mackinac359

It looks like it just drove out of the 1970 Ford Louisville Line brochure ! Tim

Thanks guys! Yeah, this has the Italeri 2 piece tires. If you have a kit with them, they build okay but you really need to sand the tread and seam to get them to look better. The tires on my Freightliner were not sanded. I was going to paint the chassis a different color but the wheels/tires were firmly glued on and I didn't want to mask them off and paint the chassis. Ray, Freightliner dropped the "White" name when they cancelled their marketting agreement with White in 1976. By 1977 the last White-Freightliner had been built. Tim

My latest is not a Peterbilt :shock: A Freightliner FLC12064 ! I backdated a 1980s FLC Testors/Italeri built-up to the original Freightliner style. I had fun weathering this one. It really took on a life of its own as one thing lead to another. Thanks for looking! Tim

Just to add to this.. the cover photo is a dead ringer for the AMT kit except for the big air cleaner. This aircleaner is availble in resin from AITM at http://www.aitruckmodels.com. You'll have to email Dave and see if he has that part available. Tim

Looks good! Sometimes a glue-bomb rebuild turns into a tremendous under taking. You always (ALWAYS) discover something you didn't expect (just like a 1:1 restoration). A broken frame rail, snapped axle, missing part, etc. Tim

Looks good ! Tim

WOW ! Tim

Craig I like the concept. It looks a lot like many of the trucks seen on Hank Suderman's Lunchtime at the Overpass photos http://www.hankstruckpictures.com Click on the link the Hank's, then Truck Photos, then "B.C. Truck Pictures" then Lunchtime. Tim

Dave They both look great ! Tim

Cool! Tim

Revell has never produced a 378 kit. I am surprised that they haven't. Tim

Casey Here's the fix for the "buck tooth gap" of the fenders: cut some chrome mylar vinyl or thin plastic and cover with Bare Metal Foil and bend it to shape like the front of fender add-on panels you see on trucks. There are several styles from straight to angled. Attach them to the front of the fender in such a way so that the fender still clears the bumper. Tim

Ray Nope, the kit was discontinued and on eBay can cost an arm and a leg. We need plenty of letters to Italeri to get it reissued. Tim

Ray Much to my dismay, the Italeri Peterbilt 378 kit #746 was discontinued almost 5 years ago (this explains the high prices on ebay). We need to write to Italeri and Model Rectifier Corp (The importer for Italeri in the USA) to get them to reissue the 378 kit. www.modelrectifier.com www.italeri.com Tim

Travis Very nice ! Tim

Wow! Great work on the lower body panels and fenders! Tim

Dave Thanks! I wish some talented model maker (or model company) would step up to the plate and make a modern Peterbilt.. a 386 or 389 or both. Tim

Chris Nice 281 you built ! Those instructions on Griffen's site were prepared by me. They originally had some illustrations to go along with the text and were to go out with the resin parts. I have not attempted what you did, backdating an 1100 series cab to the older cab. Tim

Kurt Thanks! The Italeri Pete's have late 90's vintage Detroit Diesels. Peterbilt no longer offers Detroits so I will either paint the engine red for a Cummins ISX or Yellow for a Cat. The Italeri kits typically "fall together" unless something is warped or not installed correctly. The hood on this one had a slight warp/twist that gave me fits and I finally glued the thing shut. I wish that Italeri would release more north American trucks. Tim

Detroit Diesel Silver 92 or a later 8v71. Tim

The inspiration for my latest model comes from a truck I photographed at the Peterbilt factory in September of 2005. The truck was off in the distance and I didn't get a chance to get more photos of it. The truck is a 378 with a 72" spread suspension, a self-steer lift axle and several other options. THE REAL TRUCK MY VERSION VARIOUS IN PROGRESS VIEWS The fuel tanks were moved under the doors with the left tank shortened to allow for the space-saver battery box. The tank steps are from a Revell of Germany 359 as are the air cleaners. I reworked the kit cab to a daycab and later year door windows and mirrors. FINISHED PICS I used parts from several kits to build this, starting with the Italeri Peterbilt 378. The mudflap logos are from White Fang Enterprises. The round-hole wheels, exhaust stand pipes and horns are from an Italeri Western Star. The roof lights are from an Italeri Peterbilt 377. Colors are Duplicolor Bright White with clear coat and a biege interior. Since the fuel tanks were natural aluminum, I painted them with Duplicolor Bumper Chrome. I also painted the wheels to dull the chrome a bit. I painted this back in August of 2006 for later building on a cold winter day. Thanks for looking! More photos are on my site http://www.timstrucks.com Tim

Kurt The dumper is really coming along nicely! Tim

Cool. Tim

Ambitious is right !! Tim

Very nice ! Tim