Unboxing

This is the first part of the AMT Kenworth Aerodyne Cabover Tractor Truck 1/25 Scale 1463

I’ve wanted to build a semi truck for quite a few years now, ever since a friend of mine built one for his Dad. They’ve always looked like a fun challenge, and after the Revell Camaro build, I’m feeling a lot more confident about building one of these big rigs.

Originally released in 1979, the Kenworth Aerodyne has been a popular subject for modelers. With its bold angles and the swept top windows, the Aerodyne has a slight aircraft appearance that reminds me of a B-17 Flying Fortress.

Many of these Aerodyne trucks feature bright, colorful paint with unique angled pin striping features along the sides. One it’s own, this is an impressive-looking model, but it will make an even greater presence later on when a trailer is added.

Starting off this tour of the sprues, we’ll look at the body of the truck. It’s mostly molded in one single piece, and there are raised rivets all over, just like the real deal. It’s a very clean mold with a faint amount of flash around the windows, and there are some small seam lines that run along the exterior of the body.

For a kit that’s this old, I was expecting a lot of clean up, but that isn’t the case. Clean up will be quite quick, and I’m very pleased with the quality AMT has produced so far. Lastly, everything looks straight and even; I’m not seeing any warping in the plastic.

The interior bucket has some nice details, admittedly they are difficult to see with the bright white plastic. But there is a moulded-in bed in the back, with a blanket and a pillow, and the seats have some nice details to them as well.

Here we have the dash with the instrument gauges, and some of the side wall details. On its own, this will be a fairly busy-looking interior, but you can also go the extra mile and add in some custom details.

Parts of the engine, as well as some of the exhaust. The exhaust parts come in 2 sections, so there will be a bit of cleaning and sanding on these parts.

More exhaust sections and the inner sections of the wheel rims. The exteriors are included as chromed parts.

The frame rails for the chassis are the longest parts, and there is a bit of warping on these. But I think with some careful gluing, realigning these parts shouldn’t be too much of a challenge.

I was a bit surprised that the fuel tanks weren’t included with the chrome parts, but this will allow the option to paint them a matching color to the rest of the truck.

Two parts are included for the windows. They have some minor scratches, which can easily be polished out. But they are incredibly clear, and this will make all of the interior details well seen on the completed model.

I should note that the main windscreen doesn’t go all the way around the interior, so the windows on the doors will remain open.

Clear Red and Yellow sprues are included for all the lights around the truck. A gloss coat could be added to these parts to help brighten up the plastic.

Three frets of chromed parts are included, and the details on these parts are really sharp. AMT placed some paper between the parts to avoid them getting scratched. I appreciate that they took the precautions to avoid damage to these parts.

Ten well-detailed tires with writing on the sides and clean tread. There is some excess vinyl inside the tires to remove, but it will be a quick cleanup.

An interesting design choice for the instructions. They come in 2 large double-sided fold-out sheets, similar to road maps. They are clearly labelled and well detailed, but once they are unfolded, they take up a lot of space.

Instructions available for download – PDF:  AMT 1463 Instructions

The decals are cleanly printed and have a lot of excellent details for the interior sections. Only one option is included with this kit, but there are some alternate plates that can be used.

Out of the box, this is a detailed kit with plenty of potential for further detailing. Despite its age, it’s held together well, and there is minimal flashing on some of the parts. But nothing that wasn’t going to be cleaned anyway. There are, however, a lot of ejector pin marks hiding throughout the parts, and some of these will be a challenge to clean properly.

I’m excited for this project, as there have been several times over the past few years I’ve almost bought a semi-truck kit. I’ve got some fun ideas in mind for the interior, and I look forward to adding a unique paint scheme to the exterior.

To be continued…

About the Author:

Jared Demes is a modeler from southern Alberta. He has been building models since he was 4 years old when his Dad first introduced him to the hobby. He has written for several magazines including, Fine Scale Modeler, Scale Aircraft Modeling, Phoenix Scale Models, and others. He has an interest in all modeling subjects, with a focus on WWII Japanese aircraft and Science Fiction.

Jared has won several IPMS awards for his modeling, and currently operates his YouTube channel rebelsatcloudnine, where he showcases model builds and product demonstrations.

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