1/25 AMT Chevy Titan 90

[cifenet]

Hi guys,

I found this forum not too long ago and decided to share my first semi tractor build here. 

I have never built big rigs before and ever since building this one, I have been bitten by the charm of building them.  Now I am working on International Eagle 4300 and it is also great experience going through wonderful build steps.

Being this my first AMT semi tractor kit, I struggled throughout the build, mostly the problems were related part positioning and based on the positioning parts, it created a dependency of other parts which would be attached later on.  For example, I think all of the exhaust/intake (including piping) components should not be attached till the later stage where everything should be mount at once.  This way, you can easily line up and position everything as correctly as possible. 

I realized attaching the front bumper is the same way, you really do not know the height of the bumper till you attach the cab.  And I lowered my cab 1/8 inch, so attaching the front bumper was my last step of the build.  Even I test-fit and performed the mock build so many times, I got burn by certain parts being attached in an early step of the build where I had to re-adjust later on.  This type of activity made everything difficult...  ?

It is not in the pics, but I attached windshields to only find out that they interfere inserting interior floor tub all the way into the cab.  The windshield parts being clear, I didn't want to re-attach/adjust possibly damaging the surface with glue stains.  I had to manually reduce the height of the interior floor tub part by cutting off side walls (crazy!).

I have to admit I didn't have many reference materials and I actually do not know much about semi tractors.  Some of the things were done in a way based on my logic when no information was available.  I built this box stock except adding custom trim parts (hand rails, mirror mounts, wheel guards, some wiring there and there, ext).  I stripped all factory chrome parts and used Alclad and E7 Chrome paints.    

 At any rate, I found this to be a very rewarding experience! ?

Thank you all for watching,

Cifenet

 

Edited April 1, 2023 by cifenet

[Jim B]

Great looking Chevy.  really well done.

[tractoraholic]

Very well done Titan. Nice clean build 

[TruckerAL]

You chose one challenging truck kit to do as your first. But, it came out fantastic! 

[DRIPTROIT 71]

Beautiful Titan! Excellent work!

[grodudulle77]

Awesome work, nice looking Titan, i’m really looking forward your IH 4300 !! ??

Edited April 2, 2023 by grodudulle77

[ChrisR]

Looking great!

[Rockford]

For a first attempt that's a fantastic job! Looking at the finish you are obviously very experienced in another field of the hobby. Looking forward to seeing your next project. 

[cifenet]

Thank you guys for supportive comments!

I have been looking at the beautiful models you guys built here for some time and I must admit building these is never easy.  
And some of these kits produced with engineering from 40 plus years ago certainly did not help building them “easy”… 

[happy grumpy]

If you can build a AMT rig this good, it is a testament to your talent and dedication. This rig looks like it is fresh out of the factory for a photoshoot for the sale brochure.

Absolutely stunning. 

[Biggu]

That is REALLY nice, love the wheels

[SpikeSchumacher]

Very nice!?

[Bronzekeg]

great job on a tough kit to make look right. great pictures also.

[Warren D]

Looks great, what did you use for the metallic look on the bumper, exhaust etc?

[cifenet]

Wow, I am very flattered! Appreciated very much.  

I hope I can contribute more here and share the joy of this hobby.  But as far as these trucks go, I am still learning many things and when opportunity arises, I would like ask you guys for advise.

On 4/4/2023 at 5:15 AM, Warren D said:

Looks great, what did you use for the metallic look on the bumper, exhaust etc?

Hi Warren!  For Titan 90, I used three different metallic paints: 

• Alclad Chrome
• Alclad Polished Aluminum
• E7 Silver Plating (E7 is the brand)

Between Alclad and E7, I found E7 paint to be more durable (when handled) and I used these paints to give different metal tone throughout.  This way, the build isn't too boring.

The applying technique is something that most of us know, but thought I can share mine:

I basically removed all of the chrome parts by using "SuperClean De-greaser" (in US).  SuperClean won't hurt our plastic, so I usually leave them for awhile.

Once chrome is removed, it is just regular "modeling activity" from here.  I glue, sand, and putty gaps and repeat till things look decent.

I like using Mr. Color GX2 Ueno Black as my base color prior to applying my own chrome.  I think it shines easy and gives deeper base tone.

I applied the black and sometimes it reveals imperfection so I would repeat "sanding" (shown in red arrow) and painting black again.   Once the surface looks clean/shining enough, I apply chrome using low psi usually around 10. 

 

If I want "mirror" like shine, then I would clear coat prior to chroming it, but sometimes it makes things a bit toy-ish.

Titan 90 wheels were painted with Alclad Polished Aluminum and they were given Tamiya acrylic clear coat (to protects the chrome paint from rubbing off).

Lastly, the top of the exhaust pipe and intake pipe were made using aluminum tubes and other exhaust components were painted with E7 Silver Plating (without clear).

Thanks!

 

Edited April 5, 2023 by cifenet

[JerseeJerry55]

I think WOW would be a good word to use. That's awesome. 

[J.B. Customs]

I like the paint job looks great ? 

Edited April 5, 2023 by J.B. Customs

[Dutzie]

Nice, clean build. Chassis looks awesome. 

[PappyD340]

Very nice, well done!

[Pete68]

Nice finish that’s a good looking Titan. 

[Jim Whalen]

Nice build - by stripping the chrome you have been able to tidy up the parts so the final result is a much neater model and looks more realistic than having lots of really shiny parts.

[slusher]

Sharp Chevy Semi!

[Gary Chastain]

Well done, looks well built and colors really work. 

[BigBad]

Really nicely done build. As clean as a whistle! Good job!