Force

Nice work Alan. This one is also on my build list.

One important thing for the brake system in these kind of cars is the line lock. They pump up the brake pressure to a cetain value on a brake pressure gauge and push in the line lock button, usually on the steering wheel, this thing is an electric controlled valve mounted somewhere on the front brake line cirquit wich locks the line to the front brakes and keeps the pressure there even if the brake pedal is released to hold the car on the start line, and on green light you let go of the line lock button and the front brakes releases. The line lock can also be used for the burnout to brake with only the front brakes to get the rear wheels to come up to speed easier and then let go.

Absolutely!!

It's not that hard to do if you have the right equipment. http://books.google.se/books?id=ao2nzB5Qs5QC&pg=PA35&lpg=PA35&dq=painting+whiteline+model+tires&source=bl&ots=rPEQf-IZ9K&sig=wzVuDdENmqKFEcv6TkmXsZJRPNQ&hl=sv&sa=X&ei=c-NKU9nkCqXV4AStu4GoDQ&ved=0CEkQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=painting%20whiteline%20model%20tires&f=false

The Transtar II Eagle had two different rear suspensions but both had the same 8017 kit number, first it had an Air Ride and later it got a Walking Beam...I don't know why they changed tho'.

Yes, it was cancelled because AMT/Ertl altered the tooling to do the T600/Canepa 1989-90...someone must have thought the W925 tooling was still usable.

Here is a thing I found on the US Volvo Trucks and the differences between the models. http://www.dmbruss.com/zRedRover/RR_WhyVolvo770.htm http://www.hhrvresource.com/VolvoModelLine.htm

I have built some Italeri kits in my day and one thing comes to mind, they are relatively easy to build but not that particulary accurate as Italeri likes to take shortcuts here and there and use the same basic chassis and driveline for several trucks of different makes...and I definately don't like their generic wheels with the large reduction style hubs in most of their kits, The thing you have to take your time with is the frame and make sure it's straight and square, otherwise you will have lots of trouble later in the build as nothing will fit properly. I don't have this tanker kit but I did a little research just now and found some pictures of the frame and suspension for the trailer so I got a better view on how I would do a modification for a dual axle setup as it most likely can be done with the kit parts and a bit of ingenuity . The suspension setup for this tanker is the same as on a couple of other Italeri tanker kits but this particular tanker is a unibody with a subframe for the suspension so some parts included in this kit are not to be used. Here is what I would do...leave out the axle and suspension parts for the rearmost axle, cut off the frame a little bit behind where the leaf spring for the middle axle ends and would have its mounting point, cut the rearmost spring mounting point off and save for later, mount the modified frame further back on the body so the last of the two remaining axles line up with where the discarded third axle would have been. You have to make new rear mounting points for the springs for the former middle axle so they have anywhere to sit as the ends now hangs in the air, that mounting point are on the suspension parts discarded for this modification and this new mounting points can be done if you cut off and modify the forward mounting points on the discarded leaf springs from the left over last axle and glue the modified parts in where the springs ends. You can extend the subframe forward if you want to so the length will be the same as before the modification and you can use parts of the included front frame not used for this kit for this...you will also have to modify the fenders and side skirts too as the cutout is smaller for a dual axle setup than a triple. If you do this you will have a convincing dual axle setup for your tank trailer

I have one of these unbuilt and it's a big task to bring mine up to this level when I build it...very nice work Sean.

Reverse engineering has been done in this industry, Revell did that for the Tijuana Taxi and Rommel's Rod, released in 2009 if I remember correctly, the original tooling was missing or destoyed beyond use...so that's for sure a possibillity if one want's to do it. The question is if Round 2 are willing to spend the money to do it...the later original kits (with walking beam) are not that rare yet as the Movin' On W925 version was reissued many many times up until the T600 came, in fact all my W925 kits are different Movin' On issues. I guess you can call it bad management and short sighted because AMT/Ertl didn't do a good job when they decided to take a shortcut and use the very outdated W925 kit as a base for the T600, it's not much in that kit that's accurate for a more modern T600 and they would probably have been better off doing a complete new more correct kit, yes it's more expensive to do but I think it would have sold better than this T600 did...and they would still have had the for W925 tooling intact wich allready earned it's keep to make more money of with more reissues as that kit is quite correct for the period it was made. If Round 2 did a straight reissue of the T600 I think many with me would pass on it, so that kit as it is is most likely "dead". A more accurate T600 would have a more modern engine and transmission as the ones you mentioned earlier in this thread, there aren't many on the road trucks with the old Hendrickson Walking Beam rear suspension anymore so an 8-bag Air Glide 100, 200 or 400 would be more correct, the front suspension isn't correct for a T600-T800 either, the wheels should be one piece 10-hole for tubeless tires and not the old out dated lock ring wheels that's in the kit. As you said Brad, the model kit manufacturers are "biting themselves in the rear end" if they don't do accurate scale model kits, the model builders of today aren't that many 6-7 year old kids who doesn't care if things are correct or not, no todays model builders are mostly middleage guys and gals and we are very demanding and fastidious when it comes to model kits as we have developed an eye for details and what looks right or not, and most of us likes to build correct scale replicas. So if a kit is porly done and inaccurate we woun't buy it, but if they do a nicely done accurate well detailed kit it's another thing and it will have a bigger chance to score a good sale.

I don't know how much the tooling for the W-925 were changed when AMT/Ertl did the T-600 kits but the say is that it's not possible to do the W-925 again without some re-tooling...one can wonder why AMT/Ertl did that in modern time, I thought they had stopped modifying tooling irreversable to do another kit as late as in the 90's. I don't have a clue what a sealed original kit is worth...I suppose it's worth as much as someone is prepaired to pay for it, and we can still get W-900 kits as Revell Germany has one and Revell US has the snap kit, it's only the AMT kits that's no go anymore. For the Tandem Torsion Bar Suspension it's available on the after market, both from P & P Resin Works and Melbourne Model Truck Accessories, and I have seen some on ebay together with a conversion kit with a resin W-925 cab, hood and interrior.

The 10.00 X 20 were used in most of AMT's truck kits and trailers and the 11.00 X 20 tires were used in most Ertl truck and trailer kits, but most of the recent AMT reissues has the larger Ertl 11.00 X 20 tires. One other tire used is the AMT Uniroyal 11.00 X 22 tires from the White-Freightliner and Diamond Reo kits, they have larger rims so the other tires doesn't fit.

There are Frontenac head and speed parts in the AMT 1927 Model T kits.

That I can believe as both are heavily modified, so it was probably easier to start with a Glider Kit than to modify a regular truck.

Nice job Alan. This truck is also on my "build list".

Well it's not only the catalogue number AMT didn't care to change. A Kenworth K-123 COE should have a Dual Drive Timken or Hendrickson Center Point Walking Beam, Rubber Pad Walking Beam or KW Air Ride suspension, with KW Torsion Bars the KW model number should be K-125 and not K-123 so it was not correct there, the KW model number later became correct as the Torsion Bar suspension was dropped and changed to Walking Beam. The W-925 was the other way around, at first the KW model number was correct as the kit originally had the Torsion Bars, but when they changed to Walking Beam the model number should also have been changed to W-923 but AMT didn't care to do it. But as I said earlier, KW dropped the last two digits from the model number in the mid 70's and the model numbers was K-100 and W-900 regardless of suspension type from there on.

Le Mans Miniatures has nice products, I just ordered two of their wheel sets for my Mk I and Mk IV kits, they look a lot better than the kit wheels.

Yes it's coming out again later this year, and also the Lowboy.

I believe the F-100 is the old AMT kit as it has an AMT number, if it was the flip nose kit it would most likely have been listed with a MPC number as Round 2 release old kits under their correct lables nowadays...not like under the AMT/Ertl and Racing Champions/RC2 time when everything was released under the AMT/Ertl lable regardless of what maker originally did the kits.

The Revell "new tool" Big John Mazmanian, Stone, Woods & Cook, KS Pitman 41 Willys Gasser kits also have a B&M Hydro-Stick behind the 392 Hemi, but the "new tool" Street Rod doesn't as that kit has a Mopar 727. Another kit with B&M Hydro-Stick is the Revell Orange Crate.

My kit is molded in the blue-gray plastic but as I said, my windows are clear with no tint....well it doesn't matter as I prefer clear over the green tint.

They did re-use the chassis several times under their life so it can for sure have been the same, one example is the 68 and 69 LeMans winner cars, they were in fact the same chassis but with different competition numbers, The history of the GT40 P 1047 chassis according to gt40.net is: 06/66 : Le Mans, 3,Gurney/Grant, DNF 02/67 : Daytona, 3, Foyt/Gurney, DNF 06/67 : Le Mans, 57, Hawkins/Bucknum, DNF Reims, 1,Schlesser/Ligier, 1st 07/67 : Mugello, 4, Schlesser/Ligier, 4th 10/67 : Montlhery, 1, Schlesser, DNF Montlhery, 1,Schlesser/Ligier 4th 1991 : auction Paris

In my case I didn't buy through ebay I ordered directly from him, I did pay through Paypal tho' but its 4 years ago so I believe a claim through them might not be possible after so long time. As I said, I didn't get anything for my $62.00...yet.

I read in this thread and on other places that the original issue T500 500 had green tinted windows but the T500 500 kit I have with the first 1969 boxart has clear windows...so if anyone hasn't done anything to it there were appearently two versions. I didn't buy this kit new as I bought it on an auction site a while ago, but it doesn't look like it has been tampered with and the clear windows fits the Unilite "Small Window" cab, so they can't be from the later 1100 cab version. The only other version I know of with the Unilite cab is the later T500 and the T522 Wrecker.

The AMT Kenworth Torsion Bar kit's are very rare. I have never seen any AMT Kenworth K-123 with torsion bar suspension and if any of them had the numbers are wrong. The last 2 digits in the KW model number is the number for the suspension type, in this case the 23 stands for dual drive Hendrickson walking beam, the torsion bar version should have been numbered K-125 as 25 was the designated number for the KW torsion bar dual drive suspension. The numbers Kenworth used to designate the chassis type were: _21 for Single Drive Spring, Torsion or Air Ride. _22 for Single Drive "Monkey Motion" or other tag or push axle setups. _23 for Dual Drive Timken or Hendrickson Center Point Walking Beam, Rubber Pad Walking Beam or KW Air Ride suspensions. _24 for Dual Drive Larger Capacity Timken Center Point Walking Beam or KW "Big Six". _25 for Dual Drive KW Torsion Bar suspension. Later in the 70's Kenworth dropped the last two digits and the models were K-100 or W-900 regardless of suspension type. So the AMT W-925 was at first correctly numbered when it had the torsion bar but it should have been changed to W-923 when AMT changed to Walking Beam, the only kits I know of with dual drive torsion bar suspension was the Watkins and the Challenge Mixer versions. There are a couple of kits with single drive torsion bar suspension, both the AMT Tyrone Malone Super Boss and Bandag Bandit trucks have that setup.