Gary Chastain

Some first class builds, well done

Same here, picked up the cab to add to my stash, quality is outstanding. Texas 3D really has their quality dialed in. Waiting for their next release.

Really nice build

Well done

Nice build, looking good

Very cool

Totally agree, but for the average person who builds a model because he likes it probably does not know the parts are incorrect. I have been on several social media sites and the builders in this forum are probably some of the most informed builders with tons of knowledge shared, they expect a higher level of integrity in the kits they purchase. Why I like reading the builds and learning. one more thing on part quality and fit. These parts are molded in extremely high performing molding machines, new machines capable of 50,000 psi at the nozzle. Plastic when heated does not transmit pressure very well or consistently due to viscosity change. Therefore the pressure inside the mold (parts and runners) varies. When pressure in the cavity (parts) goes down, the shrink rate goes up ( parts get smaller). When the pressure goes up the shrink rate goes down ( parts are larger) all from the same mold. It is extremely difficult to manage this phenomenon because of the polymerization process of making plastic pellets. This is why sometimes my parts fit really well and I build the same kit a few years later and nothing seems to fit well. sorry for derailing your build thread but a really good topic.

Steve, typically but not always when you buy a model kit and open it, you find several parts trees ( in the mold builders world that tree is referred to as the runner). Each parts tree is a strategic grouping of parts and typically that tree with parts is molded in one mold, but not always. In a kit you may have say 5 parts trees which may be molded five molds each mold may cost 20,000 to 50,000 (or higher) dollars depending on the complexity of the parts. So a new rollout of a new model could creat a very large expense unless I pull one mold out of an old release, design a new cab, hood and various parts for the cab and hood and now mold cost is greatly reduced to only one new mold and reusing the other 4 parts trees from the previous model. The sales strategies now offers a complete new late model mold sometimes stating updated, new art work and so on. All model manufacturers do this, the AMT T600 Kenworth is a great example of this applied strategy, new cab and hood but frame and running gear from a much older Kenworth, changing maybe only one mold and reusing the current molds.

Agree with Hakan, those can be a challenge to build. From Italeri’s perspective the tooling (mold) becomes much cheaper to build. Let’s use a molded complete cab as an example. The cab standing up is about 3 or 4 inches tall, this means the mold has a much thicker A plate and B plate to mold something this tall, second I need to remove plastic for all the windows which means when the mold closes I need to move steal over to contact the A side of the mold, that requires a collapsible core and some way to move it in and out at the perfect time. All this design work, tool build and additional steal costs. If we take the cab apart and lay it out flat, the tallest part may only be .500 inches and the holes for windows are in the movement of open and close referred to as The Line of Draw. I now can use much less steal (thinner A and B plates) no longer need a collapsing core (design and build are greatly reduced cost). The upside again for Italeri is quality control is much easier with smaller flat parts. There are many variations to building molds and way more complex than my brief explanation of why they do what they do. I spent over 40 years in the plastics manufacturing world as a mold builder first, then mold designer and then part designer. The good thing is polystyrene is pretty forgiving plastic to inject in a mold compared to nylon or polycarbonate. Sorry for the long response

Now that is cool, well done

Wow, outstanding build, nice detail

That will be a very cool build.

My friends 2023 short noseWould love to see a late model T800 Kenworth with the angular roof line as a day cab or sleeper option. This cab was used as logging truck , dump truck OTR, etc. There was a long hood and short hood version as well.

Very well done, it’s tuff to decide how much detail is enough but it does make a big difference.

Well done

I always have to rotate the tires and wheels on any brand. Progress is fast and smooth, well done. Like your black wash, adds depth.

Good progress

Looks way better, good adjustments

Very well done, sharp looking

Thank you.

Very cool build, well done.

Impressive, like to have seen more pics as you constructed this, post more pics. Very well done.

Is this a kit or scratch build? Like where this is going.

Wow, impressive, great build

Outstanding