International Transtar 4300 Eagle

I very much enjoyed building up this kit. It is, however, for the experienced modeler, with its tiny bits and bobs and fussy sub assemblies. It’s different than most amt kits due to the Ertl influence, so it builds differently. No more difficult, just different. Have fun!

This builds into a good solid feeling truck. Very little flash, good fitting parts. Steerable front wheels are a nice feature, and i t actually has some pretty nice tires.

While healing from a shattered leg, I took up these kits as a way to pass the time; I can remember building some as a kid. Found I REALLY enjoy them! So far, I have the White Freightliner cabover (first kit), the Autocar A64B, the stretch flatbed, and now this International - that's my experience. This kit is better than I am; I had some issues because I don't know better. There are some inconsistencies that I noticed, me being a long haul trucker (I'll post a photo of this truck next to my daily - a Peterbilt!).... First, most of us put our pillows right behind the driver's seat, not the passenger. Next, the spacers in the drive tires aren't wide enough and the tires touch. The kit itself is a dream to build, and I may give another a go at some point in the future when my skills improve greatly. The parts like mirror brackets and handholds are very thin, much more realistic - but much more fragile as a result. There is quite a bit of flashing to be removed and smoothed; some of the sprues are quite thick where they meet the parts. Some of the molds look like they're a millimeter off from each other. Despite some of this, the fit of almost all parts were perfect.