mackinac359

Kurt You'll have to ask Sharon at Spauldings. Tim

I haven't tried it on Testors yet.

Sublime rides on the Peterbilt low-air leaf suspension, A total reworking of the kit suspension would be needed to get the truck to sit as low. Tim

Dave Check with Spaulding Trading and Shipping for the 389 lights. The Detroit in mine is used as a generic engine block. The hood on my 389 won't open, so I'm not concerned as to how accurate the motor is. P'car does not offer Detroits (not since '03). With that said, I've now see two '07+ Pete's with new Detroits in them. Both trucks were ordered as rolling gliders (complete truck, just no motor or trans). P'car's prefered engine is Cummins, with Cat still available for a while. The new PACCAR engine (developed by DAF) to be built here in the US should be available next year I think. Tim

I spotted this truck at the recent St.Ignace Truck Show (Michigan). The truck is an '08 Peterbilt 389 glider. My version won't be exactly like Sublime (as JADE calls it) as I am using it for inspiration. Starting with parts from Italeri Peterbilt 378 and 377s, a resin 389 hood from Spaulding Trading and Shipping and a resin 63" low roof from Budd Ricker, and some slicing and dicing for side panels and modificaitons. The frame has been stretched for a 268" wheelbase. The body was painted Duplicolor Gloss Black. I then masked off the black and shot a very light coat of Tamiya Candy Lime Green. This is my first experience with Tamiya paint - and I must say, it is super easy to work with. No bleed under, no lifting when the masking tape is removed. The only drawback is the extended cure/wait time between paint and clear coat. I added a silver separator stripe. The black has been polished and cleared (Future) and waxed. The green will be Future cleared once the green is fully cured. Lots more to be done! Thanks for looking. Tim

There used to be a 4300 with a big Cat with a double sleeper and long wheelbase that used to hit the truck show circuit for quite some time. I haven't seen it in about 4 years. It was quite nice. Tim

Typically the cargo portion of a Michigan style B-train is 28 feet for the lead and the pup. Tim

Bare Metal Foil offers water-slid decal paper for both ink jet and laser printers. They offer white and clear paper. I have successfully made decals on both types of paper. (unsuccessfully too). Once the decal is printed on the paper, I let the ink dry, then coat the artwork with Micromark Decal Film liquid. The decal film must fully cure, then cut out the decal, dip in warm water and apply. I've found that the decal needs to be worked to keep the edges down. I try not to use Solvaset on the homemade decals - I've had the decals crinkle. Tim

Excellent plumbing on the chassis. Tim

Rick The tractor is an Ertl International Transtar 4300 Eagle. Issued in 1978 and will be reissued this fall by AMT. The Italeri diamond plate most likely came from an Italeri accessories kit. The lift axle looks like they are the rims from the Ertl (originally issued by MPC) Gravel Trailer. The International 4300 came with a sleeper box. The trailer was originally issued by AMT in 1971/72 with the Loadcraft brand name. It has been reissued several times. Tim

Run ! They're here ! LOL Tim

Overdrive magazine had article on the "nuke haulers" back in the 90s, as did several police magazines. The trucks look like a typical highway truck. Under skin, things are different. The Peterbilt 385 (or that might be a late-year 377) in the photos on the website are typical looking, 70" sleepers (Ultra Sleeper), which means it could be as old as '97 or as new as '04. Armored glass, door skins, etc. The sleeper is not a sleeper, but a compartment for another person and communications equipment. The Peterbilt in the photo has probably long been retired. The Friends of Earth folks will probably freak out at every light blue Peterbilt 377/385 with a sleeper that the see now. Tim

Tom This is the first I've seen of the school bus finished. WOW! Stunning. The photo limit isn't the amount of photos, rather the size of the image/file size. Tim

Tom Nice Fords. The refuse truck is awesome. Tim

Nice ! Nice ! Nice ! Tim

Seventies Snazzy ! Tim

Way back when.. single drive trailers and truck-tractors were the norm.

Ed The twin steer just begged for a Canadian company. Tim

Those crazy bees kept buzzing both me and the model. It didn't matter where I set up, they buzzed. They loved the amber marker lights and it seems my red hair. Darned things. The bee on the hood photo was purely by accident. The bee landed as I snapped the photo. Imagine if the bee were in-scale at that size! Tim

My most recent Peterbilt, a twin-steer, tri-drive rotator wrecker. I combined the Revell of Germany Can-Do wrecker, the cab and sleeper from an Italeri Peterbilt 377 with the hood/bumper of an Italeri Peterbilt 378, some modifications, scratchbuilding, a couple of resin parts, parts-box parts and plenty of imagination for this Canadian wrecker. I widened the wrecker body to accommodate the wider 1/24th scale frame and axle track. Additional photos and information are on my site at www.timstrucks.com/Progress.htm and Here. Thanks for looking Tim

Now that's a nice looking 70's bed-bugger! Tim

WOW !! That looks fantastic !! Tim

Here is the Apex slotted screen used on the Italeri Peterbilt grille. Here's the grille with the kit supplied mesh Ben is the one who discovered this material.. what a great find! Keith at Plano Model Products deserves a big round of applause! Tim

Nice to see a Bison being built. Tim

Dave The trailer looks fantastic. I like what you've done to the A-car too. Tim