Tyrone Malone Hideout truck

[Mr mopar]

6 hours ago, Force said:

It doesn't say anywhere on the picture but I hope not, the chassis is white and the engine is silver on this truck so I hope it's molded in white.

Have a look on the Auto world web site it's coming out in January and under the description it says molded in BLACK !https://www.autoworldstore.com/product-p/amt1158.htm

[Force]

I thought we had seen the last of colored plastic kits when Revell-Monogram stopped doing them and went over to white, and AMT did theirs in light grey plastic...but it seems like I'm wrong.
I don't know what Round 2 is thinking and they are supposed to be "model guys", and model guys like to paint their models in whatever color they like.

[iamsuperdan]

Although being molded in colour would never dissuade me from buying a kit, I do wish everything was molded in either white or light grey.

[Force]

I have been thinking about this, one can wonder why Round 2 made the decision to do the Hideout Truck and most likely also the "Custom Drag truck" (the Bandag Bandit kit will not be called Bandag Bandit when it's re-issued) in black plastic and not include the correct markings for the trucks.
Not many born after the early to mid 90's knows much about Tyrone Malone (he passed away 1997 in a car accident) so I think these kits are more aimed at the adult public who remembers who he was and what he did, so it's mostly about nostalgia and I don't know but both these things can make the kits less desireable and people who knows what this is (or should have been) but don't know the aftermarket will maybe not buy these kits because of that.
Afterall Tyrone Malone was closely associated with both Bandag and Detroit Diesel and at least I would have been prepaired to pay more if the kits were re-issued like the originals with all that comes with it...the price would most likely have been less than what the original issue kits fetch at the auction sites anyway...and the aftermarket decals cost $20.00 each plus shipping at Modeltruckin' so if you want to do the kits right you have to add that cost to the kit prices.
And if I would like to build the transporter to anything else than the Hideout Truck I would rather go for the earlier re-issue of the Papa Truck wich is exactly the same as the Hideout Truck except for color and decals because it's molded in white and are still plentiful on the market.
I may be wrong but that's what I think.

But this decision by Round 2 is good for Jerry at Modeltruckin' tho' as he will sell lots of decals to people who want to build both these trucks as they should be, the problem is the tires as the white Bandag scripts are not there on these upcoming re-issues and there are no tire markings on the decal sheets.

Edited December 29, 2019 by Force

[gotnitro?]

Force - are the Bandag printed tires the same as come in the papa truck kits now ? If so, I have a full set available. 

[hpiguy]

4 hours ago, Force said:

the problem is the tires as the white Bandag scripts are not there on these upcoming re-issues and there are no tire markings on the decal sheets.

I have both of these kits sitting here right now waiting to be built for the channel.

The tires say Bandag and Tyrone Malone on my copies. Both kits.  Pad printed in white of course. I have to assume these are full production kits as that is what I request for my reviews, I only want what the customers will be getting in the same boxes, etc.

They are molded in black, that is correct, which will make black painting easy, no white marks or streaks as paint pulls away from rivets and such. 

There are no Bandag logos anywhere else that I can see, just the tires on both kits, which look great.

[Force]

 Jeff: They should be.

Chris: Okay, I haven't seen these new kits yet so I went with what's on the boxart where the Bandag name are missing both on the tires and on the truck itself so I thought they took it away and only left the Tyrone Malone scripts...but if the tires also have the Bandag script it's good as they did look great on the earlier Super Boss and Papa Truck kits.
But I thought the Hideout Truck would come out in January and the "Custom Drag Truck" (Bandag Bandit) later this spring.
Well, the conclusion is, to do correct replicas of these trucks you have to buy decals from Modeltruckin' for both, get Truck Mate wheels from Mo'luminum and a Peterbilt bumper for the Hideout Truck.

Edited December 29, 2019 by Force

[Force]

I just heard that the missing Bandag, Detroit Diesel and Allison markings on the re-issues appearently had to do with PACCAR and the Kenworth license and not Bandag/Bridgestone, it was leave them off or you can't do the kenworth models...I don't know the reason to why and if it's true or not but I wouldn't be surprized with todays licensing nuisance where everyone seems to be so greedy and protective.

Edited December 31, 2019 by Force

[Mr mopar]

Well guy's I had a look at Chris's you tube on the Bandag Bandit and man I'm I happy Round2 did all the pin striping and the rear spoiler decals now has the amt logo on it , the decals are worth the price of these kits ,  even comes with thermo king decals for the door Awesome !

[Force]

I just saw the video myself a few minutes ago, unfortunately the rear wing side plates reads "Tyrone Malone AMT Hobby Kits" but it should be "Bandag Bandit AMT Hobby Kits" so it's close but no cigar.
I also noticed "Driver Martin Carver" temporary decals for the doors on the decal sheet, it's from when the then CEO for Bandag Martin Carver set the record back in August 1988.
You can't really do the Martin Carver record setting version with what's in the kit if you want it to be correct because the hood is different on that version with some large bulges down the sides behind the fenders wich are not on the kit hood, and the stripes down the hood sides are much shorter.

It's unfortunate that Paccar and Kenworth stopped Round 2 using the correct markings for these trucks, because Bandag/Bridgestone or Detroit Diesel-Allison didn't mind and would let them use the names, from what I saw in the youtube video the decals would have been awsome if everything was on there as it should have been...but no...it was like "leave the Bandag, Detroit Diesel and Allison out or you can't get the license to do these Kenworth truck kits"...very bad...it would have been easier to leave out the Kenworth markings.
It's not like these things are small and insignificant and they can't easily be found in other kits, Bandag, Detroit Diesel and Allison together with Kenworth are the reason Malone could do what he did for so many years.
So to complete the markings on both these trucks we have to rely on Jerry at Modeltruckin', I don't know how well his decals will go with the new kit decals colorwise but we'll see.

I noticed another thing when I went through my references recently, I wasn't sure what rear suspension the Hideout Truck had, torsion bars or air ride, as I have never seen any pictures of the underside of this truck, but as it turns out there is a text between the rear wheel arches on the original paint job I hadn't noticed before that reads "Kenworth Airglide 100 Suspension"...so the model kit is correct there so except for the front bumper and wheels, everything else is right for the Hideout Truck.

Another thing I have noticed with the Bandag Bandit and Super Boss truck kits is the missing shift lever for the auxillary transmission, this shifter should be near the back wall of the interior between the seats, AMT only provided the shifter for the Allison automatic transmission but nothing for the Fuller auxillary transmission.

Edited February 2, 2020 by Force

[Mr mopar]

5 hours ago, Force said:

I just saw the video myself a few minutes ago, unfortunately the rear wing side plates reads "Tyrone Malone AMT Hobby Kits" but it should be "Bandag Bandit AMT Hobby Kits" so it's close but no cigar.
I also noticed "Driver Martin Carver" temporary decals for the doors on the decal sheet, it's from when the then CEO for Bandag Martin Carver set the record back in August 1988.
You can't really do the Martin Carver record setting version with what's in the kit if you want it to be correct because the hood is different on that version with some large bulges down the sides behind the fenders wich are not on the kit hood, and the stripes down the hood sides are much shorter.

It's unfortunate that Paccar and Kenworth stopped Round 2 using the correct markings for these trucks, because Bandag/Bridgestone or Detroit Diesel-Allison didn't mind and would let them use the names, from what I saw in the youtube video the decals would have been awsome if everything was on there as it should have been...but no...it was like "leave the Bandag, Detroit Diesel and Allison out or you can't get the license to do these Kenworth truck kits"...very bad...it would have been easier to leave out the Kenworth markings.
It's not like these things are small and insignificant and they can't easily be found in other kits, Bandag, Detroit Diesel and Allison together with Kenworth are the reason Malone could do what he did for so many years.
So to complete the markings on both these trucks we have to rely on Jerry at Modeltruckin', I don't know how well his decals will go with the new kit decals colorwise but we'll see.

I noticed another thing when I went through my references recently, I wasn't sure what rear suspension the Hideout Truck had, torsion bars or air ride, as I have never seen any pictures of the underside of this truck, but as it turns out there is a text between the rear wheel arches on the original paint job I hadn't noticed before that reads "Kenworth Airglide 100 Suspension"...so the model kit is correct there so except for the front bumper and wheels, everything else is right for the Hideout Truck.

Another thing I have noticed with the Bandag Bandit and Super Boss truck kits is the missing shift lever for the auxillary transmission, this shifter should be near the back wall of the interior between the seats, AMT only provided the shifter for the Allison automatic transmission but nothing for the Fuller auxillary transmission.

Force you  are right , I'm getting the Bandag bandit decals made for the wing but I must say Round2 did a better job on the decals then AMT did when it first came out with all the pin stripping !

Edited February 3, 2020 by Mr mopar

[Force]

Yes indeed, they look great.

[PettyKW43]

While I would have been happy to have these kits with all the correct markings , I am glad to have them in any format, decals from Modeltruckin are accurate and Round2 has included the Thermo King door decals for both which allows for building both trucks in the early livery. As for the rear suspension the truck was a new for 78 chassis ( first year for the Aerodyne officially, 76 was VIT200) and the torsion bar suspension was gone from the Kenworth option list . Still glad they are back! Making a call to Jerry soon!

 

[Force]

Yes, the real Papa Truck transporter is a 1976 V.I.T. 200 Bicentennial Edition and that truck has torsion bars and a Bicentennial interior in red, white and blue (no diamond tuft), the wheels should have been Truck Mate 5 hole wheels and the front bumper should have been a smooth Peterbilt style bumper without any holes.
The Hideout Truck Transporter on the other hand was as you say a 1978 and the kit is quite correct with Airglide 100 suspension and diamond tufted interior, the wheels should have been the same Truck Mate 5-hole wheels as was used on the Papa Truck and a Peterbilt style bumper with holes for 2 fog lights.
The transporter beds are the same on both trucks in the kits, the Papa Truck has small round holes for a square key to unlock the side compartment doors and the Hideout Truck has chromed paddle latch handles for these doors, the Papa Truck has a winch at the front of the bed, the Hideout Truck doesn't have that.
So both kits are the same except for the decals but the real trucks are quite different in several places so the kits has to be modified some to do correct replicas of the transporters.
One more thing wrong with these kits is the dash panels, because the K100 Aerodyne has a different style dash panel than the flat top K100 and the kits has flat top K100 dash panels, all K100's got the Aerodyne dash panels but as far as I know it was in later production cabs.

Edited February 23, 2020 by Force

[Mr mopar]

Here is a frame done with the torsion bars and extra long frame witch is correct , this photo is from Facebook not mine !

[Mr mopar]

This is the real PaPa truck frame !

[Force]

I was going through the MTDG Facebook group just now and noticed a thing regarding the Malone trucks in a thread where Ben Wicker shows the correct style 5-hole Truck Mate wheels he has done the master for and sold by Jamie at Mo'luminum, I'm not a member on Facebook so I give out the information I have here.
Someone there said the Hideout Truck had Alcoa 10-hole wheels at one time when Malone had it and they were covered up with Truck Mate stainless steel wheel covers...that's not really the case, Malone was sponsored by Truck Mate (wich is still around) and the Hideout Truck had the stainless steel wheel covers at one time, but under these wheel covers it still has the Truck Mate chromed 5-hole wheels with the same tube tires as before, even the Bandag Bandit had the same wheel covers on the rear wheels at that time...the wheels on most of the Malone trucks was later changed to chromed 2-hole wheels and 24.5" size tubeless tires. 
I don't think Truck Mate had any 10-hole aluminum wheels at that time and the only pictures I have seen where the Hideout Truck has had 10-hole Alcoas are from after Malone himself had passed and the truck was sold and when the truck was found again not that many years ago.
Bridgestone who now owns the Bandag Brand was approached and offered to buy the truck so they could pair it up with the Bandag Bandit they allready have again (sits at the Iowa 80 Truck Stop Museum), a representative from Bridgestone came to California where the truck was and looked at it, they considered to do it but they changed their mind and finally declined...Gary Ries from Hastings MN has since bought the Hideout Truck and is going to restore it like he did with the Papa Truck Transporter he had bought earlier, he also owns the Super Boss, the Whale Truck and trailer, the Hurricane, the Defiance wheel stander Freightliner and the Smokey Bear Corvette from the Malone stable...Gary also tried to buy the Boss Truck Of America some time ago, the truck sits in Texas somewhere but that deal didn't go through, it's in pieces and the owner wants too much for it.

Here are some pictures to show what wheels the Hideout Truck has had over the years.

First the early Bandag version from approximately 1979-80 with the chromed Truck Mate wheels and tube tires, the first Thermo King version from 1978 did also have these wheels and I have posted a picture of that version earlier in this thread.

 

A version with the Stainless Wheel Covers some years later, around 1981 or so, note that the Bandag Bandit has the same wheel covers on the rear wheels and that truck hasn't had anything else than tube style tires under it's life and it still has.

 

An even later version some years later 1988-89 where Malone had changed to 2-hole chromed wheels with tubeless tires and a different paint job.

This picture shows an even later version with the 2-hole wheels and the paint job is changed slightly again, more texts and the outlines of the white yellow and blue stripes on the cab are white instead of gold.

Finally the version when the truck was found again in 2009 before Gary Reis bought it, the paint job is still nearly the same as in the picture above but now it has 10-hole Alcoa wheels.

 

[highway]

On 3/14/2020 at 4:02 AM, Force said:

Bridgestone who now owns the Bandag Brand was approached and offered to buy the truck so they could pair it up with the Bandag Bandit they allready have again (sits at the Iowa 80 Truck Stop Museum)...

 

The Bandit has been there for many years, these were from when I has the chance to go to the 2012 Walcott Truckers Jamboree there. 

[Force]

As I finally got my reissued Hideout Truck and "Bandag Bandit" Custom Drag Truck kits the other day I thought I would give my review of the kits, so I opened the boxes and had a look.
These kits are exactly the same as the early 1980's issues of the Hideout Truck and Bandag Bandit but as everyone know by now they are molded in black wich I really don't like that much.
It's not like black paint doesn't cover well over white or gray because it does, but light colors needs several coats to cover on dark surfaces so that makes it more difficult than necessary when you're going to paint everything else than the body itself.
The Hideout Truck was allways black and the first paint job on the "Bandit" was also black but had a blueish shine to it as it had blue pearl or something like that in the clear coat, so the highlights shine blue in the sun...and I don't know many who doesn't paint their models anyway so I don't really understand why Round 2 made that decision.

We start with the Hideout Truck.
The instructions tells us to paint the engine white wich is wrong for a 1978 Kenworth like the Hideout Truck is, Kenworth stopped with white engines 1975 and used manufacturers colors after that with a few exceptions, and in this case the engine should be silver and I have photo proof of that, they call out for aluminum for the Allison transmission and I don't know what color it should be...maybe aluminum is right...most likely it's the color it left the Allison Transmission Plant with.
The instructions also tells us that the chassis should be black...but nooo that's not right...the chassis was white on the real truck and I also have photo proof of that, so mostly everything on the chassis except for engine and transmission should indeed be white.
Further it tells us to sand several of the interior panels flat and paint them semi-gloss black...wrong again, on the real truck they were diamond tuft like they are in the kit so the panels don't need any work other than paint, and the interior color was speckled darker blue, not black.
The decals looks nice but the gold isn't really gold, it's more like brown and as everyone knows all Bandag, Allison and Detroit Diesel markings are missing, I like that they included the Thermo King badges tho' so it's possible to do the early 1978 Thermo King version if you want to with some aftermarket decals for the missing scripts.

Now for the "Bandag Bandit" Kenworth Custom Drag Truck.
The color callouts in the instructions are mostly right except for a few things, the third member on the rear axle should most likely be black, the axle housing is light blue like the instructions say and I don't know if the third member has been changed out sometime but it is flat black on the real truck now.
The interior is called out to be semi-gloss black and that's right for the Bandag Bandit as it is now wich is the fourth and final version and the version before that, but the version from the time period the kit is supposed to be with the decals included the interior was blue and white with yellow buttons and piping.
The interior was changed to black after a fire at Malones shop, the "Bandit" was damaged in this fire and had to be repaired, reupholstered and repainted so the "Bandit" is slightly different after that, and it was repainted at least one more time before Malone donated the truck to Bandag.
The "Bandit" did not have a roll cage like the Super Boss had (wich is in the kit), it had a chromed tube roll bar at the back of the cab over the seats.
The decals are nice but the gold is more brown than gold and all Bandag, Allison, Detroit Diesel related stuff are gone like on the Hideout Truck decals, as well as the Bandag Bandit name, they included the Thermo King badges for the doors so you can do the first 1978 version with some aftermarket decals for the missing name decals.
They also included the temporary "Driver Martin Carver" decals for the doors wich are for a later version of the truck when the Bandag Inc. CEO Martin Carver set the speed record at Bonneville in August 1988.
A nice touch that wasn't in the 1980's issue is that they did "AMT Hobby Kits" scripts for the wing side plates this time, unfortunately they have "Tyrone Malone" instead of "Bandag Bandit" on there due to the same reason all Bandag, Detroit Diesel and Allison names are gone.

So maybe Round 2 should have done their homework better and researched a bit more before they did the instructions for these kits.

Edited June 21, 2020 by Force

[Mr mopar]

12 hours ago, Force said:

As I finally got my reissued Hideout Truck and "Bandag Bandit" Custom Drag Truck kits the other day I thought I would give my review of the kits, so I opened the boxes and had a look.
These kits are exactly the same as the early 1980's issues of the Hideout Truck and Bandag Bandit but as everyone know by now they are molded in black wich I really don't like that much.
It's not like black paint doesn't cover well over white or gray because it does, but light colors needs several coats to cover on dark surfaces so that makes it more difficult than necessary when you're going to paint everything else than the body itself.
The Hideout Truck was allways black and the first paint job on the "Bandit" was also black but had a blueish shine to it as it had blue pearl or something like that in the clear coat, so the highlights shine blue in the sun...and I don't know many who doesn't paint their models anyway so I don't really understand why Round 2 made that decision.

We start with the Hideout Truck.
The instructions tells us to paint the engine white wich is wrong for a 1978 Kenworth like the Hideout Truck is, Kenworth stopped with white engines 1975 and used manufacturers colors after that with a few exceptions, and in this case the engine should be silver and I have photo proof of that, they call out for aluminum for the Allison transmission and I don't know what color it should be...maybe aluminum is right...most likely it's the color it left the Allison Transmission Plant with.
The instructions also tells us that the chassis should be black...but nooo that's not right...the chassis was white on the real truck and I also have photo proof of that, so mostly everything on the chassis except for engine and transmission should indeed be white.
Further it tells us to sand several of the interior panels flat and paint them semi-gloss black...wrong again, on the real truck they were diamond tuft like they are in the kit so the panels don't need any work other than paint, and the interior color was speckled darker blue, not black.
The decals looks nice but the gold isn't really gold, it's more like brown and as everyone knows all Bandag, Allison and Detroit Diesel markings are missing, I like that they included the Thermo King badges tho' so it's possible to do the early 1978 Thermo King version if you want to with some aftermarket decals for the missing scripts.

Now for the "Bandag Bandit" Kenworth Custom Drag Truck.
The color callouts in the instructions are mostly right except for a few things, the third member on the rear axle should most likely be black, the axle housing is light blue like the instructions say and I don't know if the third member has been changed out sometime but it is flat black on the real truck now.
The interior is called out to be semi-gloss black and that's right for the Bandag Bandit as it is now wich is the fourth and final version and the version before that, but the version from the time period the kit is supposed to be with the decals included the interior was blue and white with yellow buttons and piping.
The interior was changed to black after a fire at Malones shop, the "Bandit" was damaged in this fire and had to be repaired, reupholstered and repainted so the "Bandit" is slightly different after that, and it was repainted at least one more time before Malone donated the truck to Bandag.
The "Bandit" did not have a roll cage like the Super Boss had (wich is in the kit), it had a chromed tube roll bar at the back of the cab over the seats.
The decals are nice but the gold is more brown than gold and all Bandag, Allison, Detroit Diesel related stuff are gone like on the Hideout Truck decals, as well as the Bandag Bandit name, they included the Thermo King badges for the doors so you can do the first 1978 version with some aftermarket decals for the missing name decals.
They also included the temporary "Driver Martin Carver" decals for the doors wich are for a later version of the truck when the Bandag Inc. CEO Martin Carver set the speed record at Bonneville in August 1988.
A nice touch that wasn't in the 1980's issue is that they did "AMT Hobby Kits" scripts for the wing side plates this time, unfortunately they have "Tyrone Malone" instead of "Bandag Bandit" on there due to the same reason all Bandag, Detroit Diesel and Allison names are gone.

So maybe Round 2 should have done their homework better and researched a bit more before they did the instructions for these kits.

Well done Force I will agree with you on this , the one thing I really like on the new decal sheet is all the new pin striping ,AMT never included  in the original Kit .

[Force]

Yes they did some more to the decal sheets that wasn't there before and the sheet for the "Bandit" is nearly a third larger than the original,  the sheet for the Hideout truck is the same size as the original sheet but the colors are a lot better and more true than they were before, so the new decal sheets are better even tho' some markings are left out.
The tires are the same as in the 2016 reissues of the Super Boss and Papa Truck with tampo printed markings and the Bandag names are there.

Edited June 21, 2020 by Force

[Mr mopar]

On 6/21/2020 at 7:13 AM, Force said:

Yes they did some more to the decal sheets that wasn't there before and the sheet for the "Bandit" is nearly a third larger than the original,  the sheet for the Hideout truck is the same size as the original sheet but the colors are a lot better and more true than they were before, so the new decal sheets are better even tho' some markings are left out.
The tires are the same as in the 2016 reissues of the Super Boss and Papa Truck with tampo printed markings and the Bandag names are there.

Yes the Decals are better but Model truckin use to make them in gold leaf but now there not ,there just a flat gold .

[leafsprings]

On 3/14/2020 at 1:02 AM, Force said:

 

 the early Bandag version from approximately 1979-80 with the chromed Truck Mate wheels and tube tires

 

Done a lot of research on the Budd wheel, as you know there are many variations. however, there is no manufacturer of these wheels known as  "Truck Mate". IMO,  Truck Mate was the  company that chromed the wheels for Tyrone. The manufacture of this type of wheel must have been Motor Wheel Corporation or Firestone.

Edited June 27, 2020 by leafsprings

[Force]

I don't know who did the wheels but the five hand holes are distinctly diamond shaped and I have not seen many budd wheels with that.
The wheels was probably something Truck Mate sold, Truck Mate is still around today but they mostly have bumpers, grilles and grille guards, they also have a wheel category on the website but there are no wheels there.
Malone had decals or scripts with "Chrome Goodies By Truck Mate" on his trucks.

Edited June 27, 2020 by Force

[leafsprings]

I believe AMT tried to duplicate the wheel on the Peerless logging trailer, but didn't do a very good job. It was popular in the early 70's to have steel wheels chromed, since they usually always came painted on new trucks.

Edited June 28, 2020 by leafsprings