Our feature model this month has been a labour of love for its builder on and off for the past 35 years or so. The attention to detail is absolutely spectacular. However, it is when you learn that the combination is 99% scratch built from various metals, that absolutely spectacular goes to a whole other level.

A builder by trade, Wayne Haynes has chalked up a vast career of building quality homes. Alongside this he has a passion for all things road transport and heavy machinery. So it is no surprise that with the arrival of kitset model trucks in the early 1980s, Wayne’s interest would be stirred. “I first started building the kit sets straight out of the box stock standard, I then progressed to mild modifications, later moving to scratch building from sheet plastic,” Wayne said.

As a youngster Wayne grew up on a farm, and it is here where his fascination for Caterpillar machinery was ignited. “The neighbouring farmer had a D2 Caterpillar, and I’d watch him drive it up the road past our place, that’s where it all began. But it was the arrival of the D10 that made me think ‘I want a model of one of those’. I had seen a guy in Australia who had built a Caterpillar D10 out of plastic, and I thought, ‘if I am going to build one, I would build it out of metal, as that would not deteriorate over the years like plastic can’. I had also been lucky enough to acquire a lathe and a milling machine for my workshop, so I had the tools for the task, I just needed to start.”

The first step towards the build was research, and it was through a good friend, Bryce Mounsey, where Wayne was able to gain access to the D10 of Doug Hood that was operating within the Huntly coal mine. “Over four weekends we documented it from top to bottom; Bryce sketched it, and I did the measuring. It was then back to the desk to scale it all down to 1:25th. I remember thinking at the time when I started the project that if I got sick of it, I could have a break and build a model truck. But once I got started, I was hooked. I would make a piece and it was straight on to the next.”

In the end Wayne produced nearly 2650 individually handcrafted pieces to form the big Cat, and spent the best part of 30 months of spare time building it. The project was completed just in time for the 1991 national model truck show in Whangārei, where it was an immediate showstopper and prize winner.

Not long after finishing the Cat dozer, a visit to AF Porter Heavy Haulage of Hamilton made Wayne aware that the company had a new trailer and dolly being built, along with the imminent arrival of a new T950 Kenworth to pull the combination. This was all the encouragement Wayne needed to decide that he had to build this as well to complement the dozer.

“I headed around to Modern Transport Engineers in Te Rapa to get the measurements and information I required. I got talking to managing director Robin Ratcliffe, and he very kindly let me into the factory to see it being built. I was able to get the photos I needed, but also Robin provided me with a complete set of design blueprints for the combination. This was a massive help, as again I was able to accurately scale down all the measurements to 1:25th scale. It removed all guess work for me.”

First step for the trailer build was cutting the structural components out of sheet tin plate; plastic was never going to cut it in this instance with the D10 Cat coming in at a solid 6.5kg. From here the assembly process began, with all the individual components being soldered together. For the trailer suspension Wayne went back to the lathe to spin up replicas of the hydraulic rams, and cleverly hid support springs inside them to maintain the correct ride height when the D10 is sitting on the deck.

Moving on to the tractor unit, the structure of the chassis is also from folded and soldered tin plate, again to support the weight of the load. Staying with the ‘build it from metal’ mantra, the wheels on the tractor unit, and the diesel tanks, were spun on the lathe from solid aluminium – a painstaking process; however the visual realism is off the scale.

For the T950 cab and bonnet, Wayne sourced these from the team at Auslowe in Australia, including the Caterpillar 3406 power plant. Painting the combination has also received Wayne’s attention to detail, with the correct colour formulas being acquired from Porters, and then mixed by Linkup Paints of Tauranga. Application of the enamel paints was by airbrush, with a satin lacquer being applied to the trailer and dolly once dry, just to soften it a touch and add to the sense of realism.

Wayne’s completed 1:25th scale replica of AF Porter Heavy Haulage’s Kausin Kaos combination and its fully rigged Caterpillar D10 load truly is a sight to behold. The attention to detail is in a class of its own. His perseverance to stick at it for just on 35 years, seeing it through to completion, is also next level.

Wayne explains, “I started my own building company not long after beginning the Kausin Kaos build. And unfortunately self-employed work commitments meant the project got packed away for quite some years. But, with the time at home during the pandemic, and now retirement, it was time to break out the boxes and finally finish it.”

The mental approach required to tackle a build like this really is best summed up by this comment from Wayne during our chat: “There were a few trials and tribulations along the way, but you’ve just got to stick at it, and not let it beat you.”

From us all here at New Zealand Trucking, well done Wayne, the build is a credit to your abilities and mettle, and a beacon for others to follow.

The attention to detail is carried right through to the trailer and dolly, with plumbing and electrical harnesses all in place, as well as valves and fittings.

A man of many talents, Wayne Haynes and his spectacular creation that was definitely worth the wait.