The re release of the amt dozer kit has been on my to do list for quite some time now but finally I have started it.
First thing right off the bat is the parts on the sprue are not numbered so I am gonna have to go slow and double check that the parts match up with the instructions. The kit itself has gone together pretty well so far. Only complaint I have is the torsion bar and blade arm assembly is very complicated to glue together.
Endless weathering possibilities with this one.
I will be following this thread. I see that kit every time I visit my local HL.
Just finished mine about a month ago. If you want the Cat yellow paint, look for Krylon Farm paint. I used Super Clean to strip off the chrome but those parts have a clearcoat that you have to remove before the stripper will work. I used Taniya air brush cleaner for that. Lots of minor part fit issues, mold seams, and some guessing on the assembly order. The part numbers for the sprues are on the bottom of the kit box for reference. Good luck with your build.
I did mine last year and it went well but there are a few instances where having only two hands isn’t enough. It’s a fun build and great to have something construction related that isn’t a military item.
I noticed in the ad Sunday, even though the 40% coupon is gone, they had kits at 40% off. Will probably show up every month or so.
Don: Glad to have you aboard.
Sauron: The Cat yellow paint was exactly what I was going to use for this. Thanks also for the help with the part numbers and advice on striping the chrome. I ended up just hitting the chrome parts with some rattle can primer and it went on well.
Jeff: Good to hear the kit is a lot of fun. I needed a bit of a break from military stuff.
Planning on doing some hydraulic lines for the blade hydraulics along with the ripper. Any advice on whether I should go with wire or if I should try to find some more vinyl tube like the one included in the kit?
Hi John;
Saw this earlier, but thought I would let it put on some meat before I responded. That is a great Kit when you get past the flaws. I went to whole route with that when it first hit the Mkt. years ago.Even so far as to use brass and aluminum tubing for the hydraulic equipment.
The aluminum can be polished to a high shine and slid into the Primable-Paintable brass for all the hydraulic units on board. The larger ones can actually have a piece of twisted wire slipped inside to give resistance.
I displayed mine( As dirty and filthy as one can get) mounted on a Low-Boy and Peterbilt Cab-Over tractor as a prime mover. I took the whole thing and put two screws Hidden, of course so they would cause the trailer tires to flatten some and the trailer to bend a little from the Dozer’s weight.
Now that was fun. And I got all the dirt from right down the street from the Hobby Shop at the time!
Just get some black solid (not stranded) copper conductor wire for the hoses from your hardware store. It will bend very easily and look like black hose. I picked mine up at the AMT Christmas Walmart display in December. Maybe Walmart will re-run it this year.
Not sure if this is very important,but I have the exact same cutting mat.Got mine from Hobby Lobbby.
I painted my dozers with “Old Cat Yellow” rather than “Cat Yellow” I’m not sure of the exact year they changed colours but I beleve it was after this kit represents.
The kits with the lowbed trailer are the only ones with chrome trees. The individual reissues do not have any chrome parts.
Ditto!
Nice start there.
Here is a little inspiration.
The 36A, 46A, and D8H which is the same tractor with a bit more horsepower were all built before the new yellow.
I wish there were aftermarket track for this kit, the kit tracks are a little clunky looking.
Are you sure about this? This is the individual reissue and not the one included with the lowboy and it has a sprue with chrome parts.
Thanks, everyone for the input on the color. Will have to check the hardware store to see if they have the old cat yellow farm paint.
Planning on scratch building ROPS for the dozer and adding some plumbing for the engine. I would have to agree with Jeaton that the tracks are a bit clunky but accurate replacement tracks cost about $100 on Shapeways and I am not willing to spend that on this kit.
That’s why I recommended the Krylon Farm paint - it is “old’Cat yellow” and I thought it looked pretty close. If you looked at a dozen Cat machines on a construction site you probably wouldn’t find two that matched in color anyway. Like they say “just rub some dirt on it”.
Yes. They announced that was going to happen. Every week a diffrent part of the store will be 40% off.
I still see that as not as good as the 40% off on anything coupons, though. I buy a not more paints, glue, and such than I do on kits.
I went to my HL yesterday to pick up Tamiya primer. They were out of it. Saw a sign over the kits- 40% off (not advertised in weekly flyer). So I picked up the bulldozer!
Hi;
Y’Know I have wondered that myself. Now If I could get Fruil Model Dozer tracks that would be Killer. I agree with you.