AMT Freightliner...My first big rig

[Screaminhelo]

Oh the joy of jumping in with both feet not knowing what you don't know!

When I got the wild hair to try my hand at trucks, I really just picked the first thing that was available that tickled my fancy and didn't require conversion. I opened the box, marveled at the mountain of plastic and dove in with the confidence of a 5 year old wearing a Superman cape. It has been a long time since I have dealt with a kit from the early 70's but it has been an enjoyable process so far. I have been surprised by how good the moldings are for their time, it really was a state of the art kit for its time. 

 

The frame was a bit challenging. Even though I have no experience with this type of equipment, having spent a little time wrenching on my own vehicles and having built models off and on since I was a kid got me through. I still want to add some air lines and spruce up the air tanks though. I now know that the lines that I added to the powerplant are not accurate, I got some references mixed up, misinterpreted a couple of things, and generally just wanted to keep the project rolling. I decided that I would just leave them as is, call it creative gizmology and leave the cab down on this one.

 

I have seen people comment on the cab and I definitely see why this one is a bit of a love hate relationship with some. After the flash was cleaned off and the mating surfaces were trued up it went together pretty well. I glued it up and ended my modeling session to be sure that I wasn't tempted to fiddle with it and split the seam. I'll get back to it this weekend and see what I can do to make the seam disappear and see about reinforcing the joint to be sure that it doesn't split on me down the road.

That's it for now. I'll post after the weekend after I have either figured out how I am going to deal with the cab seam or completely wrecked it.

[ShakyCraftsman]

  Welcome to the forum Bill. You picked a real dozzie of a kit to jump into trucks with, but it looks like your tackling it okay. If you need any help just ask we are here to help.

Ron G 

[BK9300]

Got to love gizmology - you're off to a good start with your first big rig!

[Screaminhelo]

It really hasn't been all that bad. The instructions have been the biggest challenge but I am getting more accustomed to identifying to proper parts. The actual kit is far from the worst that I have dealt with. The leaf springs have required the most cleanup. I imagine that as I become more familiar with what right looks like, that may change. So far, I have not encountered anything that requires anything more than what I consider basic modeling skills, exercising these skills to this degree adds a little more satisfaction to the final product.

I am actually looking forward to tackling the cab seam. It looks like it may be a good opportunity to fully commit to sprue goo. I want to ensure that I have a solid connection but I have seem where others have encountered interference issues using reinforcing strips. It will be a fun challenge.

Bill M.

[Rbray47]

The cab seams are a pain. I used superglue as a filler and sanded with 1/8" wide sanding sticks. I still lost a few rivets. After you finish this truck, you'll be able to build any of them. 

[Gary Chastain]

Tuff kit to build, but you have got a good handle on it. Will be watching. 

[Screaminhelo]

I haven't forgotten about this one. I would post progress, if I had any to show. We ended up filling Independence Day weekend to the gills and the following weekend was spent ensuring the sovereignty of Atropia. 

My modeling over the last two weeks has all been in my head. I got a bit ahead of my self assembling the frame. I still want to add something that reminds me of air lines, so I will need to coax the axels off for some of that. I have some nickel wire that may be a bit small, but I'm not going to make the final decision until I have one mocked up and checked with the Mk1 Eyeball.

I can report that the initial results of sprue goo on the cab seams look promising. I haven't used it for anything as detailed as this seam and dealing with the strings and slop has been a little bit of a challenge but I think that the end result will be a strong joint and minimal interference with the cab interior.

Bill M.