highway

Hey, no problem! I just didn't want you to get mad at me for not replying!

I really think gloss black would be better, but do agree with octane on the body! Please tell us where you found it. Does it use the Polar Lights Ecto1 frame and interior as donors?

I think you got the trailer just right. AMT also had that trailer with the reefer, but like you said, the reefer is not that hard to scratchbuild. As for getting my e-mail, I'm sorry, but I don't remember sending you an e-mail, are you sure it was not someone else?

Thanks, Brad, I was not planning on going past the storage door on the side I have the picture mocked up on because I don't want to mess with the irregularities. There is also an access door on the other side, and that extends to the first curve in the sides. I will be printing the picture on decal paper, but since this will be my first time making my own decals, I wanted to do it on a smooth surface.

The last I ever remember seeing these kits was 20 years ago here in the states. That was in 1988, the ones Casey posted this pic with in his thread: I had the blue one and the flatbed as a teenager and lost it in a house fire in 1997, and have been trying to replace it ever since, but can NOT pay the huge $250-$500 prices I have seen these sell for on ebay! Even kits with no frames and missing half the kit sell for over $100-$150, but they also do me no good. That is why I started this thread to see if they could be reissued. I know Revell still must have some of these old molds, about a year or two ago Revell AG reissued another of my old favorites that I was trying to replace from the fire, this 1/87 Scale train that was an old Monogram snap kit. This is another I had not seen for oveer 20 years! Thanks again to everyone for your continued support.

Ed, the "Eagle Claw" I referred to actually was made by Eagle, the one with the spring loaded "claws" at the end of the wheel lift that automatically wrap around the tires of the vehicle being towed. Of course, Vulcan does make one very similar, which is called the "Intruder", that also has "claws", but they are hydraulic and do not automatically wrap around the tires. I never operated the "Cradle Lift", in fact never even seen one until the pics here, but I must agree, that does look like a piece of junk!! The Eagle Claw and Intruder both are very good for repos, just "hook and book", as they say on TRU TV's "Operation Repo"!

I second that motion!! W T F, can NO ONE on this site spell PETERBILT right!!! I think mackinac 359 is the only other person I've seen who knows there is no "U" in Peterbilt!!

Thanks for the idea, Railfreak. I have one of the boat series Broncos that I got as a built up from a friend of mine, I 'll have to check it out.

I wish I could find a deal like that! I have the body of the F150, but that's all! A frame and drivetrain would be nice!

The CAT 3406 in the Revell Peterbilt 359 or Kenworth W900 just release would be a good starting point, or a newer style resin CAT six cylinder would probably work, too. The cab is sourced from Revell AG's Pete 359 kit (as everything else in the "Can Do" kit is) and the real truck is a 379, which is slightly wider than the 359. You could possibly use Italeri's Peterbilt 378 cab, but it is 1/24 scale and "Can Do" is 1/25 scale, which may make the cab look a little large, but it would supply the correct cab, interior and roof marker lights. The 378 hood is not as long as the 379, but you can find a resin conversion hood for the extended hood on a 379 here: http://www.ppvintagekits.com/RESIN-WORKS/RESIN-TRUCK-PARTS.html . If you want to try and modify the kit cab and hood, as Revell AG did include the correct 379 style grille in the kit, you could use a dash from the Italeri 378 or the 377 A/E kits, as these are the same as a 379. These will also supply the correct roof marker lights. Which ever route you choose, there is alot of work to do to make the truck 100% correct to the real thing.

It must be some pretty good stuff!! I want some, too! Glue just doesn't do anything for me anymore!!!

I'm not sure if this is what Matt (the other Matt, not me! ) was talking about, but this is a ponce wheel. Since you said you were stretching a sleeper, you could use the ponce wheel and some .005 or .010 evergreen sheet plastic and reskin the sides where you removed the rivets. I have found the ponce wheel will not work on more than about .010 sheet, the rest is too thick. You can find these in craft and fabric stores. There is also a smooth version for making ribs in trailer sides. I'm working on my own stretched sleeper in my current project as well. I found through my research, though, very few custom sleepers have much rivet detail! Here's a few sites I found for custom sleepers, and you'll see most have smooth side walls. http://trucksleeper.com/ http://legacysleepers.com/

Thanks mudpit and railfreak.

I'm sorry, Madd Trucker, but the kit has many inaccuracies. The "Can Do" wrecker is a Pete 379, the kit is based off Revell AG's Pete 359 kit, which I also have. The wrecker body is correct, but everything forward of it is wrong! The 379 is a completely different truck compared to the 359. The photos on the box proves the kit is not accurate, the engine shown in the pictures of the real truck is a CAT, and the model has a Cummins! The interior of a Pete 379 is also no where near what is in the kit, and the cab and hood of a 379 is wider than the 359 cab and hood in the kit. The roof marker lights in the kit are also no where near what is shown in the pictures of the real truck on the box. I've driven trucks for over 12 years and drove wreckers for a couple of those, and I tend to notice the little details. I even asked former truck resin caster Clint Freeman at one of the shows of the former model club I was a member of why, with all the detail he put into one of his models, he didn't put in the air line running up the shifter to the range selector.

WOW! I never seen anything like that!

Craddle snatcher?? You mean like the Eagle claw with the arms on the underlift that wrap around the tire automatically?

Boy, don't I know what you mean! I paid $125 for my Revell "Can Do" wrecker, and that was almost 10 years ago! And it isn't even correct for the real truck! At least the new reissues from AMT are only $25-$30 at my LHS, and they're good for their age. The most I have paid so far for a tractor was $80, and that was a still sealed AMT "Alaskan Hauler" Kenworth W900, and I found it in my LHS!! I've had my CDL for over 12 years, so I just seem to not mind the higher prices. Well, at least till I lost my job and went on unemployment! And like you said, they're a fortune in real life, too. The stupidest thing I did was lease a truck in 2002! I was paying $599 A WEEK to drive that beautiful 2002 Freightliner Classic XL!

Nick, here are a few links to some sites I have found researching tow trucks, the first three are all new bodies, the last has just about everything. http://www.jerrdan.com/ http://www.millerind.com/products/all_brands.php http://repotruck.com/ http://www.wreckerdriver.net/photos/ Hope these help you, and, by the way, why no heavy wreckers? The big boys drive the big toys!! I drove all three varieties for a couple years.

ME THREE!!! Is there anyway to convert to english?

The paint has dried on the other trailer with the Krylon "Original Chrome" spray paint. Here's what it looks like:

I finally got the trailer in it's first coat of paint, here's what it will look like after I get a few rough spots taken care of: I found a set of Alcoa wheels to replace the trailer's five spoke wheels, and was also surprised and pleased with the look of the Krylon "Original Chrome" paint. Most of the chrome spray paints I have used in the past have not had this much shine, but still has an aluminum look to it. I also found a set of toolbox steps that are not used in my Italeri Mack Superliner kit, so those will be mounted as the steps for the catwalk and headache rack, as well as being a toolbox and the other will be the APU generator housing. I will still have enough frame room left that there will be 3 fuel tanks per side, and the square tank on each side will be the sleeper's clean and gray water storage. Here's another quick mock up pic of the general idea of the finished truck, including sleeper mural.: Of course, I still have some more body work to finish on the sleeper.

Could you give us a little MORE INFO??? Any particular years? Body makes like Holmes, Century, Eagle, etc.? Truck Makes? Big wreckers, medium duty, light duty? I'd be more than happy to help, but a better idea would help! Tow truck pictures could include this: or this: or even this:

I think I shouldn't have told Harry he was making it too easy on me!!! I think my beginner's luck may not go 3 for 3! I see a few details to be revealed Fri that just screams "MODEL", so I say model, but with some heavy doubt!!

Alclad Chrome lacquer is very close to chrome plating. If you are doing a large area like this trialer: you can use aluminum foil applied with some sprayable craft glue. I have just sprayed another trailer with Krylon "Original Chrome", after it is dry I'll take a pic of it. It is like most of the chrome spray paints, though, it has more of a shiny aluminum look rather than chrome, but seems to reflect better than most.

I did some work on the interior of the cab and got the interior pan painted and added some Bare Metal Foil to some things to dress it up. Any good trucker loves shiny objects!! I even made the pedals chromed. And a little to the steering wheel. More pics and much more chrome to come! It is going to be a show truck, after all!