mackinac359

How about some KFS wide fronts or one of the tires that Sourkraut carries? Tim

The Revell of Germany Peterbilt 359 (actually a Revell USA designed kit) is a great kit. The Bill Signs issue is probably the best version with its own frame, wheels, exhaust, chrome trim ect. The other 359 kit variants ("353") aren't so great - the big bumper and the diamond plate fenders are inaccurate to a factory built peterbilt. The diamond plate fenders shape is wrong for a true 353, and a 353 has a butterfly hood not a tilt hood. The 353 versions build as a normal 359. Versions: Alaskan 353, Canadian Hauler and the recent "western life 353" all build into a nice 359. Scrap the big bumper and the diamond plate fenders. Tim

The "super singles" are the too-big fronts from the Can-Do Wrecker and the Bill Signs 359. Somebody needs to cast these in resin/rubber and sell them in sets of 4. Tim

This is a project I painted in July when I was on a huge painting binge. Duplicolor gloss black with several coats of clear. In July.. Now after almost an hour of polishing And after waxing with Mothers Carnuba Here's the inspiration Thanks for looking! Tim

I merged several of the Lonestar topics into one mega-topic so the information isn't scattered all over.

Very nice day cab conversion! Tim

Cool rig!

Nice old KW.. great start on a classic! Tim

I bought scraps of several colors from a vinyl sign shop. They cut them into several dozen strips for me in a couple of different sizes. Tim

Dennis, I used two frames - the forward half from this parts box and the rear of a frame I had in my parts box. The frames in the parts box were either badly twisted or broke in several places. The result? A longg frame. Tim

Looks like the ones that used to run around up here. Tim

Justin, The background in these photos is my backyard. The road surface is a piece of 3/8ths plywood painted to look like a roadway. To make the model look more in scale with the sky, I bring the camera down so that the lens is at the same height as if I were in 1/25th scale. Here's an example (attached pics). Pic one - the scene - a building for a background. I'm about 100 feet from the building. Pic two - the photos - the model appears in scale with the building. Pic three - I'm about 300 feet from the building. Pic four - 359 is about 200 feet from the building. It looks in scale (it is - it's real) by me being farther away it puts the model in scale with the building when I have the camera lens up close to the model. Part of the fun of building is setting up the scene to take the photo. Tim

I started this rebuild from a box of W925 parts, Alaskan Hauler parts and pieces given to me by Denny Henderson of Texas. This was from Denny's teenage collection from the 70's. I went for a west-coast maybe Alaskan/Canadian oil patch tractor with a drom deck. I didn't use any parts from fresh kits. Everything is from the parts box except the decals (from the AMT flatbed reissue). THE PARTS THE CONCEPT THE PRIMER THE PROGRESS THE FINISHED KW A few other rebuilders in progress. More pics on my site atTimsTrucks.com Thanks for looking! Tim

Here's an almost box-stock version I built in 2008. I swapped in wheels from a Trailmobile 27 footer. The posts are Bare Metal Foiled. This is a great kit. Tim

Try Courtland Truck Works. Tim

Headache Rack is a slang term for the cab guard mounted behind the cab or sleeper. In the event a load on a flatbed shifts forward, the cab guard is supposed to stop the cargo - thus preventing a headache. Tim

I guess I misspoke there! No, I don't polish and wax the engine - I can't imagine how my hands would ache after such a task! Only the body gets polished and waxed. Tim

Sweet! She looks like a beast in the making. Tim

HUGE those things are. Nicely done. Tim

Good save! Glue-bombs and former built-ups are great for experimenting. Tim

Nice weathering. Tim

Cool build! Tim

Justin, That TV program was filmed in the same plant several years ago. Tim

The long wheelbase tractors (stretched frame) being common in the western USA is a leftover of the old days when the length laws west of the Mississippi River allowed longer trucks than the eastern USA. West Coast tractors had longer wheelbases and conventionals were more common. Cabovers were designed for the eastern USA market and shorter overall length laws. A longer wheelbase can be used for overhanging over-sized loads on a flatbed. The longer frame space can also be used for a "dromedary" box, tank or flat deck to haul more cargo. In later years (1980s) bigger sleepers became popular and the long wheelbase was spec'd on a truck-tractor for a larger sleeper. In the 90's the long wheelbase became a popular "look" or style creating a somewhat cartoonish version of the old West Coast look. The original "long wheelbase west coast trucks" had wheelbases between 250 and 270" inches. Now we see 312" and longer wheelbase versions. Trucks this long are pure style. When someone says a truck has a "stretched frame," that typically means the truck has had the frame rails cut and additional frame rail added to lengthen the rail. Much like we would lengthen a model frame. On a real truck this is done if the truck was originally built with a shorter wheelbase than the owner wants - usually the 2nd or 3rd owner will do this sort of work. A new truck can be ordered with most any length of wheelbase. Tim

I approve! (see pic)