Jim B

Chassis only kits? Now there's an idea! I know Americal Industrial Truck Models ( http://www.aitruckmodels.com/ ) offers an 11-1/2" frame ( http://www.aitruckmodels.com/pages/kt9frame.html ) & a 12" frame ( http://www.aitruckmodels.com/pages/kt10frame.html ), but I don't know what they're like, and it looks like you only get the frame. Axles, fuel tanks, wheels, tires, etc. are extra. But they're only $8.

Response from Testors: "Dear Mr. Bongiovanni, Thank you so much for your comments regarding our line of products and the customer service that you have received. In order for a company to improve its line of products, it helps greatly to learn directly from the consumers; their thoughts and opinions. At times, it has been the consumers that have pointed out needed changes and improvements to our product line. Our marketing strategy is that we strive to provide the best possible products available in the hobby industry and to provide the best possible service to our modeling-crafter friends. I have forwarded your suggestions on to product development for thier review. Again, thank you for letting us know of your support and interest in the Testor product line. Regards, Christie Van Hulle Testor Corporation Customer Service Department"

Response from Revell Germany: "Dear Mr. Bongiovanni, thank you very much for your e-mail and your interest in our products. Your product proposals and comments are collected in our new-items-proposal-list. Due to the large number of comments and letters we receive, it is not possible to include all the products proposed. We do our best to offer a comprehensive range covering various themes. Nevertheless we thank you very much for your suggestions and we will include them into our proposal list for the coming years. Regards, S. Haller" Chuckyr, you're probably right.

Here's a copy of an email that I sent to Revell-Germany, Testors/Italeri & Revell-Monogram. I;ll let you know what responses I get (if any). "There is growing concern in the model truck community of the lack of modern truck kits. Most of the US truck kits on the market today represent trucks from the mid-1970s through the mid-1990s. Current discussions in the model truck community have come up with several trucks that we hope a manufacturer like Revell would be interested in offering. These trucks are: Kenworth T660, W900B & W900L, Peterbilt 389, Mack Vision, Mack Granite, Freightliner Coronado, & International Prostar. These are but a small sampleing of the modern (2006) the we hope Revell would be interested in producing. Thank you for your time and consideration on this matter," Obviously I replaced Revell with Testors when I sent this to them. This is the response I got when I sobmitted it to Revell-Monogram: "Your feedback has been sent. Please remember that we will not be able to respond to your coments, however they are very important to us and will be considered as we look to make changes to our website." Not very promissing! We'll just have to wait & see.

Tim, Do you think they'll listen? AMT/Ertl doesn't seem to care what modelers think. Is Testors/Italeri any different? Guess it couldn't hurt. My picks fo modern trucks: KW T660 Mack Granite & Vision Freightliner Coronado KW W900B & W900L Peterbilt 389 Ok, that's seven, but I can dream can't I?

Tim, Very nice. Your skill never ceases to amaze me.

I'm still kind of new to this whole trailer thing. What would be the purpose of a spread axle? Smother ride? Heaver load? Looks cool?

My wife's a Carl Edwards fan. Good luck finding decals for him!

Cool truck! I actually saw a truck with Jr's stripes on it when I was rolling down the highway a few month's back. Nothing like this though.

Dan Poulin at http://www.danmodeltruckworld.com/ sells wings & bumpers. You might want to check with him. You can also get bumpers & stuff from Spaulding Trading & Shipping at http://www.stsmodeltrucks.com/ Looks good. Keep up the good work!

What type of tank is that? The turret doesn't look right for an Abrams. Is it a Leopard?

So, Ray, what excatly was wrong with your KW, or don't that really know? Sounds like yo've been having some serious engine problems. Hope you can get back to work soon. Now, on a lighter note: one of our materials handlers at work wants to get into the trucking industry as a driver. Long haul stuff I guess. He asked me where I thought he should start. Since he doesn't have a Class A lisence, I told him that would be as good a place to start as any. Any suggestions for him? Good companies to start with?

You could try Daniel Gailloux at plaskit_resin@yahoo.ca. He doesn't have a Website, but if you ask, he'll email you his catalogue. I haven't used any of his stuff yet, but several modelers on the board have and it looks like good quality castings.

Maybe I'm just a cheep bastard, but when an auction hits $30, I stop bidding. Cannot see paying that much for a 30 year old kit. And as much as I love Kenworths, I'll probably never build one because the prices are just crazy!

Not like I can speak Dutch. I only know this because I saw the brochure! http://public.fotki.com/modeltrucks25thsca...ord_louisville/

Thanks, Tim.

Ray, This is what Tim said about Jbot decals in an earlier update on this truck: "Regarding JBOT decals, especially the larger stripes, I suggest buying some Microscale Decal Film and coat the decals with the film prior to applying to the cab. This will 'thicken' the decals just a bit so that you have a little more time to work with them and get them into position without cracking or breaking. JBOT's decals are finely printing and don't take kindly to a lot of repositioning. Tim" Also, remember to spray them a couple of times with Tamiya Clear! And use plenty of water on the truck.

Looking good! Always liked Autocars for rugged stuff like dumpers, concrete & construction trucks.

There's no direct answer. The seats are Testors Dark Red enamel brush. The "bucket" is Testors Dark Red gloss enamel brush over Testors Dark Red acril brush (which looks orange). The cab interior is Testors Dark Red gloss spray over Testors Flat Balck spray. The dash is Tamiya Semi-gloss balck with Gloss Brown "wood" with semi-gloss black & silver instruments. The shifter is semi-gloss black. The door handle is BMF. The stripes are very delicate. Did I mention that? If you're careful, and follow Tim's advice you should be fine.

Ray: Must be the firewall I have on this computer. After a little while, they popped right up. Strange. Dave: the BMF around the windshield is actually there to hide errors with the Tamiya Pear White. I had some overspray with the red interior color, and after two cans (yes, two cans) of Pearl White it was still there, so I cut 1/16" strips of BMF and outlined the windshield. Took about 7 pieces. The center piece is wider that the rim (about 1/8"). That's also BMF on the air intake tube & the air cleaner straps. The Jbot stripes do look good don't they, but are EXTREAMLY thin! After many precautions, they still shreaded on me. In fact the last stripe I put on was the right side of the hood, and as I was putting it on it self distructed! It went from one nice piece to about five! Also, as I was putting the stacks on the right side, the stripes on the left side were crumbling off the model on my fingers! More clear coat (and some spare stripes fixed that!). Would I purchase from Jbot again? Absolutely! The quality is bar none. I just have to get better at working with them. Greg: Your truck was the insperation for the interior. Thank you very much. Oxblood Red is very cool! I saw the Winslow Stripes on Tim's Website, and they had to go on this truck! They just say "Peterbilt", don't they? Mike: Glad to be back. Build #2 is a Ford LN8000 Ryder Delivery truck (yellow), and Build #3 is a GMC General tractor in black/grey/white. Both are on the workbench right now. Thanks for all the comments, and I'll get some Ford & GMC pictures up when they're done.

It's Dutch.

I it my immagination, or did the pictures disapear?

I've attached (5) pictures of my completed Revell Snap Peterbilt 359 with Jbot Winslow stripes. I think it came out alright. It's no contest winner by any stretch of the immagination, but I like it and I guess that's what counts. This model represents several of firsts: First truck model since 1986 (kind of ironic, isn't it?) First completed model since 1992 First detailed engine First use of BMF First use of aftermarket decals Enjoy the pics!

Red? I thought Peterbilt & KW had white engines in the 1970s & 80s? Jim

Brandon, I was emailing Danny Poulin (dannypoulin@sympatico.ca) about some decals, and he mentioned that he has made some wings out of aluminum. He told me he doesn't have any in stock right now but he is going to try & get some pics up on his new Website soon. I think he told me they were $12. I don't know if that is just the wing, or the wing I the base. Might have to build the base yourself.