About those Trainworx trucks...

[daniel_leavitt2000]

OMG I feel like a little school girl LOL TMI and whatever other netism seems appropriate.

If Jesus sat down and made me a Cappuccino, I would be less impressed. Ok 6 days and that's cool and all, but look at these miniature flames! Sorry god, you can keep that walking on water and fish in a basket. I see a new unholy cult unfolding.

So Tranworx kinda snuck in this release, which is rather astounding in and of itself. I suspect that this was due to curb licensing issues with the angry lawyers at Hasboro. Blue flames are trademarked, you know. And not that anyone cares about 35 year old trucker movies, but I'm sure some nickel counter at the studios is pacing on his era appropriate shag carpeting and wearing nothing but a robe and a Rolex with "Sammy" written in diamonds on the dial. "Damn, that is OUR shade of rust!

So What is in this release? We have four new tractors and two new trailer bodies. The rumor that there was a smooth side 40' dry box is greatly exaggerated.

And the Choice of cabs is actually pretty smart: The narrow snout Pete was first produced in the very early 50's and lasted until the 70's. A few were operating into the 90's in construction. The Pete 379, doing is best impression of a very bad movie was also a good choice. These spanned decades and are still in wide use today. On the Kenworth side we have both a W900, which shares some parts with the 379 and the K100, a cab-over.

Options! lets talk options! For the standard nose trucks, you have a choice of regular and long frame, no, small or full sized sleeper, three different rear wheel fenders options, three different cab steps, three different tank options, three different stack options and headache rack. You also get a choice of alloy or steel wheels. That isn't even covering the W100, which only has one set of options as it is the only one in this release.

The trucks are made out of clear plastic painted to match the prototype. This makes the windows look very good (and is the same method used by the Japanese model vehicle makers), but could be a drag to repaint. Luckily, only the Transformers paint scheme really stands out enough to be instantly recognizable. The other schemes just blend in the with wild and whacky paint of the 70's and 80's. Did I mention that the tractors have scale engines in them? The cab/hood tilts forward to reveal two different engine types depending on truck model. All models have wipers, a full interior and etched mirrors. Horns are separate parts too.

We also get two new trailers: a 35' fuel tanker (eh) and a 53' sheet post box with a Thermoking reefer unit (yay). I can see this long box being very useful in future runs. Incidentally, this appears to be a road van, with two door tie downs instead of 4. For what its worth, I like the change of pace.

The other three trailers are their standard issue 40' beaded trailer with various appliances. The stagecoach mural is actually really pretty. Actually all the paint is near perfect: all done in a semi gloss sheen that does not look fake. Various pin striping is both very thin and even. Printing is excellent.

Also new in this release (I think anyway) are off-black tires. They really look good.

[bbussey]

The cabs open?  Insane.

Note that the cab bodies are clear plastic and masked appropriately for the body paint.

[Bendtracker1]

Looks like we might have to add a chunk of small rail to the front bumper of the Duel Truck?
But they are looking impressive to say the least.

[sirenwerks]

Holy guacamole, Batman! Gorgeous!

[Philip H]

Those are fabulous trucks.  Of course, most of Trainworx stuff is in the fabulous category.  Another thing added to my Christmas list.

[mu26aeh]

I ordered an Optimus Prime edition along with a few other things in an order from Pete.  After seeing the pictures, I'm glad I did now.  Don't think these are going to last anywhere, even at the higher prices.

[Chris333]

Dang, they look like 1/25 scale die cast collectibles.

[peteski]

These are amazing models!  Like it was mentioned, these look like they are much larger than N scale. The details are very fine!  No wonder they cost so much.

The transparent bodies (while great as far as the windows being flush) will be a big problem for someone trying to paint them. I also hope that the paint used on these is not slightly translucent. That just really kills the look of a model (if back-lit, you can see the light shining through it).  They seem to look ok in Daniel's photos.

I sure hope that Pat is planning on making lots and lots of spare parts (especially wheel sets) as this will be snapped up very quickly in large quantities. They will be great for upgrading lots of older model trucks.

EDIT:
The clear cab also squashes my plans to light up the model. Light bleeding through the transparent body will make lighting them pretty much impossible.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Whoa.

Just whoa.

[C855B]

A good friend of mine is a big-rig truck restorer and collector, and owned the surviving Duel truck for a few years. There were two used in filming. There were spotting differences, and they had different engines. The "A" truck was wrecked and scrapped, I think. He acquired the "B" truck from a movie memorabilia collector who lived not far from the filming site.

The truck was flat-bedded to St. Louis for restoration. The original plan was to drive it to St. Louis ("What were you thinking, Dan??!?" when he told me   ). He and the truck made it out of California - he said the chatter on the CB was priceless - but it blew a head gasket climbing the hill east of Kingman, AZ. He and another trucker friend fetched his flatbed, found a ramp in Kingman, and loaded the cab and trailer. They were stopped at the truck checkpoint into NM, and told to cover-up the "FLAMMABLE" signs on the tank. Rest of the trip was uneventful. Incidentally, the tank is a stripped-down skeleton, little more than a stage prop.

He did get the truck running, replaced the brake lines throughout, and I gave him a little help sorting out some electrical issues. He sold it to another truck collector to make time for his other movie truck project, the Rubber Duck's truck. Really. He has the original frame and cab, but is being forced to kitbash most of the rest since it had been converted into a cement truck.

I have two of the Trainworx Duel trucks on order, one for me and one for Dan. I asked Pat about the Rubber Duck truck, but he explained that the Convoy-the-song was about a Kenworth, and Convoy-the-movie is a Mack, and he didn't have a Mack in the works.

[ljudice]

Blessed Mother of Acceleration....

[sizemore]

 

The S.

[Mark5]

These trucks are insanely nice!

I don't care about the movie themes, but when these come in normal paint I'll be looking closely!

Mark

[mu26aeh]

These trucks are insanely nice!

I don't care about the movie themes, but when these come in normal paint I'll be looking closely!

Mark

I've seen a few tractors traveling the nations highways that have Transformers logos on them, so I'm just going to go with the theory that this owner is a big fan

[tehachapifan]

Did you hear that loud banging noise?? That's the sound of N scale going to the next level!

Holy Crap!!!