BigBad

The tanks are the ones from the kit. Since there is a huge joint between the two halves, I wanted to get rid of it so i sanded the joint area downa ll along the tanks. Then I took out the Bare Metal sheet and covered the ends first, then the barrel, keeping the holding straps in the original kit chrome. I will try a piece of abs tubing to make custom fuel tanks on some other project for sure though!

Alright, enough lurking. Might as well post now. I started an Italeri Long Hauler 378. It's an experiment on how an Italeri kit builds up. Up to now it is going together very well and most stuff is falling into place, including the exhaust system. (At first I was going to build it box stock, but...) I like to take inspiration off of what I see on the road and I wasn't happy with the 378 sloped hood since most of the Peterbilts I see are 379's. So I followed Tim A.'s instructions to make it a 379-119. The rear hubs were shortened, buttons for the caps, the wheels still rotate too as I like to have the mobile parts on my models to "work" as intended. I also started to experiment with different types of aluminum finishes, the kit chrome being a bit much for realism. I "Bare Metaled" the fuel tanks and air filters, painted the weels and toll boxes with Alclad II chrome, and flattened the chrome from the bumper, grill and battery boxes with an Alclad II "light sheen" clear coat. I still kept some kit chrome for a little flash. I decided to try my hand at resin parts also as the tool boxes are from AITM and some photo etch parts as the flap weight and some truck badges will be parts from the KFS Pterbilt photoetch tree. So here are some teaser pictures of my work in progress. More pictures as work progresses.

I guess the manufacturers put chrome wheels on for better saleability. But the 2 hole buds would look preety cool on this kit. So no, they can't please everyone, just trying for the majority, which I think they're going to reach, again... We can always get our own custom parts.

Yeah, this is a good looking rig. If only they would ease off the copyright stuff a little, we could have a chance for a trailer kit like this! Moebius? Maybe? With 2 hole buds? But nice job on that trailer, looks great!

So! Anybody going to reproduce this one? Hahaha, should be pretty straightforward with a Revell of Germany 353, it's got all the parts to make a decent 359 pretty similar to the one in the pictures.

Yep, good re-issue subject. It builds up into a nice replica as we see here. Good job, both of you. i'm not very fond of brown usually, but it suits this truck nicely Jeff.

Hey, even Tim uses these kits and gets (the usual) excellent results! So this tells something about these kits. I like your paint scheme, classic white and red, always looks good.

It's relly too bad the model manufacturers don't pay attention to these little external details, because the nuts and other details on a wheel really make the wheel realistic. Well, that is what you've done here and they look really good Ben! You are inspired for wheels these days! Those will look real nice on one of those 378 based kits...

Looks good Doug! Quite different as a subject, as I haven't seen many cabover tow trucks. Well I have seen the Freightliner in Terminator... Never mind that! It's good, how did you fill the holes in the wheels, you seem to have succeded in something that is not too easy to do? I would have done something similar to this on some Italeri wheels to make two hole buds, but wasn't too sure of how to proceed. I tought of using putty, but how do you sand the rear wheels to get a smooth surface afterwards?? Would you mind sharing this little bit of info?

This is great stuff!

Well now that this is in the open, you have to tell us more! What is that I see, bolt caps too? Gotta get me some-a-those!

Hey this might give me a little boost for my own 378 I started some months ago! Except it's going to be a 379-119. Keep at it Jim!

Love the LTL's. This tow truck is a nice one.

I like that point of view from a driver Bill.

That is one impressive looking truck! It carries a lot of equipment and tools too... Nice one! It looks the heavy part!

Wow, nice mix of Kenworth kits here... It's workin'!

Both very nice, but that 352 is one of the better ones I have seen yet.

That WS is a nice lookin' truck, especially in dark colors. Nice build.

Interesting bits here. Thanks for the insight Mike! After looking at all the pictures, the Peterbilt stands out as the better looking truck, sleeper cab or daycab. It still has proportions similar to the 386, but less rounded. I like the new type mirror brackets, notice how they are mounted to the cab on the Kenworth and to the door on the Peterbilt. This cab's shape is more rounded off and has a little more molded in style to it. I bet drivers who are actually going to drive these are going to like them. I have a problem with the Kenworth's profile, it's too "integrated", too rounded off for my taste, especially the roof of the sleeper cab. (It looks like a dust-buster!) There is no "step" to it like the Pete. Kenworth is going away from it's original multi bar grill and doesn't look right. And those weird shaped headlight don't do a thing for me. The styling is not as good as a Prostar as far as I'm concerned. It's not as good as their own T660 for that matter but it's most likely more airflow efficient.

Universal Logging, Hahahaha! Good one! I like your Chevy, I'v enever actually seen a built-up model of the Bison before, I like the grill. The rig looks really good all deployed. Nice.

I respect that opinion, but I think we will have to get used to these... They are not going to back off the "aero" designs. The Kenworth seems to be calling theirs "T680" which would probably be the replacement for the T660. So the Pete 579 would be like replacing the 386... Does this sound right to you Tim? Of the 2 I think the Peterbilt looks better and more angular than the 386 as well. For the Peterbilt, that new grill is a departure from the bright surround. Also notice the shield type lower part of the grill.

Ahhh Man!!! Beautiful! I like everything about it, The tires, the wheels, the horns, the exhausts, the rain caps, the paint, the interior, the frame, the grill, the fuel tank,the engine was great. Beautiful detailing. Great paint, great aluminum finishes. Very nice GMC General.

That should be interesting... I think you'll like the Alclad.

You are showing a mighty effort of restraint with this one Tim!

Great truck Kurt! Really clean build, you sweat the details! That is a really nice GMC. Have a great summer yourself!