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Moebius ProStar - Test Shots


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Y'know, I don't have quite the commercial expertise that others on this forum do; but for my money, these just have to be some of the greatest rigs ever in plastic.

Take out the 'some of' and I agree 100%. B) The LoneStar changed the game as far as 1:25 Class 8 tractor kits go. This ProStar should continue that.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Our old car kiits are not produced from factory drawings - We go out and measure cars and photograph them with size references in the photos. The factory develops 3D files and tooling mock-ups from photos.

Our two big trucks were develooped from CAD files provided by Navistar.

Finding and measuring an old Truck is a lot more complicated than sending a set of CAD files over the internet.

I'm not ruling out old truck kits - just explaining that it's not a simple or fast process.

We have some more big truck projects in mind.

Let us get ProStar done and on store shelves and then we'll see where we're going..

ProStar tooling is finished - we're in process of finishing packaging, Instructions and decals now. I'd like to think that kits will be in stores Before the end of April. I'd like to say that they'll be available earlier but I don't want to over-promise..

Dave

Dave,

In my opinion, the focus of of modern US trucks & trailers is the only way to go. Given modern technology, CAD files, 3D modeling software, CNC milling milling machines and so on, the ability to work with the complex curves & profiles of the modern US has become relatively easy. From reading thru all these posts, comments & and answers the issues with the tooling were more related to the "mechanics" of the truck & not the curves.

With just how high Moebius has raised the bar with the Lonestar, Prostar & a true 53' reefer trailer, lets continue the path. Moebius has proven just what is possible with modern tech, so why ask them to go backwards? On ward & upward the more modern the better. I say yes to a US Mack Titan or Granite, KW T-700, T-908, T-2000, or even a F brand. The only addition I ask to have is a day cab option or a complete day cab version of each.

Although the older & vintage trucks are a great topic, and the resin casters are slowly working there way thru so many of the possible topics. In the current world of high tech come high cost comes the need to maximize ROI with in the time constraints set forth by those in charge. While at the same time turning out a product that will be marketable to a wide range of model builders across the age spectrum.

We need to keep in mind that the CAD files that are supplied by the OEM & ability to work with them in our current world will always out weigh the coast per man hour to manually measure & document a vintage truck, and then having to re-design it in CAD. We will also benefit from the use of the factory CAD files in the resulting kit will be as close to a miniature of the actual as our wildest dreams.

Ap40, a true fan & buyer of Moebius models!

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Dave,

In my opinion, the focus of of modern US trucks & trailers is the only way to go. Given modern technology, CAD files, 3D modeling software, CNC milling milling machines and so on, the ability to work with the complex curves & profiles of the modern US has become relatively easy. From reading thru all these posts, comments & and answers the issues with the tooling were more related to the "mechanics" of the truck & not the curves.

With just how high Moebius has raised the bar with the Lonestar, Prostar & a true 53' reefer trailer, lets continue the path. Moebius has proven just what is possible with modern tech, so why ask them to go backwards? On ward & upward the more modern the better. I say yes to a US Mack Titan or Granite, KW T-700, T-908, T-2000, or even a F brand. The only addition I ask to have is a day cab option or a complete day cab version of each.

Although the older & vintage trucks are a great topic, and the resin casters are slowly working there way thru so many of the possible topics. In the current world of high tech come high cost comes the need to maximize ROI with in the time constraints set forth by those in charge. While at the same time turning out a product that will be marketable to a wide range of model builders across the age spectrum.

We need to keep in mind that the CAD files that are supplied by the OEM & ability to work with them in our current world will always out weigh the coast per man hour to manually measure & document a vintage truck, and then having to re-design it in CAD. We will also benefit from the use of the factory CAD files in the resulting kit will be as close to a miniature of the actual as our wildest dreams.

Ap40, a true fan & buyer of Moebius models!

Lets just hope all the complaining and whining about when the kit was going to be released, translates in to sales figures that will justify the investment made of this kit and future kits, regardless of the subject matter.

The bottom line is, good sales equal more new truck kits.

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  • 4 weeks later...

My friend is getting in touch with Jan (CTM) to find out if he will supply him with parts. If he will, I'll be placing an order for a few sets. You can buy a set off me. I won't charge you any more than what i have to pay and shipping should be cheap as It can be sent in a padded envelope.

CTM finally got back with my friend in England. They are not able to supply him with the photo etch parts so I am not able to get any to distribute as well. Sorry it has taken so long to let everyone know.

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  • 7 years later...

Bit of a bump, but I just picked up this kit recently and I have been looking at how other people have built it up. I see that some have lengthened the frame, and I know that the real truck had a range of wheelbases for this cab/drive configuration. Does anyone know what the original kit wheelbase is (approximately) supposed to be?

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10 hours ago, Jordan White said:

Bit of a bump, but I just picked up this kit recently and I have been looking at how other people have built it up. I see that some have lengthened the frame, and I know that the real truck had a range of wheelbases for this cab/drive configuration. Does anyone know what the original kit wheelbase is (approximately) supposed to be?

A standard ProStar (or LT) 6x4 72" Sleeper is a 252" WB. 

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6 hours ago, Jordan White said:

I know that 252" is the top end of the wheelbase for that configuration, but I know some people were saying that the kit seemed short which is why I was wondering what the kit itself scales out to.

If anything it should be a little longer than a normal ProStar because it's based on a prototype setup with a longer cowl/hood configuration that never existed in real life, plus it shares 85% of the contents with the LoneStar kit and that's a 262" WB.

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3 hours ago, niteowl7710 said:

If anything it should be a little longer than a normal ProStar because it's based on a prototype setup with a longer cowl/hood configuration that never existed in real life, plus it shares 85% of the contents with the LoneStar kit and that's a 262" WB.

I had never noticed this until you pointed it out. Was this a matter of making the hood fit an existing kit set up or was there an actual 1:1 design like the kit?

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1 hour ago, DRIPTROIT 71 said:

I had never noticed this until you pointed it out. Was this a matter of making the hood fit an existing kit set up or was there an actual 1:1 design like the kit?

The original ProStar demonstrator had the longer cowl/hood combination to fix the big 13L MaxxForce engine. In the end they decided not to offer that engine in a primarily fleet application truck, and a lot of buyers chose to put Cummins power in as well which also didn't need the extra space. The MaxxForce was such a hot mess of an engine platform there was a class action lawsuit that International "lost" (that famous we're paying a pile of money, but admit no wrongdoing thing).

The original ProStar test shots also had the prototype front bumper setup, and that was a fun little debate between truck modelers (particularly those of us actually driving 1:1 ProStars) and Moebius, since obviously they had factory plans and all of that - but that ProStar they were making wasn't an actual production version. Fixing the cowl/hood would have required a bunch of retooling that wouldn't have been feasible to the body, not to mention tooling up the slightly smaller 11L block.

Edited by niteowl7710
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19 minutes ago, niteowl7710 said:

The original ProStar demonstrator had the longer cowl/hood combination to fix the big 13L MaxxForce engine. In the end they decided not to offer that engine in a primarily fleet application truck, and a lot of buyers chose to put Cummins power in as well which also didn't need the extra space. The MaxxForce was such a hot mess of an engine platform there was a class action lawsuit that International "lost" (that famous we're paying a pile of money, but admit no wrongdoing thing).

The original ProStar test shots also had the prototype front bumper setup, and that was a fun little debate between truck modelers (particularly those of us actually driving 1:1 ProStars) and Moebius, since obviously they had factory plans and all of that - but that ProStar they were making wasn't an actual production version. Fixing the cowl/hood would have required a bunch of retooling that wouldn't have been feasible to the body, not to mention tooling up the slightly smaller 11L block.

Great information! Thanks! I usually build old stuff, have came close to picking one of these up before. I think that I will be pass now. 

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1 hour ago, niteowl7710 said:

The original ProStar demonstrator had the longer cowl/hood combination to fix the big 13L MaxxForce engine. In the end they decided not to offer that engine in a primarily fleet application truck, and a lot of buyers chose to put Cummins power in as well which also didn't need the extra space. The MaxxForce was such a hot mess of an engine platform there was a class action lawsuit that International "lost" (that famous we're paying a pile of money, but admit no wrongdoing thing).

The original ProStar test shots also had the prototype front bumper setup, and that was a fun little debate between truck modelers (particularly those of us actually driving 1:1 ProStars) and Moebius, since obviously they had factory plans and all of that - but that ProStar they were making wasn't an actual production version. Fixing the cowl/hood would have required a bunch of retooling that wouldn't have been feasible to the body, not to mention tooling up the slightly smaller 11L block.

Really interesting information, much of which I wasn’t aware. I missed the fact of the longer cowl/hood vs. the production model. Great info. 

I was under the impression that both Moebius Internationals were tooled with the Maxxforce 15, not the 13. But, is that incorrect?

I’ve read that the 1:1 Maxxforce 15 never made it into the production Lonestar due to cooling issues with the radiator design, and it didn’t last very long in production in other trucks like the Prostar, due to other numerous issues. But, I thought they had mild success with the 13L version, thus I’d actually prefer if Moebius had used the 13L engine in their kits.

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41 minutes ago, vincen47 said:

Really interesting information, much of which I wasn’t aware. I missed the fact of the longer cowl/hood vs. the production model. Great info. 

I was under the impression that both Moebius Internationals were tooled with the Maxxforce 15, not the 13. But, is that incorrect?

I’ve read that the 1:1 Maxxforce 15 never made it into the production Lonestar due to cooling issues with the radiator design, and it didn’t last very long in production in other trucks like the Prostar, due to other numerous issues. But, I thought they had mild success with the 13L version, thus I’d actually prefer if Moebius had used the 13L engine in their kits.

I'd have to look at the kit again to remember which engine they put in. Having owned a LoneStar and driven about a half dozen ProStar/LTs I can't unsee the differences between the kits and real life..

But the LoneStar they made was a complete top of the line truck show demonstrator that had the Rosewood Hardwood floor interior with the full fold down couch. I've never personally seen that interior combination on a 1:1 truck outside that one I sat in at MATS in Louisville. It was something like a $20k upgrade over the base price.

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I agree, now I’m not going to be able to unsee the differences either.

It seems that the updated 2011 Prostar+ version with a 125” bbc and 15L MF did make it into production, but the actual number of trucks that rolled off the assembly line as a “+” model with a 15L may have been really small. Otherwise, I may look into modifying the kit into a 122” bbc whenever I get around to building it. I’ll look up some more info, including trying to see if any of them are up for sale on Truckpaper - a good source of real life truck info, as you can search by make, model, engine, etc.

Edited by vincen47
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4 hours ago, vincen47 said:

I agree, now I’m not going to be able to unsee the differences either.

It seems that the updated 2011 Prostar+ version with a 125” bbc and 15L MF did make it into production, but the actual number of trucks that rolled off the assembly line as a “+” model with a 15L may have been really small. Otherwise, I may look into modifying the kit into a 122” bbc whenever I get around to building it. I’ll look up some more info, including trying to see if any of them are up for sale on Truckpaper - a good source of real life truck info, as you can search by make, model, engine, etc.

I’m like you Vince. I never noticed it before but now I can’t unsee it. I did find a few 1:1s. The first 2 are listed as 2012 models. If you Google search Maxxforce 15 Prostar a few come up, even a couple for sale.

5BD50210-285E-4033-BCD0-CA6538EF3D03.png.4a07faacdc6c1c15c88a32c362d75f77.png
4EFB2654-A1E4-4357-9EC9-1800AE68E069.png.e08c90a50a09bfcdc8cbd2c526179bf8.png

BF6D3BDE-4B0D-4CF6-A0D1-02062AFFA61B.png.4d61a9d5f1902064d56fbd19c14b1a1f.png

Edited by DRIPTROIT 71
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8 hours ago, DRIPTROIT 71 said:

I’m like you Vince. I never noticed it before but now I can’t unsee it. I did find a few 1:1s. The first 2 are listed as 2012 models. If you Google search Maxxforce 15 Prostar a few come up, even a couple for sale.

5BD50210-285E-4033-BCD0-CA6538EF3D03.png.4a07faacdc6c1c15c88a32c362d75f77.png
4EFB2654-A1E4-4357-9EC9-1800AE68E069.png.e08c90a50a09bfcdc8cbd2c526179bf8.png

BF6D3BDE-4B0D-4CF6-A0D1-02062AFFA61B.png.4d61a9d5f1902064d56fbd19c14b1a1f.png

Thanks for the photos. I’m glad James pointed this out.image.jpeg.2ee0f3a39567ec360dd92e2227e253b9.jpeg Here’s the evidently much more common 122” bbc, and the noticeable difference with how the hood is flush up against the door, lacking the extended cowl and upper lip on the hood. 

Interesting info, otherwise overlooked. Just another reason why this forum is so useful. Thanks guys!

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