Snowman's Truck

[Bushpounder]

Hi, all. I want to build the Snowman's truck from Bandit 1. I know it's a W-900. The one available has the larger sleeper with it, while the one I need is the smaller, older sleeper. My question is - what kit can I get the smaller sleeper out of, OR is the smaller sleeper available in the aftermarket? I usually build planes and race cars, so trucks are a new experience. A point to a good or a few good truck sites would be appreciated if you can. I won't tell my wife who pointed me to them! Thanks!!

Don

Edited January 30, 2018 by Bushpounder

[Jim B]

After doing extensive research on the subject, here is what I have determined you'll need to correctly build Snowman's W900 (not K900, no such thing).  Anyway, here goes.  You'll need the AMT Kenworth W925 kit for the frame, hood, & sleeper.  If you can find one with the tandem torsion bar suspension, that's a plus, because you'll need one of those, too.  They are available from the aftermarket (Double Take Replicas, maybe?).  You'll also need the cab & VIT interior from the Revell of Germany Kenworth W900 kit.  For the engine, you can use the Cummins NTA380 from the AMT kit as some of the movie trucks had them, or you can pick up a Caterpillar 1693 from Kit From Services in England (he calls it the Yellow Engine).  I do not believe the Snowman's truck has twin sticks for the transmission.  In fact, I'm not even sure what type of transmission it had.  Maybe Ben Wicker will know.

Good luck with your build.

[Bushpounder]

Thanks, Jim! Yes, I see I made a typo. I'll change that. I'll start putting the pieces together. Sounds like a fairly painless build. I appreciate the help.

 

Don

[mistermodel]

There are a couple options available.

I myself would start with an amt because correct splendor interior,bumper ,battery box,rims,and bunk.An extra battery box would need to be sourced for the passenger side.In my opinion the snap aerodyne tanks would be best.The doors would have to be updated with paddle type door handles like the revel kits

Revell would be the best choice for the base if building the restored version because of the battery boxes are the newer style.A revel interior is a newer double bunk vit interior,so the amt should be swaped as well as the small bunk.

I guess a third option would be a revel of Germany long nose kit ,swap an amt or revel standard hood and cut down the bunk

Some pictures of the truck clearly show gold emblems that were avalible in 73 for kw's 50th anniversary

The engine is pure speculation because no photos of the originals are around.many say cat because snowman wore a cat hat

Torsion bar suspension is available from the aftermarket

modeltruckin has the decals

Edited January 30, 2018 by mistermodel

[Ben]

2 hours ago, Jim B said:

After doing extensive research on the subject, here is what I have determined you'll need to correctly build Snowman's W900 (not K900, no such thing).  Anyway, here goes.  You'll need the AMT Kenworth W925 kit for the frame, hood, & sleeper.  If you can find one with the tandem torsion bar suspension, that's a plus, because you'll need one of those, too.  They are available from the aftermarket (Double Take Replicas, maybe?).  You'll also need the cab & VIT interior from the Revell of Germany Kenworth W900 kit.  For the engine, you can use the Cummins NTA380 from the AMT kit as some of the movie trucks had them, or you can pick up a Caterpillar 1693 from Kit From Services in England (he calls it the Yellow Engine).  I do not believe the Snowman's truck has twin sticks for the transmission.  In fact, I'm not even sure what type of transmission it had.  Maybe Ben Wicker will know.

Good luck with your build.

I know it has a single stick. By the look of the knob on the shifter, it appears to be an Eaton?

[Ben]

3 hours ago, Bushpounder said:

Hi, all. I want to build the Snowman's truck from Bandit 1. I know it's a W-900. The one available has the larger sleeper with it, while the one I need is the smaller, older sleeper. My question is - what kit can I get the smaller sleeper out of, OR is the smaller sleeper available in the aftermarket? I usually build planes and race cars, so trucks are a new experience. A point to a good or a few good truck sites would be appreciated if you can. I won't tell my wife who pointed me to them! Thanks!!

Don

Jerry at Modeltruckin.com has all the decals you’ll need.

www.modeltruckin.com

[Ben]

Here’s the one I started in 2009 and still haven’t finished because other project keep dragging me away! LOL

http://public.fotki.com/lotso/snowmans-kenworth/

[highway]

1 hour ago, mistermodel said:

 

Some pictures of the truck clearly show gold emblems that were avalible in 73 for kw's 50th anniversary

 

While it does appear at least in the first pic Snowman's truck does have a gold hood emblem

according to IMCDB (Internet Movie Cars Database), the truck was not a 73 but a 72. 

http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_10238-Kenworth-W-900-A.html

On a semi (no pun intended) related note though the question pertains to another famous W900 and also to the gold emblems, I have notice binge watching "Movin On" that ALL of the Kenworth emblems are gold, the front hood emblem and also all the Kenworth scripts on the side of the hood and sleeper. 

Also, according to IMCDB, it was a 74 W900 VIT.

http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle.php?id=42128&l=de

Were all the gold emblems on this because of the 50th anniversary as mentioned or was it because the truck was done with the VIT trim? 

 

[DRIPTROIT 71]

1 hour ago, Ben said:

Here’s the one I started in 2009 and still haven’t finished because other project keep dragging me away! LOL

http://public.fotki.com/lotso/snowmans-kenworth/

Ben what do you use for the roll and pleat pattern on the interior?

[Ben]

4 minutes ago, DRIPTROIT 71 said:

Ben what do you use for the roll and pleat pattern on the interior?

I found some type of thin, flexible, ribbed aluminum. I can’t remember where I found it though. I think Evergreen has .020 styrene sheets that would look very similar though.

[KJ790]

1 hour ago, highway said:

While it does appear at least in the first pic Snowman's truck does have a gold hood emblem

according to IMCDB (Internet Movie Cars Database), the truck was not a 73 but a 72. 

http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_10238-Kenworth-W-900-A.html

On a semi (no pun intended) related note though the question pertains to another famous W900 and also to the gold emblems, I have notice binge watching "Movin On" that ALL of the Kenworth emblems are gold, the front hood emblem and also all the Kenworth scripts on the side of the hood and sleeper. 

Also, according to IMCDB, it was a 74 W900 VIT.

http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle.php?id=42128&l=de

Were all the gold emblems on this because of the 50th anniversary as mentioned or was it because the truck was done with the VIT trim? 

 

All of the Kenworth emblems were gold on the '73 model. Kenworth debuted the 60" VIT sleeper in 1974. For the show Movin' on, they used two 1974 models and then they came across a 1973 leftover at a dealer that was spec'd the same except with a 36" sleeper. The studio swapped out the 36" sleeper for a 60" sleeper and painted it to match the other two. This is why some times the emblems are gold and sometimes they are silver depending on the scene in the show.

 

As for Snowman's truck, I have a feeling a similar situation happened. In this picture you can see the gold emblem on the side of the hood, but the bottom of the emblem is also painted (most likely a quick movie studio paint job). The front grille emblem on a '73 model should be red and gold, but in some scenes of the movie it appears to be black and gold, so who knows if it is really a '73 badge or if it is a painted one.

 

The marker light on the side of the hood was typical of a 1969-1970 model. I have a feeling these trucks were thrown together. The cab doors have the slower paddle style door handles, so the cab would be a '72 and up.

 

If you just want something that will look good on a shelf, you could just get the AMT W925 kit and make a few tweaks to it. This kit really is a 1969-1971 model, but it would be pretty close. You can change the door handles, up-size the exhaust pipes to 5" pipes, and add a battery box to the passenger's side.

[highway]

1 hour ago, KJ790 said:

All of the Kenworth emblems were gold on the '73 model. Kenworth debuted the 60" VIT sleeper in 1974. For the show Movin' on, they used two 1974 models and then they came across a 1973 leftover at a dealer that was spec'd the same except with a 36" sleeper. The studio swapped out the 36" sleeper for a 60" sleeper and painted it to match the other two. This is why some times the emblems are gold and sometimes they are silver depending on the scene in the show.

 

 

 

Thanks for the info KJ, I noticed the gold emblems on the earlier episodes I've been watching (Hulu has them marked as season 1 but I believe they were actually seasons 1 & 2 since there were 22 episodes in "Season 1") and the later episodes have the chromed emblems. 

Even though I know it doesn't have the correct torsion bar suspension I seen in a couple of episodes, I'm going to use this for Sonny's truck. 

 

By the way KJ, do you happen to make any 1/16th scale parts, especially tires and wheels?

[Bushpounder]

Thanks, all, for the great info! I appreciate the help!!

 

Don

[Bushpounder]

Nice job, Ben!! That truck is beautiful! What kit did the fuel tanks come out of, or are they aftermarket?

 

Don

[Force]

11 hours ago, KJ790 said:

As for Snowman's truck...The front grille emblem on a '73 model should be red and gold, but in some scenes of the movie it appears to be black and gold, so who knows if it is really a '73 badge or if it is a painted one.

The one on the movie truck looks to be gold with black ribs and letters.
Here is a couple of pictures of one of the movie trucks used for most of the outside shots.

"Tod Engels" truck from the first scene in the movie also had a gold grille emblem, it's a bit hard to see but the background is gold and it seems like the ribs and letters could be chromed or maybe all gold.

Here is another 1973 truck I found were the emblems are all gold.

As for the Torsion Bar suspension, Auslowe in Australia has it in resin.

[DRIPTROIT 71]

22 hours ago, Ben said:

I found some type of thin, flexible, ribbed aluminum. I can’t remember where I found it though. I think Evergreen has .020 styrene sheets that would look very similar though.

Thanks Ben! You've done some awesome work on that truck!

[Ben]

7 hours ago, DRIPTROIT 71 said:

Thanks Ben! You've done some awesome work on that truck!

Thanks!

[Truck parts]

Thank you for the inform

[Ben]

On 1/30/2018 at 6:49 AM, Bushpounder said:

Nice job, Ben!! That truck is beautiful! What kit did the fuel tanks come out of, or are they aftermarket?

 

Don

Hey Don, sorry for the late reply, I just saw your question. Those fuel tanks were machined from aluminum to my specs by Jamie Rahmoeller. I use his aluminum tanks on all my builds. He’s a hell of a machinist!

[Bushpounder]

That's why they caught my eye! They do look GREAT!

Don

[Bushpounder]

Hey, Ben - The battery boxes you made look great also!! What type of diamond plate is that, and what type of grating material did you use for the step? They both look great. I found some plastic diamond plate, but always in the wrong scale!

 

Don

[plastic trucker]

You have to use HO scale for the correct diamond plate.

[Ben]

On 2/11/2018 at 5:45 PM, Bushpounder said:

Hey, Ben - The battery boxes you made look great also!! What type of diamond plate is that, and what type of grating material did you use for the step? They both look great. I found some plastic diamond plate, but always in the wrong scale!

 

Don

I’m pretty sure I used the Don Mills tread plate. The step treads are some expanded metal I got from KFS years ago, and some brass angle.

[Bushpounder]

Thanks, Ben. I think your model is the one to use as a measuring stick. VERY well done!!