Reviews : AMT Construction Bulldozer

This kit is not for beginner modellers. There was some flash and warpage, the instructions are typical AMT and a bit vague. But overall it’s a good kit, and builds into an impressive model. I didn’t care for the chrome parts, chrome doesn’t belong on heavy machinery models IMO, so I removed the chrome by soaking the pieces in LAs Awesome cleaner/ degreaser, works great! I also sccratchbuilt a cab cover using Plastruct angle and square tubing, with some parts scavenged from the parts boxes, I used online pics to get an idea of what kind of cabs a D8 had and although it’s freestyled and not 100% accurate it looks pretty good. The track pins are a bit flimsy. Some reviews say the pins snap off, this is true, I used a small flathead screwdriver to GENTLY pry apart the parts the pins fit in to, this worked great, no breakage and the tracks didn’t need any gluing. The turbo charger does sit a bit too high on the engine and some slight trimming might be nessecary to get the hood to sit flush.I added some diamond tread styrene to the cab floor and decals for the instrument panel. The ripper attacthment is nice but the pins for securing the attachments are too small, so I made some better ones with Plastruct solid rod and sheet styrene. Decals are mostly scavenged from the parts boxes. The addition of some hoses and some slight weathering finished the project.

I started with the intentions of making this dozer into a well-used machine. I have an AMT lowboy and a Mack DM600 I am going to pair with this kit. I did not have many issues with this kit. The only real issues I had with this kit was the fit of the turbo to the rest of the engine. I am unsure if it was the way I put it together or simply poor fit, but I had to make a pipe to finish the connection. I believe that it might have also affected the fit of the holes in the hood for the exhaust and air intake. The other issue that made this build a bit hard was the small pegs that fit each of the tracks together. Some of these broke off as I was fitting them together which required some of the tracks to be glued together. The most frustrating thing about this kit was the part numbers are listed on the back of the box, not in the spurs like other kits. This required a lot of cross referencing from the instructions to the box and back again. Overall this kit was a fun build and full of details.

The kit is actually quite nice and represents a Cat D8 Bulldozer. The indies tracks literally pop together. The wary bits...the parts aren't numbered so you'll have to check the parts map on the bottom of the box. Instructions can be a bit vague at times. Paint callouts are minimal. It's a Cat so yellow is the norm for just about every thing. You should Google some Cat D8 pics for for details such as the engine. Lastly, the blade sub assemblies can be a bit fiddly. On a personal gripe, the dozer's front is represented by a decal to show the grill. The kit actually has a nice rad and fan. I cut my kit's grill out and fabbed up a rudimentary grill guard using styryne strips and rod. Google had a variety of grills, some looked like field mods by operators. All that said, I'd definitely recommend this kit. For a kit that originally released in 1972 it really really builds up well. There's not a whole lot of 1/25 construction vehicles. The price is pretty good.

Round 2/AMT did not mark this kit carton with a suggested skill level; it should be Level 3 or higher. This is a very challenging kit, but one that results in an excellent model. Some tips: follow the directions IN EXACT ORDER. Do a limited number of parts and allow the glue to dry and cure before moving on. The track is molded in a color very similar to M/M steel; DO NOT paint it as you may restrict or eliminate the movement of the 88 pieces. The model is molded in yellow plastic--a shade very close to Caterpillar. There are no decals stating Caterpillar (they did not get trademark rights for that) but I went on the internet, found logos, and made my own. This is an excellent kit and I highly recommend it. It has over 385 parts and you will use all of them. I have photos of this model as part of a semi-truck/trailer unit. See my photo gallery.

Bought this kit because I was tired of building small cars and pick-up trucks, so thought I would tackle something with a little size. Pleased with the results although I had some frustrations with the instructions. Took a time or two before I figured out when to glue pieces together. Thank goodness I figured it out before the glue dried. Also did not like some of the extra after removing the part from the spruce, it would sometimes leave scars on the part that required some heavier than normal sanding. But who said it was supposed to a fast build. Overall it is a very fun kit to build and looks authentic even without paint, and works just as the box says.

AMT’s construction dozer in 1/25 scale. I worked on this off and on for the better part of two years, including time to fix my mistakes. It goes together pretty well, if you can decipher the instructions. We all know it’s a Cat D8 but there’s no decals to prove that. I’m sure they’re available in the aftermarket. Put it on my lowboy and Autocar setup and it looks pretty good. Still not into all the weathering details, so the backstory is ownership by a contractor who cleans his equipment regularly. If you’re into the weathering, the sky’s the limit. Either way it’s a cool build!

by looking at the parts all parts seem to be in good condition this going to be well detailed kit when finished is excellent detailed parts. looking forward to add to my Alaskan Hauler truck and lowboy trailer. Truck finished trailer still a work in progress. can't wait to build this bulldozer to complete this construction set it's all a great set up. I bought all pieces seperately first bought truck then purchased trailer a few days later and most recently bought this bulldozer kit.

Probably one of the cleanest models I've built so far from amt. There was little to no flash on the parts and very little clean up. Molded in yellow, silver, and some chrome , the kit went together easily in a few days. I painted mine with Caterpillar touch up paint for a more realistic look.

I was impressed with this kit, it looks great on the trailer!I would love to see more construction models 1/25th scale there is not a huge choice.The only problem is with the tracks they don't connect very well.

Great value my grandson loves it he can't wait to put it together and to order another model after this one is put together

Great model. Easy to build. Have it on the back of a lowboy.