are on the market and followed their engineering practices for some parts including the fuel tanks. Yes we could have made the lights along the bottom edge of the cab as separate chrome pieces and we could have added separate chrome inserts for the hood sides, we could make separate tools for the red lenses and the amber lenses and four piece fuel tanks, separate tools for steer tires and drive tires and probably at least a half dozen other items that would have been nice ways to do things. We could make this 300 part kit into a 350 part kit pretty easily...(4 piece tanks - adds 4 parts - separate chrome parts at bottom of cab & sleeper adds 4 more pieces - lets add chrome inserts to the hood sides - 2 more parts - Now the 306 part kit is 316 parts!) I can keep adding neat features to this thing until it's way more than 350 parts... The fact is that some things just didn't get done as separate parts simply because we looked at the other kits on the market and tried to do something ALL NEW that would be able to compete with them at a reasonable retail price I think that we did that pretty well...If we dropped the ball here I'm sure we'll figure out how to pick it up on the next project or the project after that... Dave We know that every kit is a compromise, the bottom line for any company is always $$$. That's not bad or evil, it's good business sense. Yeah, all the things you listed would have been cool. If nothing else, the separate fuel tank caps would have been welcomed by truck builders. How much it would have raised the retail price is debatable–if adding the details you listed did raise the price to the point where this kit would have to be priced significantly higher than the competition, then the question becomes, will it sell as a "premium" kit because of all the added detail... or will modelers look at the price and choke? Tough call for sure, but Moebius made the decisions they made and that's the end of the story. Like I've said in previous posts on the Hornet and the Chrysler 300 threads, I give Moebius huge credit for taking a chance and putting brand-new kits on the market, and for listening to modelers' input and actually reacting to it. Just the fact that this kit is being manufactured at all is a testament to Moebius and the people involved in its design and execution, so congratulations and all the credit in the world to Moebius. But separate fuel tank ends would really have been a nice touch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Anderson Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 With any model kit, no matter the complexity or lack thereof, there will ALWAYS be compromises. Keep in mind, folks, that every time we, or a model company, consider the notion of "just a few more parts" here or there, that can mean additional tooling, a new parts tree, and that means more cost, often considerably more cost. And, as already noted here in this thread, added cost in tooling directly translates to added retail price by the time it gets to us. Why is this? With a kit the size of the Lonstar, each parts tree you see is a separate tool, and in modern kit production, each separate parts tree means the use of an additional injection mold machine, and an additional person to operate it. Addtionally, even one more parts tree can mean a larger or deeper box, and that translates into high shipping costs (which are not inconsiderable these days). And even more, added parts mean more complexity in any model kit. It's wise to bear in mind here folks: We who are the readers and frequent posters on this and other model car message boards are not exactly "Joe Average" model builders or even kit buyers. What may well suit our tastes, whet our model building appetites, delight us with tons of tiny parts; may well (and this has happened!) drive away a pretty large market--those who can't or won't buy a particular kit when it even has the appearance of being overly complicated, or just by looking at a bazillion tiny little parts. As a former hobby shop owner, I can attest with absolute certainty that such has happened over the years. Just how many Accurate Miniatures McLaren kits get bought, and even more, how few really got built? With that example, I rest my case. This of course, is in response to the question of why no separate clearance lights. On that same subject, why stop with clearance lights? Why not separate plated door handles, separate plated scripts and badges? Why not separate, separate, separate, separate. This is a list and an argument that could go on Ad Infinitum it seems to me. Art Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackinac359 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 My comment about the visible seams was not aimed at any particular kit ('cept the Revell Los Angeles Peterbilt 359 based kits as that seam is the most noticeable - and the AMT Peterbilt 359/352 seams on the unplated plastic). The side seams are fixable on the LoneStar and Italeri tanks. On the LoneStar, the fuel tanks aren't visible unless you convert it to a daycab or omit the chassis fairings - and then you're going to have to do other modifications. Think about this.. a pesky seam is the only dislike noticed during building? What does that say for the kit? That says a LOT. A LOT of good things. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 My comment about the visible seams was not aimed at any particular kit ('cept the Revell Los Angeles Peterbilt 359 based kits as that seam is the most noticeable - and the AMT Peterbilt 359/352 seams on the unplated plastic). The side seams are fixable on the LoneStar and Italeri tanks. On the LoneStar, the fuel tanks aren't visible unless you convert it to a daycab or omit the chassis fairings - and then you're going to have to do other modifications. Think about this.. a pesky seam is the only dislike noticed during building? What does that say for the kit? That says a LOT. A LOT of good things. Tim Agreed! And, as I've said before ... it is a spectacular kit, with or without tank seams! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim B Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Mine arrived today from Model Express, and I am quite pleased with what I see in the box. I've been compairing it to some of my AMT & Revell kits, and, well, there really is no compairison. I am looking forward to building this kit this summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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