KJ790

All of those are available and in stock right now.

It is hanging in limbo at the moment. I received some masters, but I wasn't happy with them, so I need to make some changes. I am trying to finish a commission build before I try to make any new parts.

I have added a few new items lately. I now have new drive tires, as well as a few different 3D printed grilles for KW cabovers. I have grilles to fit the AMT K123 as well as the Revell and AMT K100 Aerodynes. I even have a vintage grille to backdate the K123 kit to an early 60's model.

Another one that I thought of is Frock Brothers Trucking out of PA. They run a bunch of KW largecars, some with double eagle sleepers.

Though these days the East coast West coast difference is becoming less and less. Now you see mostly the same trucks everywhere you go.

Yeah, there are some on the east coast, but they are definitely less common, especially in the north east where the roads are a lot tighter and twistier. I know a guy that got a really stretched Pete up here, but he got rid of it after only a few months because he couldn't get into a lot of the places he needed to. Some of them do look cool though!

Most do it for the look. It is a West coast thing. Long trucks are hard to get around tight cities with, which is why they are less common on the East coast, as the roads on the East coast tend to be tighter and harder to get around in.

I think AMT just discontinued the K123 a couple weeks ago, so ebay is probably your best bet for that one. Just have fun with it, you will learn as you go. Often times I only have one or two pictures of a truck I am replicating, so I find pictures from the internet of similar trucks to get detailed pictures of different parts to copy. Truckpaper.com is a great source for pictures of engines, suspensions, and interiors on a wide range of trucks.

I like to build all of my models after real trucks, that way I have something to go off of to get all of the details right. Here is one that was close to "out of the box" for me. I started with an AMT K123 kit. I changed the rear suspension to 8-bag air ride from a Revell W900 kit, changed the wheels to spokes from the Diamond Reo kit (modified the rims to be "tubeless" style), and changed the engine to a Detroit Diesel 8V92T that I bought from Auslowe. The real truck was a 1981 model, where as the kit is based on a late 60's model, so I had to update the cab a bit. To do this, I made the vent windows smaller, added a wider grille and side grab handles from a Revell K100 kit. I filled the holes in the door for the old style door handle and added "slam lock" door handles at the bottom of the doors. The front bumper was changed to a "gull wing" bumper from a Revell W900 snap kit, which I then cut square holes in to replicate the real truck's bumper. The real truck had cab mounted exhaust and intake, so I used the exhaust from the Revell W900 kit (as the AMT kit exhaust is too small) and scratch built an intake tube. I scratch built the air-shield on the roof out of fiberglass to represent the one on the real truck. I also added little details like windshield wipers, valve stems, and grab handles (made from wire) on the front of the cab. I then plumbed the model with air and electrical lines. Basically a lot of little things to get it as close to the real truck as possible.

Thanks! That is an AMT Kenworth K123 kit with a bunch of modifications.

I like to add valve stems to the outside rims on my wheels, I think it adds that little extra detail. I use a wire paper clip and cut a short piece off of it, then drill a little hole in the rim and glue the piece of wire into it. On this build I used the spoke wheels from an AMT Diamond Reo kit. I modified the rims to have the "drop center" hump of a tubless rim and added valve stems. You can see one of the valve stems on the rear axle.

This is the idea I am trying to go with. I just sent all of these part files off to the 3D printer, so I should be able to see if it will work in a couple weeks.

The spacer is needed to keep a space between the tires, otherwise they rub together as they squish under load and the sidewall of the tires would wear. The inside rim and outside rim is the same, just turned around backwards so the side with the extra lip is facing each other (with the spacer between them). You are correct on how they are held together, the nuts tighten the wedges which squeeze the whole stack together.

On models they are done a couple different ways, but always in multiple pieces. The Diamond Reo kit has the center spokes with the wheel spacer (which sits between the two rims in real life) molded as one piece. It then has rims that you glue onto each side of this to complete the duals. The Astro kit has the center spokes as its own piece, with the rims separate. I cast resin pieces and am actually working on some spokes right now. I am going to make them like the real wheels, where the center spokes are one piece, then each rim is its own piece, an individual center spacer, and a separate brake drum. It will be more work, but I am hoping it will give a more realistic look when complete.

Looks great!

Pretty much every brand and model of truck gives the buyer the choice of wheels, be it aluminum disk, steel disk (2-hole or 5-hole), or spokes. Spokes used to be pretty popular, but over the last 20 years they have become much less popular in the US. They are rarely seen now on new trucks except for some vocational trucks. Spoke wheels are almost always painted. It is common for them to be painted the same color as the frame and rest of the chassis with the rims themselves being white or grey.

Another one around here I just thought of is Terpening Trucking. They are the largest petroleum distributor in this area servicing many gas stations for a large radius. They have a fleet of mostly kenworths, though I have seen a couple new Western Stars and Internationals lately. They are always super clean and eye catching.

There is a small fleet around here called CT Express, they have been around for almost 40 years and always have super clean Petes. I recently heard that the owner wants to downsize and retire so he is selling everything off unfortunately.

Haha I wish. My first job when I was about 10 years old was cleaning out the inside of trailers after school. Then I graduated to basic service, oil changes, filter changes, brake jobs, etc. Then I moved on to tire duty. I did that until I was 20, learned a lot during those years.

Did a little work on this old build yesterday. I added "tubless" rims and new drive tires, as well as a new 3D printed grille to add more realism.

This could be a never ending topic. I will try to keep it short. A diesel engine is any engine that runs on diesel, so there is no requirement to have a separate head for each cylinder. Diesels do not use spark plugs like a gasoline engine, instead they rely on very high compression ratios to create the heat needed to ignite the air/fuel mixture in the cylinder. For years the major diesel engine manufacturers in the US were Detroit Diesel, Cummins, and Caterpillar. A few truck manufacturers such as Mack and Volvo have offered their own engines as well as the other brands of engines for years. Recently Caterpillar has bowed out of the highway engine market due to tighter emission laws that they found difficult to meet. At the same time a few more of the truck manufacturers started marketing engines themselves. International came out with their Maxxforce engines, but they proved to be unreliable and they have since stopped offering the larger versions of this engine (for heavy duty highway trucks). Paccar (mother company of Peterbilt and Kenworth) now offers its own engine as well. Detroit Diesel started as General Motor's diesel division many years ago, and then spun off into its own company. It is now European owned, but still very popular in trucks across the US. In the 1960's, I would say Cummins was the most common diesel engines. Caterpillar didn't seem to become too interested in pushing the highway truck market until the 70's. There were some Detroits back then, but they were not as common as Cummins. There were some other brands running around back then, such as Buda, which no longer exist today.

Yup, it used to be all about length and weight. Cabovers were shorter and often times a little lighter. Cabovers turn sharper and are nice for getting around tight cities or into tight spots. Most people prefer the look of conventionals, and most say that they ride smoother because the longer frame allows for more flex, which absorbs some of the bumps. There have been some cabover log trucks, dump trucks, and car haulers around, but they are not very common.

Vending. I am bringing lots of goodies with me this year. If I have room for a model, then I will be showing one as well.

They are taking orders for the K200 here: http://www.modelsandhobbies4u.com.au/catalogue/category/models/trucks.html It says delivery is delayed to January 2016. It is being advertised as $100 for the truck, $150 for the trailer. I am assuming those are in Australian dollars.

I'll be there. I can't wait to see the worst kept secret in person!