Fat Brian

I agree with Bill, while there were standards of what things were to be painted they didn't let that stop them getting the finished product out the door if they didn't have the correct color for whatever parts. Unless you are replicating a specific plane that is documented as having certain colors here or there there isn't really a "wrong" way to paint it as they just slammed together planes to get them into combat.

Round should be fine, I haven't seen a pic of the existing Duel truck to say otherwise.

I achieved some fairly realistic weathering of wood by taking waterbased black paint and diluting with 91% alcohol and the soaking the pieces in it. It gives a good gray tone like wood left unprotected outside.

That is what a tag axle is, a tag along axle that is undriven but helps increase the overall weight capacity of the truck. The axle closest to the cab is driven like normal but the last axle is like a trailer axle in that it is not connected to the drivetrain. A tag axle is different from a lift axle in that the tag axle is on the ground all of time and is connected to the main suspension of the truck while a lift axle can be raised and lowered as needed. The tag axle was probably initially a cost saving feature to have the capacity of a tandem axle but only one driven axle to wear and break parts in but trucks with this setup tend to get stuck easily on uneven ground or going into steep drives or entrances where the weight can come off of the driven axle enough so that the wheels spin.

I agree, this day and age being able to accept credit cards or paypal is an absolute must, if a merchant doesn't have one or the other I will find one that does unless their item is just so great that it cannot be had another way.

Wow, such interesting old iron here. My grandfather on my moms side is pretty mechanically inclined, he can't work a computer or a cell phone but give him a wrech and a pair of pliers and he can fix about anything. He joined the Navy in 57 or 58 and became a jet mechanic on an aircraft carrier servicing the first generation of Naval jet fighters. When my mom became of driving age in about 1976 he decided he would build her a car instead of buying one. He bought two old Vega station wagons that had been company cars at has job and combined the best parts of both of them in to one complete vehicle, of course her classmates in the neighborhood saw him piecing together her car so it became a huge source of teenage embarassment even beyond the usual Vega variety but it was resourceful nonetheless.

I was cruising on ebay today and glory be! A new product from P&P was listed, I emailed Eric and it is a new item that will be added to the site at the next update. This 12v71 looks to be far superior to the other casting that is available, the parts look super clean and the valve covers aren't distorted. I know some guys have been looking for this engine lately and this looks like a fantastic casting, I will be getting three at least. Here is the listing: http://www.ebay.com/itm/380515430120?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

I'm going to assume you are talking about the truck suspension for this reply. The AMT Pete kits come with Pete style air ride for the rear axles but for the older truck in Duel a walking beam suspension would be more appropriate. The suspension you need is in just about every other older AMT kit except the Freightliner. You can find a Hendrickson walking beam setup in the Diamond Reo, White Western Star, White Road Boss, International 4300, and a few others. If you are going to switch to a walking beam I would go with the Diamond Reo or White Western Star, both are out now and can be had for cheap with a Hobby Lobby or Micheals coupon. You will need to use the whole rear end out the donor kit because the axles have mounts on them specific to the beam suspension. The only old AMT Pete I have is the recent reissue of the Pete tow truck and in it there are four tabs that stick down from the rear of the frame, these are where the air ride system will mount. You will need to remove those tabs so you can add the donor parts. Also, you will need to decide if you want to replicate the truck with the tag axle or not, if so you will need to modify the rear axle to match the undriven tag axle and remove the driveshaft dimple in the first rear axle. Here is a diagram of a Pete rear suspension similar to what is in the AMT kit Here is a Hendrickson walking beam setup

Saturday morning my grandmother passed away and with all of the family getting together over the last few days we broke out the picture albums. These were her pictures that I had never seen before, and some really old stuff from when they both were children and from when they met in the late fifties. In just a few small stacks of pics I saw a 50 Olds 88 four door, a 55 Bel Air four door, and a 66 Caprice wagon. In some other pics from my other grandparents I've seen a 39 Ford four door sedan and late forties Dodge something. Of course there were some tragic things too, like a pictutre of my dad's Pacer. So, what are some cool, unique, or potentially tragic cars your family has owned?

Also check out Eric at P&P, here is link to his part page where you can find some pics http://www.ppvintagekits.com/CARS/Resin-Price_list.html

For your second question you've got to remove the bracing before the hood will fit correctly. I don't have the Monaco kit so you will have to look in the instructions and see if they show the body with any bracing left in place but it looks like all of that will be removed.

Mike, the tooling for the hood could be borrowed from the Little Red Express kit. It would be nice to see the AMT Kenworth 923 again along with the Alaskan Hauler.

Just because the old prices are on the boxes doesn't mean you got ripped off, a 20+ year old factory sealed kit doesn't still go for the $8 to $10 sticker that was put on it way back when. Even if the seller bought them for a dollar a piece as long as you didn't pay more than you thought was fair you shouldn't be upset.

The guy from Dencon was selling some stuff on ebay under the name castenparts, I spoke with him a few months ago and he was moving but said he was going to have some more items up eventually.

Check out this thread from the under glass section, it shows the underside of a similar trailer that you may be able to borrow some ideas from. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=62719

I hope they have it turned down since they are using it in such a small area because other wise the performance isn't all that impressive.

The AMT 39 Wagonrod has some nice modern engine and suspension pieces along with the full build Boyd Smoothster kit. The AMT 70 Super Bee prostreet has the overhead cam Hemi motor. The AMT 66 Galaxie has one of the mort accurate 427 Cammer motors along with the 33 Willys coupe/van kits. I agree with Roger that the Corvette street machine kit has some great donor parts. Revells 50 Ford truck kit has a great flathead and optional Ardun conversion heads along with some decent wheels. Revells new five window and Tudor have great optional engines along with great 302 Fords with either a carb or Mustang style fuel injection.

Leo, do you mean the K-123 instead of the K-100? I believe my AMT K-100 has the eight bagger rear. Would the torsion bar setup be a plausable modification to the K-123 kit?

Thats is a P&P offering.

You forgot to mention that someone would find a way to relate the lightbulb discussion to Nazis and Godwin the whole thread.

In before the lock!!!!!!

Yes it is, there is a build thread for some of his parts on Hank's truck forum. He makes some awesome stuff that appears to be worth every penny.

I picked up a Boyd Smoothster with a late model 350 with a nice multiport fuel injection top, it looks good since it came from a clean modern custom. I'm thinking about rescribing the door lines to make a pseudo hardtop and removing the B pillar completely. I'm probably going to leave the wheel openings alone to show off the wheels when I pick them out. Here is a pic of the engine, it's plain but will get the job done.

Buying lots or junkyards on ebay is always a gamble, I've won and lost when buying them. Sometimes the pics or description is misleading and if in doubt it's always better to ask before bidding. I bought a built DM800 that was fairly clean in the pics and unpainted but when I got it it had the hood and fenders glued down and is largely unusable, it looked decent in the pics but you never know until it shows up.

Just putty and sanding. When I do another one I am planning on just sanding off the moled in rivets and replacing them with the new decal rivets.