Bennyg

Looking forward to seeing how it goes. Cheers. Ben

Fantastic news! Cheers Ben.

It was that colour before I ended up with it. When it was delivered to Australia in 1966, It was originally red cab and chassis. Engine 711, Quadbox, single drive. Mechanically restored, cosmetics, not yet. Cheers Ben

I just ordered one from EBay. Chasing down Fendt nature green now. I think I’ll use Tamiya bright red for the wheels, Tamiya German grey for the grey areas, and Tamiya semigloss and flat black. cheers Ben

I own a 1:1 Australian delivered 1966 Mack B61. In my research, I have found that Mack B Models had a variety of chassis options. My B61 has the same chassis seen on the 1/25 First Gear Mack B61. I noted others have a chassis like that found in the ERTL Mack DM600 kit, the chassis has a bit of a “fish belly” shape. We could “kit bash”, use the DM600, shorten or extend chassis rails, utiles single drive or use the heavier rear from the DM600, modify engines etc.. I’m just happy to get a base kit. My rig Cheers Ben.

Very nice! Had a look at YouTube to see more on them. I want one. Ben

That’s great news. I assumed ans per my previous post that AMT Round2 were ant the very least looking at the 1/1 that the First Gear B61 was based off. Obviously, being a plastic kit, we can assume the chassis will be similar to ones in their other kits. The first gear rails are solid. I’ve got a 1/25 first gear that I acquired off eBay. It’s got parts missing and it’s pulled apart. The plan was to rebuild it with aftermarket parts and some ERTL pieces such as the engine, battery boxes and Auslowe fuel and air tanks. cheers Ben

This AMT future release means a lot to me as I own a 1:1 Mack B61. Mine is a 1966 model (last year of production) with a 711 thermodyne, quadruplex gearbox, single drive. Honestly, regarding the integrated sleeper version, I would prefer the aftermarket look after that. Let AMT get the fundamental truck “right”. I’m going to have to use Auslowe aftermarket parts to make an accurate version of Australian versions I’m planning. There’s a few engine options. In my opinion, a 711 thermodyne with a quad box would be ideal. The engine is likely a 673 thermodyne which I believe were more common earlier on in the production run which is what I believe the model is likely to be based on. The set up in the provided picture looks very similar to the First Gear Mack. They’re likely scanning and using the same truck it was based on from what I can tell in the pictures. (See pictures) The options are endless. Some B61 versions even had a DM600 like “fishbelly” shaped chassis. Hopefully they don’t give us that version as we didn’t get them in Australia, but if you want to make that version you could simply use a DM600 chassis. Things I’d like to see AMT do with this project would be separate spider wheels from the rims. Also, have the dash multiple piece so it can be made right hand drive (although the Australian aftermarket will definitely sort that). I’ll get 2 initially, one to build out of the box and the second will be made to my real 1:1 spec in my granddad’s Mack B61 colours/livery. Cheers Ben

This is the best modelling news I’ve seen since the LoneStar got done. Cheers Ben

I really thought Tamiya would’ve got the Ferrari licence back by now. Hopefully we see current Ferraris produced by Aoshima such as the 499P. cheers Ben

Keen to see this progress. Ben

Very nice! Life the F model Macks as as well. Cheers Ben

https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Australian_Army_Mack_Truck.JPG info and a picture. cheers Ben

I’m looking forward to the Lamborghini. They’ve even tooled LHD and RHD windscreen wipers. Ben

A bit more if an idea of how it’s to look. Cheers Ben