AMT Movin On Kenworth Announced

[Force]

Jerry didn't get the license plate right... there were no California plates on the trucks in season 1, the plate with number ZZF 541 is a blue Nevada plate in some early episodes of season 1, it was changed to a yellow Nevada plate with number 3N486X in later episodes.

Edited June 10, 2018 by Force

[bandit1]

Interesting information here, btw also you may want to note that the MOVIN' ON kit variants was correct minus one stack if your trying to replicate the Pilot Episode.

also while im at it, if you want to build an accurate truck then the sleeper and battery box needs replaced with a 60'' and a resin box from i think Moluminum or somewhere??? Someone can correct me on that info if they want

[Force]

Yes the AMT kit is not that wrong for the In Tandem Pilot show truck, leave off the exhaust stack and air cleaner on the drivers side as the truck in the pilot show had singles, change the rear wheels to white five hole split wheels, change to a torsion bar suspension if your kit doesn't have one, and some decals and you are pretty much done...the Modeltruckin' Movin' On set has decals for both the Pilot show and the TV-series trucks.

If you want to do one of the TV-series trucks you are better off starting with the Revell AG W-900 kit than the AMT kit, the Revell AG kit is allready a V.I.T. with the right 60 inch sleeper and fairly right battery boxes, but  you need to change to a short hood from the AMT kit or the Revell snap kit as the Revell AG kit has an extended hood, get a Cummins VT903 or a NTC 350 to replace the Cat 3408, the engine choice depends on if you want to do the truck from season 1 or season 2, change the rear suspension from the AG 100 to torsion bar, get decals from Modeltruckin' and you are almost there...ohh, and you need a set of 22 inch split rims and tires.

Edited June 11, 2018 by Force

[leafsprings]

 Thanks for the info Ben!

Edited June 13, 2018 by leafsprings

[leafsprings]

On ‎1‎/‎31‎/‎2017 at 1:58 AM, Force said:

Yes, the TV series truck was a 1974 VIT and the AMT W925 kit origins from 1971

Thanks for all info on the real 1:1 and the AMT kits. Learned a lot. There is one more detail I think has not been mentioned. The AMT kit has a strange bumped up frame  rail on the  end, while the real truck has a tapered down frame rails

[Ben]

On 6/10/2018 at 6:05 PM, bandit1 said:

Interesting information here, btw also you may want to note that the MOVIN' ON kit variants was correct minus one stack if your trying to replicate the Pilot Episode.

also while im at it, if you want to build an accurate truck then the sleeper and battery box needs replaced with a 60'' and a resin box from i think Moluminum or somewhere??? Someone can correct me on that info if they want

Actually, to build an accurate replica, you would start with a Revell W900 with 60” sleeper and then add the short hood from either the AMT or Revell W900 kits. You would then want the correct Alcoa tubeless wheels and tires from Jamie at moluminum.com and then the Cummins V903 motor out of an ERTL IH 4200 kit. Then use Jerry’s decals at Modeltruckin.com for the correct decals and Jameston at Scalefinishes.com for the Ivy Bronze paint.

 

Edited June 14, 2018 by Ben

[Ben]

On 6/10/2018 at 6:05 PM, bandit1 said:

Interesting information here, btw also you may want to note that the MOVIN' ON kit variants was correct minus one stack if your trying to replicate the Pilot Episode.

also while im at it, if you want to build an accurate truck then the sleeper and battery box needs replaced with a 60'' and a resin box from i think Moluminum or somewhere??? Someone can correct me on that info if they want

On the pilot episode the KW also had white five hole wheels on the rear. Several sources for those these days.

[Ben]

This is a good example of a proper pilot episode build. (Not my build)

Edited June 14, 2018 by Ben

[Force]

4 hours ago, Ben said:

Actually, to build an accurate replica, you would start with a Revell W900 with 60” sleeper and then add the short hood from either the AMT or Revell W900 kits. You would then want the correct Alcoa tubeless wheels and tires from Jamie at moluminum.com and then the Cummins V903 motor out of an ERTL IH 4200 kit. Then use Jerry’s decals at Modeltruckin.com for the correct decals and Jameston at Scalefinishes.com for the Ivy Bronze paint.

 

I hope you meant Alcoa tube tires and split rims Ben, because the TV series season 1 and season 2 trucks did not have tubeless wheels and tires and it looks to be 22 inch wheels, the front axle doesn't seem to have any brakes either after what I could see when I watched the series last week.
Auslowe has a correct Cummins VT903 with turbo and it's easier to find than the old ERTL IH 4200 kit wich has been out of production for a long time, and the ERTL kit engine is a V903 without turbo.

One more thing regarding the Pilot show truck, it's supposed to be a 1973 model so the AMT cab is a bit wrong as it's a 1968-72 cab with reguar door handles instead of the low mounted "paddle" latch handles on the later cab, the vent vindows are also slightly smaller on the later 1973-83 cab...but it's not that hard to fix.

[Ben]

9 hours ago, Force said:

I hope you meant Alcoa tube tires and split rims Ben, because the TV series season 1 and season 2 trucks did not have tubeless wheels and tires and it looks to be 22 inch wheels, the front axle doesn't seem to have any brakes either after what I could see when I watched the series last week.
Auslowe has a correct Cummins VT903 with turbo and it's easier to find than the old ERTL IH 4200 kit wich has been out of production for a long time, and the ERTL kit engine is a V903 without turbo.

One more thing regarding the Pilot show truck, it's supposed to be a 1973 model so the AMT cab is a bit wrong as it's a 1968-72 cab with reguar door handles instead of the low mounted "paddle" latch handles on the later cab, the vent vindows are also slightly smaller on the later 1973-83 cab...but it's not that hard to fix.

Yeah, my bad on the wheels, I was thinking of Paul Sagehorn’s replica truck.

[Force]

I thought so. 

I have began a second viewing of the series now and I notice small things all the time when I see the trucks both inside and out, so far it's two episodes where the truck has only the Utah license plate, it's the "The Time Of His Life" episode and "The Trick To Stay Alive" episode, and I saw one more blue Nevada plate last night in the "Cowhands" episode with a different number than those I listed earlier in this thread, this Nevada Plate has number FZ 9825 and I have only seen this plate in this episode so far, the episode after called "The Good Life" the Nevada plate was the yellow one I mentioned earler.
The at least one of the season 1 trucks also has a pintle hook at the rear cross member painted the same Ivy Bronze color as the rest of the truck.

I think I have read almost all that is written about the Movin' On trucks on the interweb during my research on the subject, both on the IMDB data base, on the ATHS forum and on some other sites, and there are lots of conflicting information regarding the TV-Series trucks out there, and some things I have read does not correspond with what I see myself when I watch the episodes.
So I try to be objective and don't give out faulty information or pass on hearsay, I just report what I see with my own eyes in this case.

Edited June 15, 2018 by Force

[PettyKW43]

I agree with Force on all the here say , I grew up watching the show ( although short lived on tv) and I have studied the pictures of the real truck from the net as well and anything that I have said about the truck is from my observation from all of these sources ! You also have to be careful because the truck that’s known to survive that is owned ( actually was owned, recently sold) by Paul Sagehorn is also heavily modified, drive line , rear suspension ( has a Peterbilt Airleaf) and tubeless Alcoa wheels . Still with all the info out there now we can all build a pretty accurate replica of Sonny’s truck! Can’t remember where but on a website selling license plate decals they have a ste for the Movin’ On truck and is very correct with most of the plate variations!

[Russell C]

11 hours ago, Force said:

...I think I have read almost all that is written about the Movin' On trucks on the interweb during my research on the subject, ....

I forget if you mentioned it elsewhere - I see you have at least one photo with the DiAntoni / Weitz watermark - have you corresponded directly with the guys (I think it is Barry Weitz) at the official Movin' On Facebook page?

[Force]

They also have a website http://www.movinontvshow.com with several pictures and I have saved every picture of the internet when I find them, so I have all truck related pictures from these sites.
No I have not contacted them, I don't think I need to, here is what they say about the trucks on the biography page on the website:

Kenworth W-925

Facts about “The Big Green Truck” are a little harder to come by than are those of the two human co-stars. Based on best available knowledge it is believed the tractor featured in the pilot episode, In Tandem, was a dark green 1973 Kenworth W-925, single stack, single breather, square bumper with painted steel rear wheels. It sported a full length arrow-stripe and a smaller arrow on the 36″ sleeper. For the series the production changed to a 1974 Kenworth W-925 with the VIT (Very Important Truck) package and walk-in bunk. This truck was the same dark green, but the arrow stripe did not continue on to the cab and doors. “S.Pruitt” was displayed near the top of both doors. The 1974 truck had large tanks, twin breathers, twin stacks, gull-wing bumper, polished wheels all around and was custom made by Kenworth. Two trucks were used each season, and according to Nick Gantman, former Production Assistant for D’Antoni/Weitz Television Productions, one truck was always “at the ready” for filming.

Some think the truck was changed again for Season Two, to a 1975 model, but the shows Executive Producer, Barry Weitz, says not. Despite Mr. Weitz’s denial, many fans have examined photos from the second season and claim the trucks are definitely 75s.

One thing is certain however: Movin’ On was filmed on locations all over the United States. Season One on the West Coast and Season Two on the East Coast. All the Kenworths, considered co-stars of the show along with Akins and Converse, did their share of hauling between locations.

So even the producers and these websites are not reliable information sources.
I know one thing for sure, there are several differences between the trucks used in Season 1 and Season 2 so they are indeed different, as I have just watched all 44 episodes about a week ago and I have started the second round so I have it pretty fresh in my mind.

Here is the only license plates I have found so far, I don't know who did them as I found them on ebay quite some time ago.
The Oregon plate is not right as both the color of the plate and numbers are right color but are wrong (it should read T829654), the others are usable for the Season 1 truck.

Edited June 16, 2018 by Force

[PettyKW43]

Actually the Oregon plate is correct on at least one film shoot , if you look at some of the photos of the truck you can see the two numbers taped over for some reason . The website for the license plates is three inches under.com (not sure about spacing in the title ) . I haven’t purchased from them yet but plan to as they have a lot of interesting plates of many years and locals!

[PettyKW43]

Also as an aside to the years of the trucks used , Model year of commercial trucks is determined by when the truck was titled. The truck could be built in 1972 but sold and titled in 1973 and as such it’s a 73. My guess as to what year the trucks used were would be dependent on when purchased and titled. Nevertheless for modeling purposes who cares what year , pick a truck with all known components and build accordingly, it will be great . I’m thinking of maybe Sonny’s first truck , a 62 Kenworth with a Mercury box and a two stick behind a 250 Cummins?

[Force]

44 minutes ago, PettyKW43 said:

Actually the Oregon plate is correct on at least one film shoot , if you look at some of the photos of the truck you can see the two numbers taped over for some reason . The website for the license plates is three inches under.com (not sure about spacing in the title ) . I haven’t purchased from them yet but plan to as they have a lot of interesting plates of many years and locals!

I have studied paused stills of all the number plates very closely when I watched the episodes and the number really is T829654 on all Oregon plates used in Season 1 (not T8298S4 as the 3 inches under plates above says) and the 6 and 5 is clearly readable but is silver in some later episodes, otherwise the numbers are red, and the plate itself is not yellow, it's light grey, the Oregon plate when it's used in the early episodes is medium blue with the same T829654 numbers in yellow.

The model year doesn't matter much as you say, but in the case with the gold emblems it kind of does as it's a one year only, the TV-series Season 1 V.I.T trucks could have been built late 1973 and got gold emblems as Kenworth celebrated the 50th anniversary then even tho' they have 1974 titles, because the emblems are gold in most shots, in Season 2 the emblems are chrome and differently placed on the hood.

Edited June 16, 2018 by Force

[PettyKW43]

I love this forum, the amount of information one can glean on a subject is fabulous! In regards to gold emblems yes they were in fact a nod to Kenworth’s anniversary year and all trucks that would have been built in 1973 would have been fitted with the gold emblems. But anyone who wanted to add them to their truck could have by walking into a Kenworth parts counter and ordered them. Again the point being for us wanting to build an accurate model of Sonny’s truck is to pick an episode or scene from an episode and build accordingly. Keep the info sharing going and build some trucks!

[Force]

On 2018-06-16 at 7:27 PM, PettyKW43 said:

 Again the point being for us wanting to build an accurate model of Sonny’s truck is to pick an episode or scene from an episode and build accordingly.

I totally agree.

[leafsprings]

On ‎6‎/‎10‎/‎2018 at 11:56 AM, Ben said:

I had those split rim ten hole wheels made in machined aluminum.

Excellent work!  As they say, the devils in the details, and you nailed the details with these wheels! 

[Force]

Yes these looks right., any chance of letting Jamie cast them in resin?

Edited July 7, 2018 by Force

[Ben]

7 hours ago, leafsprings said:

Excellent work!  As they say, the devils in the details, and you nailed the details with these wheels! 

 

3 hours ago, Force said:

Yes these looks right., any chance of letting Jamie cast them in resin?

He doesn’t want too because there just like the kit wheels. I only changed a few minor things.

[Ben]

7 hours ago, leafsprings said:

Excellent work!  As they say, the devils in the details, and you nailed the details with these wheels! 

Thanks! I’m kind of a OCD when it comes to the wheels.

[Force]

14 hours ago, Ben said:

 

He doesn’t want too because there just like the kit wheels. I only changed a few minor things.

I might be a bit OCD when it comes to wheels myself, because I want it to look right.
Your aluminum wheels don't look exactly like the kit wheels do, they look more like the ones on the TV series trucks and that's a lot better.
I have tried to find correct looking 22 inch Alcoa split rims for my Movin' On and Smokey And The Bandit truck projects but the only ones I can find are the wheels in the AMT White Freightliner kits, the rear wheels will work just fine but the front wheels have a slight ridge outside of the lugnuts the real Alcoa's from that time didn't have, they have an even curve from the lock ring up to a flat area where the lugnuts are.
The wheels in the AMT Kenworth's most of the other AMT truck kits are 20 inch and looks too small, and they also have the same ridge outside the lugnuts on the fronts, and most of the aftermarket Alcoa wheels are one piece for tubeless tires.
KJ Humphreys did some nice wheels for his recent Peterbilt 359 build wich looks right but he doesn't have them available on his website, so I don't know if he ever casted them.

Edited July 8, 2018 by Force

[PettyKW43]

I love those wheels but for my Movin’ On builds I am using the Freightliner kit wheels front and rear with the Kenworth hub and drum and making the the fronts with a couple of inner rears and adding the bolt detail to get the correct look . Tires are the issue, 10:00 x 22s? Not sure yet which way to go on this , MPC tooled 11:00x 20 pressed onto the 22 in rim will give the right diameter but it will still say 11:00x22.