highway

Yeah she is! When I originally began the project in 2010 for a community build on that "other" forum before some life issues and then just life and too much time in the real things had put it on hold for a while, it was going to pull the bullrack now going on the Pete and the frame for that Ford is as long as the trailer is! After the life issues smoothed out and I moved into my current place, the Moebius 53 had come out and I decided to switch the direction of it some, which made the total unit almost take up the entire 4 feet of length of the hutch on top of my build desk. Here's a better side view of it on the top of the hutch. The strange thing is, the plan I've always had floating around in my head for this, this is still short! ? A plan I had for about 20 years and even about 10 years before Moebius was even a company, let alone brought out the 53 footer, was to build a custom 180 sleeper truck pulling a set of 53 foot turnpike doubles! ? Whether or not I actually do that or not still, I don't know, because with not only with this but the BJ and the Bear inspired custom I have already violated one of my biggest building rules of NOT color matching trailers to tractors because I simply don't like them to be committed to one truck, especially if I would take them to any shows where I might place and they have rules about former winners not returning. If the trailers are matched to a truck, they have to be with that truck and wouldn't look right on something else, but a normal trailer could go back to the same show with another truck and same with the trucks with a different trailer. At least with the delays life threw my way, though now a severe shoulder injury caused by a stuck fifth wheel release on the real things have put much all my building and life itself on hold, it did allow thanks to the reissue of the Super Boss for me to put the engine I wanted under the hood, though it has been proving to be a tight fit with all the rest of the build near complete but at least there is just enough room for a V12 to fit under the hood! If I would have had this engine back when I started the build, this frame would have been even longer than it already is!

As has already been said, mostly today it is for ride and looks, just as with a few of my builds. I added a little extra when I stretched the frame to have some room between the trailer and the sleeper on my custom sleeper project, used a Papa Truck for a BJ and the Bear inspired custom, and a custom Pete 359 I took the spare framerails from the Can Do wrecker to stretch that frame out for a custom bullhauler. I'm one that just like the looks, gimmie 40 acres! ?

I'll be watching out for the video Chris because while I have three of these in the Italeri boxes on the shelves, none have hit the bench yet. The closest any of mine have gotten to my bench is the Detroit got assembled from it's sister Italeri kit the Peterbilt 377 A/E I bought years ago just for the engine and wheels and some other parts.

Unfortunately Chris he thinks he's all that and a bag of chips when it comes to the model truck world, just do what I've done for years and just ignore him and move on and have fun with the build! Italeri has been doing that for many years with their truck kits which this AMT kit is just a rebox of, but just take it slow and easy and use the the floors as a jig to get all the rest of the pieces of the cab and sleeper pieces aligned and it will turn out fine. That has been the way I have done many of my Italeri truck kits and I've never had cab or sleeper alignment issues, even with this huge 180 inch custom partially scratchbuilt and partially kit sleeper. The middle of it is mine, the front and rear is from the base Ford LTL 9000 Italeri kit.

Those molds are still out there somewhere. Heller reboxed them last in the early 2000s and had all the trucks, the Pete 359 and trailer which I have and have compared to my original AMT issue Pete 359 wrecker, the KW K100, and the Pete wrecker. Heller also released a multi kit set that included both trucks with trailers and the wrecker. This is the Heller rebox I found in the mid 2000s and the wrecker I both have in my stash that I have compared the tractor to from the Heller rebox to confirm that these are in fact the old AMT kits, and just to save anyone time neither of these are available for trade or sale at ANY offer! And this is an internet image of the Heller multi kit set that I would like to add to the stash too, but since I only really need the KW and another trailer and the ones I've seen have sold for over $100, I've held off adding it.

Fun to watch, but somebody needs to teach them how to properly blow an engine! ? THIS is how you properly blow an engine! ??

I kinda find it hard to believe that with all the posts I see of yours with pictures in them that you can't figure out how to post simple pictures of a build in the "Under Glass" section.

I think this idea has come up a few times too and while there are some that have claimed they'd pay to stay on the forum, I'm sure many more would just leave here for good. I honestly see it this way with all the other forums available throughout the Interwebs and countless groups on Facebook, a pay forum here would not only be the final nail in the coffin for not only this forum but the magazine itself. In my opinion, it just goes back to the old saying "Why buy the whole cow when you can get the milk for free?".

I don't believe it is "to poke the bear" at all, but more to show the irritation that he (and I'm sure many others that don't have the guts to say it) has hearing nothing but excuse after excuse of why the magazine ISN'T out! Sure, everyone has personal issues, but the magazine is a BUSINESS and regardless of personal issues should be ran as such but it seems that the same that are willing to just go years without seeing an issue of the magazine would be the same ones to attack a resin caster that has had health or personal issues because they didn't get their XYZ roadster body delivered to their door hours after ordering it! Even though I don't run a business whether it be a magazine, resin casting, or anything else, I DO have health problems that interfere with my everyday life, the biggest of which is a rotator cuff tear in my right shoulder that after two unsuccessful surgeries has left my right hand and arm basically useless and constant pain that I endure because of the injury and no type of pain medications to help ease it, I still take care of the obligations that I need to meet. I think at this time if the magazine is being held up by personal issues, which has been a reoccurring theme for at least a decade, it might just be time for something to happen so the personal side doesn't interfere with the business side simply give the long time non subscribing readers like myself a chance to purchase the magazine again and those that have subscriptions the product that they have paid for!

Maybe because this thread was started in 2006??

As Brian had said, not much else out there, but here are a few I found searching Scalemates.com that are a "street" type bike that isn't a performance or chopper. https://www.scalemates.com/kits/revell-classic-bsa-and-triumph--1001594 https://www.scalemates.com/kits/amt-pp014-double-dirt-bike-motorcycle-and-accessories--1021014 And if you would want to go for a little more upscale, there is this one: https://www.scalemates.com/kits/testors-jimmy-flintstone-468-jade-grenade--608969

I'm just going to leave these right here, and I think comparing the new hideous C8 to a beautiful Fiero is just disgraceful to the Fiero!

No, it is not "Auto Biography" from MotorTrend TV (which I happen to find a very interesting show in my opinion), it was a show that was part of History Channel's "Car Week" that was titled the same as this thread.

While the width of 102 inches is correct for modern trucks, the 96 inch would be more correct for the truck I'm guessing the OP is using which would be the mid 70s White Western Star from AMT. It would all depend on the era and look being modeled, because a 70s era truck would have the 96 inch width, but one that was rebuilt after 1982 the wider 102 inch bed would be fine. As for the length, and guessing it is not a custom purpose built bed, the standard length of most add on beds is 24 feet.

There are sellers on Facebook that sell new release kits that are selling them, and some at cheaper than you will find in a hobby shop just above their costs for the kits. If you don't use Facebook, oh well that's your loss.

The 63 split window was a C2, not a C3. As for watching this show, I did watch it but I didn't care for it the way it was done either. I personally thought instead of incorporating the C3 styling cues like the 72 front fender scoops and the remolded C3 style edges to the top of the hood/fender, the builder should have kept with tradition and had the car be a C3 with some hints of what was to come with the C4. GM did that with the 62 incorporating the new C2 style rear clip to the C1 body and just feel a C3 with C4 styling cues would have made a much better looking 83 Corvette. The split window was a nice thought but could have been much better executed to make it more a part of the car as the 63 was, and the "Stingray tail" in the center of the roof if used at should have just been included in the split window itself. It just looks stuck on with the flat roof panel of the C4 because with the C2 roof there was more curvature not only front to back but side to side that made the "tail" look more natural.

I did get a chance to get some pics of the tires in the box of the kit my friend had in his inventory, and they are the same Firestones as the pad printed tires (albeit on the wrong carcass) that are in the new reissue. I also found that the same tire is also on the sprue with the bed sides in two pieces as a spare tire for on the wrecker bed.

I got the chance to get some pics of the tires I mentioned previously from the original issue kit that my friend had in his inventory of kits, and found not only did that issue have the tires that are being pad printed in this reissue (albeit on the wrong carcass) but there was also a two piece plastic version on the sprue with the bed sides on it.

This is the first as far as I know of, though in the mid to late 80s AMT did rebox the Back to the Future DeLorean from Aoshima and also a Lexus LS400. As far as I know, the only one to rebox Italeri kits up to this point had been Revell of Germany and Testors did rebox the Freightliner FLD 120 and container trailer along with some of Italeri's car kits also.

Based on this, Round2 mentions the Bruce Larson car. I don't see the point in having a separate truck section ever since the pickup and van crowd were moved to this section, because I always came to this section just for BIG RIG information and now not only is this section cluttered with pickup and van stuff, now car discussion is filtering in. It doesn't bother me as much as some because I buy and build everything, so what is the point of having separate sections.

I'm going to the same friend's place again tonight for day 2 of his weekly auctions, I'll grab a pic of those Firestones in the original issue. I'll also double check the box, but I think it even called out the Firestone tires on the box side art as many of those old issue (and the classic box art of new reissues) did on the classic issues.

Yes, but as I also said before and will say AGAIN, that would be valid IF AMT/Round 2 DIDN'T HAVE LICENSING TO USE THE GOODYEAR NAME! All the nice pad printed Goodyear tires used in kits and the parts pack tire sets are just proof that Goodyear is happy with whatever they are getting paid for licensing from Round 2 and Round 2 is happy paying whatever Goodyear wants for the licensing fees.

I do have to agree the pad printing looks nice and as a former driver that had an 18 year career in the real things that has been ended thanks to a stubborn fifth wheel release that resulted in two shoulder surgeries and now a barely useable right arm, it is just something my trained eye over those 18 years has learned to pay attention to. Also early on in that 18 year career, I learned just how hard it is for those like me that always took pride in their rides and wanted that little extra touch of white or colored lettered tires actually is, because when I attempted it on one of the rigs I drove, I spent hours painting letters and never did finish all 6 outer tires! This truck was one of many that I took pictures of while on a working vacation for the 2012 Iowa 80 Walcott Truckers Jamboree. I also discovered tonight while helping a friend that does live model auctions on his Facebook group that while these tires may be incorrect to my eye, there happens to be a logical explanation to the Firestone pad printing regardless of being on the wrong tire carcass. He just so happened to have in his garage full of kits an original issue of the Pete wrecker that I dug out a tire from, a what was staring me back in the face but the same Firestone tire as the pad printing represents! Of course, the carcass of that tire was different from the pad printed ones in the new reissue, but at least in the pad printed markings it represents the same type of Firestone that was in the original issue. I'm not sure if other reissues of the kit had the same tires also, because this is one kit that holds absolutely 0 interest for me regardless of the fact that not only did I drive for 18 years, but part of my career was also spent behind the wheel of heavy duty wreckers. I just personally do not care for the Big Stick boom on this wrecker, so this is one wrecker that will never find its way to my shelves. Now if it had the Holmes 750 as the 1/43rd scale AMT Pete wrecker does, you better believe I would live with the incorrect in my eyes tires and would have a few for my heavy duty wrecker fleet! As for the speculation if these may be the tires for the Big Rig tires parts pack, if they are the Friestones, the goof up in carcasses probably won't stop me from at least adding one set to my stash to dress up my custom rigs, though just as the look of the tire in the pic, I think they would look even better if they would be the Goodyears with the Goodyear name and Custom Hi Miler being done in the pad printing

I believe it may not be a licensing issue at all with these tires but more of just an error in the carcass AMT decided to use for the pad printed tires or a case of a bean counter saying "Oh, nobody will notice" or just not caring about them being incorrect but hey, after an 18 year career driving the real things down the road it was something my trucking trained eyes noticed. The reason I don't feel it isn't a licensing issue though is tonight I went to help a friend that does live model auctions on his Facebook group do one of his weekly auctions, and he just so happened to have an original issue kit of the Peterbilt wrecker among the garage full of kits he has, and I looked at the tires in that original issue. Low and behold but it just so happened to be the same Firestone tire staring back at me just as the pad printing on the incorrect carcasses in the reissue have! So while they may still be incorrect to someone like me that has spent most of their life around the 1:1, the pad printing anyway is correct to what the original issue (and I'm only guessing the other reissues of this kit since this wrecker does not interest me in the least because I don't care for the boom included in it, would love if it had the Holmes 750 unit as the 1/43rd scale AMT Peterbilt ) had in it tire wise and at least in my mind fully explains why, regardless of not being the correct carcass, this kit's tires have the Firestone pad printing on them.

Yes, but that is more to get around a licensing fee for a product they didn't have the rights to use, because Meng used the BFGaadrich Mvd Tarroin T/A lettering on at least the box art for their Jeep Rubicon kit. I don't know if the tires inside are the same way or not since that is one kit that has not found its way to my shelves as of yet. MPC also did that on many of their late 70s Pontiac Trans Am kits, which still is a matter of confusion for me because I had always heard that Monogram was the only one to hold the rights to use the Trans Am name from the racing sanctioning body the same as Pontiac had to pay for the rights to use the Trans Am name, but MPC still had some of their kits marked on the box as a Firebird Trans Am. They did the sneaky trick on the decals to break up the Trans Am decals for the body in about 3 separate pieces so the decal didn't actually say "TRANS AM".