Reviews : AMT Hideout Transporter Kenworth

For starters, I wanted the truck as a long wheelbase KW Aerodyne cabover; I did not use the race truck hauler bed - I put on the box from the AMT Ford C600 city delivery truck. Near the end of the creation, the cab tipped forward and crashing off - the little molded-in tabs the cab mounts sit on broke. I drilled out the frame on both sides and fitted a 1mm brass tube through the holes, leaving about 3mm on either side, and painting it black to blend in - this, in the long run, will be MUCH stronger than the plastic tabs. There's two driveshafts included - one for the regular truck, and one for this extended frame. I didn't find the long driveshaft until later - it was in among the parts for the bed... I used the shorter, and extended it by splicing in a 15mm long styrene rod. Mold lines are fairly heavy throughout, as is flashing. There's a lot of time going to be spent cleaning things up. Dash details are hit and miss - what detail there is, is nicely molded. But others are lacking - the air brake knobs (the yellow, red, and occasionally blue knobs) aren't there, nor is the window cranks! (The cranks are a mere suggestion molded into the door panels.. I used aftermarket cranks.) The interior has a tub for the floorboards; the sleeper walls are separate pieces. Don't go all in on detailing the sleeper; it's difficult to see the detailing through the windows... (Same with the floor!) The windows install with minimal fuss, actually kinda nice! The whole thing is molded in BLACK plastic!! It makes painting more of a chore - I've never had good luck with colored plastics, even with good primer.. All in all, not a bad kit, just not a 5-star kit.

The transporter was a challenging build but rewarding once it was completed. The parts fit nicely though I was not excited about the kit being molded in black (it created the need for additional primer and paint, sometimes repainting the black parts flat black to hide imperfections). The interior was bland in my opinion, lacking some essential trimmings, but it was an easy build. I loved how the windows were designed as well as the wheel assembly. The drivetrain was simple once I found the second (longer) driveshaft. The exterior hardware was designed nicely on the cab as well as the light options for the trailer.