ultraliner13

An interesting Project Tim and I hope to watch it as it progresses along. I never thought to uses the wall of a sleeper for a back panel of a truck, I will take note of that tip. Cheers John

The T522 Peterbilt 359 Wrecker AMT 1-25 is powered by the V8 Detriot. It must have cost AMT a fortune to change the parts over to update to the newer Peterbilt we are used too. If anyone can explain to me why AMT went throught this upgrade of kits I would really like to know. Cheers John

Well here is the latest update from last time. I beleave I have nearly finished her but I may have to use some non genuine kit parts as there are a few missing. A good little joke on me was trying to find the hood hinges. I went through the box several times with no luck. My other half told me to look at the instructions. To my shock and relief there are no hood hinges you just have to use manual labour to lift the hood off. Hope you enjoy Cheers John

Those colours Tim mentions above are the only colours I have ever seen for trucks. I have never seen a white Cummins or a white coloured Cat engine for trucks. But just to be awkward I have seen a red NTC-350 Cummins. The owner painted it red during an engine rebuild. I did ask years ago at a dealership and they told me the white colour was more suited for marine applications. Then a couple of years later I went to a boat show and on the cat stand all the cat engines were white for marine use only. Cheers John

Yes it is the AMT T500 359 little window Peterbilt. And i'm glad to have it in my workshop. Cheers John

I managed to buy this Peterbilt off Ebay a few months back and had it sent to me here in New Zealand. It was already built but it was in need of a major rebuild. when auctioned. I had no idea it would be the sought after Peterbilt with the Detriot V8 untill I unrapped the bubble rap and saw the engine half hanging out of the chassie. I was even lucky enough to have been sent the original instructions which I have very carefuly put away. I intend mainly to rebuild it to original spec. I have replaced the glass with evergreen clear sheet as the kit glass was way to thick and after 35 Years of being knocked around it needed replacing. I hope you all enjoy my project and I hope to have some more pictures soon. Cheers John

What were Peterbilt thinking when they produced these headlights. Are the 08 Headlights more powerful? Cheers John

Tim you sure have an eye for detail along with a vast collection of trucks and spares to work with. Thanks to you I continue to enjoy building model trucks. I have never thought to try and build a replica of the real truck. Cheers John

These tow trucks are great. I like your Transtar. I noticed that you have cut part of the body away so the fuel tank will fit. I have seen people just put the body on the chassie and not bother that the fueltank wont fit. well done. Cheers John

I like your model a lot. the colours ae great. That lampost growing out of the rig is a distraction. I used to photograph trucks a lot and those pesky lamposts just loved to get in to the shot. Cheers John

You people are quite right the prices are just going throught the roof. I have it a little tougher. Our NZ dollar is weaker than the US and I have to pay even more. On top of that a lot of kits I want I can't buy. Reason being will sell only inside the US of A. Don't understand that. I pay for my purchases using paypal and the money is sent in seconds. I take the risk and wait up to six weeks for the kit to arrive. To be fair all the purchases I have been able to make have gone well and the sellers have been very helpful. I wonder how long the high prices will go on for untill the bubble bursts. Cheers John Wilson

If we are talking about the Revell Peterbilts with The Cummins 475Hp twin turbo. then they are fantastic kits to build. I built the Black Magic version back in 89 and the detail was fantastic. How ever the chrome was ######. My chrome had big run marks through it. The chrome sags really stood out around the fuel tanks and could not always be hidden. The Kenworth Aerodyne also suffered from chrome runs along with the Aussie Kenworth. I don't know if Revell ever solved the chrome problem but that was the only bad thing I ever came accross. I have recently rebuilt my Black Magic Peterbilt minus the Black Magic letters and it sits proudly on the shelves along with my many other truck kits Cheers John Wilson

I remember back in 1978 My Dad and I went to our International dealer with the instruction sheet from the Ertl Paystar 5000 mixer kit. The chaps at International said the V8 engine should be red and not blue as the instructions said. I thought back then Ertl were on the ball with information so I was a little suprised to be told the instructions on the engine colour were wrong. Cheers John Wilson

Just tried to open your link to see your build. Can get as far as photobucket and thats it. I'll have to try later. Cheers John Wilson

Mack Cruiseliner being re- released? If thats true I'll buy 2 for starters. Must not get to excited might be hoping for too much. John Wilson

Hey I like your build. Every time I have built this truck I always painted the V8 yellow for the Cat option. After seeing the engine in blue I will build my next V8 engine and make it look like the Ford Version. Cheers John Wilson

You shore went through hell on this build. I have had major paint battles but I have not as yet melted plastic in the way it happened to you. I used the red alert method and wiped the paint off with strong turps before the paint dried. Managed to just save the body before a melt down In my cases I put as many quick coats including the primer I needed and crossed my fingers. Some of my paint cans said recoat in 2 hours or leave up to 3 days for a recoat. I think I will use my airbrush a lot more and hope to have less panic situations pop up. Cheers John Wilson

Well Well we modelers have been rained on again. big suprise. Every time I hear that a new model is coming out I get excited and as usual it turns out to be a crock. Thanks everyone for letting me know not to get excited about the latest release. I'll support the model manufactures when someone finaly listens to true modelers who know what the want. And not the garbage that is out there now. Eg truck models with no motors. Cheers John Wilson

I like what I see. Is there any chance of some close up shots of the flatbed tray on the back? I would like to have a go at building one. Cheers John Wilson

A Great project and I will be watching with intrest. Can you tell me please what undercoats you use on plastic as I have had some close calls with paint attacking plastics. I have always used undercoats but sometimes the topcoats has gone right through the undercoat and into the plastic. Cheers John Wilson

The colours for weathering are fantastic. The engine looks as though it has never had a spanner any where near it in it's entire working life. Great job on the insides of the cab so realistic. I will look forward to further progress on this build. Cheers John Wilson

Hi Dan, I'm annoyed to hear that the truckmodeler site was hit so many times in 15 minutes. I hope the same thing happens to the person who commited this act of vandalism. Heres hoping the damage is not the worst. John Wilson

Tim, I want to thank you for the work you have done on the truckmodeler site over the years. I have had the pleasure of e-mailing you when I have needed advice on modeling and thanks to you I have continued the hobby even when I considered some time back on giving it up. I will endeavour to support Dan on his new job undertaking the role of looking after truckmodeler and already I like what I see. I take my hat off to you Tim and to all who support the hobby. Cheers John Wilson Masterton New Zealand

Does the LAFD have a Western Star Recovery Truck? I was looking forward to buying the Peterbilt 377 as a wrecker. I won't even bother with this fastbuck truck from Italeri. I really wonder who the model makers listen too sometimes. Take the Peterbilt 378 being dropped. I can't see why that model would was dropped at all.. If it is a Peterbilt or a Kenworth it sells. Cheers John

Hey I noticed the aircleaner set up on the back and I have to say I have never seen the aircleaner lying down before. We in in NZ have our aircleaners sitting straight up and the pipe going straight up with the cap sitting just above the cab. It's nice to see something diffrent. Cheers John Wilson