Catawissa Freightliner - built from AMT's 1/25 scale kit

A great example of finding inspiration on-line for a model truck project, on ninthstargod.p... four pictures of a White-Freightliner tractor, estimated to be of about 1970 vintage, provided enough information to create this 1/25 scale replica starting with AMT's "Dual Drive" White-Freightliner kit.
"Freightliner Fever" soundtrack by Dave Dudley. Back in the 1970's, in the northeastern U.S., this would have been a nicely spec'd truck with aluminum wheels up front, sunvisor, and dual stacks/horns/etc.
Specific engine in the real truck was unknown and a close-up view of engine wasn't available however dual stacks suggested Detroit power so an 8V-72 was sourced from an AMT Titan/90 parts kit.
This video by matthew howell has in-cab footage of a similar Detroit powered 1971 truck and gives an idea of what this one would have sounded like on the highways around Catawissa. • 1971 freightliner cabo...
Spoke drive wheels, taken from an Ertl Great Dane van trailer kit, replaced White-Freightliner kit's chrome disc wheels.
Incorrect headlight position of AMT kit cab's headlights was easy to fix as headlights were modified to single headlight configuration matching 1:1 truck. Cab front panel seams were corrected and rivets removed when sanding joints in multi-piece cab shell replaced with Micro-Mark's O scale decal rivets which are a good size match for 1/25 scale truck cab rivets.
Damaged area at lower right rear corner of cab showed truck had experienced an "interesting" encounter at some point in its life. This damage was modelled by thinning plastic of cab shell until it was nearly translucent, gluing on a thin piece of brass shim for strength, and distressing the "sheet metal".
Red oxide primer coat on cab showed through in numerous places on 1:1 truck, replicated on model by priming cab first then lightly sanding away colour coat to reveal primer where needed. Red and yellow cab stripes were added using strips cut from coloured decal paper.
Script "Catawissa Bottling Co." lettering was drawn on freehand using fine tip paint marker. Thankfully, most of the (unsteady) hand lettering was sanded away to simulate worn paint so it doesn't look too bad. Individual decal letters were used for the "450 Fisher Ave. Catawissa Pa." etc. lettering on cab sides.
Simulating dirt and rust stains, as well as other effects of weather and the environment on a truck parked for the long term, was an enjoyable challenge. Multiple washes of varying colours were used on frame and running gear with ground foam model railroad scenery material used to simulate moss growing in areas of frame and suspension. Reddish brown coloured pencils added rust and worn paint effects.
Bright yellow trailer jack behind truck, which is visible in two of the 1:1 photos, was scratch built from brass tube and wire with base adapted from a 1/8" scale hot rod kit part (that kit supplies bases and posts for rope railing to be placed around the hot rod at shows)
I have been to Catawissa a few times in the past several years, my first trip there was April 2017, ten years after the photos on nsg Truck Pics were taken (April 2007). It is likely the real truck is long gone as it wasn't there in 2017, but it lives on in miniature.
#scalemodeltrucks
#freightliner
#cabovers

[@thebrinx9632]

Great builds and fantastic background music!

[@Leadfootkurtis]

I was sent over by Ruane Cromit and absolutely dig your builds! Can’t wait to see more. Model on sir!

[@brsnorthernhorsejourney3579]

Thank you - I was looking forward to crossing paths with Ruanne at Fulton recently however weather caused cancellation on original show date (that was a good call based on the forecast) and unfortunately on rescheduled date I was on the way back up from a course down Georgia.

[@heathjohnson4486]

Beautiful job.

[@lisakigar4432]

Cabovers Are Real Truck's And The Best. All I Drove For years long Haul..🥰❤💯❤

[@brsnorthernhorsejourney3579]

I only had one week driving a cabover long haul, an old F model Mack "loaner" when my assigned R model was in the shop. Many modern fire trucks are a low cab forward design, I do get to drive those once in a while.

[@Skipperj]

My 1st was a Ford H1000 1964 cabover w/sleeper, 220 Cummins 10sp. That was 1970

[@sssniperboofygoofy]

Cabovers are rare in Virginia

[@sssniperboofygoofy]

XTREAMLY

[@ronaldmorrison6013]

What an awesome model!!!!! Damn!!!👍🏽👍🏽

[@tomcline5631]

Florentino rebuilding co sent me here! That is just fanfriggintastic work! I drive Freightliner trucks for a farmer,10 years now! We have an old cabover just like this! Been parked longer than I've been with em! I love it anyway!

[@brsnorthernhorsejourney3579]

I wonder how long the Catawissa one was parked, photos of 1:1 from NSG Truck Pics site were taken April 2007, I visited Catawissa in April 2017 and truck was gone by then. There is a similar Freightliner cabover, about 10 years newer, that has been parked in the Holland Marsh area (very productive area of farmland a little north of Toronto, Ontario) for at least 6 years now.

[@mapacheraccoon4476]

Wow!..at first i thought it was a real truck,Amazing..what a heck of a job,down to detail, faded paint,tanks...hats off to ya...one hell of a job...

[@brsnorthernhorsejourney3579]

Thanks! Combining modelbuilding with the camera to try and capture a convincing image is a fun challenge. I've actually been to Catawissa a couple of times, right where the 1:1 photos were taken, and a lot has changed since April 2007. The truck itself is of course long gone, along with other old trucks and trailers parked around the property. An old wood building was mostly fallen down on my first visit back around 2017, and completely gone the next year. Even 10 years earlier in 2007 the building was in rough shape. ninthstargod.proboards.com/thread/335/old-wooden-building-catawissa-pa ninthstargod.proboards.com/thread/705/boneyard-retired-equipment?page=1 More recently, the adjacent Melick Aquafeed plant had a fire in February 2020 and has since been demolished, looking at Google Earth today it shows a vacant lot on both sides of the railway line. I believe the Freightliner cabover was parked about where orange bin is sitting in this 2022 Google street view image: earth.google.com/web/search/Catawissa,+PA,+USA/@40.95356029,-76.46524139,146.14915466a,0d,40.61496332y,216.26644225h,86.49918539t,0r/data=Cn0aUxJNCiUweDg5YzU4OWEwYjllMDk0MDU6MHgzYTExMDY2NjRlNmVhYWQwGcViiijceURAIfM8uDtrHVPAKhJDYXRhd2lzc2EsIFBBLCBVU0EYASABIiYKJAk44SrufSlFQBGqvEvkpWNEQBm1N-8HLPRSwCEEtVBXQhhUwCIaChZWOFQtSEF6dGE1cWh4bUEyQUxueW5BEAI

[@gregoryj.m.8985]

..I thought it was a full size rig......Amazing....

[@oldtrucker672]

You are a very talented young man. Fantastic job. I love it!

[@bigcharliesmodelgarage296]

Sweet rig.

[@brsnorthernhorsejourney3579]

Thank you - sad to see the 1:1 version parked in the weeds, would have been a fairly fancy truck in its day when new with aluminum tanks, front Budds and twin stacks.

[@bigcharliesmodelgarage296]

@@brsnorthernhorsejourney3579 yea it is

[@bumptiousq.bangwhistle9154]

This is truly a work of art, sir!

[@brsnorthernhorsejourney3579]

Thank you! This project actually "stalled" for a few years, until the rivet decal solution to AMT's three-piece White-Freightliner cab seams was figured out. Another item that really helped was photo etched grille and other parts which were purchased from Mo'Luminum. I learned a lot about White-Freightliner cabovers during this model project, so many interesting and subtle differences between various models, years, etc.

[@PlasticImaginationWorkshop]

Another totally amazing build. Thanks for sharing and have a great weekend. -David

[@moparnut6286]

Outstanding detail!!

[@aaronking7326]

Holy cow...thats outstanding work

[@brsnorthernhorsejourney3579]

Thank you! Project started a number of years ago, then stalled for a while until I got inspired again in spring 2018 after a model car and truck show (and actually visiting Catawissa, unfortunately the real truck was long gone by then) and was able to complete it just in time for the 2019 show.

[@josephesposito7818]

Well done, great job!

[@davidparsleyscustomscaleemerge]

New sub here, that truck is awesome! great job.

[@brsnorthernhorsejourney3579]

Thank you, as a lot of projects do this one started (around 2014 IIRC), got partway along and stalled for a while. Stumbling block was mostly the seams on three piece cab, trying to preserve rivet detail while filling seams was impossible however the solution turned out to be Micro-Mark's O scale (1/48) rivet decals which matched the kit rivets nicely. Basically all rivets on cab sides and roof came off to be replaced by rows of decal rivets.

[@gideondeboer9440]

Wowww😮

[@Ryan-vq8wn]

Nice job driver

[@FlorentinoRebuildingCo.5644]

Unbelievable.....I thought i was clicking on a video of a real 1:1 Freightliner (huge Freightliner fan here) !!!! EXCELLENT EXCELLENT EXCELLENT!!!! Fantastic build you got there. Subscribed. (May i mention your KZbin and use a screen shot or two for my truck building channel?) I am not a business, only a model builder and big fan of Freightliners.

[@brsnorthernhorsejourney3579]

Thank you, it is a nice feeling when a model photographs looking real. Yes, feel free to mention the channel - sharing info and ideas is all part of the hobby!

[@FlorentinoRebuildingCo.5644]

@@brsnorthernhorsejourney3579 Thank you. Great looking Freightliner.

[@jesuspagan4659]

Great Freighter!! Very realistic!! I have2 questions: how did you fix the front rims? Did you used one of the amt front rims? I was working on two different amt rims one was the KW 123 and the other the freighter. Couldn’t do it right and one of them ended with 9 nuts😳!! Thanks for sharing and here you have another subscriber!!

[@brsnorthernhorsejourney3579]

I did use AMT rims for the front wheels, I lightly sanded the lug nut detail down but did not remove it completely to start with (I did this while the wheel was still chrome plated so the chrome plating acted as a depth guide to ensure I didn't sand too far) then centre punched and drilled out each lug nut location. This way all 10 holes ended up in the right spot. Wheel was then de-chromed and sanded smooth. Aluminum finish is chrome bumper paint applied from spray can, then given a spray of Testors Dullcote to simulate tarnished aluminum that hasn't been polished in many years. Exposed lug nuts were made with Tichy Train Group nut castings, and the ones with lug nut covers were turned from .060" styrene hex stock. Damaged lug nut covers were made by filing flat areas on the finished lug nut covers to simulate dents. Oil hub detail is a resin part trimmed down to appropriate depth.

[@jesuspagan4659]

@@brsnorthernhorsejourney3579 thank you very much for share your knowledge!! I Appreciate your help!!

[@user-tu6jm1un3n]

That engine is an 8-71 not 72.....

[@brsnorthernhorsejourney3579]

Good catch - typo - most definitely should read 8V-71.