robdebie

Steve, thanks, good point about sleepers. I hadn't thought about that. Rob

Håkan, thanks for the interesting comment on the cabin. I had read that comment too in one of the build threads here on the forum. It said the old cabin had 'smaller' windows. I compared photos, an maybe the windscreen height should be reduced a bit. Do you know? Thanks for the wheelbase figure, it seems the kit is in the right balkpark. Rob

Here's a first version of the Duel truck front wheel in 3D. It needs to be refined. I think I will use the tires from the AMT PP028 Parts Pack. Rob

I looked up the Moluminum wheels, and they are close indeed. But no wheel size is listed.. Your comment that the wheel diameter is measured where the tire bead sits is noted, that's why I added two times 2" (from Steinbuch) for what I call the tire (bead) retaining lip. There's probably a better description for that, but I'm not a native speaker ? Rob

Les, thanks too for that lead. I just checked the wheels and tires section, but no luck. A shop in the Netherlands? I'm not familiar with the truck model scene in the Netherlands, I mostly build aircraft.. Maybe Tom's Modelauto's? I'll start drawing my own wheel(s) in 3D tonight ? Rob

I just had the AMT Peterbilt 359 California Hauler delivered, that I want to use to build the 'Duel' movie truck. In an old FSM article on that subject, the builder extended the frame 3/4". But first I wanted to know what the kit's wheel base is. With the parts still on the runners, I measured ~207 mm (front axle to middle of rear axles), translating into ~204". I had collected as many Peterbilt spec sheets as possible, so I wanted to see whether 204" made sense. But to my surprise, all wheelbases listed in the spec sheets were smaller. The longest I could find was 192"1/2 for a 351. So what's happening here? Did AMT come up with the wheelbase themselves? Or are the brochures incomplete? Or is there another explanation? Rob

Noel, thanks again! A club member is a regular customer. I just checked their wheels section, but I don't see Duel-style wheels. Plus their standard scale is 1/24, which could be problematic with a 1/25 scale tires.. But it does give me the chance to fit tires that are a tad larger ? Rob

For current 10-bolt US wheels, I keep finding 11.25" or 285.75 mm. Using that figure plus the 44% from the photo analysis, I get 11.25" / .44 makes 25.6". Deduct two times 2 inch for the tire retaining lip, and I get ~21.6". That's close to the 22" I was guessing. Finally something that makes sense. Question remaining is why the left-side photo analysis gives such a different number. I'm baffled by that one.. Any ideas? Brian, thanks again for the idea! Rob

Noel, thanks for the lead! I went to their website, but they have closed shop.. I've accepted that I'll probably 3D print the wheels I want, that is easier (and cheaper) than trying to find them in resin.. Rob

Here's a first test of that idea. I drew circles at the rim edge, bolt outer side and bolt inner side, averaged the latter to find the bolt pattern diameter. It's expressed as a percentage of the rim diameter for the moment. The second and third measurements agree nicely, the first one doesn't. The there's the height of the tire retaining lip, that adds to the rim diameter. I consulted a Dutch reference from 1961 (Steinbuch), and it lists 50.8-51.0 mm (i.e. 2 inch) for 10.00W-20 wheels. But I have no idea whether that number is correct for US trucks. It also list the bolt pattern diameter for 10.00W-20 wheels: 275 mm for an 8 bolt pattern, and 335 mm for a 10 bolt pattern. There's a note that these values are for European mainland trucks. The numbers translate to 10.82" and 13.19" respectively, sounds un-American to me.. Ignoring the question marks, and taking 335 mm / 13.19" for the bolt pattern, the total rim size would be 1/.44 = 2.273 times the bolt pattern, makes 29.97". Deduct two times 2 inch for the tire retaining lip, and I get ~26". That can't be right.. Using the first photo measurement, the total rim size would be 1/.526 = 1.901 times the bolt pattern, makes 25.08". Deduct two times 2 inch for the tire retaining lip, and I get ~21". That's closer, but doesn't tell whether it's a 20" or 22" wheel. Back to the drawing board. First find that bolt pattern diameter for US wheels. Rob

An additional question: do you think the tires from AMT's Parts Pack PP028 'Semi tractor 'tall tires' 11.00-22' would be suitable? I deciphered 11.00-22 as an 11" wide tire body on a 22" diameter wheel. Standard aspect ratio is (was?) 88 percent, making a 41.4" diameter tire. Theoretically that would make 42.0 mm in 1/25 scale. In a product description I found a 42.3 mm outer diameter, 24.8 mm inner diameter and width 13.0 mm. The tires in AMT's California Hauler are Firestone 10.00x20 tires (as read on the tires). Theoretically that would make 38.2 mm diameter and 10.2 mm width in 1/25 scale , but I measure 41.1 mm diameter (129 mm circumference) and 11.2 mm. Therefore the Parts Pack tires would not be that much larger, but they would look a bit beefier. Are there bigger tires to be found in other kits? Rob

Noel, thanks for the lead. But customs tightened their nets, and anything imported from outside the EU has become very expensive.. Rob

Håkan, many thanks for all the details, many of which I hadn't noted yet! They are all noted. It will be an involved build, what have I done ? Rob

Brian, that's a great tip, to compare the size of the lugs circle to the edge of the rim! Never thought of that. Is there a way to figure out that lug diameter? Thanks too for the details of the Brad Wike truck. Rob

Peteski, thanks for the leads! I did not find information on the wheel / tire sizes, but I did learn something important. In builds with the kit's tires, they look too small compared to the overall truck, or the cabin height to mention a specific part of the truck. My conclusion is that 10.00-20's are too small for the movie truck. Rob

Les, thanks for the links. It lead me to a three-part interview with Spielberg, but no mention of the wheels. Maybe it's possible to judge the tire size from how they fill the front fender? Here are four screen shots of the original 281, not the 'extra' 351 used for additional scenes. Rob

I just had the AMT Peterbilt 359 California Hauler delivered, that I want to use to build the 'Duel' movie truck. One question to start with. The kit comes with Firestone 10.00x20 tires. I seem to remember that director Spielberg had bigger tires mounted, maybe 11.00-22s, to make the truck look more menacing. Maybe I heard in one of the YouTube videos about the truck? Does anyone know? Rob

Now with a photo. The folded box measures 70x30 mm. Rob

I think I saw the same Ebay auction, a few months ago. You could maybe find them on Ebay as 'completed items', or on Worthpoint, that saves all sold Ebay auctions. I just tried, but I cannot find the magic set of search terms. The auction inspired me to try to do it myself. I scanned the five printed sides of two boxes, pasted the scans together, and had it printed on heavy paper in a copy shop. It worked well! Rob

Jon and Chad, Thank you for your comments too. Rob

I like that idea of making a tribute display at a show. I've never seen that done at any show I attended. That members page is great, with excellent photography (by you ?). For our club, that's a bridge too far, we're not that organized. But with a little work, we could make a tribute, using the photos made during regular club meetings. Your club is really well organized, wow.. I'll save that idea for later. Rob

I'm a member of an IPMS-NL chapter that has monthly meetings with 30-35 members. All in all, we're having good fun. But there's one thing we're not prepared for: members that pass away. We've had only one death in the last 15-20 years, which is amazing, but this cannot go on forever. We share the feeling that we should prepare ourselves, with some kind of protocol. In a few days, we'll have a meeting on that subject. We want to discuss in which ways we can help the families, dealing with collections of built, unbuilt and partially built models, plus paint, tools, decals, books, etc. At the same time, we cannot overload the club with large collections that take months or years to offload. Plus: how to remember former members, what kind of tribute is suited. We would like to learn from others, therefore the question: how does your club deal with members passing away? Any ideas or experiences will help us. Thanks in advance! Rob

Or 13$ on Ebay, in a water-damaged box: https://www.ebay.com/itm/115731789767 Rob

There's an identical kit for sale (from a US seller) for just 10$ on Scalemates: https://www.scalemates.com/nl/kits/monogram-2792-mac-tools-planters-buick-lola-indy-car--176404 You'll have to subscribe before you can contact the seller. Rob

I can heartily recommend MRP (Mr Paint). It's an acylic lacquer, very thin, ready for use. I was never happy with my painting results until I found this paint. Here are three examples: There's no overview of all ~400 colors on their own site, so I made one myself: https://robdebie.home.xs4all.nl/models/mrp-list-all.htm You can also view the 'American colors' only list. I count 96 colors in that range. Rob