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This is my latest build and only my third truck model. A nice subject and a very frustrating kit.
1) the mold seam lines on the chassis were the worst I've ever encountered on any model kit. About 3-hours of sanding filing to remove them. Many people would leave them but I don't.
2) You are on your own with these vague instructions. The main attachment point of this kit, the box to the chassis there are no lineup points and no reference in the instructions. None. I e-mailed Italeri and the US distributor and recieved no response from Italeri proper in how to attach this box. So it was all guesswork.
3) The cab does not tilt back as stated in the kit. The front bumper physically prevents this so once the cab is attached you never see the engine again. Very poor coordination of engineering-instructions-marketing by Italeri.
Apart from the Main big decals, the placements were not shown and it was all guesswork for all smaller decals, which is sort of absurd from a top manufacturer.
It took a great deal of work to get this kit to look like this. I held off on any weathering and left off the roof air deflector.
This kit was released about 4 months ago (late 2016). This is a haphazard re-pop with two new sprues. Although the chassis must date to the mid 90's. There are no instructions for attaching the box, and the kit states the cab tilts back when it is physically impossible to due so with this particular kit's bumpers/cowling.
I emailed them twice with no response.
I'm trying to save anyone looking at this kit the aggravation with an honest report from an experienced modeler.
Hello Wilbur!
Thanks for sharing your report and your pictures with us. As for your model - it looks very nice. The engine could really use ssome colour variation, though - iw would be both more realistic and more interesting.
As for Italeri truck kits - OK, they got their faults, lots of them infact. Reusing the chassis with a new (incorrect) cab - they did it many times, sometimes releasing some utter science fiction. Then again - do truck modellers really have a choice? Sorry to say, but no. You could take an AMT kit - very old and true to the facts, but crude, requiring lots of work to look decent. Revell? They either repackage Italeri models or else only do Kenworths and Peterbilts. The quality of those is not so thrilling, neither. So I guess we'll have to live with what's there. If you want to build one, special truck, you'll have to go through modifications anyway. Truck building is in big part scratchbuilding and kitbashing because of that.
As for the cab, to show off your engine after you detail it a bit you might try to fabricate new hinges to allow the cab to tilt correctly, or come up with a system of pins (I'd say at least three) that would only temporarily fasten the cab to the chassis and make it removable.
Thanks for reading and have a nice day
Paweł
All comments and critique welcomed. Thanks for your honest opinions!
www.vietnam.net.pl
Thanks Pawel,
I left the engine monochrome because it was going to be buried. Funny you mention this... I did try at first to come up with a pin set up to remove the cab but couldn't figure it out.
I have built the Revell Germany Kenworth Australian and that was a great kit by comparison. Another thing with truck models is the sometimes lack of research photos. I could not find many engine photos of the Magirus-Deutz 360 engine or chassis.
I really like truck modeling. When I bought the one above I also bought the Italeri Western Star Classic, so I will tackle that at some point.
I had a similar thought to our dear Pawel, that a bit more color might be mete.
Then I did an Image search on Google.
This is pretty monochrome:
As is this one:
Even this well-worn example (note, it's turned 90º onto its left side)
For comparision, this is a V-6 in a restored vehicle:
This is the only "colorful" image I could find, and I'm not sure that this isn't from a site that sells individual parts (and therefore has a euro or two in differentiating them all).
But dear Capn, you seem to contradict yourself - if a modeller would reproduce the different tones of oxide red from the secon picture you posted, or picked out the black hoses/tubes and golden and silver fittings, he could come up with a pretty colorful and interesting model. Not to mention some shading and washes here - it's not a motor, it's an Opportunity!
I just can't resist to post aphoto of my Italeri 1:24 engine here:
Wilber You did pull off a good looking model. From your discription I think I would have shelved the kit in the round file.
As to monochromatic finishing, ask any WWII U.S. soft side vehicle modeler and you'll hear howls of pain at trying to get a variation in the ever present OD.
Variation of color can be done; though it is usually subtle. Look also to the color of belts, hoses, inside the “v” of pulleys, small petroleum drips/stains, dark(er) crevices and such. These kind of things can be a goal for you in the future.
Again Very good looking model
Steve
Building the perfect model---just not quite yet
Thanks, and Thanks for those photos I may have seen a couple of them. Pawel that engine and wire/plumbing look awesome.
I usually oil paint wash most models and or engines. I have held off on this one for the time being. The large red canvas back is "Black Based" ala Doog's models, but I don't know if you can really see it in those shots.
My main complaint isn't the lack of detail per se, but the almost useless instruction sheet.
Wilbur Wright My main complaint isn't the lack of detail per se, but the almost useless instruction sheet.
"Real Modelers" don' need no steee-kin instruction sheets
Seriously; we feel your pain.
Ok ;
I have to ask Pawel . Which boat are you gonna put that in ? Truck engines convert to marine specs a whole lot easier than car engines . T.B.
Well, T.B., if this wasn't a joke I'd say I need two, to put in a LCM-6/Tango Boat or a PCF Swift, what do you say? But we're highjacking a thread here!
Have a nice day
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