Fork lift truck build

Gordon Asks:

I notice from a web site that you built a fork lift truck from a Viking model. Could you be kind enough to send me details.

The model I am building - Burnden Park (was featured in your magazine) is circa late 50’s, and we are looking to for a fork lift truck suitable for that era. Any help would be very useful.

 

My model was built around 2 decades ago so the methods might be a bit out of date. I think you have a better chance of buying something suitable now from Base Toys or Noch. None of that was an option back then, so I started with a plastic model from Kibri. 

Looking at the photos, I needed something from the days when we didn't care if people died when the trucks tipped over. That meant the safety cage had to go. 

 

The modern prototype was also too long so I cut the model in half and stuck it back together. Yo9u can see the join under the model but by cutting along an obvious join, this was hidden. #

Fork lift trucks are a vital part of the indusatrail scene, or at least they have been since the 1950s. Early models were quite small though, like this one: