Ben

That looks really good Nick!!!! I need to get back on mine!

Actually, nobody is casting any Cat parts anymore because Cat has stepped in and threatened lawsuits! IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!!!!!!!

Several aftermarket suppliers offer detailed car batteries such as the Optima and others. There not expensive at all and look great!

Man, that is lookin good!!!!!!!!! Keep postin those great pics!

Yeah, that kit is from the 60's. It's actually the very first truck kit that AMT made. Theres another kit that uses the same cab but has a single axle moving van trailer for North American Van Lines. These kits are very simplified, no chassis or engine detail.

I'm a little late here but, that Dirt Hauler kit is 1/32, not 1/25. Any wheels from any of the 1/32 snap together semi truck kits would work with it.

You have done a really nice job on this truck!!!!!!!!! Are you going to build a trailer to go with it?

Hess made a 1/25 GMC motorhome that is a promo. These can still be found on Ebay. A forum member here, Tom Ellifrit, super detailed one and made it accurate to the real thing!

There's never been a model kit made of a modern American style bus such as an MCI, Prevost or such. A 1/25 resin Shell of a GM bus as made years ago and shows up on Ebay every once and a while but it's a 60's era unit anda bit crude for todays standards. There's currently a company that was supposed to release a 1/25 Greyhound Senic Cruiser diecast bus in 1/25 scale but I have not heard about it for a while? It may even be available, i'm not sure?

That is really great to hear! Any chance of a sneak peek at the prototype wheels?

The ten hole Alcoa wheels will be most welcomed as well! I just hope they strive to make them as correct in appearance as the rest of the truck is so far!!!! Dave, if you have a minute, please take a look at my Fotki albums, you'll see that i've been making masters for resin, model truck wheels for many years now. I have strived to make the most detailed aftermarket wheel available, as so far, the wheels in most kits offered are either outdated or not what modelers are wanting to replicate the trucks they see every day. www.public.fotki.com/lotso Check the album titled "Model Truck wheels"

Whoops, that should have read "five oval holes", not six.

I agree Les!!!!! Especially a choice of wheels! Navistar has an aluminum wheel that (I believe) was designed for the lonestar. I has six oval holes and looks really cool! It would be really great to see those included in this new kit as well as a set of standard round hole, ten hole aluminum wheels in full dress with chrome center caps and acorn lug nut covers! I would buy even more kits just to rob the accurate wheels and tires out of them for existing projects!

This is sooooooooo true!!!!!!!!!!!!

A neat trick for painting the raised letters on tires is to take something flat and smooth, paint the surface with a thin coat of white and then touch the side of the tire to the painted surface very lightly. With a little practice, you'll get all the letters painted pefectly in one shot! I forget which paint is best? If I remember correctly, enamel will never dry on the vinyl tire. I have heard to use acrylic or even White Out correction fluid.

Actually, there's two of those kits now, one still sealed. LOL

That's disgusting! I can't believe you guys would hoard so many kits like that!!!! Have'nt you heard of self control?????? You should be ashamed!!!!!!! I buy a snap together, build it right away and give it away! Just like in my pics! www.public.fotki.com/lotso

That's one of the things that irritates me about contests. They'll have fifty seven catagories for different military subjects but the the light commercial and heavy commercial all gets jammed together in one tiny area!

I've been tinkerin with my Monroe Handler, Mustang II project today and so far it's comin along pretty good! I picked up a Beatnik Bandit II kit to use for parts and robbed the Mustang II suspension out of it. With a little chopping and filing, I was able to graft it onto the Monroe Handler chassis. It will have a little detail down there now! I robbed the Ford 9" rear end from an AMT 67 Mustang. The engine and transmission will come from the 67 Mustang kit as well. http://images12.fotki.com/v539/photos/3/1602553/8667284/MVC006F-vi.jpg More pics can be seen on my Fotki site if interested. www.public.fotki.com/lotso

Honestly, i'm not a big fan of how the truck looks. But I am sure i'll probably buy at least six of the kits simply because it is all new tooling and I could use the parts for other things. And also because i'll support any company willing to veture into model trucks in hopes of other future releases!!!!!

Now THAT'S how Italeri should have made it look!!!!!!!

I'd have to "hunt" for a spring ride reefer around here in Texas where i'm at. From what i've seen, more and more trailers are going to air ride. I've even seen dump trailers around here with it. On the Italeri reefer, the box height itself is too short. There's even a several page article on how one modeler (I think it was Guenter Boenisch) took two of them and spliced them together, one part on top of the other to get the correct side wall height. I think the article is on my Fotki site but i'd have to go look to be sure.

I would still recommend using the adhesion promotor and a good lacquer for durability.

Trailers don't sell well? Funny, I had no problem dropping 200.00 for two of the Transcraft 53' flatbed kits, 100.00 for a partially built bottom dump, 200.00 for a modern tri axle lowboy and 180.00 for a Klaus Clever Scona oilfield float! I could go on and on. If a modern 53' foot ACCURATE reefer trailer with the simple option to make a van rather than a reefer, kit were produced, it would sell, period! I would be willing to pay for two cases even before they are produced! Why, because I know they will sell! How do I know this? As mentioned, go over to Ebay and take a look at what the old, outdated 40' Great Dane reefer kit sells for. Why does it go for so much? Because it is the ONLY american style reefer trailer ever produced that accuratly represents the 1:1 trailer it was modeled after. The Italeri 45' reefer was a waste of good plastic! Too short in height, a huge seam right down the center of a detailed side wall, horrible European style wheels with drive axle hubs and a cheap spring ride suspension that is very rarely used on reefer trailers. A modern trailer would have air ride. I assure you, if there's one thing I know, it's model trucks and real trucks in general! I spend thousands every year on anything offered as long as it is accurate. If Mobius were to produce an ACCURATE up to date reefer trailer kit they would not be sorry! www.public.fotki.com/lotso

Hey Harry, i'm assuming the new mirrors are ABS plastic? If so, you may want to shoot them with some adhesion promoter before spraying the paint on to make bond better to the plastic.