Childhood memories can last a lifetime, and this month’s feature builder certainly has many to draw upon having grown up in and around the loggers operating out of the Pan Pac mill at Whirinaki.
Matt Barraclough most definitely has sawdust in his DNA. Growing up with the Pan Pac mill just down the road in Whirinaki had a profound impact on the young lad. So much so that he himself ended up as a contractor there for many years, and is now employed by the organisation as a dispatcher.
“In my younger years, growing up around the Pan Pac trucks, I was in awe of them and the drivers that drove them. Later in life once I started my own driving career, I got to work alongside the guys that drove those trucks, and built lifelong friendships with them. They were all gentlemen to work alongside,” says Matt.
“Building the model trucks is a way for me to celebrate these memories. It’s like when I have finished one, I put photos up on Facebook, and people start commenting ‘that’s right, I remember that truck’ or ‘I remember the fella that drove that one’. That’s cool, that’s where I get a buzz out of it, standing back and seeing the pleasure it brings people, and seeing them enjoy the memories as well.”
Many makes and models were adorned with the famous orange, green and white Pan Pac livery over the years, and Matt has now replicated many of these in 1:25th scale. Starting with Matt’s butterfly bonnet LW Kenworth with single-axle dolly and jinker, it is a fantastic representation of the very first Kenworths into the fleet in the early 1970s. It is all about the proportions, and Matt has carefully calculated this from early photos and drawings. Shortening the chassis to the correct wheelbase, and scratch- building the dolly and jinker, Matt has certainly hit the nail on the head with this one.
Looking at the K100E Kenworth and the Mack Ultra- Liner, Matt has taken these projects to another level. The cab of the K100E is a resin cast, and apart from this and the wheels, the rest of the rig is 100% scratch built. As for the Mack Ultra-Liner, it is very similar, again using an aftermarket resin cab and an R-model Mack chassis as the backbone.
“I like to build them so that they operate pretty much as the real trucks did; like the bolsters fold, turntables rotate, and on the multi-bunk trailers, you can slide the bolsters in and out. It adds that detail and realism. It is a lot of scratch-building but it’s definitely worth the extra work,” says Matt.
We could not agree more; scratch-building is a tonne of fun. With a little imagination, it allows you to replicate those trucks from your childhood memories that you cannot purchase over the counter, something that Matt has vividly displayed to us here.
Matt’s butterfly bonnet LW Kenworth in Pan Pac orange, green and white absolutely captures the era perfectly, especially with its replica and period- correct Mills-Tui dolly and jinker logging kit, ‘old-skool cool’.
The K100E Kenworth project is virtually 100% scratch-built; starting with a resin cab and a set of wheels, Matt has manufactured the rest himself. A real tip of the hat to the late Jethro O’Dwyer, who pedalled the cool KW when it was new.
The full-scale Mack Ultra-Liner combination that this model is based on was driven by Barry Crane. Matt has done a superb job of ensuring his models not only look like but also operate as the real trucks did, including folding and sliding bolster sets where applicable.
A yard lineup reminiscent of the Whirinaki Pan Pac mill a few moons ago, Matt’s efforts sure are impressive. And watch this space, as there is an addition on the way in the form of old No.91, the LW Kenworth pulp truck driven by Ellie Harrison. Can’t wait!
