Mike77

Hey guys, my KW has suffered irreversible damage to the cab/sleeper so I have to pull out of the contest. I'll use the chassis and fenders for something else eventually. I hate to have come this far only to have to sit on the sidelines but there's nothing I can do. Best of luck to the remaining contestants. Hopefully there's another contest next year with better results for me!

The Hobby Lobby stores in my area seem to only have an endless supply of WF DD COES, maybe clearance sales will make them finally disappear.

I'm sure they're well compensated for their inconvenience!

The next time they want you to order from them just say "hopefully next week".

I finally got tired of stressing over paint color I finally made a choice. It's hard to photograph the model and get the color to show properly but it's Burnt Orange. I'm not sure if I'll add a second color for contrast but I'm glad to see it in color. On a side note, I've decided to scrap the rolled front bumper in favor of a traditional Texas bumper.

Thank you very much for that information Kevin. I was trying to decide what to do with the hood and at least I know now what it'll mate up to. I might try to hunt down a resin Ultra cab or just stick with a regular kit cab or make a 379 wrecker or, or, or...

In any hobby there are different degrees of builder/collector. I'm curious to know what kind of builder you guys consider yourselves. This is not a thread to put down a novice builder or worship an advanced builder, I just thought it would be neat for us to tell others how we look at our own build styles. I'll go first... I'm an "if it looks good on the shelf" builder, but that's not to say that I'm lazy about building. I don't have the detailed knowledge about trucks that a lot of guys do so I don't sweat over rivets, bolts, and every little hose or air line. If an occasional hood doesn't open or an axle doesn't roll so be it. I do my best to make those things happen but if they don't I'm certainly going to lose sleep over it. I'm just as happy with a decal of a dashboard gauge as I don't have the dexterity to paint a needle on a speedometer gauge! LOL!

I know it's hard to tell from a photo but this seems to be pretty good material as resin goes. I've had a lot of resin parts that are gritty and grainy and these are nice a smooth. Besides the cab what other parts does the original Drennen kit come with?

Hmmm...I wonder who made it. It's all resin and it's well-done. The resin is smooth, not grainy like a lot of resin parts are. it includes the 4 extra grille bars which is what led me to think it might be a Drennen conversion.

I picked up a Peterbilt 379 hood conversion kit on Ebay. Can anyone tell me if this is a Bill Drennen hood, and if so, if it made for AMT or Revell Petes? Thanks!

If you're into modifying trucks to your liking (like I am) then extra wheels, axles, etc., come in handy for the parts box. But we have to remember that not everyone has the skills to alter cabs, frames, etc. Beginning builders usually don't want to do much more than just put a kit together and paint it. With the White-Freightliner SD a builder, beginner or experienced, can just put it together and put it in front of a set of doubles or whatever trailer they want without modification. Without this kit everyone would have to start slicing and dicing on a WF DD...like we have to do if we want a KW or Pete day cab COE.

Super-sharp...I love it!

I've been debating the rolled front bumper thing myself. What do you guys think. rolled or traditional Texas bumper? I know the one on the real KW has a tighter curve to it because of the custom fenders, maybe it doesn't look as good on a wider wheel opening.

An Allied Van Lines 377 we saw on the way home from the Corvette Assembly Plant in Kentucky on Thursday...

Thanks! I'm not 100% positive I'll go with that bumper, but I got the idea from this KW...

June update just in case the month gets away from me. I have everything in white primer so I'll have to make a color decision soon. I got the rolled front bumper done...it's just set in place for the photos. I'll be sending it off for chroming before long. Enjoy!

I saw a flock of Reliable trucks at the local Love's truck stop today...five of them. This was the most decked-out one there...

Very sharp KJ, I love the different shades of blue!

Although they take up a lot of display space the size of the 1/16 trucks makes them easy to modify, and you can do as little or as much as you want. I tended to lean on the "as much" side!

Funny when you hover over the photo or click on it it reads "Ford C-600 Strike Truck". Never been a huge fan of the Freightliner COE but it still might be a good Hobby Lobby pick up when they get released.

One of my favorite kits as well. I built many of them back in the 70's, and this one from the '96 reissue...

Great shots Clayton! I'd title the first one "Drunken Pilot" What that in front of you in the 2nd pic, a Ferrari?

Speaking of that, it always seemed to me that the rear tires never fit the wheels very well on those kits.

I like 'em all! Lots of inspiration there.

Yeah, we'd be hangin' out there like the tech addicts do for the newest iPhones!