Rich_S

Hi Jim, I thought they did, but wasnt' sure, thanks for the info.

Yes, what a trip down memory lane. http://www.eddylenders.nl/amt-ertl-matchbox.htm

Doesn't the Paystar 5000 and the Transtar 4300 Eagle share the same engine? Chris, Thanks for posting that Nice article on the engine detailing.

Round 2 is announcing the White Western Star with a release date of July 2012. Another Classic White being released to go along with the Road Boss that was released January of last year and the Freightliner dual drive cabover that was released in October 2009. Someone at Round 2 must be a fan of White Motors? On a side note, The Freightliner truck company was originally created by Consolidated Freightways and they constructed their trucks solely for Consolidated Freightways company. Then In 1951 CF entered into an agreement with White Motors Co. to become the North American distributors of Freightliner trucks, hence the name plate "White Freightliner". In 1967 White Motor Co. created the Western Star division and opened a new plant at Kelowna, British Columbia to build the White Western Star trucks. In 1974 the distribution agreement between CF and White Motors was terminated and by 1980, White Motors was on the verge of going belly up. During this time the Western Star plant was sold to a couple of Canadian companies. In 1990 Western Star Trucks was purchased by Australian businessman Terry Peabody. In 2000 the company was purchased by Freightliner which at that time was Daimler AG North American truck division. Isn't it a strange twist of fate these trucks have had a off again, on again relationship for the last 40 some years. Does anyone offer a model of the White Road Commander 2?

Very Impressive Dave. This is the first time I've seen a static kit transformed into a working R/C model. I never knew parts like theses existed, thank you for posting your progress.

Hi Niko, When I was driving over the road, one license plate was mounted to the front of the tractor and it was good for all lower 48 states. Only a few states required plates in both the front and the rear of the tractor, but they were rare and the ones mounted on the back of the tractor were hard to see when you were pulling a trailer. The plates mounted on the rear of the tractor were either mounted to the back of the cab or to the last cross member on the frame between the tail lights. In earlier years you would see truck tractors with multiple plates on the front. I was never really sure why, probably had something to do with the different state registrations? Back to when I was driving over the road, the license plate you received was based on what states you were going to operate in and was known as a apportioned plate. Along with the apportioned plate, you also received the highway use tax stickers and the fuel tax stickers. One went on the side of the truck (some states gave you two, with one being applied to each side of the truck) Ohio was the only state that I was aware of that had you place the fuel tax sticker into the lower right side of the passenger front window. The highway use tax stickers went into your bingo book. Most people outside of the trucking industry were not aware of the purpose of the tax stickers that were located on the door of the truck and I often received comments like "Are those stickers from all of the states you've been to?" Anyway just a little FYI behind the license plates used on trucks.

Hi Jim, Yes I remember Frank Converse (Will) driving the KW cabover in the first episode, what I was referring to is the model Tim created of the Pruitt KW Aerodyne cabover in the attached link It's a great looking model, of course I like the BJ& the Bear Aerodyne just a tad bit more. I also like Tim's double bunk KW cabover seen in the Misc KW section.

Not sure what it is, but I've always liked the looks of the KW Aerodyne Cabover and the Double bunk KW cabovers. Did Will drive this one? http://public.fotki.com/mackinac359/kenworth-model-gallery-1/pruitts-fleet/pruittfleet-4-jpg.html

Very Nice. What scale are these kits?

Hi Larry, Welcome aboard. I'm a new member as well and like you I've been out of the hobby for quite some time, 33 years to be exact. Of those 33 years I spend 25 of them driving trucks both over the road and in local service. For me it wasn't my wife or ex that threw away my model truck collection, it was my parents. They decided my collection just had to go shortly after I joined the USAF My custom freight shaker that I'm currently using in my profile picture, is the only truck to survive the parent scrapping So far I've found this forum is loaded with a lot of good people and great ideas But most of all, remember to keep the shinny side up and the dirty side down Rich S.

Hi Jim, Follow up #2 I just found this clip on youtube of a 1980's IH 9670 with a 400 Cummins and it is painted Cummins tan. http://youtu.be/X0q6ufzUZvw Maybe the practice changed between the Transtar II and the introduction of the 9670? Rich S.

Hi Jim, As a follow up I just found a short video of a '79 IH 4070B with a 8V92 on youtube http://youtu.be/MVvShU0mvfY and a 1980 International Transtar Eagle with a Cummins http://youtu.be/P7tqks5eEhw and they both are painted red. The old memory gets a little fuzzy, but now I'm wondering was the engine color practice changed when the company became Navistar in 1986? Rich S.

Hi Jim, It was my understanding that IH made their own line of diesel engines and they were painted red. My memory is a little foggy, but I'm thinking the IH Transtar II and the 9670 I drove had Cummins engines and they were painted Cummins Tan. Hopefully somebody has a few shots of the Detroit Diesel and Cummins engine color in a Transtar II or 9670 pre-Navistar era? Rich S.

Yes, it was a love / hate relationship with cabovers Sitting right over top of the front axle you felt every bump in the road, but at the same time they were easier to maneuver than a long wheelbase conventional. Of course a loose fifth wheel jaw could be just as bad. You always felt some bumps from the trailer, but if the jaws were loose, you'd also get a tug. That is why the air ride seats not only moved up and down but also had some forward and back movement to try and cancel out the jerking. Here is a funny story from my days over the road driving a GMC Astro 95. I don't know if anyone on the list remembers a DJ by the name of "Big John"? He used to broad cast from a truck stop just north of Richmond, VA on I-95. Well I decided I was going to stop in and meet "Big John", he always broadcast his shows at night and you could here him halfway across the country, as he use to broadcast on AM. Anyway getting back to my story, back in those days diesel was cheap, so everybody let them run 24 hours a day to either keep the cab cool with the A/C or keep the cab warm with the heater. Well the Astro 95's door lock was on the top back of the door right where the door and window meet. Somehow while getting out of the truck I managed to lock the door from the inside, went in to meet "Big John" and get something to drink. When I came back out to get in the truck, surprise, surprise my door was locked and the only key I had was in the ignition I always kept the passenger side door locked, so I couldn't get in that way and then it hit me. The ignition was on the bottom of the dash right in front of the gear shift next to the dog house. Now all I needed was to borrow somebody's cab jack handle, since just about everyone back then drove cabovers, it wasn't hard to find one. Long story short, I jacked up the cab, reached up through the breakaway shift tower section and grabbed my keys, let the cab back down and opened the door. I then when back into the truck stop and had a spare made so this won't happen again. I guess if you spend enough time driving over the road, you'll end up with all kinds of stories By the way Jim, I like that Ford Louisville line in your profile picture, I home Round 2 re-released that one again Regards, Rich S.

Hi Mike, Thanks for the info on the flocking powder from Michaels. You are correct, from what I've seen so far, this forum is loaded with a lot of great tips and information. Rich S.

Hi Jim, That Titan looks great I never drove a Titan but I did drive a few Astro's, one of them being a Astro 95 for CRST. It had a Silver 92 (6V92) We called them shinny two nineties, because GM actually painted the engine a silver color and they were 290 HP, it also had a Spicer 7 speed transmission. The other Astro 95 I drove was for a local Bekins agent, it had a 318 with a Roadranger 13 speed transmission. The 318 was painted the green color you used on your model. When it comes to the actual truck, I always thought that wrap around dash was neat, but I didn't like the giant front windshield. Regards, Rich S.

Hi Mike, I've been out of truck modeling for 30+ years, so I'm pretty much a noob again when it comes to materials being used. What material are you using for the carpeting on your models floor? Keep up the great work, your KW looks fantastic. I remember 30+ years ago I didn't even consider a snap kit, but now after viewing your work, you have changed my opinion on snap kits. You've also changed my opinion on rattle cans as well, that paint job is top notch.

Hi Aaron, Very nice modeling, your trailer is looking great I do have a question that maybe you or another member maybe able to help me with, Does anyone make a scale ruler for 1/25th scale? What I'm getting at, currently there are scale rulers that model railroader use for 1:160, 1:87, 1:64 and 1:48 scales, where all the measurements on the rulers are in foot and inches. Does this type of ruler exists for 1/25? Thanks in Advance, Rich S.

Shawn, Very well done, that KW is a very impressive bit of modeling Rich S.