Old Albion

Rob, I suspect that this is a "Wolf in Sheap's clothing". Note a few observations. 1/ Twin Air cleaners. 2/ The size of each air cleaner and the diameter of the pipe work. 3/ Each air cleaner and pipe work feeds seperatly down each side of the engine. 4/ Twin exhaust stacks. 5/ Note the rear auxillaries are level with the rear of the cab, indicating that the engine is as long as the cab. My guess a 12V71, maybe a later retrofit. Dave

This is a great looking truck. Very Impressive! Dave

Evan, Thanks for the tip. Thats very usefull to know. As for the detail in this truck build. Superb! Dave

Excellent! Very impressive! Dave

Just out of interest. Did GMC ever make the General with an extended hood and also did they ever offer the 12V71 as an option? Dave

Interesting subject. We don't see too many items of heavy plant on the forum. Having said that, there are as stated one or two kits available and some diecast items. First Gear have a very detailed range of Plant Equipment. But they are expensive. http://www.firstgearreplicas.com/product.cfm I know that Howard at KFS has discontinued the tracked excavator and the Michigan Loading Shovel. But it may be worth E-mailing him just to be sure. Who knows if enough people want them he may decide to produce a batch?? Dave

Kurt, Great to see progress on the General. Is the engine in the kit the straight supercharged Detroit or is it the turbocharged version? I will certainly look out for future updates on this one. Dave

Jarda, This is an excellent project, very interesting indeed. I would not worry about the defect in the top of the hood or the shade of paint. Just continue with what you have and finish it as is. Think of it as a personal development and this project is a step in your own development. Learn from the mistakes, methods and ideas and develop them in future builds. Great work Dave

Very Nice indeed! The colour combination works well with all the chrome. This would look great with the new 53ft trailer when it comes out. Dave

Jim, Many Thanks for letting me know that Jerry already has the decals available. They are on order. Dave

Great project! Red, black and chrome work very well together, nice combination. Dave

The weathering on the cab and trailer are excellent. First Class!! Dave

Thanks for all the comments. Appologies for not replying sooner, I have been having difficulties in signing in to the forum (I must have been doing something wrong). Hopefully thats sorted now. I have enjoyed working on this truck. The KW is a great subject and I really like this particular KW model. The kit is by no means an easy build even straight out of the box, but what a marvellous subject. The long hood seems to enhance the overall appearance and certainly gives me more space for the big Cummins KTA 600 engine. This will be a complete truck on the road not a glider. I am working on the rear suspension at present, but have not decided whether to have a working suspension or not. As for paint scheme this will be a Hill and Hill vehicle (We need Jerry to make some better quality details for Hill and Hill). It will be weathered but not sure as to how much yet. As for fuel tanks I will be using the standard kit tanks. Many Thanks for looking and all the kind words. Dave

I started this build in January this year at the same time as my Transtar 4300 and was intended to be completed at the same time. However things did not go according to plan and I put away in the box until this week when I decided to get it back out again and finish it. As you can see from the photo's much progress has been done. I'm now working on the diesel tanks, rear suspension and axles. Hopefully this will be complete by Christmas 2011. Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki http://public.fotki....alaskan-hauler/ Thanks for looking. Dave

Check out the 351 Pete in my album below: http://public.fotki.com/oldalbion/1964-peterbilt-351/ Dave

Craig, Try these? http://www.modelcargarage.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=310&idcategory=28 from the Model Car Garage. I have used them quite a few times for opening doors and butterfly hoods. They are a bit tricky but give a good result. Dave

Dennis, Nice project! Looks good so far. With regards to the belts I use small pieces of square or rectangle Plastruct to represent the belts. Good Luck with the rest of the project. Dave

This is great news! I built two of the yellow Peterbilts and the red KW W900 in the early 1980's. I thought they were excellent kits. The fit of the parts was great and they went together very well. The Pete would have been even better with a Extended Hood, but I'm not complaining. Its true that they are not as detailed as some other kits and they are quite big. But don't let that put you off, when they are built they really are impressive. They have a lot of potential for custom/scratch buildiing modifications and detailing. Remember as well, now that the kit is being re-released this will give an insentive to the aftermarket suppliers to go to work on a whole host of ideas. Looks like I might have found a new home for my 12V71.

I have not bought the lonestar kit as yet and was wondering does it have details of the colours in the instructions? Dave

Paul, These trailers are excellent! Yes I'm very impressed! You will need a lot of shelf space to put them on once they are finished. Dave

Very Nice indeed! I like it. Dave

Brian, An excellent looking truck. The long hood and the big engine is certaily one of the big attractions of this kit. I like it! Dave

I started this earlier in the year. I was inspired by the many excellent Transtars that had been built since the re-release of kit. I started a KW Alaskan Hauler and wondered how the Transtar woiuld look in the guise of an Alaskan Hauler for Hill and Hill. The concept grew on me so I decided to have a go. If you check the photo albumn I give a descrition of the progress. Some brief overview. The engine is a Cummins KTA 600. Transmission is a Spicer married 6 x 4. The rear suspension all works except of course the springs don't move, the front axle is the KFS metal one. This is shorter than the kit one and allows the wheels and tyres to sit under the fenders properly. To get the engine in I had to extend the extended hood. The BBC is scale 127" I added the chain binders and the tyre chains. Hope you enjoy and thanks for looking.. Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki http://public.fotki.com/oldalbion/international-trans/page2.html Dave

Tim, An excellent build with nice details. Great subject certainly not something we see much of on the forum. Dave

Very Interesting subject! What about aftermarket parts and conversions. What would people like to see released in the future??? Dave