I've started a new AMT Kenworth W-925.

[Plumcrazy Preston]

I'm having a little trouble priming the parts that are to be painted in body color. I used Tamiya gray surface primer. Expensive stuff at over $13 a rattle can. I placed the can in a glass of hot water for a few minutes then shook the devil out of the can. There is some paint puddling on the vertical side of the battery box cover/step and on the inside of the hood there is some  orange peel. This will definitely take some wet sanding to smooth out. I'm still mastering the art of spray painting. I have the patience but it will take some serious time to get this tractor model looking cherry. The custom decals are now on order from Bedlam Creations. 

[Chariots of Fire]

Ever use Duplicolor paints?  They make a good filler/primer in gray.  They colors a great and go on in a very fine mist.  Takes time to build the color up the it dries fast and hard.  It can be sanded and it polishes out great.  All are about $10/can.

[Plumcrazy Preston]

34 minutes ago, Chariots of Fire said:

Ever use Duplicolor paints?  They make a good filler/primer in gray.  They colors a great and go on in a very fine mist.  Takes time to build the color up the it dries fast and hard.  It can be sanded and it polishes out great.  All are about $10/can.

No, I've never heard of them. For my truck's body color I will use Model Master 1970 Plymouth Plum Crazy purple in metallic lacquer. Testors glosscote lacquer will eventually seal in those decals. I use Testors enamels for everything else like the chassis which will be semi-gloss black. Only the cab, hood, sleeper and other parts in body color get the lacquer purple. The cab interior from the dash level up will get exterior body color. The firewall also gets body color. The interior buicket gets body color on the bottom but stays molded white inside. The engine will be painted. I think I will use the curved stack option for the exhaust pipes. The sleeper stays molded white inside. Never learned the skill of airbrushing. I have an outdoor paint booth tent. I cover fresh painted parts up with a cardboard box to keep dust off. I use Testors plastic putty for filling holes and seams. I have an AMT Wilson cattle trailer this tractor will be hooked up to. I can't find animals in 1:25 scale to put in the trailer. I can't find a 1:25 scale seated driver figure either. So, this rig will be on my model shelf like she's parked and not in service. 

[DRIPTROIT 71]

I like where you are going with this one!!

[Chariots of Fire]

There was a seated driver in one of the Italeri customizing kits for trucks.  It's 1/24 scale but would fit your need.  Try looking for G scale animals on some of the railroad websites.  You might find some there.

[Jim B]

Interesting KW, but it's actual a W923 as it has a spring rear suspension.

Have you looked intro Masterbox figures: http://mbltd.info/figures/1-24-scale.html  They make some 1/24 scale drivers.

[Plumcrazy Preston]

I think I will forgo the driver figure. There is no guarantee of perfect fit behind the wheel. I wish model kit manufacturers would supply people figures for vehicles though. Another thing, this AMT truck model does not have opening doors. Once the cab is cemented in place its permanently sealed against cab interior access. A seated driver might break loose and there is no way to secure the figure. 

Attaching the steering wheel will be tricky to get it in perfect alignment with the steering column. There is a concave hole in the steering wheel hub and a convex nipple on the end of the steering shaft. AMT should have used a perfect cylindrical nipple to fit into a perfect cylindrical hole for precise alignment.  This kit has a few flaws:

 

-no opening cab doors

-no easy access to cab interior once assembled, screws should have been used to attach certain parts like the interior bucket to the cab and the cab to the chassis for easy model maintenance, often die-cast models use screws for assembly

-the visor has no tabs and the cab roof has no slots for precise mounting of this part

-the rooftop marker lights have no tabs for mounting

-the battery box cover has no way to secure it in place except to cement it shut and the battery inside then can't be viewed

-the front axle wheels don't steer

[Force]

3 hours ago, Jim B said:

Interesting KW, but it's actual a W923 as it has a spring rear suspension.

Have you looked intro Masterbox figures: http://mbltd.info/figures/1-24-scale.html  They make some 1/24 scale drivers.

Yes, it started out as a correct W925 when it first was released in 1971, but the rear torsion bar suspension was changed sometime after the Challenge Mixer kit but the designation stayed on the kit boxes and still do even tho' it's wrong.
The K123 is right now but I've heard it had the same torsion bar suspension at the beginning and then the designation was wrong as it should have been K125, I have never seen any AMT K123 kit with torsion bar suspension but it's supposed to have had that when the kit was first released back in 1971 and the kits with that setup must be as rare as hens teeth.

3 hours ago, Plumcrazy Preston said:

I think I will forgo the driver figure. There is no guarantee of perfect fit behind the wheel. I wish model kit manufacturers would supply people figures for vehicles though. Another thing, this AMT truck model does not have opening doors. Once the cab is cemented in place its permanently sealed against cab interior access. A seated driver might break loose and there is no way to secure the figure. 

Attaching the steering wheel will be tricky to get it in perfect alignment with the steering column. There is a concave hole in the steering wheel hub and a convex nipple on the end of the steering shaft. AMT should have used a perfect cylindrical nipple to fit into a perfect cylindrical hole for precise alignment.  This kit has a few flaws:

 

-no opening cab doors

-no easy access to cab interior once assembled, screws should have been used to attach certain parts like the interior bucket to the cab and the cab to the chassis for easy model maintenance, often die-cast models use screws for assembly

-the visor has no tabs and the cab roof has no slots for precise mounting of this part

-the rooftop marker lights have no tabs for mounting

-the battery box cover has no way to secure it in place except to cement it shut and the battery inside then can't be viewed

-the front axle wheels don't steer

Most of them are quite easy fixes if you want to do it, remember, the AMT Kenworth W925 kit originates from 1971 and not many kits had those features back then.
But I'm not that keen on your suggestion on the screws, it's hard to design a kit and hide them so they will be out of site from every angle and glue works just fine.
It's a static model and not a toy and most modelers doesn't disassemble their models when they are done.
AMT had several kits with screw bottom chassis in the 60's as many model kits started out as Promotional Models you could get at the dealer, but most modelbuilders like to do their models as close to the real thing as possible and don't want to use the screws as they are clumsy and not needed, and these chassis are not that detailed.

Edited December 6, 2020 by Force

[Plumcrazy Preston]

I started building model airplanes in 1972. I sucked at it when I was young. I did not have proper skills training, workspace, lighting and tools. I did not have that neat liquid Testors cement in a bottle but that messy airplane glue in tubes. Revell and others virtually all had holes and tabs that mated for precise alignment of ALL parts. I don't think AMT quality is quite up to par with Revell, Lindbergh or Monogram. When a finished model is packed up for moving, there is a chance one or more parts may come off during the move. I would say the mirrors especially are quite fragile on these truck models. Components on the interior as steering wheels, seats, windows, dashes, pedals and gear shift levers could jiggle loose in transit. It's imperative these hard-to-access parts be rigidly cemented before the cab is sealed shut to the interior bucket. There are times when modellers may have to move or transport their completed works. 

 

I have a number of die-cast car and plane models but you might call them "toys". The Daron Toys Boeing jetliner planes have rivets on the bottom to keep the two fuselage halves together and non-scale toy-like landing gear, the bodies and livery look quite scale though. They were only about $10 each. I think Daron makes expensive scale models also. The more realistic Toyota car models and the 1928 Studebaker fire engine have screws on the bottoms of the non-scale underbodies. The cars, Camry and FJ Cruiser, have opening doors and nice smooth glossy paint. The Camry's hood raises to show the engine. They look quite scale when they are parked on the shelf. Nobody casually observes the underbodies anyway. I have couple of cheap semi-scale R/C cars too. A yellow Toyota Celica racer and a BMW police car. 

Edited December 7, 2020 by Plumcrazy Preston

[DRIPTROIT 71]

3 hours ago, Force said:

The K123 is right now but I've heard it had the same torsion bar suspension at the beginning and then the designation was wrong as it should have been K125, I have never seen any AMT K123 kit with torsion bar suspension but it's supposed to have had that when the kit was first released back in 1971 and the kits with that setup must be as rare as hens teeth.

You are right Force, I have two of the original cabover kits with torsion bar suspension and they have K123 on the box. The only difference on the box is that is says “torsion bar suspension” instead of “Hendrickson extended leaf suspension.”

[Plumcrazy Preston]

Here is my cheesy RC boat. I put the custom vinyl decals on and the resin German shepherd on the deck.  The Boat 54 is a spoof on the TV series "Car 54" (where are you?).  The cheap toy R/C boat originally had POLICE on the side of the superstructure. I played the devil getting those side stickers removed. The railing posts are real brass and the railings are metal wires. 

 

Edited December 7, 2020 by Plumcrazy Preston

[Doug 1061]

I know what you mean about this kit.    This was the first truck I butchered when I was a young 'un back in the early 70s.   Wish I still had all my old models from back then,  but like most of us they met their demise with fireworks.      But now that I am older and supposedly wiser  I just finished up an original W925 kit I scored at a swap meet.   It does have some short comings but with a bit of work/re engineering here and there they can look good.    It should look good in Plum Crazy,  just something about a big purple truck,  and I mean that in a good way.     These AMT truck kits are not that bad overall,   you do have the internet now which is the best tool ever for model building.   Will check in here from time to time and see how it's coming along.    Have fun...

[iamsuperdan]

I'm almost done butchering an original version of this kit too. Had no issues with the torsion bar suspension. But I had a really strange issue with the cab/hood. Will elaborate when I do my UG post. 

[Plumcrazy Preston]

4 hours ago, iamsuperdan said:

I'm almost done butchering an original version of this kit too. Had no issues with the torsion bar suspension. But I had a really strange issue with the cab/hood. Will elaborate when I do my UG post. 

I looked over the instructions. The rear axles have to be attached to those pieces the book says to angle back. I don't think they should be cemented to the suspensions. The axles will have to be moved to connect those driveshafts to the pumpkins. Should I put a light coat of R/C plastic grease on the parts of the wheel hubs that rotate to prevent wear? 

The book says something about attaching the hood with the radiator not installed then aligning the cab up with the hood by mounting the cab. 

[gatorincebu]

On 12/7/2020 at 12:27 AM, Chariots of Fire said:

There was a seated driver in one of the Italeri customizing kits for trucks.  It's 1/24 scale but would fit your need.  Try looking for G scale animals on some of the railroad websites.  You might find some there.

Yes there is a driver figure available from Italeri. But to make him fit. You have to cut off his feet. But you can't see his legs below the knee anyway once the interior is in the cab !

 

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