White Road Commander 2

[DRIPTROIT 71]

This is the Auslowe version of the KFS kit. It is on the Freightliner chassis. The wheels are from Clint Freeman. The drive tires appear to be 3d printed, I picked them up off of Ebay.

[Gary Chastain]

Looking forward to this build

[chuckyr]

How much of the Clint Freeman stuff do you still have?

[Trendsetta68]

can't wait for this one ... I REALLY wish that Round2 or Revell would come out with a new big rig kit ! This would be an awesome one to start with . ??

[yh70]

looking good so far

[Rockford]

Always thought these were a great looking cabover. They tried to sell them here in GB but the LHD wasn't good. I think the idea was to buy them for work into the EU. That looks beautifully done too. You've done a great job so far. I remember seeing one in book in the 80s with brilliant factory paint scheme on it, looked like the mesas in Monument Valley, I'll see if it can find it. 

[Rockford]

Found it, covered in road dirt but still looks fantastic. 

[Russell C]

14 hours ago, Rockford said:

Found it, covered in road dirt ...

Took me a while to remember where I saw one of those, it's in the first page of this guy's Fotki site of Western Star brochures: https://public.fotki.com/modeltrucks25thscale/truck_magazines/truck-and-trucking-/overdrive-truck-adv/western-star-advertising/august-1978-western.html

[Rockford]

Beautiful! Such a shame they didn't stick around like the 352s, the Transtars and the K100s because there's no doubt they were a fantastic piece of kit.

[DRIPTROIT 71]

Thanks guys!
The Western Star cab has some unique features different that differ from the Road Commander. Other than the obvious headlights, grille and step pockets, I’m told that the height of the windshield is slightly smaller on the Western Star. A Western Star cab would make a great build.
Someone on here was doing a Western Star cab at one time, but I forget who.

[Rockford]

And I've just realised that I've got my trucks mixed up! Apologies. 

[DRIPTROIT 71]

11 hours ago, Rockford said:

And I've just realised that I've got my trucks mixed up! Apologies. 

No problem, they are basically the same cab with a few differences.

[leafsprings]

Like the cab and long wheelbase, this will turn out nice.

[Warren D]

On 6/23/2024 at 7:28 AM, DRIPTROIT 71 said:

Thanks guys!
The Western Star cab has some unique features different that differ from the Road Commander. Other than the obvious headlights, grille and step pockets, I’m told that the height of the windshield is slightly smaller on the Western Star. A Western Star cab would make a great build.
Someone on here was doing a Western Star cab at one time, but I forget who.

I was looking at the Road Commander to convert to a Western Star Eagle but as you say, the windshield height is different and combined with all the other things, it isn't worth trying to convert.  That casting looks great!  As I like the different/non-mainstream stuff, this is right up my alley.

[gotnitro?]

Following along!

[DRIPTROIT 71]

On 6/21/2024 at 8:30 PM, chuckyr said:

How much of the Clint Freeman stuff do you still have?

Not much; a couple engines, a couple transmissions, some lights and a couple other things.

[Jürgen M.]

Nice project! I've been thinking about doing a Road Commander for quite a while but I'll still have to practice more in designing. The cab is not as easy as it looks!

It's always been one of my favorite trucks next to the Mack RS700L and the Freightliner FLH Conventional.

Have fun! I'll be watching! 

[DRIPTROIT 71]

I usually build a replica, but this one isn’t a replica of any particular truck, so my vision for this thing has changed a dozen times. I think that I am honing the finished product. I never liked the Italeri Cummins. I separated the rocker boxes and done a few other modifications.

[bigred63]

Loving the look of the model with the long chassis! 

[Randy D]

Hi Brian,

  That cab looks great and I really like your motor upgrades!!

Randy

[Jürgen M.]

In the 80s there we're quite a number of these running in Switzerland! Haven't seen any in a real long time though.

It's a really good looking truck! Nice work on this! 

[Rockford]

You've done that Cummins proud. I like the hoist brackets between the rocker covers, nice touch! 

[DRIPTROIT 71]

Thanks for the comments guys! I have been able to get back and spend a little time on this one over the past couple of days.

[Biggu]

How did I miss this ??? Very cool build. The extras on the engine look great and have given me a couple ideas for my next Cummins build. I LOVE the paint job ! Perfect colors. I will be taking notes on this one for sure…

Jeff

[Gary Chastain]

Wow, that is looking good, nice colors