Letter Your trucks!
The first thing my son did when he bought a new truck was put
the name of his business on the side – Native Root Designs – in big
bright letters. Most companies do, and modelers should do the
same. There are some decals out there for trucks, but I really want-
ed to copy a couple of old photos with trucks in them, one with sev-
eral lined up outside Davies Warehouse, a business I modeled, plus
a panel truck that was owned by my grandfather Spangler’s sheet
metal business. I have a photo of the bright red Ford panel truck
with my grandfather and uncle posing next to it. They were help-
ing my dad build our house. The HO 1951 Ford panel truck by Alloy
Forms was found on eBay. The Davies Truck is a real cheap model I
found somewhere that is supposed to be a Ford.
18: The bright red Ford panel truck with my grandfather
and uncle posing next to it. They were helping my dad
build our house.
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Structures in tight places - 10
1:87 panel truck sides are pretty darn small, and the doors are even
smaller, but I found someone up to the task. Joe Schulte at Diecast
and Decals
makes decals for trucks, among
other things. All I had to do was send him the wording (trying to
keep it short) and he did the artwork and made the tiny decals.
When you are almost done with your layout, this is the fun kind
of thing you can get sidetracked into. The trucks really finish their
scenes. Note that my grandfather and uncle bear no resemblance
to the characters outside my model of their shop, though those two
guys are probably my favorite HO figures. I believe they were made
by Merten, a set called “Chubby Groups”
Also note that I have a bit more detailing to do
on both trucks, especially the Ford panel, and still have several de-
cals in case I want to expand the fleet.
19: My bright red Ford panel truck inspired by the
photo of my grandfather and uncle.
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MRH-Feb 2014
