Peterbilts - '87 II

In mid 2008, Peterbilt introduced a new version of the aluminum hood 388, this new hood was aimed at the car hauler market. The hood has less slope creating a lower height for the cab and sleeper, thus more "headroom" for a car body and cargo. I decided to try my hand at making one. My idea was to build just the 388, no car racks. As soon as I got into the project I decided to expand and make the car hauler body too. My aim was a brand new truck still on the dealer's lot - in this case inspiration from a Rush dealer Truckpaper.com listing.

I scratchbuilt the 388 hood and crown, grafting fenders from the Italeri 378 hood on to the hood skin. The cab sides are resin items from Spaulding Trading and Shipping. I lengthened the frame between the battery box and the springs to account for the longer BBC of the 388 (125" versus 119" for 378). The rear of the frame was lengthened aft of the rearward spring mount. The 48" sleeper is a combination of parts from a junked Revell of Germany 359 63" sleeper (roof), cab sides and backwall from an Italeri 377 sleeper, and a modified front wall from the 378 kit. All of the roof horn/light holes were filled in as the marker lights are on the car rack structure. The horns are side mounted on the roof. The drivers battery box is a more typical tall box from www.aitruckmodels.com. Side note: Italeri didn't use the wrong left hand box on the 378 kit, what they used was the high-mount box option seen on trucks that require extra ground clearance like a log truck, except Italeri didn't mount them higher.

The rack body was constructed from various sizes/shapes of Evergreen square rod and tube. I used the decking from a Revell of Germany car transported kit for the decking. The ladder is Plastruct. The fuel tanks were stretched using another set of tanks. The leftover parts will make a set of small tanks for another project. The tanks were painted bumper chrome and rubbed to a dull-aluminum look. I mounted the tanks reversed so that the fuel fill was forward under the cab/sleeper transition panel. Speaking of the panels, I cut these pieces square on the bench, but didn't take into consideration any irregularities in the the sleeper or cab shape, thus they don't site properly. I damaged the paint while attempting to readjust one - I should have left well enough alone.

The exhaust is underframe mounted, I scratchbuilt a simple DPF out of Plastruct tubing, and carved the curved tip out of thick plastic sprue. Even though the model represents a modern 388, I left the interior pretty much kit-stock as it isn't very visible under all the car rack body channels. Almost a sheet of Bare Metal Foil was used on this, covering the grille, grille crown, door jambs, bumper, battery box, fuel tank straps, hood spine, air tanks, vent covers and headlamps. Paint used was Duplicolor Gunmetal Gray Metallic, gloss black for the frame, and Bumper Chrome for the fuel tanks, ladder and hydraulic parts.

Over all, I'm pleased with the outcome. I wasn't sure where this one was heading, and I might still modify it as time goes on. I need to redo the rear mudflaps as they aren't mounted at the same level. Thanks to Yves at www.whitefangmodel.com for the Rush logos.

The Italeri 378 kit is the base - the hood and sleeper are scratchbuilt using sheet plastic from Evergreen. The frame is extended using Evergreen strip stock. This kit had faulty chrome plating that I stripped off many parts and used bare Metal Foil Chrome to simulate aluminum. I left the slightly dulled chrome plating on other parts for an older/weathered look. The Watson Trucking decals are slightly modified Lee Watson decals from the Revell 377 kit. The headlights are from an AMT Peterbilt 359 with the mount inverted (ala a 351). The drivers side battery box is from AITM and the big tool cabinets are old RNK items - these two tool cabinets have been on 2 other models previously. Started 8/8/08 Finished 8/22/08

In early 2007 I bought 2 built-up Peterbilts from another modeler. A 377 and a 378. Both were in need of rebuilding, and I rebuilt the 378 into a short wheelbase daycab that became the blue Alcoa Tire rig. Using the remaining frame section from the 378, I stretched the 377 and made it into a long framed daycab AND as a big bunk tractor. I couldn't make up my mind. Even 1 year later I still can't make up my mind what to finish it as, but with the white 379 built, it looked like a perfect companion for the 377.

The 377 is missing some pieces - mudflaps, hood tie downs, front shocks and some odds and ends. Someday I'll finish it. 8/23/2008

Peterbilt 384 - started July 4, 2008. I heavily reworked an AITM resin 386 hood, removing 10" inches in length, resloping the hood, changing the fender shape slightly. The donor kit is an Italeri Peterbilt 377. The cab has been modified to daycab, the 377 molded on fenders removed and the doors converted to current year style. The forward fuel tanks are kit items cut down. The fuel tank steps are made from Plastruct. The battery box is resin from AITM. (www.aitruckmodels.com). The door lettering (what a royal pain!) is dry-transfer lettering. My inspiration was the cover of the Peterbilt magazine First Class Volume 27 Number 2, Winter 2007. My 384 is not an exact replica, although it does wear the doorsigns for Evans Oil Co of Naples, Florida as does the truck on the cover.

I'm still debating if I should finally build the Revell Beall chrome plated tanker to go with this. Stay tuned.

With Italeri reissuing the Peterbilt 378 kit (summer '08), I was anxious to build one - or two. Here are two examples. Both metallic blue, (one a brighter blue), one built straight out of the box as a 378, the other modified and reworked into a 379-119 with 70" sleeper.

The 379 was inspired by a real truck seen at the International Bridge at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan in 2006. The truck was hauling windmill parts along with 2 other PB's (a black 379X and a blue 359). I had planned to weather my version as the real truck looked in the photo, but recalled that the driver of the 379 was commenting on how dirty the truck was at the time I was taking the photos. I'm glad I kept it gleaming.

The kit air cleaners have the mesh recessed too much. I wrapped them with round hole mesh from www.planomodelproducts.com The grille screen is mesh from Plano. These two metal items really change the looks of the model. The Landstar Ranger door signs are from Kit Form Services.

The Texas bumper is on the left is the kit bumper with the tapered ends filled in with plastic, then covered with Bare Metal Foil. The 379 has a resin cast LH battery box from www.aitruckmodels.com.

Note the tiny bee that was captured in flight. The little bee was really interested in the amber marker lights!

I started this Peterbilt 379 as an experiment to see if I could convert a couple of junk Revell of Germany 359 cabs into a 379. I widened the cab, reworked the roof shape and the windshield leans back more. I scratchbuilt the hood to match the now wider cab and used the kit grille. The fenders were modified by removing the molded on rear step and marker light. The inner fender was shaved to match the wider hood. The bumper was scratchbuilt. Aircleaners come from Jamie at Mo'Luminum. The headlamps are from an AMT Peterbilt 359. The sleeper is from the Revell-USA 359 kit, it has been widened slightly and the right hand door filled in. I lengthened the frame buy about 2 inches.

I can't decide if I should install roof positioning lamps, horns or leave the roof clean. I also can't decide on company name door signs either, so now the green 379 is stalled.

I built these two tractors in the colors for the British Columbia fleet Arrow Transportation. I'd like to thank Hank Suderman and Wes Bergman for the inspiration.

My 386 is a 2008, 192" wheelbase, daycab, roof air dam, cab extenders, single exhaust. The 378 SBFA is a tri-drive, daycab, forward fuel tanks. UPDATE: 6/22/08 I finished the B-train trailers for the tractors. I took so many photos that I added a separate page for them - Here.



I couldn't decide if the 386 bumper should be black like one of the trucks in Hank's photos, or yellow like all the others. Yellow was the final choice.

		Grille screen for the 378 is stainless steel from www.planomodelproducts.com

	Special thanks to Doug Walker who made the Arrow logos for me. Doug had originally made the logos for his KW Arrow project.

The inspiration for the 386 is courtesty of Hank Suderman. www.hankstruckpictures.com

The inspiration for the 378 comes from Wes Bergman

"Hank view" of my 386.

Finished 4/27/2008

I started with an Italeri Peterbilt 377 kit, scratchbuilt the hood, bumper and battery boxes, had them cast in resin (available from www.aitruckmodels.com) and reworked the 1996 vintage 377 into a 2008 386



			real 386

Plenty of Bare Metal Foil chrome foil was used for the 386 including the grille, headlamps, battery and tool boxes, door sill trim, door release handles, fuel tank ends and fog lamps. For those building their own 386 using the AITM resin version, The outer "shoulders" of the hood need to be rounded a bit more from the cab/cowl, and the lower edge of the bumper should have more of a radius. (I'm always my own worst critic). Feel free to email me if you are building your own if you have questions. Check out This page for photos of several Peterbilt 386's.1/31/2008


2008 Peterbilt 389 long hood conventional. I started this by scratchbuilding the hood in 2006 using photographs for reference. I started with an Italeri Peterbilt 377 kit and reworked the suspension and frame to fit the long hood and SFFA. Completed 1/16/2008

The headlamps were carved and shaped from a chunk of plastic rod. The bull bar is from the parts box and modified. The battery box, DPF box and piping was scratchbuilt. I cut the 63" raised roof sleeper down to a 36" low roof (see Truckers Corner - Model Cars magazine for more info).	Paint is Duplicolor Light Driftwood Metallic with Toreador red.

2004 Peterbilt 378 SBFA tractor. The Revell of Germany Peterbilt 377 kit was my starting point. I swapped the hood for a resin unit from Spaulding Trading and Shipping, along with resin headlamps. I modified the kit bumper adding fog lamps and tow hook and the taper of the bumper. The battery box covers were made from Don Mills treadplate. The air cleaners are from an Italeri Peterbilt 378 kit. I made the light bars from Evergreen plastic strips covered with Bare Metal Foil chrome. BMF was used on the bumper, grille, fuel tanks, air tanks, door sill trim, handles, and sleeper visor. I added a rear window to the sleeper. Because I used a resin hood with additional slope, the kit radiator would not fit and required it to be reduced in size. The mudflap logos are from White Fang Enterprises, the Tri-State Trucking logo is from MAG decals, the PB emblem trim is from Model Car Garage, the USA flag license plate is from JBOT. Color is Duplicolor Ford light blue metallic.

Every model has something that bothers the builder. This one? I mounted the headlamps about 1/8 inch too high. I was tempted to reposition them but am fearful that I will end up damaging the paint and making a big mess of things.

7/11/2007

A photo on www.hankstruckpictures.com inspired my model.

Inspired by photographs of several different style of Schlumberger trucks I built this hybrid late '80s Peterbilt 357-123 butterfly hood. I started with the Italeri Peterbilt 377 A/E kit. I scratchbuilt the hood, fenders, bumper, frame rails and the pump equipment box from flat plastic. The wheels and tires are resin from Aitruckmodels.com. The headlights are resin from Spaulding Trading and Shipping. The RH fuel tank steps are from a Revell of Germany Peterbilt 359. The LF tank is from an Italeri Freightliner FLD. Yves at White Fang Enterprises made the mudflap logos. The orange color is Allis-Chalmers orange from Krylon. The Schlumberger door logos were made on the computer and printed on Bare Metal Foil decal paper. The white portion of the logo is white vinyl.

The inspiration - photos courtesy of Mark Reitz. My SLB unit is a "hybrid" truck. (a fancy term for I made it up).

These photos show the 357-123 and the 377 for comparison. I sanded and recontoured the shape of the crown and grille shell to "harden" the look that the softer 377 grille and crown.

Inspired by a matched set of Peterbilt 379 long hood conventionals seen at the factory in 2005, my 379 features a unique grille, longer hood, fat pipes and 2007 EPA emissions equipment. I used an Italeri Peterbilt 378 kit with a resin hood from www.stsmodeltrucks.com that I stretched. The mirrors are bent aluminum tubing. Bare Metal Foil and chrome mylar cover the grille, stacks, AMT fuel tanks and other small items. 1/15/2006

The real truck

My version

The real truck. I love the yellow with white chassis. A real unique color combo.

My version in a similar view. I modified the Italeri cab for the larger rear window with Evergreen plastic.

Raw hood after painting but before wet sanding and polishing.

The blue tape on the cab is holding the glass in place while the clear glue cures.

Here's the Chaney 379 pulling a load of tires.

Clint Freeman Peterbilt 379 1/25th scale conversion that I modified to an '06 cab, a Revell 63" flat top sleeper.

This will end up being built as the real truck visable on the workbench.

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I just laid out the stripes on the body. These are vinyl stripes custom cut for me by Cheryl at www.flaminfrog.com

The stripes were cut so that the thin accent stripe would be layered over the while. 1/7/2006

In order for the vinyl stripes to lay smoothly on the body, I sanded most of the rivets off the sleeper. The resin cab/hood were devoid of the rivet detail.

I suspect that the vinyl would have a problem sticking on an Italeri 377/378 cab due to the rivet detail.

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2 hours after laying down the stripes I've applied the Bare Metal Foil to the door jambs. 1/7/06

Cab and bunk with more items added.

2006 Peterbilt 379 in "Omaha Orange" ready to roll off the assembly line. 1/16/2006

The chassis is a Revell of Germany PB 359 kit. I used a donor frame to stretch the wheelbase. The large fuel tanks are from an Italeri Freightliner.

Mirrors are small diameter aluminum tube bent to shape. The breathers are from Mo'luminum. (sweet!)

312" wheelbase gives this 379 a long'n'low look.

The finished Testors kit with the boxart model shown for comparison. I added the antennas, BMF, windows on the bunk (clear plastic painted black), I picked out weatherstripping and other small items with black paint. A little bit of work and the kit looks pretty good.

I waxed the body and didn't realize I got wax on the black at the end of the hood. That's fixed now.

When I say "finally" an aero Peterbilt I don't mean that one was offered, I mean that I built one. This is a 1/32nd scale Testors Skill Level 2 kit with a little bit of detail added. The chassis and interior is very toy like, the body is nice, the dash is nice. It's a prepaint partial diecast kit. 2/6/2006

2006 Peterbilt 357SBFA with 70" sleeper in progress in early October 2005	On the workbench on December 17, 2005. Cab is only on the frame for test fitting.	The real truck as seen on September 14, 2005 at the plant. Ordered by Mike Moore of Tulsa, Okla.	Here's my version of Mike's truck. The indoor pics are making the yellow look a bit washed out. 12/30/2005	The third axle is a pusher. The sleeper is a 70" bunk. I used the front wall and front of the roof from the Italeri kit, and scratchbuilt the rest.
Side view showing 70" sleeper, scratchbuilt fuel tanks, resin batterybox from AITM, resin SBFA hood from Spauldings. Air cleaners are modified units from a Revell-Germany Peterbilt 359. Front tires and wheels are from the Can-Do wrecker kit.		Three SBFA hoods from Griffen Designs resin.

2006 Peterbilt 378 tri-drive tractor	I started with an Italeri PB 377, a resin hood from Spauldings, Resin wheels and front tires from RNK, scratchbuilt Ultracab, bumper, fuel tanks, stretched chassis.	The windows and the cab are full of factory markings, the seats are wrapped in plastic too!	Rear view.	The real truck ordered by Schlumberger. 9/15/2005.
Mid-ship mounted PTO, scratchbuilt pogo stick and connections. Resin steps from Spauldings modified slightly.

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I photographed the real truck on September 16, 2005 at the Peterbilt plant in Denton, Texas. That's me beside the real truck. I planned to build a model of the 379 and started in mid 2006 modifying an Italeri 378 kit reworking the hood to a short hood 379 and reworking the doors for the '06 style doors. The mirror arms are aluminum tubing bent to shape.

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The kit frame rails were shortened and the wheelbase changed. I used smaller AMT Peterbilt 352 fuel tanks. Kit Form Services front wheels and tires and another casters rear tires were used. Colors are Krylon yellow and Duplicolor metallic green. Plenty of Bare Metal Foil graces the fuel tanks, bumper, muffler shields and door sills.

I titled this "Peterbilt 379-119 - Part One" because there is more to this truck.. Hank Suderman has photographed this truck in Canada where it works as a transfer dump.

My plan was to build the truck as seen at the factory and also as seen in Hank's "Lunchtime at the Overpass" photographs. In order to build the truck two ways, I needed to temporarily install several pieces. The headlights, mufflers, visor and factory window stickers were all taped in place for these photographs.

Photo at left shows the model with the headlights, visor, window stickers and exhaust removed. 8/25/07.

The photo above shows the 379 as it looked in the summer of 2007. The truck is set up as a transfer dump. The factory headlights swapped for single rounds on DoubleJ brackets, a droopy visor added and big fat pipes replace the factory stacks and muffler shields. Chicken lights added along with driving lights below the headlamps.

Photos by Hank Suderman used with permission.

www.hankstruckpictures.com

The finished 2006 Peterbilt 379 Canadian Transfer dump. The real truck is owned by Davinder Uppal. I scratchbuilt the dump box on the truck using various strips of Evergreen and Plastruct and large sheets of plastic (formerly a Wendy's display sign). The fat exhaust pipes are Evergreen tube covered in Bare Metal Foil. The transfer trailer is an AMT/MPC Gravel Trailer frame that was reworked. The dump box is from an AMT Paystar with new side posts and front wall made from plastic. The trailer fenders are sheet plastic. The "chicken lights" on the truck and dump boxes are round Evergreen rod salami-shaved and glued in place then painted. The two amber emergency lights on the dump box are Evergreen square rod cut and sanded to shape.

Aftermarket items include: Big Droopy Visor from Dan Poulin at www.dansmodeltruckworld.com; Front wheels and tires from www.kitformservices.com, resin tires from Jamie R; Hot Rod headlamps from Matt Burnett/Monkey Claw; Peterbilt ovals for the mudflaps from Yves at www.whitefangmodel.com ; reflective tape from www.stsmodeltrucks.com. Kits used: Italeri Peterbilt 378; AMT IH Paystar for the trailer dump box; AMT wheels and tires for the trailer(junk parts); AMT Peterbilt 352 for the fuel tanks (junk parts); AMT Gravel Trailer for the trailerframe; AMT Fruehauf trailer parts for the trailer front suspension; Misc parts such as spotlights, horns and quarter fenders.

I'd like to thank Hank Suderman for the photographs, Huston Marlowe for the chance to see the truck when in the plant and the aftermarket guys for their cool parts. 8/26/2007. In October 2009 I photographed the finished model in the same location as the real truck was photographed 4 years earlier. See the third photo below.

1984 Peterbilt 362 daycab lowboy tractor. I started this in 2004 when I received the resin cab from Griffen Designs. I modified the cab for the RH recessed exhaust then painted it. I put it back in the box. There is sat for nearly 4 years until a "cabin fever" weekend in late March '08 was the perfect setting for model building.

I started working on the 362, constructing the interior, modifying the AMT 359 frame and engine for a COE set-up. When I originally planned the 362 I had purchased wheels tool boxes and a cab guard from RNK (now available from AITM). I swapped in fuel tanks and muffler from an Italeri Peterbilt 377. The rear tires are larger AMT Goodyears. The Michigan Tractor decals are ink-jet copies of the original issue of the AMT Cat dozer kit.

The Oversize Load banner was found on Google, then printed to size on paper and crinkled to look like a vinyl banner. I weathered the truck with a wash of acrylic beige and grey for a dirty/dusty but not abused look.

3/29/08

Thanks to Hector for the line drawing.

A real 320, this one an '06 with the older exhaust and air cleaner set up.

2008 Peterbilt 320 Low Cab Forward COE. The cab, fenders, bumper and back of cab components were scratchbuilt. The frame and drivetrain is from an Italeri Peterbilt 377 A/E kit. I cut the frame and removed 1 inch from the wheelbase then added the 1 inch to the rear of the frame. The front wheels and tires are from Kit Form Services. The grille mesh is from Plano Model Products. The headlamps are cut from the Revell of Germany Peterbilt 353 kit. Bare Metal Foil was used on the AMT Peterbilt 352 fuel tank, and cab trim. Color is Duplicolor Bright White and black. With my building this 320, that leaves the 330 and the import cabbed PB's yet to grace my shelves.

My cab is slightly too tall, if I build another 320 the mid section of the cab will be reduced about a quarter of an inch.

An '06 320 tandem steer destined to be a concrete pump.

3/16/08

3/20/08 update. I scratchbuilt a flatbed body for the 320. The mudflap logos are from www.whitefangmodel.com

Using some tips from Klaus Clever I added some dip stick and mirror wire detail. The dipsticks are made from Plastruct plastic coated wire with bits of plastic on the ends. The tiewraps are painted on with a sharpie marker.

The mirror wiring is thin copper wire painted black.

Many of my Peterbilt conventionals start as the Italeri 377 kit. With scratchbuilt hoods, resin hoods and other modifications, many other Peterbilt models can be built. The photo below shows just a few trucks built from the 377 kit. 385 daycab, 377 glider, 377, 378 SBFA at factory, 378SBFA 48" sleeper, 357 HH tri-drive, 357-123 and 377 SFFA with 1pc windshield.

	On the workbench with reference photos in the background.	The real and the model
			This is the real truck owned by Greg Ragan after the boys at Chrome Shop Mafia finished it. Photo courtesy of www.chromeshopmafia.com