Reviews : AMT Peterbilt 359 Wrecker

I've been driving Petes for 25 years now, starting with the 379. Thought this would be a cool addition to my fleet. I decided to make the Moebius Ford service truck a companion, with similar paint scheme. Pros: Decent details, cool subject, ..... annnnd that's about it. Cons: Mirrors are horrid, engine and radiator difficult to mount and align, cab and bed warped, cab wouldn't set properly on the rear cab support, among other things. I haven't been able to get the bed to adhere to the frame because of the warping. Decals are fragile; I was unable to use the gold striping - I masked off the area and used gold paint on the bed. If you take a LOT of time, you can get a decent looking result.

I have wanted for a long time to create a fire hall with vehicles based on the Los Angeles City Fire Department's Downtown/Bunker Hill hall (#3). This was my first effort. The actual LAFD HR3 is modeled on a Peterbilt chassis and this kit was as close as they got to the actual apparatus. I was able to secure custom parts and decals to make this kit look very close to the actual HR3, though it is not an exact match. I am very happy with the result of this. For a kit this complex it went together pretty easy for the most part but it takes time. Pictures of finished product in the photo gallery.

This turned out to be a good build. However, the instructions are a bit difficult to follow if you do not know much about trucks. The paper instructions list the parts by number; but when you look at the sprues, the parts are NOT numbered. You really have to study the instructions and the sprues before you begin. Not suggested for a novice hobbyist.

I built this pink Peterbilt wrecker for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. One of the most challenging of the amt big rig kits. Lots of small parts but lots of details. It’ll require extra time and patience. Lots of chrome and sub assemblies. Kind of like 2 kits in one box. The cab and chassis builds up separately from the body. Have fun with it!

i built this several years ago and i really enjoyed it , looking forward to building it again . the detail is awesome and it looks great in a diorama hauling a broken down truck , i highly recommend this kit to anyone who enjoys building big rigs and to modelers who just like to build a nice kit it is a nice size and looks great on display

nice kit lots of extras. second kit ive done with an unassembled chassis. so hard to get all bracing square and in the right place. only bad thing I can say is there was no cable for wenches and boom,its almost like not including the tires. lots of painting to be done, has been fun building this truck

This kit went together very well minor flash on smaller pieces. Has some twisting on chassis parts that will take some time to align properly. Make sure to test fit assembly's before gluing. Tires are hollow and easy to mount. So enjoy your build.

I built an earlier release of this kit many years ago and built it just as it came out of the box. It's still one of my favorites. When I get this one I plan to swap the cab from the Autocar kit, I'll post pics when done.

This is a reissue of a late 70's era kit that held up pretty well, builds up nice with lots of goodies as part of the deal, I reccomend you bring all of your experience, especially if you haven't built a lot of semis....

I really enjoyed the detail of this model.The shovel, broom, floor jack and 55 gal. drum are great.I wish it would come with small cable to wind on the reels! other wise I would recommend this to everyone.

It's a semi hard kit, not for a 1st timer. The end product makes it worth the time it takes to sand the flash off the parts.

Great model that was fun to build with reletivly few fit issues, however the hood did not properly align with the cab.

Just received this kit today. I had built a earlier release years ago. Very excited to build this again.

nice kit alot of details but no reference numbers on part webbing

Great model to build can't wait to get started on it