Fat Brian

I just saw this build, it reminds me of a pulling truck that's all over youtube. Great job, as always.

I was talking about the front fenders from the Revell Alaskan Hauler. I had heard that the front fenders were still in the regular 359.

Yeah, these old AMT kits need a lot of cleanup and squaring up to get them fitting correctly.

I just picked this up today and wanted to add a bit having been through the box. The decals are amazing and have real silver and gold areas, not the usual gray and brown stuff. There are also decals for the instrument panels. The tires are the old, horrible Revell tires with the oddly narrow tread patch and big humps on the edge of the sidewalls. I had hoped the new tires from the Kenworth kits would make it into this issue. This kit also doesn't have the pit fenders some of the earlier 359 kits had. The flash is about the same as the last few issues of this kit have been.

I believe they're completely different kits. I know the CH kit has the early grille and the wrecker has the later standard production grille. The cab of the CH kit is the "little window" cab while the wrecker has the "1100 series" cab. The CH kit has a Detroit 8v-71, the wrecker has a Cummins engine. The bumpers and tanks and other parts are different too.

Another idea is to use Tamiya clear red paint and build up a few layers until you get kind of a lens effect.

Here's a link to a pic of the AMT Western Star instructions, it should show everything needed for the turbo motor. https://public.fotki.com/modeltrucks25thscale/truckkit_instructions/amt/724-western-star/amt724---1-25---whi.html

I believe the turbo parts will get you an NTC-350, this engine was in other kits that used the Autocar cab. It should fit without much headache, although you will have to reroute some tubing.

Molotow isn't reflective on the reverse side so I would advise against it. I typically cover the back side of red plastic lenses with bare metal foil, it's the most reflective thing I've found.

Mr. Super Clear is great stuff and dries rock hard in a couple days. Yes, other stuff does take longer though most paints and clears can be speed up if you have a dehydrator. What exactly the next step is depends on how good the clear turns out and how smooth you're going for. Honestly, Super Clear usually turns out so well I just let it dry, finish the final build steps and throw it in the case, no polishing required. If you want to go the extra mile you can use Meguiar's Scratch X or Novus #2 to remove any surface imperfections then bring back the shine with one of the Mirror Glaze products.

It will be interesting to see if this brings about new safety regulations regarding shipping large lithium batteries. Maybe the batteries will have to be stored separately and installed state side. It wouldn't be the first time something like that has been done, though in the past it was to avoid tariffs on certain types of vehicles.

Just a small paint brush and a steady hand. Sometimes I'll paint more with the side of the brush that the tip for stuff like that.

Sometimes you can even flip the kit spindles if the wheel pin isnt directly in the center, or swap sides and flip them if they've got the tie rod mounts on them.

Yeah, I think parts interchangeability played a big part in Chevys being the more common swap.

It's best to think of Ford engines as families where a group of engines share common architecture and components. Basically in the span of time most modelers are interested in you've got the Windsor small blocks, 260, 289, 302, and 351, though the 351W does have a different block with a taller deck height. Then you've got the FE series, 331, 352, 360, 361, 390, 406, 410, 427, and 428. The 427 has its own unique block due to it having the biggest bore of all the FEs and in later years a redesigned oiling system. Then you get the 351 Cleveland that is a new design but had oiling problems and was later redesignated the 351 Modified and lead to the 400 Modified. Also, there's the 385 series which are the various 429 and 460 engines. There are also the Y-blocks and MEL motors for Mercury's and Lincolns.

Speaking as a Ford guy, Ford engines are... difficult to get a handle on. There are three 351 engines, two of which are kind of similar, one is completely different. There is also a 427, 428, and 429 that have three different blocks and two completely different engine architectures.

Speaking as a Ford guy, Ford engines are... difficult to get a handle on. There are three 351 engines, two of which are kind of similar, one is completely different. There is also a 427, 428, and 429 that have three different blocks and two completely different engine architectures.

Yes, the Autocar, White, Western Star, and Diamond Reo all share the same chassis and cab. The hoods, engines, and fuel tank layout are different for each kit and the Autocar kit doesn't have a sleeper.

No one is sure, they didn't permanently alter other trucks when the redid them. But of all of them the Blazer is the only one to never be later reissued in its stock form.

Revell/Blitz still owns the tooling. The last time it was run was in the early 2000s as the Mad Mudder. There's some speculation as to whether they still have the stock top since they haven't run a stock Blazer since the Mad Mudder conversion in the 80s.

I robbed the rear suspension from the Revell snap Peterbilt. It's a fairly modern design without obviously being an in-house system like a Kenworth 8 bagger. The easy way is to cut the whole rear end of the frame off and graft it onto whatever frame you're using. I did it the hard way, cutting each mounting point out of the Revell frame and then trimming the thickness of the frame out of each mounting surface so I could mount it onto a different frame.

Those tires are so disappointing, they're the perfect sizes for so many things but look absolutely terrible.

One set that comes to mind was MPCs attempt at BF Goodrich Radial TAs. They're in MPC and AMT versions of the 88 Mustang GT, MPC Fieros, and probably MPC Camaros and Firebirds from the mid 80s as well.

Just wait, numbers matching model kits will be all the rage on the concours collector circuit.

Krylon Fusion is tough stuff to work with. It etched a plastic body I used it on pretty severely. Usually when something wrinkles like that it's a paint incompatibility. The easiest thing to do is likely going to be find the color you want in a less volatile paint and start over again. Otherwise you can test whether it's better to recoat when the paint is not as set up.