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Peterbilt 359 truck 1:25 Revell Injection Moulded kit The Peterbilt 359 is just what you would expect from an American truck with its big hood and lots of shiny chrome. The Peterbilt 359 was manufactured by Peterbilt trucks in the USA with the first rolling off the production line in 1967, lasting through till 1987 when a final 359s where produced as a special edition with numbered plaques. The 359, also called the 259 (Peterbilt model numbers typically start with a 2 for a single drive axle, and a 3 for double drive), had various upgrades and enhancements during its production run and the kit made here by Revell is a late model with the fibreglass hood, and the Corvette dashboard. Behind the cab is a typical sleeper box, this looks to me to be a Mercury 63 sleeper with a raised roof and full height walk through from the drivers cab. Construction starts with the chassis frame, this is made up from 2 rails joined with 4 cross members and a large frame that needs to be made up from 2 parts, upper and lower, that located between the rear suspension mountings. Some of the cross members are joined to the sprue by the ends so will need careful removal and cleaning up to ensure a square chassis. The rear suspension links are moulded onto the chassis, great if you are building a truck with this wheel base and axle spread, but a bit of a pain to remove and clean up if you are doing something different. The detail is very good on the parts and with them being attached will ensure the axles run true and square. The front springs are added and the front cab mounts in the next stop along with a substantial front cross member. There is a pair of large air tanks to build and as normal they are in 2 parts each so take care to minimise the amount of sanding you will have to do to erase the join. I will recommend you do this before gluing them along the chassis. Lastly you can add the rear suspension airbag halves and the trailing arms before popping the chassis to one side so you can crack on with the engine. The engine block come in 2 halves, and I guess its biased on the Cummins engine that you could choose to pull you Peterbilt along with as there is a Cummins logo on the decal sheet! The engine looks good and has a good level of detail on the parts. Various ancillary bits glue onto the main block before its added to the chassis. Personally I will skip through some steps and complete my chassis with the axles and other bits so it can be painted before adding the engine. The kit includes some wire and vinyl hose to plumb your engine in a bit and this is very welcome, I will add more to my build but the inclusion of this is very welcome. The completed engine can be dropped into the chassis, as I said I will complete, detail and paint my chassis before adding the completed, painted and detailed engine, with the radiator being assembled, and dropped into place with some hoses to join it to the engine. Below is the reverse of the sprue shown above The cab and hood come joined by some thick sprue gates, take care not to damage the parts when separating them, the level of detail on the parts is very nice with some subtle rivets and other detail on the parts and the shape is well captured of the cab and hood. There are some mould lines in difficult places to try and sand out and it will be hard not to damage the surface details. The cab has separate doors that can be made to open and close with some hinges in the kit, the doors have a separate inner door panel with nice detail (shown above with the engine parts) and the hood needs the wheel arches adding. This will be useful if you build has different colour wings to hood! The inside of the cab is well detailed with the 2 seats having seat suspension detail and seat belts moulded onto the base. The Corvette dashboard has separate insets of the clocks and switches. You have the option to detail the engraved and raised details or sand it flush and use decals. The floor has the rear wall adding, before it is slid into the shell with the seats and dash being added through the open door apertures before hanging the doors on the plastic hinges. The sleeper is made up from 6 parts, with some very good detail inside and out with rivet and door detail on the outside and nice quilted fabric inside the sleeper box. There is a big wide bed with a nicely moulded pillow and bedding that will come to life with some good painting. Its a shame it will be hidden away but you could leave the roof loose so it can be lifted away to view the detail. Now comes the chrome, its an American rig and as such there are 2 large shiny sprues in the kit. The chrome is nicely done on the review sample, not being too thick and it allows the detail of the plastic come through. There are some parts that need gluing together, like the fuel tanks and exhausts so the will be some visible joins so you may want to strip the chrome, build and re-paint some bits. The big Peterbilt 3 bar grill is nice, and a dark wash will give the grill depth. You get a bag with 10 rubber tyres, the detail look OK, with sidewall and tread detail but to my eye they done look right as the tread looks too narrow for the width of the tyre with a big stepped shoulder. I hope the picture shows better what I mean here! There is a small decal sheet that has some data and signs for the truck, along with various Peterbilt badges and logos. There is some operator livery for a David Webb Trucking, a look on the net has found a David Webb Trucking but I cant confirm if this decal is based on fact, if anyone has photos of the real truck please Id like to see them! A couple of eagle decals complete the sheet to fit on the side of the sleeper and on the roof mounted aerofoil. Conclusion This is a nice kit of a popular typical American truck. Will be a cracking OOB build, but can also be a base for many conversions. A welcome return! Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit

Hi Friends I present this utility truck used by the German Armed Forces from mid 30 until the end of World War II. Armed direct of box, all improvements and details are home made, painted with Model Master and Tamiya paints, pigments K4 (chilean manufacturing) and MIG. Cheers, from warm south

International ProStar Truck. 1:25 Injection Moulded kit from Revell The International ProStar truck is manufactured by International Truck Company in North America, it was launched in 2006 and remains in production today being built at two plants, one in Springfield Ohio and a second plant in Mexico. The ProStar comes with a choice of cab sizes, from a regional Day cab unit, to the big 73 sleeper cab with the high skyline roof add to that a host of engine, axle and transmission options this allows owners and operators to specify the correct truck for job. ProStar was given the title of Most Fuel efficient truck in the class 8 sector. This was due to the weight saving design and the aerodynamic cab and hood To celebrate the ProStar was given some upgrades and refinements including a quieter cab with more storage and some of the switch gear was redesigned. This new ProStar+ is the version kitted by Revell with the long 73 sleeper cab with the high roof, the kit includes an aerodynamic fairing for the roof that gives the look of a higher cab, and on the 1:1 helps the truck's aerodynamics when hooked to a reefer (refrigerator) trailer. The kit comes in a large box and when you take the lid off it is full of plastic with all the parts bagged together in a big bag and the individual sprues and parts in their own bags inside. The chrome sprues (it wouldn't be an American rig with no chrome) are bagged and protected with some tissue paper. There are a lot of surplus parts in the kit, which is due to some sprues being carried over from the ProStar sister truck the Lonestar, but there are a lot of differences between the two kits when you look deeper. There are 15 sprues, one being a clear sprue, 3 chromed, and the cab is a single part similar to the LoneStar kit, plus a bag of rubber tyres and an etched grill. Construction kicks off with the truck's 13 litre, 500bhp MaxxForce engine, and the engine block comes in 2 main halves with the Fuller gearbox moulded into it. They fit together with a plate on the back of the gearbox and a locating hole for the prop shaft at the rear, with an oil sump to the base. The level of detail on the engine is very good with the shape of the engine and transmisson being well captured. Assembly of the engine covers the first 12 stages of the build, where there is some very nice detail on the engine, but as always it would benefit form some added details with some thin wire for the wiring harness, and some brass wire for the injector pipes. A look on the net will throw up some pictures of engines to assist you there. The engine is painted in a nice pale metallic blue, this is correct according to the pictures I have seen. Various other parts will need painting so do your research as it will be easier to paint some of the filters and pipes on the sprue. You can then pop the completed engine to one side and make a start on the chassis frame. The chassis is built up from 2 main rails and cross members to give a detailed chassis, and the rails are allot shorter than the ProStar sister truck but have been tooled for this truck so no cutting or shortening of the rails is needed. When building the chassis you will need to take care to keep the chassis true and square. The rear suspension is then added to the chassis, this truck is a 6x4 and as such has a double drive, (twin rear driven axles) and the rear rides on 2 bag air suspension. You have to make up 4 airbags and they are all in 2 parts so some sanding will be needed to lose the joint. When attaching the airbags to the chassis be careful that you glue them on the right way and this is shown in the instructions. The rear suspension mounts can then be added along with the shock absorbers. The axles are tackled next, the rear axles are in 2 halves and need brake back plates and actuators adding, and here some wire can added from the spares box if wanted to simulate the air lines to the brakes. The front axle can then be built and this can be made with working steering if you are careful with the glue. The instructions recommend using the tip of a heated screwdriver to melt the pins slightly to allow them to swivel. Obviously take care here with flames and hot tools! Now would be the time to think about painting you chassis, I would check forward in the instructions to see if there are any other parts that will end up the same colour, so you can add them before spraying the chassis. Now comes the expected chrome. The fuel tanks need to be built up, which comprise two big tanks that sit either side of the chassis under the cab. These come in two halves each and are chromed. Some may want to strip them and re-paint with some Alclad or similar, but when the side skirts are added later in the build they are hidden anyway. The wheels are also built up now and each of the 10 wheels comes in 2 parts. As they are chromed you will need to remove the chrome from the surfaces that need gluing, with the tyres being sandwiched between the halves. The tyres are moulded in black rubber which have nice tread detail, and some detail on the sidewall, but as this is only on one side of the tyre you will need to make sure this will be facing out on your completed truck. The truck's hood is built up next; the main hood is a single moulding and is nicely done, capturing the shape of the truck nicely to my eye. The hood needs the hinges adding to the inside and the chromed headlight bezels gluing in from the underside also. On the ProStar when the hood tilts, the bumper also tilts via some complex hinges, and this has been recreated on the kit, looking like it should be easy to make functional. I will be building this kit shortly so I will report back in a build review at a later date. The Chrome grill fixes to the hood and is shown above on the chrome sprue, and the kit includes an etched metal part to fit between the hood and the grill. This is pre-painted in a silky matt finish and as such is ready to use. Personally I wouldn't add this until the hood has been painted. There are a pair of chromed exhaust stacks to fit behind the cab, but they are in two parts each and as such will have a join that will need covering. I would strip the chrome, glue and sand the parts before re-chroming with some suitable metallic paint, but some may want to use some polished metal tubes or aftermarket metal parts that are available. The cab and sleeper interior come next and the instructions suggest you start with the driver and passenger seats. Each is nicely detailed and look like the real seats, needing a rear part gluing on before the two part base is built and added. The detail is nice with a seatbelt clip on the base, but the armrests are moulded as part of the seat. Id like to see this separate to allow them to be posed up or down, but that may be a bit nit-picking on my part though. The dash is build next and is nicely detailed with the various switches and vents moulded onto the surface. You may want to carefully paint this or sand it off so you can use the kit decal or some aftermarket etched parts. I would have a look on the internet before painting as the ProStar is available in numerous colours and styles and of course drivers have customised their rigs! The rest of the interior can then be built up; the kit contains a floor, cab sides and roof with the storage cupboards for the sleeper area being added. Careful painting following you references will give this some life, and to the rear of the sleeper is the large couch style sleeper bed. This is well done and the moulding has the stitched detail of the 1:1 bed. The cab can be painted and build as a separate part before sliding into the outer shell. The cab shell comes as a large single part moulding, needing the back wall and cab roof gluing on. I have tried these parts together dry and the fit looks good, with the joints being in line with the panel joins and mouldings on the real truck. Some supports for the rear air deflectors need gluing to the back wall of the cab, and these may be in a contrasting colour to the cab, so again check photos of the truck you are building. Mirrors, wipers and the sun visor are then added to the cab before the cab is glued onto its mounts on the chassis. There is a small decal sheet included. This has the orange and silver stripes for the cab as seen on the box top illustration, and there are some licence plates for a Virginia registered truck or some ProStar+ dealer plates. You will need to look for an aftermarket supplier should you want different tags for your model. There are decals for the cab interior covering the dials and switches on the dash, and as I noted earlier in the review you will need to sand the detail off the dash to fit the decals, or use some setting solution to get them to settle over the raised details. There are also some wood effect for the dash and other areas in the cab as seen on various models and specifications of the ProStar. The remainder of the sheet is taken up with some ProStar+ logos for the truck and the legally required reflective markings. The sheet is nicely printed, crisp with fine small details. Conclusion This is a nice kit of a popular US truck. Your spares box will benefit from some of the surplus parts but it is very good to see parts like the shorter chassis rails being redone. Cutting and joining chassis rails would have caused a weak area that could break on your completed build. Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit

Fruehauf Breaded Van Trailer 1:25 kit by AMT from Round2 models Fruehauf corporation was an American company that built truck trailers from its headquarters in Detroit, it was founded by August Charles Fruehauf in 1914, and continued building trailers until the company fell bankrupt in 1997. The company’s assets where brought and trailers are still being built around the world under the Fruehauf name. AMT issued a number of trailer kits and now Round2 are re-releasing some of these classic kits and the next kit on the review bench is the Fruehauf Breaded Van, I would date this style and model of trailer to the 1970, but I have seen photos of this style trailer still in use very recently, so will hitch behind plenty of tractor units. The kit comes in a long thin box (please note Italeri and Revell) that allows the sides, roof and floor to be cast in a single length saving the need to remove joins, and thank goodness that they are in one part as this kit has fine ribs running the length of the trailer and wrap around the front bulkhead. The parts are nicely cast and the rivet and ribs are finely cast as can be seen in a close up below. The parts are nice and straight on my review sample but this is an older kit so there is some flash and ejector pins that will require attention. The floor and roof also come in single lengths, with nice detail. The floor has cross member detail underneath and looking at the kit and photos of the real trailer it doesn’t have a full chassis as you would expect, it appears to me a monocoque structure. The final parts to the box body is the front bulkhead, this has the rib detail on the upper ¾ that mirrors the detail on the side panels, the lower part has a plate for the suzie connections. There is some basic cast detail but you will probably want to add connectors and more detail to this area. There is also a breast plate to fit under the front of the chassis and the kingpin fits onto this part. Finally are the rear doors, they again have some basic detail for the locking bars and handles, but I would sand them off and make more realistic parts from scratch, not a hard job with some rod and plastic. They can be made to function with an internal section that will clamp the doors to the hinge on the side. This shot shows the detail on the bulkhead, and the rear doors. As I stated this is a re-issue of an older kit so there is flash on the parts, and this can also be seen. Once we have the box body made we can move onto the chassis and axle bogie. The kit is a twin axle trailer with a slider bogie, this allows the trailer to be tuned for different loads and to allow the trailer to cross state boarders and comply with the differing loading, and wheelbase rules. As I said above there isn’t a chassis as such on this trailer, there are 2 short sections (top parts on the picture) that glue under the trailer floor, you the build up a bogie assembly that can slide on these rails and locks in various positions. The main rails and suspension mountings are shown in the picture above. The suspension for the trailer is multi leaf springs. They come with the inner mounting plate’s in-situ and will mate with the plated moulded on the bogie rails. There is some nice detail but there are some tricky ejection pins to remove from between the moulded axle U bolts as can be seen below. These need to be glued onto the rails before any cross members are added. The sprue below contains the cross members for the axle bogie, the wheel centres and the landing leg/ support leg assembly. Some care will be needed when removing and cleaning the parts to ensure the axle assembly is square when built. The landing leg assembly needs to be built up and added to the underside of the floor, the location for this is vague but there are some very faint pips on the cross members’ hints to the correct location. Take care and look at some references to be sure. The centre drum for the trailer wheels come on this sprue, and they need an inner ring adding sandwiching the tyre for the inner of the duel wheels. The radius rods and axles are also found on here. The axles are in two parts and could be replaced with some tube if required for aftermarket wheels and hubs. The final parts are the large mud flaps that fix behind the rear axles. No elaborate spray suppression or guards as required toady, just simple flaps with the Fruehauf ‘Anti-sail’ logos moulded on. They look a little thick and heavy to my eye so I will remove the flap from the mounting, and replace with some thin plasticard. On the centre of the sprue is the locking mechanism for the sliding bogie assembly and on the top left a support for the airlines that are included. There is a single chrome sprue, there are 8 rings for the inner and outer wheels, along with chrome brake chambers and slack adjusters. I’m not sure why they are chrome, Id strip them and paint the colour of the chassis. Lastly are two backing plates for the rear lamps. Personally I will strip the chrome and repaint a mix of the chassis colour and maybe some Alcad. There is a nice length of vinyl hose for the airlines, and these can be linked from the tractor, via a relay and the air tank to the brake chambers. There is a selection of clear red and amber lenses for the trailer, check your references and the local regulations for correct placement. 2 metal axles are included to allow the trailer wheels to rotate (off the shelf normally!) but I glue mine solid. 8 soft rubber tyres are included. They carry the Goodyear name and have good sidewall and tread detail, maybe a little heavy in places but a rub with sandpaper will give a nice worn look. AMT and Round2 have included a printed card, when folded and inserted into the trailer should give the impression of a load of kits being delivered to a model shop! There is a nice set of decals, it includes various Fruehauf logos, licence plates and legal lettering for both the trailer and the tractor unit us build to pull it, along with some colourful decals for AMT, Round2 and Autoworld, and I guess they are fictional liveries. Conclusion This is a welcome reissue of an old kit and will be welcomed by modellers. But being an older kit there is issues with flash and ejection pins and as such one for the more experienced modeller. I have made a start on this kit and it does need work to get it together and get the box square. A welcome re-issue from Round2! Review sample courtesy of UK distributors for

German V3000S Truck Revell 1:35 From 1940 onwards the German army, by standardizing and simplifying the numerous types of trucks, tried to improve the procurement of spare parts and facilitate repairs. The result was the standard 3 ton truck, which all German manufacturer snow used as a basis for construction. This was also the basis on which the motor manufacturer in Cologne produced the "V3000S" from 1941 onwards. Various bodies and sets of equipment were available. A typical recognition feature was the oval radiator grille and one-piece windscreen. In total about 25,000 examples were built. The "V 3000 S" came to be used on all fronts in the Second World War and was indispensable for supplying the troops with goods of all kinds. The Model This model is a re-pop of the ICM kit supplied in the standard Revell end opening box, on the front of which is a nice representation of the truck in use. Inside, within a large poly bag, are three sprues of light brown styrene and, in a separate poly bag, one clear sprue. On initial inspection the parts are really well moulded, clean, with no sign of flash. There are a number of moulding pips, some of which are on quite fragile looking parts, so care should be taken when removing. The sprue gates attaching items like the cover rails are also quite heavy and I can see these parts breaking if not careful. The build starts with the nicely detailed engine with the block and gearbox halves glued together followed by the addition of the rocker covers, starter motor, alternator, front engine mounts, cooling fan, air filter, cooling pipes, gear stick and other sundry items. The instructions then move on to the chassis rails with the addition of five cross members and rear chassis end piece, to which the towing eye, cover and pin are added. To the top of the main rails the two sub rails are added. These are then further secured to the main rails by six ties and clamps. The front and rear leaf springs are fitted along with the rear axle and transfer box. Turning the rails over the engine can now be fitted plus the exhaust system, which comprises of seven parts, and looks particularly fragile so it may be an idea to build in situ rather than as a separate assembly the instructions call for. The two driveshafts can then be added, as can the radiator/front chassis end piece. The steering rack assembly is built up using the four parts provided and, if the modeller chooses can be built up so that the front wheels are posable, although this may make it rather fragile, particularly the rear tie rod. After fitting the various brackets and supports as well as the front bumper and tow hooks, it’s onto the wheels, these come as single piece tyres and outer wheels. There are seven provided, singles for the front, doubles for the rear and a spare which fits on the chassis behind the cab and under the bed. The inner wheels are glued whilst an middle part is not, to enable the wheels to turn when fitted to the axles which most modellers probably wouldn’t be bothered with. The building of the cab begins with filing off the ejection pins marks on the underside of the floor, before fitting the pedals, steering column, steering wheel and handbrake handle. The seat support and cushion is fitted to the floor, whilst the windscreen, instrument panel, with decal instruments, are fitted to the roof/front part of the cab. Onto the rear panel of the cab the seat back and rear screen are attached. The next assembly for the cab is the bonnet, which is made up of left and right hand parts, bonnet and bonnet ornament strake. The completed bonnet can then be posed either opened or closed. The final part of the cab is the engine bay which is built up of the left and right hand sides, radiator grille, and rear bulkhead. These five sub assemblies are then fitted together to make the full front assembly, which is then fitted to the chassis. To finish off the front, the mud guards/foot plates are attached along with the doors, which are made of the external panels, door cards, clear parts, and door handles. Last details are the wing mirrors, lights, wipers; grab handles, spade, triangular roof marker, jerry can and its support bracket. The last assembly is the truck bed. This is built up with the bed itself, five strengthening beams on the underside along with two storage containers and rear number plate. There are four supports for each of the rear mudguards and the mudguards themselves to be fitted before flipping the assembly over and attaching the front sides and rear panels. On the front panel, two brackets are attached, into which the hoops for a canvas cover, which is not supplied. The whole assembly is then attached to the chassis, completing the build. Decals Apart from the instruments mentioned above, the small decal sheet gives the modeller 4 options. A plain grey painted vehicle from the Russian front 1942, a dark earth painted vehicle from Italy 1944, and two camouflaged trucks, one from Yugoslavia 1944 and the other East Prussia 1945. The decals are nicely printed, clear and in good register with a slightly matt finish. Conclusion Not having seen the ICM kit beforehand I really like this kit. Whilst the details straight from the box are rather good, there is plenty of scope to add extra detail, particularly to the engine and the very empty cargo bed. Once built and weathered this truck will make a nice component to a multi-vehicle diorama, or on its own with a bit of imagination and some figures, one or two of which would have been nice to have been included in the kit. There doesn’t appear to be anything that would trouble anyone other than complete beginners, so I can quite happily recommend this nice and quite interesting truck.

FG Models Peterbilt resin conversion parts Peterbilt trucks are an American company that was founded in 1936. Peterbilt is biased in Texas and builds heavy trucks mainly for the US market. The Peterbilt range is well covered in 1:24 scale by Italeri and Revell but like many real Petes modellers want to build custom and individual trucks. FG models are based in Korea and produce a range of resin and etched parts for models. I will cover some of their resin parts for the Peterbilt range of kits here. All of the resin parts are superbly cast, to a point I thought they may be Injection Plastic. Over the whole box of parts I can't find a flaw in any of the resin parts, no bubbles, nor is casting flaws and the detail on the parts very nice and fine. Ultra Roof Parts. The Peterbilt bonneted truck has the option of a raised roof section, to give the driver more space in the cab on both day cabs, and cabs with the classic sleeper pod behind. FG models have 2 Ultra Roofs in there range. The casting of the parts is first class. The dimples in the outer skin of the roof are copied from the real parts. The casting is attached to a substantial pour block and some care will be needed in removing it but the pour gates do thin where the meet the roof moulding to assist you. There are 4 parts in this conversion, they are the roof, internal header/ locker and 2 locker doors. The inside of the roof carries a high level of detail with the Patten of the roof liner being present, along with the internal lights and some very nicely done sun visors. There is a separate part to the header inside, along with separate locker doors. This roof has a cut-out at the back so be sure you order the right part (there is a matching day-cab conversion panel by FG) for your kit. This is basically the same part but this hasn’t got the cut-out at the rear as can be seen below. The part has the same number of parts and carries the same high level of detail and quality Peterbilt Day cab panels. Peterbilt offer day cab tractor units and there are also companies that convert sleepers to day cabs in the US. FG models now offer us the same conversion, in 1:24 scale. The first panel on the review bench is designed to fit the Italeri kit, and will convert the plastic sleeper to a day-cab configuration. As with the roof sections the casting is top quality with no flaws in the parts. The surface of the parts has a nice rivet detail and to my eye looks to scale, and not over done. The part is attached to a pour block by 5 gates, and as before they are thinner by the part to assist in there removal. This conversion is designed for use with the Ultra roof from FG shown above (7005) and carries the same detail as shown above. Wheels FG models have sent 2 sets of wheels for US trucks, the first is a specific Peterbilt style, and the second is a more generic US truck wheel. The first wheel set under the camera is the Peterbilt wheels. This is a resin set comprising of 2 wheels for a front steer axle, and it also includes 2 centre caps and a pair of hub-caps for the centre of the wheels. The parts are cast in the normal grey resin FG uses and the quality is as high as previously. The detail on the wheels is very fine with all the vent holes being open, and the wheel nuts being very nicely detailed. These will give your Petes front axle some correct wheels! This set of wheels is copies of the popular Alcoa truck wheels for the front steer axle. These again have the high level of detail, and quality as the previous parts. Conclusion These are very nice resin parts from FG models, a recommended purchase. FG models have asked me to point you towards there E-bay site but asked me to mention their parts can be brought through other avenues such as Hobbyeasy.com, hlj.com, Mediamixhobby.com.sg please mention Britmodeller when buying through FG models E-bay shop Review sample from Some detailed walkaround pictures of Peterbilt trucks can be found here, and here

I've been looking off and on for pickup kits in 1/24 on Ebay for ages without success - the only ones I come across are of 1940s or 1950s vehicles, hardly ever anything more recent. In model shops I scan the stocks in vain for new kits. Does this reflect a general shortage or absence of pickup kits? Aren't these popular? I wonder why... Tony

A US Kenworth conventional truck taken at Truckfest South West 2012

GMC Truck.