Biggu

Good point , Richard.

Here in B.C. An over width permit, heavily chained down on a 9 ‘ wide low bed, wide load sign, flags and rotor lights flashing. Probably not wide enough for a pilot car. And double check the height. If a bit high, possible to let a little air out of the tires rather than pull them off. Jeff

Brian is right. No comparison, apples and oranges ….your new ones are beautiful and will make this kit spectacular ! Jeff

Oh, !! Does that bring back the fond memories, Brian....

Thanks Brian. I am feeling, one can’t go wrong with the CTM pe. It sure is nice

Another small up date. Just installed the CTM pe grille. All I can say is wow. A perfect fit and changes the look to very realistic. It looks great in person.

Genius !!!

Well….. all of the above…. ? I relate to all of the above comments except I am not a computer guy , heavy equipment was my thing and , like Steve, I have been a car guy as long as I can remember. Like the rest of you guys, making something I probably could never have, using the tools and my brain to see if I can actually create what I have in mind, and mostly….. take me back to a simple time in my life when I had no worries, and partly because I’m addicted….. “my name is Jeff and I’m a modelaholic…” and I have fun doing research, and investigating other builds and trying new things. I think thats why. Oh, and its harmless, except to my wallet

And yeah , I certainly could have worded it much better, and should have. My bad and apologies for not being more clear, BUT I really enjoyed hearing your perspective on the question. Makes for a well rounded discussion. And I am happy we all don’t think alike, that’s what makes the world go round. Also I like to hear other’s ideas and thoughts as it opens my one track mind open up and learn something. This is a great sharing of thoughts , likes and dislikes. And you are right, Steve, in reality, it doesn’t matter. It is more about the subject matter and the vision of the build. I was once told , it’s about the journey not so much the end product. And , like most of you guys , I don’t build box stock either. Great conversation …. Jeff

Steve, I totally get your point, I can surely see why the box art isn’t a big deal to you , as your builds are out of this world. I have followed some of your work, and I can certainly see you have a vision and superb talents that no box art could come close to. And I guess that was the question,….. is if the box art motivates a purchase , a color choice, or inspiration for a detailed build… but in your case not so much as you have the gift of knowing exactly how to produce a stunning museum quality model. I love watching your builds . Jeff

Probably doesn’t matter, Steve, but your pic has some ‘inspiration’ for an idea of a possible color idea and or a diorama idea. And you are absolutely right, it gives no real idea of whats inside the box , but it does spark some thought. I guess thats where I was going with my question . Jeff

This one I find very uninspiring and actually the more I looked at it the more uninspiring it became. Thus the reason for this thread. Like Steve , I knew what was inside and what I wanted and had a vision. But seriously this is not 21 st century art work. The paint scheme is just plain blah, no detail drawn or implied to the cab, wheels and tires way too small to even pass as somewhat realistic or to scale, the grille looks like I drew it , the head lights are woefully inadequate and the list goes on . I am not a rivet counter but if this is an advertisement on how cool this truck could look, then they, in my opinion have missed the mark by miles. I know they are getting their money’s worth on the Coke license, but could have put a little more thought into it. And , no I am bot doing the Coke version.

Steve and Tom … excellent points. I’ve been fiddling with models since about 1964 ( oh GEEZ!!! Thats 60 YEARS??? ) holy. Does that make me old?? Lol. I totally agree as kids we were lured by the box art, and those Monogram dios by Shep Paine were light years ahead of most of our skills. And it never really occurred to me that is was actually clever advertising until you guys just mentioned it. Huh. I, like moat of you guys do my research on line or on a forum such as this to see ‘whats inside the box’ as they say.

EXCELLENT points. Nothing to disagree with there. I find I am doing the same thing. Interesting conversation

I’m in Matt’s camp , as a kid those Airfix box pictures spawned a huge imagination and many hours of flying Spitfires, B17’s and the Red Baron. Then when car models came along there was some exciting box art to fuel the imagination, and I guess it still carrys on. But if I’m spending $50 + for a car model and over $100 for a truck and if they are going to put a picture of the subject inside the box, I feel it should be a well rendered representation . As an example of a rather suspect representation is the re-issued ( many times ) of the AMT Peterbilt 352 Coca- Cola edition. In these times when digital images are a regular thing, and AI and all that other stuff not to mention some actual folks who are really good artists we should always have a cool box top … jmho. Jeff

Just throwing this out there, and I’m sure it has been asked before, somewhere ….. but I am curious as to what you guys think? Does good box art encourage you to buy the kit, or does it give you inspiration for a build or diorama? And conversely, if the box art is kind of lousy or uninspiring, does it discourage a purchase ? I ask this as it seems to me , in this digital age we live in, the box art should be much more inspiring and exciting than it is. Back in the day box art was just that real art and inspired us young guys to part with our allowance or hard earned money. For me personally, I like good box art and on more than once it has persuaded me to buy the kit. I have noticed there is some really crummy box art these days. I really don’t like being too critical as I am no artist but shouldn’t it be the best we have ever seen in this day and age? I’d be curious as to what you guys think. Jeff

Saw this a couple weeks ago in Lethbridge Alberta, thought it was uniquely thought out.

two trailers that are sorely in need of a more modern upgrade is a Heavy Haul Low Bed tridem trailer, with a 'detachable' goose neck, and a modern tridem, 53 foot Livestock trailer, yes AMT have them , but they are so out of date, but are very good for older tractors, but are rarely seen on the highways today.... just a random thought.... Jeff

So cool!!

Thanks , Brian. Very kind words. I appreciate that. Inspires me to do another. cheers Jeff

I’m in the exact same boat. It’s fun adding and subtracting bits and pieces and trying to go in a slightly different direction and make the model just a little different by putting our own personal touch on it. You’re right, it is very therapeutic… Jeff

Another very minor update. I decided to enhance the rear sleeper supports and shocks by adding some bolts. 8 on each side and under a splash of paint should be a subtle detail. I love Meng bolts

School bus yellow? Jeff

Tiny update, doesn’t look like very much but translates into a fair bit of bench time. I didn’t care for the chrome air cleaners as there are many builds with them as kit stock chrome. So wanting to do something a little different, I stripped the chrome, cleaned up the seams which is very difficult with chrome. Then painted them in can color, added my go to automotive tape for the hold down straps and then added the CTM photo etch intake mesh. Personally I think the pe mesh really makes the air cleaner much more realistic. Not sure the pics will do it justice. In real life it is beautiful.