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Help with 'BJ and The Bear' project


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I need some help from those who know big rig kits.  I have the old AMT BJ and the Bear Kenworth cab kit, but I'd like to find a suitable van to add to it.  What kits are available (OOP or otherwise) that are reasonably accurate to the one used in the show?  Any help is appreciated!


Mark

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Mark, here is a pic of one of the trailers used in the show, and even though I zoomed into the pic to the max of 500%, I can't make out the name of the trailer manufacturer on the front lower corner of the trailer, even though it appears to start with a "B". If you notice, there is not a reefer on this one, it had been removed and this trailer had been used by Universal Studios for a storage trailer. 

That and the next pic are from a site you may find helpful in your build: http://www.tvtruckin.com/index.html 

The truck is owned by Paul Sagehorn, who also owns an original "Movin On" Kenworth. 

As Doug stated, and I'm not sure which trailer he is referring to, AMT/ERTL made both a Great Dane 40 foot reefer with a correct era Thermo King reefer unit and also a Freuhauf 40 foot reefer that I believe also had a correct era Thermo King unit as well. This is another pic I just found in one of the research files I have on the truck, it's Paul Sagehorn's rebuild with the reefer unit installed. 

Also, just as a little FYI, if your kit is the original BJ and the Bear kit, this shouldn't be an issue, but if the kit is a regular AMT Kenworth K100 Aerodyne, the frame will need to be shortened to have the correct look to the original truck. I've never had the original BJ and the Bear kit, but it should have the correct frame for the original. I'm actually working on a custom version of this right now using a longer frame from a Papa Truck kit because I like the long frame look. This was a mock up I did of one of the regular non BJ and the Bear kits, and if you would like I can measure this frame's length so you can make sure you have a true BJ and the Bear kit and not one of these regular kits with some decals and a box, or your truck will end up looking like this:

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That trailer would be a Brown. The reefer was a dummy unit. And the BJ and the bear kit is identical to the regular k100 aerodyne just different t box art and decals. Has the detroit allison engine tranny combo the real BJ and the bear truk had a Cummins ntc  400 and 13 spd fuller. Ertls great dane would be the closest thing i 1/25 scale.

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That trailer would be a Brown. The reefer was a dummy unit. And the BJ and the bear kit is identical to the regular k100 aerodyne just different t box art and decals. Has the detroit allison engine tranny combo the real BJ and the bear truk had a Cummins ntc  400 and 13 spd fuller. Ertls great dane would be the closest thing i 1/25 scale.

So even the kit that is supposed to replicate the real truck will end up looking like my custom mock up then? That really doesn't surprise me though, the "Movin On" Kenworth kit doesn't yield an accurate replica of the real truck either. 

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So even the kit that is supposed to replicate the real truck will end up looking like my custom mock up then? That really doesn't surprise me though, the "Movin On" Kenworth kit doesn't yield an accurate replica of the real truck either. 

Correct just shorten the frame and swap in a cummins and fuller.

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The Ertl Great Dane reefer trailer has the right style Thermo King unit, a similar one can also be found on the Heller reefer trailer, the AMT Fruehauf reefer trailer has a Thermo King unit but it's an older style.
So the Ertl Great Dane is a good choice to start from, it has a side door as the BJ trailer had, it's a bit too far back tho' so to be correct it has to be moved forward slightly,  the vertical side ribs on the box sides are too few but can be fixed with Evergreen half round bar, the reefer unit also has to be corrected some as the control panel on the kit unit is on the wrong side.

Edited by Force
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That's better than me, I never even heard of Brown trailers! :lol:

Not to hijack too much, but I find Brown's history interesting. Way back in the day, some of the largest trucking companies thought it would be a good idea to build their own trucks instead of buying them from an independent manufacturer. Consolidated Freightways built Freightliners, and Associated Transport built Browns. Brown built both trucks (based off of a Corbitt) and trailers. By the mid 50's they decided it was better just to buy trucks from a manufacturer, so Brown stopped making trucks, however their trailers were pretty decent, so they continued to make them, but began selling them to the public to avoid legal issues.

 

I only know all of this because my Grandfather's first truck was a Brown that he bought used (retired Associated Transport truck). The trucks are very rare today, but there are still a bunch of trailers floating around since they were made for many more years.

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The above posts are one of the biggest reasons why this forum is so great. There is an endless amount of knowledge out there and a ready willingness to share it. AWESOME!

Exactly on point redneckrigger (great screen name by the way).  Wow, folks- what a great bunch of info; I'll now be on the lookout for the ERTL Grate Dane Reefer.

 

M

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