BigBad

I like that dashboard! How on earth do you guys detail the little numbers on the dials? Do you scrape the paint off of them? I'm having a tough time with this.

Justin is right. Love the mudflaps, Brian! That black and red scheme is growing on me. Looks good!

First, Dave, this is lookin' great! Attention to details, always! You also reminded me of something, I always wondered why there were 2 hoses coming out of the air filter housing of some truck. In one of the comments under one of your pictures, you say it's a cold weather breather. So my guess is that the one coming in at the top has heated air from the engine to heat up the outside air coming into the filter?, Where would that hose connect inside the engine compartment? Last summer, I saw an old Kenworth that had this configuration and the hood was open, but this hose was only leading into the engine compartment but didn't conect to anything in there. Is that the way it's picking up the heat?

Hahaha! Alright my man!

Never mind.

Nice to see you posting again Anthony! This kit will look real good on a RoG Pete frame.

Ok, I don't want to take control of this forum, sorry Brian! But it does have to do with some GMC Astro action, just to get us a little more in the mood! Check this out: Dave, this is not THE video I was talking about but it is the truck from the pictures...

Rob, I suspect that this is a "Wolf in Sheap's clothing". Note a few observations. 1/ Twin Air cleaners. 2/ The size of each air cleaner and the diameter of the pipe work. 3/ Each air cleaner and pipe work feeds seperatly down each side of the engine. 4/ Twin exhaust stacks. 5/ Note the rear auxillaries are level with the rear of the cab, indicating that the engine is as long as the cab. My guess a 12V71, maybe a later retrofit. Dave Dave, I was quite surprised to see this truck a couple years back. I have seen it regularly in fair weather, these pics were taken last summer. I'll push my investigation a little further next spring and try to reach the owner. I'd love to get the full story on this particular truck. I agree with you for the wolf in sheep's clothing, I saw this same truck doing a major burnout on Youtube and the engine sounded like it was revving way higher than 2000 RPM's! I tried to look it up today and couldn't find it anymore. When I find it, I'll post the link.

Uploaded with ImageShack.us Ok, so here is a picture of the Dayton 5 spokes this truck had in the back. These wheels were since changed to Alcoa 10 hole discs since these pics were taken. These 5 spoke did look good once detailed didn't they?

Notice fuel tanks are similar to square kit ones, and another tank here which I think is an air tank, for the starter? Also notice the engine acessories right below the air filters, so far back under the cab. It seems like somebody had taken the engine assembly much farther back in the truck frame. I had a look under the cab, and could not see much except a huge gap right behind the radiator, then I saw what seems to be the back end of the engine. Un fortunately the owner wasn't around to talk with, so I don't know much more about it. Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Uploaded with ImageShack.us Now here is the back end...

Hey Brian! You're lucky I had some pictures of that exact truck I was talking about, It's in pretty good shape considering the age. notice the grab handles right behind the cab door, these were more early 70's, later Astros and Titans had longer handles going all the way to the top of the door as on the re-issue of the AMT Titan. So here it is: Uploaded with ImageShack.us Here is one... Wait til you see the back of this thing...

Lookin' good! There is a real live one near where my girlfriend's place, I think it's an early 70's with a retrofitted wide "General" type grill. It is retired and the guy who drives it does it for fun. From what I've seen, it has custom dual exhaust and dual air snorkels, probably an 8V71 or 6V92, but it is a DD. It Has 10 hole budds all around, a polished aluminum bumper and there is a small tank on the passenger side that might be for an air starter. It is a single rear axle with a tag axle. The cab is medium grey metallic, no stripes with a french blue frame. It is well maintained and is undergoing some restauration. It's a good looking truck, I saw it coming down the road once or twice, it sure looks proud. Your's is on it's merry way getting there Brian! Cab looks good in this location.

You could try Mo'luminum, Sourkraut (often out of stock), AITM (American Industrial Truck Models) Those guys are in the US. Then there is Auslowe in Australia, they have pretty good stuff as well. You could try Kit Form Services in England, they have TONS of truck parts more for 1:24 scale but some parts can be interchanged between 1:24 & 1:25, especially wheels. Really good quality material. Have a look, they're all on the net.

Smart choice Eddy, you're the "Wise One"!

You know, the only language I can't read or understand is Greek. So I understand english and french, all the rest is Greek to me...

Hahahaha! This is so simple! Thanks for sharing this Denis, this is great! Costs peanuts, you don't have to grind the door, no need for microscopic wire and hinges, you just cut the hinges WITH the door and stick a folded plastic film at the hinge. Now why didn't I think of that?

"...to shoehorn a 12-cylinder under the current hood would be a feat...BUT how cool would that sound then???" Well, let's see, if a big 6 cylinder such as a Cummins or a Cat fits under the hood... I don't see why a Detroit V12 wouldn't fit, it's just about as long, a little lower, but it is wider. It would probably take the longer hood to achieve a good fit. While we're at it, let's install dual air filers too, I don't think any 1:1 scale General had those, I'm fairly confident about that. As a matter of fact the silver and blue one in Smokey and the Bandit II only had one air filter on the right side too, I would have tought that one would be THE showcase to get them. I have a soft spot for GMC's so evrytime there is one of the big ones around I have a look. Come to think of it, I'm starting to like the sound of that 12V71, I'm kidding! I always did!

Try putting a big cat on a 1:25 scale car carrier... It gets messy and you get a lot of scrap Revell truck and car parts...

Jim is right GM had those 3 hood styles, only the SBFA had square headlights as thes others had the round ones. The General hit the streets in 1977, the 12V71 was offered in the Astro/Titan up until I think 1975. Since the 8V92TA was quite powerful itself (at the time 475hp), GMC probably didn't feel the need for the V12 at that time. But a nice "phantom" General with a 12V71 would still look interesting...

Ah yes, a little green in there looks pretty...

Lookin' good!

I'm in love, can't be anything else! DD 8V92 with all the trimmings, I just know it's going to be well detailed (after having seen that blue avatar Freightliner...) , Silver, the original official color and OEM stripes... Can't wait to see this one finished! This is going to look REAL good. Keep it comin' Kurt! Just drooling...

This thing is building up... I like it already, great stance! Are those the wheels you're going to use? They look perfect.

Not expecting any less! Cheers!