ABC Auto Industry

Ah! I knew it had to be the real thing this time! Maybe my luck is starting to change...

Wait, I thought all Kenworth trucks model names started with a single letter and ended with 3 numbers. I'll have to check this out...

Well, I heard of the cabover first, so I prefer to just call that one a Transtar & save me some confusion.

Nice work. One note: Only cabovers are called Transtars.

NO LIE! Apparently, there was a set-back front axle version of the GMC General made, but it came late in production and it's said that only 20 or so were made. And I thought that GM never made any SBFA trucks! It would be an interesting project to try out. http://gmtblog.blogspot.com/2005/10/rare-1...back-front.html P.S., Don't kill yourself trying to find an SBFA Chevy Bison. That was never made.

Nice job! I especially like the heavy-duty front end!

What is this truck? It looks like a White Expeditor to me. Whatever it is, nice job!

If you're a fan of '73-'87 GM full-size pickups, go to http://www.73-87.com/ They have lots of information on these trucks. They even have a page showing model kits of these trucks! Apparently there are more kits of '73-'80 GM pickups than I realized. However, a number of these are short bed stepside models. I'm looking for a long bed truck. Does anyone know how to convert a short bed to a long bed?

For even more of an old-school effect, they should put some old Alcoa 2-piece aluminum rims on it and then few people will be able to tell it's not an old truck!

Awesome! This is the first time I've seen someone attempt a 388/389 model!

Nice job so far!

Nice job so far.

It's real. If it were a model, then there wouldn't be people in the background. However, in recent times, you've been messing around with the background, so it's getting hard to tell nowadays.

Making fuel tanks out of PVC pipe? Why didn't I think of this? This sounds like a great idea! Any tips on working with that stuff?

Perhaps you could use the bumper from the DC-64 dump truck kit.

Anyways, while we're talking about GM heavy trucks, I have a question: Was anyone here lucky enough to obtain a GMC Astro kit with the turbine engine?

So you're saying that the Chevy versions didn't sell as well because they weren't as obvious as the GMC versions?

Well, they're both GM products, so I think they were produced in the same plants with different nameplates. However, until we can find a better answer, then we'll just go with my guess. After all, it does seem to have hit the nail on the head, Jim.

Wow! That's quite the project! I have an idea: put a heavy-duty front bumper on and maybe a heavy-duty grille guard to give it a real heavy-duty look.

Wow! That's a great looking International!

I also read that Diamond-Reo trucks were supposedly really tough trucks, and that they were available with a hood made of some material called Royalex. Does anyone know anything about this? Also, I'm considering getting a Diamond-Reo kit + a Raider resin hood & making a heavy-duty tractor model.

Well, that's quite the setup! I never heard of an Autocar being powered by a 12v71! Personally, my trucks are box-stock except for paint & decals.

Yeah, it seems I've been building plenty of big rig models lately. It started with the Chevy Titan I got back in 2006 (still needs some touching up), and since then, I got: an American-Lafrance Pumper, a Peterbilt 359, an Autocar A64B, and a Chevy Bison. The Bison had been sitting around in my local hobby shop before I bought it last Friday. The strange thing is that it says "Exclusive production by Stevens International" on one side of the box. I thought the AMT-Stevens alliance was a recent thing until I saw that. Does anyone have any info on this?

Hey, I didn't know you had another A64B! That one looks exactly like the truck on the box! I don't see why AMT didn't make stripe decals like that.

Yep. Some more info: A bunch of the AMT kits were upgraded with CB radios & other accoutrements, so some of them changed years. For example, the original GMC Astro/Chevy Titan kits represented '69-'73 trucks, with: cab-mounted mirrors, square fuel tanks, slanted grab handles, low-mounted blinkers, & battery box steps. The upgraded kits resemble '74-'79 trucks, with: door-mounted mirrors, optional round fuel tanks, S-shaped grab handles that extend over the doors, high-mounted blinkers, & metal tube steps. They are also available with CB radios & roof-mounted dragfoilers. The current GMC Astro kit is the same, but curiously, there's no Chevy Titan to accompany it. Also, didn't AMT release a BJ & the Bear Kenworth K-100 kit as well? One other note: AMT was planning a Ford C-Series garbage truck, and though the box design was completed, the truck was unreleased.