mackinac359

Anthony The transmissions would be black or dull red depending on the brand, and I can't remember which is which. I painted mine black and drybrushed silver over it to highlight the details. Tim

Thanks! Tim

Thanks Dave! Tim

Jarius Cover photo? Not this one. Look close at the headlights.. the lenses are sunk into the headlight pods.. a 'feature' that was 'built in' when I aquired the kit. If I remember, some things were glued including the engine block, headlamps, and the rear axles (explaining why the brake dust covers are on backwards keeping the wheels/tires from their correct positions. Tim

Thanks Ken! Tim

Back in July of 1999 I happened to check eBay for grins and kicks. Not really something I had done before, but I decided to check for a model truck, the old AMT T500 Peterbilt California Hauler. I hadn't seen the kit in 30 years and hadn't touched a model since 1979. I bought the 1st T500 kit I saw and built it. THIS is that model.. it's second incarnation. Originally it was dark red with black fenders (with a nice glue smear on the right fender) and posterboard rear fenders(!). It wasn't bad for my first model truck in 20 years. Sometime in 2004 it suffered a 'shelf accident' and had the cab knocked off the frame. In the process the windows were popped in and some chrome came off taking paint with it. SO I tore the truck apart and stripped the paint thinking I would rebuild it then. Wrong! Jump ahead to last week, I decided to breath some life back into it. I removed the lame attempt at a lift axle I had made, then repainted the entire truck brown with yellow stripes and fenders. It looked pretty nice all spiffy and shiny, except the chrome was pretty faded, and the glass was marred. I decided to make a dirty workhorse. Not abused, jut well worked complete with grime, bird poo and bug-guts splattered here and there. I didn't use any new parts on this rebuild, only what was used on the original version, which I discovered It was missing a driveshaft, hood ornament, an airbag and some other items. Maybe in another 7 years I'll rebuild it again! Tim

Here is a model based on a real truck that I Peterbilt Motors Co. donated to the city of New Orleans to aid in hurricane Katrina clean-up operations. I combined an Italeri Peterbilt 377, 378 and an AMT/Ertl Paystar dumptruck for this truck. Here's the cab ready to be mounted on the frame. The mirror brackets are made from aluminum tubing bent to shape. The cab on the frame. Coming down the assembly line.. okay, my version at least The finished project The Real truck a 2006 Peterbilt 378 Here's the Peterbilt factory crew who arranged the donation to New Orleans. I started this project back on September 21, 2005 arranging parts. Shortly after I modified the cab from a 377 kit so I wouldn't have the air cleaner mounts on the cab sides. I painted the cab and hood at that time. Jump ahead to last weekend when inspiration hit to complete the truck. Colors are Duplicolor Wimbleton White (If I recall) Duplicolor Victory Red for the dump box. More pics on www.timstrucks.com/tmt_june06.htm

Air Leaf suspension for the Peterbilt kits from Revell, AMT and Italeri (not the AMT Peterbilt 352 COE) A tri-drive set-up. This suspension is available in single drive, tandem and tri-drive as well as with tag and pusher axle combinations. Tim

Cummins engine in the AMT and Revell of Germany Peterbilt 359 kit. Right View Left View This engine is slightly newer than the kit engine, but the basic plumbing is the same. Tim

Great pics! Thanks for posting. I love the Peterbilt 335. Tim

Unfortunately no kit of a Unilite COE cab was made. The AMT Peterbilt "Pacemaker" 352 can be converted to a Unilite, I have done several. Reworking the lower panels of the cab including the headlight panels, grille opening, rear engine tunnel opening, side step-pockets and generally reshaping the contours of the cab (generous amounts of sanding) will be required. For those who don't know what the UniLite 352 is, it's the cab used on 352/282 COE from 1959-1969, replaced by Pacemaker. Unilite front view Pacemaker front view Pacemaker 352s Unilite Pacemaker tilted Unilite Right Hand Drive tilted. Unilite side. The faded green shows the panel lines and detail. The interior is different also, the Unilite doesn't have the wrap-around type dash, only a padded doghouse with a flat dash above that. The Unilite cab is more graceful with more rounded roof and backwall corners. The roof shape is arched, sort of banana-like. The Unilite has completely different panel seams, different baggage compartment doors, a small radiator check door. The only shared componants from Pacemaker are the windshield and the doors. Tim

Eric The original issue of the AMT Kenworth W925 AND the K123 COE had the KW torsion bar suspension. Finding a kit with it is getting quite difficult now. Sometime around 1972-73 they retooled the kit for a Hendrickson walking beam suspension. Tim

Yes, Monogram had a KW W900 with Aero sleeper in the same snap-together format like the 359. No word on if it will make a comeback or not. Tim

This kit just came out, a reissue of the old Monogram kit. I had the original (red molded) Monogram version on hand and decided to build it now that it has been reissued. My old kit had some warping and a twist to the frame. When there is damage or flaws to an old kit this usually gives me the green light to cut-slice-n-dice on the plastic, so that is what I did with the kit. I stretched the frame, modified the cab to slightly resemble a modern Peterbilt 379 (instead of the older 359 that the kit represents). I dechromed most of the kit, added a couple of resin pieces (bumper and chassis steps) then added straight pipes using aluminum tube. The entire truck was painted black. I 'greyscaled' this photo, I just can't photo a black truck and have the pics turn out right. This photo shows my version with the box-art in the background. For a snap kit (I used glue on this one) it builds nicely. I have several planned, and at the price some kit sellers are asking (I've seen as low as $15) it's cheap and fun to build. Tim

You'll be a kid in a candy store! Enjoy! Tim

Are you nuts for cutting into the kit? Heck no! Go for it ! Tim

That turned out nice. Tim

Gene My pleasure ! Tim

SWEET! Tim

The update for June is on line. Three pages of truck photos. I've also changed the name of the site with a new domain name. TruckModeler.com www.truckmodeler.com Enjoy! If you'd like to submit photos, send them to photos@plasticcowboy.com Tim

Aaron Ya' think? :shock: Tim

Scott Looks good. Can you post your weathered pic too? Tim

Aaron If you need specific information on the 359, such as proper interior colors, engine color (WHITE!) and other Peterbilt trivia, just ask here or email. Check out http://tahlborn.web.aplus.net/PB.htm there are lots of 359 pics, and look for an upcoming Truckers Corner in Model Cars with some nice-clear real 359 detail pics. Tim

The AMT Peterbilt 359 tractor and wrecker kits are identicle kits with the wrecker kit having the wrecker parts. The Revell-Germany 359 tractor, 353 "Alaska," "Can-do" wrecker and Fire Truck have the same basic kit parts with extra parts for the specific truck the kit is based on including. Some Revell-Germany kits include lots of extra parts and many parts are interchangable between the AMT and Revell kits. Tim

The Peterbilt 359 kits are completely different from each other. The AMT/Ertl kit is a 1975 359, 119" BBC, 36" square door sleeper, round headlamps, single PB style air cleaner, older 'flat dash,' Cummins NTC350 engine, split rim wheels, single battery box, 100 gallon fuel tanks (un chromed), Classic interior. The Revell-Germany kit is a 1982-87 359, 119" BBC, 63" sleeper, rectangular headlamps, "Dash of Class" instrument panel, dual air cleaners, larger 150 gallon fuel tanks(chrome plated), dual battery and tool boxes, Classic II interior. Longer wheelbase than the AMT kit. Lots of chrome. This is a superior kit to the AMT just due to the AMT tooling being older technology. The chrome parts are finer, the cab is shaped better (except the windshield isn't quite right), the kit features opening doors too. The Revell-Monogram 359 kit is a snap together kit. The chassis is 1 piece. The cab and sleeper are molded together. (easily cut off and the sleeper used for the AMT or Revell-Germany 359 or an Italeri 377 or 378. The kit is a 1982-87 359 with 119" BBC, single air cleaner, 36" round-door (modern) sleeper, rectangular headlamps, dual battery and tool boxes, classic II interior. The kit is missing the visor. By kitbashing parts from other Peterbilt kits you can make the Monogram-Revell kit look quite nice. It builds nice enough that with some minor 'fixes' you can't tell it's a snap-kit. Tim