Deals on Wheels #469

The level of detail on these
minatures is amazing
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see change with BTS21 a great opportunity to
recruit new members.
“We’ve been running as a club for a few
years,” Leech says.
“It’s a huge thing running trucks and scale
machinery overseas, with groups of people
getting together and building 1:14 scale
trucks and machinery and all associated
paraphernalia but we want to expand our
club and show people that it’s not just an
indoor hobby.
“Our course is outdoors and it’s an ongoing
build that we are adding to, but we have
roadways, quarries, it’s really limitless
what you can do. For example to construct
the roads we actually use the machines
to dig the dirt, the trucks to cart the dirt,
even roll the roads with remote controlled
rollers,” he explains.
“We are a club who involve everyone –
young, old, male female, it doesn’t matter.
It gets people out of the house and it’s like a
get-together with friends.”
Besides the enjoyment of trucking on a
smaller and more affordable scale (models
from the likes of Tamiya start at around
$500), the health benefits from the hobby
are tangible, with fine motor skills and coordination
being the big physical gains on
offer from having to build objects in a scale
situation, but also the mental benefits and
anti-depression element of problem solving
during the build and having a like-minded
group of people ready to help out if your
build goes awry.
“Injury is one we see a lot of with people
who can’t drive anymore due to injury
or who’ve suffered an accident, because
building and customising a model improves
their fine motor skills,” Leech adds.
“Also, mental health benefits are a
big one, too, especially because of the
club environment. We’re all here to help
each other.
“It might also be some people who’ve
retired from the industry and need an outlet,
and to do something connected to what
they’ve done for the last 50-odd years of
their life is great and keeps them interested.
It’s something that they’re still able to do
it even though they may have a disability
or injury.”
TRANSPORT CONNECTION
While some of the club members are exdrivers,
the entire club has a connection to
the road-transport industry in one way or
another with mechanics, drivers, logistics
personnel and family members related to
all of the above filling the club ranks. Leech
says that even those without a trucking
background but who are interested in the
models are more than welcome in the club.
“At least half of our club are current or extruckies
and others have an interest in trucks
or they work on trucks as a mechanic, etc.,”
he explains.
“Everyone is in the trucking industry one
way or another but we are always looking
for more members and people from any
background are welcome, as are kids
14-years-old and over, especially as it’s
a great thing for a parent and child to get
into together.
“Whether it’s a mother and son or father
and daughter we are more than happy to
have families come and join the club and
it’s a great hobby for families to get into.”
New members who are keen to join the
club or even those who’d just like to build
their own truck and need some advice or a
helping hand are welcome too.
“We’re on the north side of Brisbane and
our track is all privately funded so we’re just
a small club with 20-odd members, but we
have plans to expand and do more things in
the club,” Leech continues.
“For example, we’re implementing job
cards for the club where you’ll get a card with
a job on it, so you might have to fuel your
truck up at one end of the track, go to another
end and pick up a load of oil drums and
deliver them to the mine site, things like
that. It keeps it interesting and engaging.”
THE REAL THING
The club sees the mental stimulation
benefits of the job cards as clear; you have
a logistics problem you need to overcome
and a deadline to meet. It’s a simulation of
real life situations that drivers are familiar
with and serves as a way for people to keep
a connection to the industry as well as for
engaging the mind without the stress of
doing it in a full-size situation.
“It’s all about having fun. You might have to
drop your fuel trailer and pick up someone’s