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1/25 AMT Kenworth/Challenge Transit Mixer


Casey

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I'd love to build one right oob but the sky high prices keep me away, it'd be nice to have it back in circulation 

Course there are ways of building this mixer thru the aftermarket. ..jerry has the decals, aitm has the challenge mixer and the truck could be sourced fairly easily. ..but the box art is so riveting 

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You are not the only one that wish this kit would come back, it was as far as I know only issued once in 1971.
If you want to do one like the original from a recent reissue W925 and aftermarket parts and combine the costs I think you would come close to what an original cost.

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It sold on  e bay for 255.00  have seen them go for up to 400 at one time,still too rich for my blood.Had it when i was a kid in 71,was only 11 then,couldnt get the torsion bar suspension to go together right,ended up being a parts kit,To this day i still cant understand the excitement over that rear suspension,i just have bad memories of it.:blink:. Do hope they will bring it back,as i want another crack at it. Harvey

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3 hours ago, Jim B said:

Would the torsion bar suspension actually handle a mixer body?  I thought it was a light weight suspension.

That actually is a very good question Jim, because I know most modern mixers I've been around run a spring suspension just like the Hendrickson in the later issues of the W925 kit. 

Now to throw another question into the mix (pun intended :lol:) with Jim's, if the Hendrickson suspension would be a more viable and correct suspension to use under a mixer, what are the differences (if any) between the Challenge mixer in this kit and the mixer in the International Paystar kit? I'm sure y'all can see where I'm going with this if the mixer bodies would be the same between the two kits or even if they aren't the same body it would be a way for us that have never had the original Challenge mixer kit to have one without kitbashing the W925 and the Paystar mixer......take the mixer parts from the Paystar and mix (again pun intended :lol:) with the W925 and BOOM.....Kenworth mixer kit! Yes, it may not be the original, but at least it would be an option for all of us that would like to have one in the fleet. 

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18 minutes ago, Casey said:

Are the four tire half pieces to replace the front tires and better represent "floater" tires?

Inkedkwchallemix_LI.jpg

They may possibly be just that, because there are also rims above the mixer half on the right, and also appears to be two other wheel pieces off to the left of the tires. I also noticed in the two pics under this pic in your original post there are four more of the Webb style wheels on the chrome that is what the box art shows in addition to the Alcoa aluminum wheels in the other two chrome sprues and non chromed inner wheels in the bagged parts that appear to be from the standard W925 kit. Anyone else notice the fifth wheel??? :lol:

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13 hours ago, gotnitro? said:

Lol I think I got caught fibbing , my record for leaving a kit OOB is definitely worse than the Cleveland Browns 

 

Not a good track record for ya there Jeff!!!!!! LOL, it's all good!!!!!! Its better to kustomize them anyway!!!!!!!!

 

Would love to see this again, nice kit and awesome box art!!!!!!!!!

Edited by DrKerry
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I have always wanted to build this kit but was never able to find it! The reissue is something that is doable , since the W925/923 is back available! Even if the tooling for the mixer is gone , a new tool for the mixer would and probably is being considered. One has to look at where Round 2 has gone with some of their recent reissues throughout the catalog. Let’s hope! As to the suspension, the torsion bar would have been theoretically workable but not a likely choice. You would have been under the thing greasing it daily and replacing bushing regularity! A Big 6 would have been a more likely choice ! Close in kit form is found under the Autocar dump kit! Let’s do this one around 2

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The plastic floatation tires was a typical wayof including one off tires that AMT used for many of their earlier kits . It wasn’t till the Autocar dump that we saw vinyl floatation tires and funny but they didn’t get used again till the Turnpiker custom Peterbilt, all 10 of them !

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On ‎1‎/‎8‎/‎2018 at 8:03 AM, 37 caddy said:

It sold on  e bay for 255.00  have seen them go for up to 400 at one time,still too rich for my blood...

Even way back in the 1980's, this kit was very rare and often went for >$100.  I remember seeing them in the classified ads of That Other Model Car Magazine.  (And for all my complaints about eBay and old-kit dealers, it sure is a lot easier to find rare kits nowadays.)

Can one of our local historians give us some background on this kit?  Like why it had such a short run and has never been re-issued?

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This kit was introduced in 1971, and was never reissued. Production numbers I don’t know if they are known but were probably low. I worked for a hobby shop for a while and the owner said that the preorders on the kit were poor and AMT took a wait and see on the kit as whether or not a second run would be warranted! I don’t think that the demand was high judging by the rarity of the kit today.The kit was the T519 W925 Kenworth Conventional with the mixer added in. All parts to build the truck as a tractor were included in the box less the sleeper box. Have heard of a few that had it in the box by accident. The torsion bar suspension was a bit difficult to get right as was the case with the other two KW’s. Thus the reason the Hendrickson walking beam was added in on the second issue kits. One should be careful if you purchase an early second issue of the Kenworth as the frame rails still have all the mounting points for the torsion bar and that includes the cross member mounts ( the #3was also changed with the suspension).

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Didn't take the time to re-read this thread from the start, so if this is a repost I apologize in advance.  Here's the link to a complete set of photos of the Kenworth Challenge Transit Mixer AMT Kit assembly instructions, courtesy of a truck kit enthusiast in the Netherlands.... http://public.fotki.com/modeltrucks25thscale/truckkit_instructions/amt/t559_kenworth_chall/    TIM 

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On 1/8/2018 at 12:41 PM, Casey said:

Are the four tire half pieces to replace the front tires and better represent "floater" tires?

Inkedkwchallemix_LI.jpg

Yes, very poor representation. The tread detail looks like steps rather than grooves.

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On 1/13/2018 at 8:17 AM, Mike999 said:

Even way back in the 1980's, this kit was very rare and often went for >$100.  I remember seeing them in the classified ads of That Other Model Car Magazine.  (And for all my complaints about eBay and old-kit dealers, it sure is a lot easier to find rare kits nowadays.)

Can one of our local historians give us some background on this kit?  Like why it had such a short run and has never been re-issued?

AMT lost the licensing rights from Challenge/Cook Brothers to produce the mixer body.

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1 hour ago, Ben said:

Yes, very poor representation. The tread detail looks like steps rather than grooves.

Thanks. Sounds a lot like other AMT tire caps(?) I have seen.

Is the Challenge mixer in the AMT kit a 10 yard mixer? This (below) truck is described as a 10-yard model with a chain drive motor which is what I think the AMT has/represents?

24232491_10210404783173144_5187414228011

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Maybe someone should mould and cast it? Not sure how legal that is. I've been thinking about modifying the Alaskan Hauler Keworth hood/bonnet set up and mould it up. Currently I'm working on an Australian 1/32 Mack SuperLiner bonnet/hood to fit the revell 1/32 r series. 

Ben

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