Now an octogenarian, Max has been concentrating his time for the past decade or more, building and converting HO (1/87), and sometimes 1/76, scale pre-made and kit-based diecast and plastic model trucks.
It is a pleasure for Vintage Trucks and Commercials Magazine to showcase this selection of Max’s incredible scale model
truck workmanship.
*Bob Riley
The Scammell Routeman cement mixer started life as a Corgi Junior diecast toy. Max removed the cab and cut the sleeper cab into a day cab. A scratch-built chassis was then built using Evergreen and numerous other bits and pieces and spare parts. The cab and mixer bowl were then refitted.
The 8x4 Routeman also started life as a Corgi Junior diecast. The cab was cut down to a day cab before it was fitted to a rebuilt and stretched chassis to which a second steer axle and a bogie drive rear unit were added. A scratch-built tray body was added and fitted with two scratch-built load cradles to hold the bogie sets from an HO scale unpowered railway flat wagon.
The well-known Airfix 1/76 scale model RAF recovery set provided the Bedford OX prime mover which Max upgraded to dual wheels on the single rear axle. The single-axle van trailer came from another model railway model. The ‘Max C’s Removals’ signwriting was all hand-lettered.
The green Ford tray-bodied rigid was converted from an Imex Model Company Inc’s ‘Railway Express Agency’ 4x2 rigid Ford delivery truck
Max fitted a scratch-built flat-top tray body and detailed it with a headboard, side tie-down rails, a rear bumper bar and tail lights, and rear mudflaps.
The load is an HO scale white metal cast Detroit 6-71 engine. Max scratch-built a master of the 6-71 and copy-moulded it for an Aussie model railway magazine’s story project that was never published.
The timber cradle the Detroit sits in, is tied down with cotton thread.
In the late 1960s, Atkinson (UK) Ltd formed an agreement with German manufacturer Krupp, that allowed Atkinson to enter the European truck market with what was basically a rebranded, steel-cabbed Krupp truck, however the venture wasn’t
particularly successful.
Intrigued by the partnership, Max modified an off-the-shelf HO scale Brekina model Krupp truck and a Brekina Esso fuel tanker. Max converted the truck to right-hand drive and added the ‘Big A’ to the grille using aluminium foil and chromed wire.
This 1960s/70s model Hino diecast truck marks one of Max’s earliest conversions from when he turned back to model truck building as his main hobby, following a lifetime involvement in the Australian model railway hobby scene.
The Hino is based on a Hong Kong made diecast toy tanker truck to which Max modified the chassis, added a scratch-built tray body, some minor scratch-built accessories, and
a custom paint job. The ‘Max C’ decals on this and several other of his models featured here, were custom-made by Max’s signwriter younger
brother, Graham.
Max’s Streets Ice Cream truck and trailer are based on a black and white photo he came across on page 9, issue #30 of Vintage Trucks & Commercials Magazine (July/August 2015).
The trailer is a composite of kit bits and pieces and scratch-built elements. The signwriting and pin striping were developed by Max’s brother.
The White Super Power truck is a ‘Classic Metal Works’ Mini Metals’ HO scale diecast vehicle. Max was not entirely happy with how it looked so he replaced the chassis to give the truck a better proportioned look overall.
This model of a former Brisbane City Council road maintenance truck is just 6 centimetres long. It is based on a Matchbox Dennis Tippax garbage truck which had the top of the rear body removed.
The canopy has been cut and shaped from an aluminium drink can and model railway accessories, with ballast gravel added for detail. The truck is finished with as close to the basic BCC fleet colours of the time.
The Corgi Junior Leyland Terrier ‘Pepsi’ delivery truck, seen on the left, represents the ‘before’ in this conversion project. It is untouched and is straight-from-the-box. To build the Shell rigid tanker, Max removed the one-piece cab and body from another ‘Pepsi’ truck and cut off the diecast metal cab. He then scratch-built a chassis from Evergreen and Plasticard as well as bits and pieces from his spare parts box. Max then added suitable road wheels and sections from two HO scale Cooper Craft fuel tanks from another HO scale model kit. The Shell decals came from an HO model railway detail decal set.
It is based on the Matchbox Dodge dump truck No. 48, that first appeared in the mid-1960s. It was originally a 6x4 truck but Max scratch-built a chassis using Evergreen and spare parts, and converted the truck to 4x2 and fitted it with dual rear wheels.
On the slightly lengthened new chassis he fitted, in true kit-bashing style, the tow body and recovery gear from an HO scale Boley International 4300 4x2 US-style wrecker.
A stack of model railway sourced traffic cones, a spare tyre, and dual exhausts were added, as well as a scratch-built winch based on pictures of one in a Supercheap catalogue. The winch was fitted into the scratch-built bullbar at the front of the truck.
Max’s rigid Hino and dog trailer loaded with hay, was based on a full-sized unit he once watched delivering hay to a produce merchant in the Beaudesert area south of Brisbane.
Similar to the rigid ‘Early Hino’ seen elsewhere in this selection, the truck is based on a Hong Kong-made diecast toy truck. Max fitted a scratch-built tray body and made a similar body for the dog trailer.
The trailer’s chassis and running gear were semi scratch-built from Max’s spare parts box. The front and rear gates on both the truck and trailer were scratch-built using bent and soldered-together brass rod.
The loads of hay were cut from Canite, a low density fibre board made from sugar cane bagasse. Once cut to size the Canite was washed with several coats of green acrylic paint to match the colour of recently harvested lucerne hay. Both loads were ‘tied down’ with cotton thread.
Three diecast Fordson Major tractors form the chained-down load on Max’s bogie spread-axle flat top trailer. It, in turn, is coupled to a Herpa Promotex short wheelbase Ford L9000. The trailer was kit-bashed from the spare parts box while extra detail was added to each of the tractors and to the truck to enhance their overall appearance. The 1/87 scale truck and trailer combination measures just 18cm long overall.
The cab of the AEC of this early post-World War Two Pacific Highway runner came from the 1/76 scale Airfix refuelling set’s AEC Matador tanker. Max reduced the height of the cab and mounted it onto a complete 4x2 chassis from his ‘spare parts’ box.
The trailer was built-up out of the bits from the same box. A block of florist’s foam was cut to shape to form the load before a ‘tarp’ fashioned from dried and flattened out tea bags was used to cover it. Diluted white glue was used to fix the ‘tarp’ in place before a number of flat khaki green acrylic washes were applied to the tea bags to create the canvas
tarp-like appearance.
The UD rigid brick truck and pig trailer are based on a subbie’s truck that Max photographed at a brickworks where he once worked.
The UD look-alike is an HO scale Hong Kong-manufactured toy tip truck to which Max added a scratch-built tray body, also fitted with an HO scale Hiab-style crane with an added scratch-built lifting fork, plus a part-load of scratch built pallets. The single-axle pig trailer was built from Max’s extensive ‘spare parts’ box.
