Casey429

This is excellent news! With the ones still out in the wild being made of unobtanium, which is driven by the prices on that auction site, I welcome it. I've been after one for years to build as a '79 Transtar II my dad owned back in the late '80s.

I was hoping these would follow suit with the Short Hauler Coke reissue. Been hunting one for a while and as everything else, eBay and swap meet prices have reached levels I'm not comfortable with.

Found this browsing around online. As someone who's been looking for these (since they seem to have disappeared from hobby store shelves) I welcome it. The throwback box art is nice too, looks like the second issue of the original T500 California Hauler, which I'm just fine with.

It doesn't look like it'll have any actual branding, which is no doubt to avoid licensing. But some of the features look like they belong to a Reitnouer trailer, which I've got no issues with. They're some of the finest built aluminum flatbeds out there, and their Big Bubba and Bigger Bubba are two of the more popular trailers in the heavy flatbed industry. As for it not being branded, I couldn't care less, it looks very promising. I'm already sold on it, will be getting at least one to build as a covered wagon.

That's one sharp Huskie!

I'll need a couple of each for sure. I've yet to build any of the other Moebius Ford trucks straight out of the box, and these will just add to the parts-swapping pool.

I don't need another '53 F-100, but the box art is very nice and it's hands down my favorite kit to build. I think I currently have 7 or 8 of them, plus pieces of others. I'm very excited to finally see the Autocar dump truck again, I'll need a couple. I do have one that I paid almost too much money for, so I can resist raiding it for parts and actually build it instead. As for the Pete wrecker, glad to see the late cab make a return. If it's like previous releases, will it include a sleeper and fifth wheel so it can also be built as a tractor? That also being said, I'm also looking forward to the Double Header vans. Now if we can just get the Fruehauf flatbed...

Nicely done. Where did you get the wheels and tires?

All the spoke wheels I encountered in my wrenching days were 1 1/4" lug nuts. Number of spokes, super single or duals, it didn't matter. One truck in particular I worked on had super singles on the lift axle, with a wedge that was about 6" long. I actually prefer them to the older style Budd discs with the 2 lug per wheel setup (with LH threads on one side to boot!). They're not as much of a pain as they might appear to be to get true, and the rim and tire itself ends up being a bit lighter for throwing it around for mount and dismount of tires. That being said, Hub-Pilot was by far the best thing to happen to truck wheels.

I may have to blatantly copy this idea some time. Very cool!

A nice ode to the infamous "Kecksburg Incident", Chuck. For those that don't know, the incident is also referred to as "Pennsylvania's Roswell" due to the alleged coverup of the whole thing. This sleepy little hamlet is about 30 minutes from me, and the prop used to reenact the incident for an episode of Unsolved Mysteries is mounted on a pole behind the Kecksburg VFD. Also, I had to Google the address, just to see where it was. Weather it was intentional or not, you picked the location of Norvelt Beverage, a beer distributor. For those uninitiated, PA only recently adopted the practice of being able to buy your beer in gas stations and grocery stores. Local beer distributors are still very commonplace, often mom and pop type businesses, and usually are more competitively priced than the supermarkets. My only gripe is the geographic locations of your Esso stations. Harrisburg, Kecksburg, and Exeter aren't exactly in each other's backyards. That's one heck of a service area for a family chain of gas stations. Now I'm going to go back and read up on Kecksburg again...

I remember seeing that truck for sale in a very old issue of Wheels of Time many years ago, and I always wondered what became of it. I'll have to see if I can find it (I'm a notorious magazine hoarder) and scan the ad. Cool stuff!

I say run with it, the idea isn't all that far off from reality. Dodge sold versions of the track-only Challenger Drag Pak with a V10 that was derived from the Viper power plant.

Agreed on more trailers. I've been on the hunt for a Fruehauf flatbed. None of my local shops have any and eBay prices are through the roof. According to my research, that was last out in 2010 so I'd say it's time again.

Sharp rig! It reinforces the want I have to build a 353.

Just a little update. Been tinkering with this some more, and it's really coming together. An easy thing to do when there's almost no paint involved. The engine and all its assorted bits are in, with the missing bits taken from the donor truck. I washed and polished the shine to bring out the shine, without going overboard. I wetsanded it with 2000 and 4000 grit paper. Then hit it with Meguiar's Ultimate Compound, followed by Meguiar's Ultimate Polish. I might hit it with a quick coat of wax too. I used some new never used parts from the 4270 parts kit to put the front end back together, along with the 10 tires that were still in the original bag. Just like a real restoration, nothing beats NOS parts! The black around the headlights was redone with good old Testors square bottle enamel. I didn't want to deal with masking and getting potential overspray where it shouldn't be. Thanks again for looking, look for some Under Glass photos with the next update!

I felt that this truck deserved its own "build" thread separate from the random projects one I have elsewhere. This 4070A was originally built by my father, probably back when the kit was new. Typical of his style (I have several survivors for those that don't know) very little was ever painted, and it was built straight from the box...I'm guessing. I say guessing because the last 40 years weren't easy on it. Many parts were missing or broken, but I wouldn't ever think of letting it go. It's just been hanging out in a drawer, filthy, just begging me to do something with it. And the answer came in the form of another Transtar builtup I found. Not to worry, the donor will be restored too. I just wanted my original to have all original parts, the donor will eventually be rebuilt with a little more creative freedom. Basically I will be reassembling it as it was out of the box, warts and all. I'll be removing as much dirt and glue smears and stuff as I can while trying to preserve as much of its character as possible. Should be fun! Here's what I started with, one big pile of Transtar parts. The only thing not pictured is the original engine. It was already in the purple pond. It had been repainted Detroit green probably 10 years ago. Just part of the abuse this thing suffered. After stripping, I reinstalled the original 8V-71, now back to the red plastic it was molded in. An interesting thing I noticed, the inner halves of the front springs were never installed, along with the engine crossmember. I have new, never used parts that came in a pile of stuff I got that might be from the Ertl F-4270. They're exactly the same as the 4070A parts, and this seems an appropriate use of them. A couple other neat things. I don't know where the black pinstripes and permit numbers and flags came from, but they work! Any ideas what kit(s) they might be from originally? I have an original 4070A decal sheet, and it's definitely not that. And finally, the donor for the restoration. I'll be using all of the chrome and any other parts that are missing from my Transtar. This one, while cool, doesn't have the sentimental value that my original Transtar does. The build isn't terrible, but the paint is about an inch thick and most of the glue joints are already failing. With the rarity of these kits, this one will also live another day. Check out the green interior! That's all for now. Thanks!

I hope everyone found themselves having a Merry Christmas (or whatever you may celebrate) and is eagerly waiting to see what 2018 will bring. I know I am. I haven't made a workbench topic in some time, but it's for somewhat good reason. I've started more stuff this year than I have in many past, hopefully that'll lead to more under glass! First up, a Ford Louisville short hauler. I picked up this original issue Ryder-liveried one before Round 2 had even announced the recent reissue. It happens. I'm going for an out-of-the-box look but with a couple improvements. I started by adding air brake parts from the parts box. This ditched the wedge brakes for maxi cans, just a matter of preference. I recently picked up a big roll of vinyl/plastic tubing like what comes in some kit boxes, so I added some basic air line detail. I also added some material onto the fender segments on the cab, to fill in the gap that these kits have. I looked at some pictures online to determine if the line should be straight, or notched as the hood comes. The amount of chrome in this kit is typical AMT, entirely too much. It's also way too much for a rental fleet truck. So other than a few odds and ends, most of it is going away. Plans also call for some 5-hole steel wheels. Second up is a second issue California Hauler, with sleeper. I started with one I picked up at a local model show, partially started but inventoried and complete. It's also going to be mostly from the box, but I swapped in a Cummins from the 2003 issue of the old T501 with the big window cab. If any of you are Instagram users, and follow Peterbilt Motor Company, they recently posted this picture of a sharp brown and white 1971 359 tractor that I was instantly smitten by. I think this one will wear that scheme. To make the Cummins fit properly, I fused the radiator mounts of the two kits together, as well as relocated the transmission mounts a tad lower to get it sitting nice and level. Thi Third up is a gluebomb resto. I picked up this International F-2674 recently too. It appeared to be out of the box, little paint, and not as bombed out as I originally thought. It suffered from a few broken and loose parts (all included though) with the biggest issue being damaged rear end housings. Sorry about the first picture, it's a quick snap from my iPhone. Then the darn thing just exploded all over my workbench. I never realized that these S-Series models from Ertl are so darn long. This is way too much frame for a tractor, especially a "smaller" truck like an S-Series. So I'm going to whack a section of frame rails, slide the tandems forward, and make a more realistic looking tractor out of this thing. I'm going to try and keep this thread going as much as I can, thanks for looking everybody!

I finished this up a couple months ago, but just got around to getting some pictures. I've had this thing kicking around probably the better part of 10 years. I could never find a color I liked enough to finish it. Thankfully I never sprayed more than the chassis. It was originally maroon, then blue, and then I finally got the color right. Speaking of which, colors are Plastikote gunmetal grey and Duplicolor silver. this is hands down some of my best paint work, as I've finally discovered the virtues of Tamiya masking tape. Pinstripes are Line-O-Tape. I did change up a couple things to improve the toylike appearance of some things. I used the Revell of Germany square headlights, aluminum exhaust pipes, scratchbuilt mudflaps on the quarter fenders and the rear, built a visor, made some hubcaps, cab light lenses from the spares box, and filler panels from an AMT 359 that still need installed. I also smoothed and foiled the mold seams on the grille, and added the panel lines to the sides of the shell. Thanks for looking! EDIT: I wasn't satisfied with the quality of the previous iPhone photos, so I broke out the camera.

Casey: I did see the news on the A64B tractor. I missed that last time around and will be getting one of those regardless. The big ticket here is I want the HD rear suspension and axles for a project I have in mind, which leads me to my next comment. Warren, Brian: I did a little more investigating and what I was able to find outlined the numerous differences in the A64B Tractor and DC9964B Dump Truck. It's far more than just the fenders and a dump box. Hearing from the both of you that have/had the kits in front of you is an interesting development. Thanks for the help everyone!

Good morning, everyone. I've been doing a bit of casual browsing, and despite what's probably too much money these days, I'm looking at picking up an Autocar dump truck. I have one that my dad built back in the day, but I'd really like to take on my own. One thing I noticed is that some of the sellers photos on eBay and the like show the rear suspension as the correct Rockwell heavy duty with toploader rear ends, and others show the more common Hendrickson walking beam with frontloader rears. This got me to thinking, does the dump truck contain both? Or did certain issues have one and not the other? For what these kits seem to be bringing, I'm not comfortable dropping that kind of coin for what might not have what I'm after. Thanks for the help!

As an avid HW collector, I have to say those are awesome!

I didn't even think of pickup trucks when I came up with this harebrained idea. Sure, why not? You are correct, but that is the one originally released as T-500 (tractor) and T-522 (wrecker) with the Unilite cab. I meant the new tool one with the later "1100 Series" cab. I second the DM800s for sure. The 1/32 rigs wouldn't offend me either.

Seeing the topic up in the general section regarding "Comfort Kits" got me thinking. There's some stuff out there that we're way overdue for another run. Some of the recent reissue news (especially the Cruiseliner) also got me thinking about this. That being said, I want to know what everyone else thinks. I'm going to post a list of a couple kits below, and we'll build it from there. Feel free to agree or disagree with me and anyone else, and let's have a little fun! To start, I've got a couple wants that have been reissued recently enough for me to remember them, but I have no luck actually buying any of them. Some of them are a little outside that window, but there's no reason they shouldn't be out. Based on some of the recent groundwork laid by new reissues that haven't been seen in 30+ years many of these should be easy. "New" AMT Peterbilt 359. I have one from when it was last around, which I believe was 2003-04. It'd be nice to have it in the T-501 California Hauler and T-533 Wrecker variants. Pipe dream: double package like the 75th Anniversary Freightliner Cabover.AMT Ford Louisville: Ideally, the 3-in-1 Dump/Snow Plow/Tractor, but I'd be ok with them separately. We just got the short hauler, this should be a no brainer.Ertl International Paystar. The tractor and logger are probably out of the question, but with Round 2's track record lately I won't rule it out. The dump truck and mixer were last out about the same time as the Peterbilt. Every time I search on eBay, I get disgusted at what some people ask for Paystars, regardless of the variant.Ertl International Transtar Cabovers. I'd much rather have the CO-4070A, but I'd take a Transtar II given the opportunity.Ertl International 4270. Because why not?AMT Autocar, dump truck and tractor. Same reasons as the Paystar.Revell of Germany Peterbilt 359: It seemed like it was just here a minute ago, and I can't for the life of me find one.There's a few more that escape me, but I'll leave it up to the rest of you to come up with more. I don't want to steal all the thunder on this one.

I'm always ready for another 4x4. Seems to have been a lack of them over the years, with 4x2s prevailing even in modern tool pickups. As others have stated, trying to make an F-250 4x4 out of these won't be impossible, but it's not simply a matter of tossing on some 8 lug wheels. The only thing an F-250 shared with it's 1/2 ton counterparts (if we're sticking to the '67-'72 trucks) is sheet metal and engine options. F-100s used a 5-lug Dana 44 front axle, Ford 9" rear, and I'm not sure but may have been available with an automatic transmission. F-250s were a Dana 44 HD front (in a couple variations up though the '70s) and a Dana 60 rear. I've been told that F-250 4x4s were manual trans only up until the debut of the new '73 trucks but have never confirmed that. Just to add more to the confusion, the F-350 wasn't available as a 4x4 until 1979. Aftermarket conversions were around, but I've only seen one.