mackinac359

Look at my collection, how many typically customized 379's do you see? One or two. I'm just not into the full-on customizing scene that you see most 379's built as. (model wise). At a (real) truck show there will be 15 custom 379's and they all look the same to me (even though they are each unique). Same for a jazzed-up 359. It might be a classic, but all the doo-dads and funky modifications ruin what I like about the design. The ones that catch my eye are the subtle design and customizations that retain the as-designed look. I will gravitate to a 20 year old bone-stock 379 over a tricked-out one everytime. The 379-127 represents the perfect combination of Peterbilt classic styling based on the old model 351. All the aero trucks deviate from the 351 (the archetypical design). Wanna see me flip for a truck? A real paint scheme, not murals or "Calvin peeing on something" artwork or vinyl stripes and swoops. Holy cow am I rambling.. I shouldn't have taken that afternoon nap. As for the new designs.. and future designs, the traditionalists are gonna have a cow. The lovers of aero and smooth shapes and contours are going to enjoy the trucks to come. Tim

WOW !!! Tim

WOW !!! Nice trailer work. Tim

The general distaste for newer designs is because they don't have the classic car appeal, think long hoods, big round headlamps, flowing exhaust running down the side of the car. Big and classy cars that make a statement as to the owners status. Think of old cars such as Deusenberg and the like. Swoopy hoods aren't percieved as 'masculine' by some and look too graceful when they slip through the wind. Newer designs don't lend themselves well to customization. There aren't a lot of add-ons and changes you can make to the front of a Prostar, T660 or 386 to personalize it. Custom paint is iffy too on these designs if you try to encorporate a traditionally inspired stripe scheme on a hood that slopes dramatically or has shape changes and air cleaner intakes in the way. Within 5 years all the new traditional styled trucks from today will be 'used' trucks and they will be prime candidates for customization. The new designs we are just seeing will start to be customized - I'm guessing mostly in custom paint and interiors as there won't be much on the bodies that can be changed and you won't be able to do much to the exhaust systems. Times are a changing. Tim

The term "doghouse" refers to the engine tunnel because it was reminscent of a dog house. Tim

Cool. Tim

Good work ! Tim

I agree! And I agree with what Ben said. Dave's got a great product line. Tim

With the flat fenders it looks more like a model 353. Nice build! Tim

There might be a bit of adjusting needed. Keep in mind that the wrecker body is too wide to look right without modifying the overall width.Take 1/8 inch off the left and right sides (for a 1/4 total)from the floor. The front panel and rear panel will need to be reduced also. This modification brings the body in a bit so that it doesn't overhang the tires so much. AMT seemed to have over-scaled the width on the body. Tim

Nice. Tim

Here's another of my painted-in-the-summer for winter building... This time a 1960's Diamond T tilt-hood conventional. My inspiration came from a Diamond T advertisement showing a red tractor with an aluminum (unpainted) chassis. Here's the ad photo: Here's my version I started with an AMT Diamond Reo adding in a resin hood from Spaulding Trading and Shipping that I have had since '07. The other bits and pieces came from the parts box with the front wheels coming from an AMT Autocar A64B kit. Looking at the photos I see I need to fix the crooked roof lights.. that right lamp is really wonky. More pics are on my Fotki workbench album at http://public.fotki....amond-t-in-red/ Thanks for looking! Tim

Nice work on the pipes and hoses. Tim

Cool beans! Tim

My personal opinion - we'll see more builds of the Prostar than Lonestar.. lots of fleet potential. I saw 3 today - all different fleets in different configurations - daycab, sleeper cab and sleeper with full fairings. Tim

For a Cat truck you'd need a hood, grille, bumper and cab modifications? Tim

I wish AITM had the old style Brockway cab and hoods too. So many possibilties with those. Tim

The nice thing about scanned-in versions is that a). You don't have to sit and thumb through the magazine, , you aren't wearing out the old paper ones (if you have them) and c). no paper cuts or mildewy smelling old magazines. Tim

Ahhh.. my secret weapon! Old Overdrives! Perfect for finding "The Look." Tim

Museum quality? Not at all. Just creative photography hiding any issues and flaws. Tim

Jarda, That is how the old Mercury sleepers looked. The standard size was quite short. An optional taller sleeper (about 10 inches taller) was available as well as longer versions. Tim

Nice ! Tim

Sergey, The pipe would have been blue - until it burned off...

I used rails from a junker build. Tim Thanks for the great compliments guys !! Tim

Not Alcad but Alsa Mirra-Chrome spray. Tim