Aaronw

Sean, I couldn't find the 377 you are doing, but I have test fit the engine and everything seems to be lining up well. Thanks.

I enjoyed it so much I had to buy 3 more.

That is awesome. My brother is 4 1/2 years younger than me. I can still remember sitting in the waiting room when he was being born. My dad would come out from time to time and give me a new Matchbox to keep me occupied, this was one of those that I got (and the only one I specifically recall).

You might want to re-read the discussion on promos. Apparently all of these AMT kits were promo based, their cost being borne by the auto manufacturers. It appears only Revell has gone out alone and tooled up a modern truck that wasn't dictated by the desires of the 1-1 auto manufacturers.

Some of the best car chase movies were not really action movies at all. Bullit, The French Connection and the 7 Ups were all rather slow paced police dramas that happened to include some spectacular car chase scenes. It is a lot easier to have a plot when the car chases are a highlight, not the focus of the movie. You see the same thing with sci-fi movies, some are based on good writing with a real plot, others put the focus on special effects. Relatively few combine the two well.

I did not know that, don't believe I've ever seen a promo of the early 90s Fords. So only Revell has dipped their toe into the waters of a "modern" truck (they were modern at the time anyway). So 2 1/2 kits are the foundation for the claim that there is no market for modern trucks, interesting. I've got no problem using any of those, and have on several occasions. We seem to have crossed intentions along the way. I just hate the frequent claim that modern trucks don't sell well when there hasn't really been much of an effort made to figure out what the market even is.

This looks great so far. I'm really blown away that AMT never combined the two kits to make a Ford C fire engine, probably the most common piece of equipment out there for the frugal fire department from the 1960s through the 80s. Quite a few still out there running calls even today. The fire service took an immediate liking to the C cab and kept buying them until Ford quit building them.

It looks like he uses Google to translate into English. He is asking for a photo or drawing showing the top side of the mechanism for a rotating wrecker crane / boom. Specifically the part that allows the whole assembly to slide / rotate on the truck. I think says he already has some photos of the type of wrecker he is looking for just nothing that shows that particular part of the unit. I think he wants some detail photos of a unit like this. I have several others of this particular truck, but unfortunately I don't have any showing the bits I think he is interested in. Patrick, I don't think I have what you are looking for , but I do have some photos of wreckers here. Maybe something in there will be useful to you. http://modelfireapparatus.com/apparatus/Wreckers/Wreckers1/Wreckers_page_1.htm http://modelfireapparatus.com/apparatus/Wreckers/Wreckers2/Wreckers2.htm http://modelfireapparatus.com/apparatus/Wreckers/Wreckers3/Wreckers3.htm

They shot part of this in the county I live in which might make it kind of fun trying to recognize shooting locations. Otherwise I'm not expecting much.

Sometimes a different kit in the box, which is not always a bad thing. It is not uncommon for the seller to have no clue what they are selling, clearing out a storage locker or selling off an estate. Also not uncommon for a modeler with a stash to condense the stash by putting multiple kits in one box. I bought 2 kits a few years ago, but what I received was 6 kits, each of the 2 kit boxes having 3 complete kits inside. Another time I bought a kit that had a second completely different kit along with the kit that was supposed to be there. The weirdest was an Airfix Douglas Dauntless kit, that turned out to be a Meikraft Vought Vindicator (an old short run kit from the 70s some guy in Texas used to produce in his garage).

and I think this is where that lunatic fringe part comes in. The casual modeler probably won't even recognize the issue. The hard core modeler will just scrounge the AMT Merc motor and stick it in the woody. It is that in between modeler who gets stuck, knows better, but not willing to kit bash. My guess is it won't be long until a resin Mercury motor appropriate for the '50 Woody turns up (and looking surprisingly like the AMT kit motor).

Just a test fit, engine is fresh from the spray booth. Once the paint cures for a few days it will get detailed and mildly weathered, won't be so glossy after that.

Actually they are 8 lug, not 6, but an easy fix if you are careful. You can gently slice the lugs off with a sharp exacto. Sand down the wheel to remove any unsightly residue, then re-glue 5 of the lugs back on in the appropriate pattern.

Did not know that, that does explain the 1950 snap kit, found it odd that AMT had both a snap and full glue kit of the same truck (actually 3 separate kits when you include the custom version they did). I was referring to your comment that all truck kits were promos. Yes many are snap kits that are easy to believe started off as a promo, but there are quite a few that show no obvious promo lineage. Revell late 80's Ford F250/350, AMT early 90's Ford F150, Revell 1999 Chevy Silvarado are three that immediately come to mind. Obviously many of the older trucks kitted in the 90s and 2000s were not promos, so they must have felt there was some money in older trucks at least. Honestly I'd be just as happy with a 1964 Dodge truck as a 2014 Dodge truck of that is their comfort zone. Plenty of holes left to fill with older trucks.

Just dry fit to check it out, but happy to find it looks like the Cat 3406 is nearly a drop in replacement.

Tom, are you sure about the promotional nature of those truck kits? The snap Dodges and Chevy Dually I can see as promos, but most of the others are full detail kits and not very promo like. I am positive that the Revell 37 Ford, 41 Chevy, 50 Ford, AMT 50 and 60 Chevy were not promos, well anyway pretty sure, because of they were promos they were very late on delivery.

I have a green bias, but that is largely to do with my favored subjects, forest service and park service vehicles. Hey at least I don't stick with one shade of green, I've got about 10 variations to keep things fresh.

I really don't believe the trucks don't sell mantra that always gets bandied about. I think it is far more likely that trucks don't sell under the same model as say a '57 Chevy. Truck modelers are a very different market than car modelers. It appears the mainstream kit makers can't be bothered to figure out who it is that buys truck models and what they really want. It is quite likely that truck kits need to sell for more and offer more as well. Maybe Revell can turn a profit by selling 300,000 '57 Chevy kits a year at $15 a piece, but trucks need to sell say100,000 units at $40 to make the numbers work. Offering the truck kit at that same $15 will of course result in unsatisfying numbers. Historically the kit makers have targeted model trucks at model car builders, typically choosing a 1/2 ton light duty truck popular with customizers, not work trucks that would appeal to the heavy semi-truck builders. In fact many of the light truck kits available are of little interest to truck builders unless they are willing to do a fair bit of extra work some not even offering a stock option. It is very easy to go through and point out the many flaws in the existing truck kits. Trumpeter chose a famous fire truck manufacturer American LaFrance for their attempt at a modern fire engine. Long proud history in ALF, but realistically by 2000 not a top selling brand. Pierce, E-One, KME or longtime rival Seagrave would have been much stronger choices being at the top of the modern fire apparatus market. Then adding insult to injury they choose to base the specific fire engine and markings on an obscure volunteer fire department, not a well known city that might appeal to a broader market. Finally they cut back on production to produce a rather unsatisfying level of detail but still at a high price. The result was again, not that Trumpeter screwed up, but of course no, it was that fire engines don't sell. Reality is that It was a mediocre kit at a premium price. Similar issue with many of their American car kits. Moebius stands out because they seem to be using a different marketing strategy. They are choosing subjects that are outside of the mainstream, subjects many have said are doomed to fail, but they seem to be doing ok. Yes, a little higher price point, but also better than average quality. When they entered into large trucks, they picked something that would satisfy the primary market (truck builders) desperate for any modern truck, but also something that might appeal to the car builder when they chose to do the Lonestar. That was also a subject that allowed them to do a more desirable subject with truck builders without starting from scratch, the more conventional Prostar. The Revell F-250 / F350 is the exception to truck kits, being aimed more towards the commercial builder. The similar vintage Dodge and Chevy duallys are snap kits, desirable only for subject matter. So when these discussions come up and people say "trucks don't sell", well of course they don't, nobody has really made a serious effort to find out what a truck builder wants to buy. It will be interesting to see how Meng does, this is the first real effort in a long time. $70 is a lot for a kit, time to see if the people clamoring for truck kits are willing to spend the money. I know I've dropped that much on just a resin cab, so paying that for a complete kit doesn't seem too bad a deal.

I really enjoy the people who think a truck bed is a dumpster. I've come from shopping or the movies more than one time to find somebodies empty fast food carcasses in the back of my truck. I think it is pretty clear the using a truck to commute comments are aimed at those people who clearly never do any work with their trucks, not those who use a truck for truck stuff. I also use a pickup as a daily driver, it is a small truck, but still a truck. You ever try to haul a load of firewood with a Honda?

The kit is set up for a sleeper. The rear panel in the kit has a large opening with a deep lip around it, so just easier to make a new rear panel with a standard size rear window.

This looks great. I'm not sure what the correct term for this style of trucks is, but I like the rugged looks. All function and durability, looking pretty never crossed the designers mind.

Yes, air actuated gravity dump on the back. It does have a portable tank, but it is a soft side "pumpkin" style tank in a large box under the tank, not a fold-a-tank hanging on the side. I've been away for 8 days, hoping to get back to this now. Got a little work done on the engine before I left, swapped the Cummins from the kit with the Caterpiller out of a Revell Kenworth.

Unfortunately no. I have one of the Danbury Mint diecasts Chuck mentioned, and it really is quite nice straight out of the package. You can usually find a few on ebay, and will probably spend $50-100 to get one (although there are usually a few trying to get much more than that).

How are you going to pick up a truck and trailer? If a truck and trailer doesn't have to be lifted to be judged then why would a car? There is usually little of interest on the underside of a car model. For those exceptions it should be up to the modeler to find a way to show that off.

Thanks, it is nice to actually finish something once in a while. Thanks for the tips on the dog.