Last month, we featured Marty Crooks from Wellington and his replica build of Mike Lambert’s 1993 Kenworth K100E tri-drive logger. Marty’s extreme scratch-building skill sets were apparent. But, behind the scenes, his build also owes a lot to aftermarket component manufacturer Auslowe.

A couple of hours south of downtown Melbourne, tucked away on a residential street in the beachside settlement of Cowes on Philip Island, you will find the home of Auslowe Model Accessories. The brainchild of Nigel Lowe, who started it nearly 30 years ago, Auslowe has become the holy grail for model truck builders the world over, providing solutions to scratch-building problems we all face when looking to replicate real trucks.

Yes, our friends at AMT, ERTL, Italeri and the like provide us with the bare basics with the kitsets they manufacture. However, it is when you want to add an extra steer axle sitting on a set of artilleries, convert a sleeper cabbed Peterbilt into a day cab, or as in Marty’s case, looking for a tri-drive axle and suspension set, Auslowe will most likely have the solution you are searching for.

Need to re-power a model to replicate the real rig? Auslowe has a selection of resin-cast options – this Series 60 Detroit is just one example.

Knocking on the front door, we are greeted and made welcome by Nigel and Renee Lowe, the brains behind Auslowe. Chatting over a cappuccino and yummy jam and cream-filled ‘Long John’, we find that Nigel’s interest in trucks stems from when he was a youngster growing up watching local logging trucks operating, the likes of SAR Kenworths and Mack Super-Liners etching a lasting impression on the young lad’s grey matter.

“I would hear a truck coming down the road and watch it go by and go check that out,” says Nigel. It is here that Renee pipes in with a good laugh and says, “The little toy purple logging trucks you got given every Christmas probably had something to do with it as well.” “Yeah, that probably had a bit to do with it,” says Nigel with a chuckle.

Looking for a sleeper cab? This 36” hi-rise Mack unit is just one of the many options available.

Nigel started building model trucks aged nine when he was given a 1:25th scale ERTL International 4300 Transtar kitset as a Christmas gift. “I built that and thought, ‘Wow, I really love this stuff’,” he explains. “It was from here that I started making my own bullbars and bits and pieces I needed for my models, and people would come up to me and ask me if there was any chance I could make one for them too. Soon, I had enough people chasing me like this for parts they required that I was starting to make a little bit out of it.”

In 1992, Nigel was faced with health issues that required him to stay close to home, so the decision was made to register Auslowe Model Accessories and start operating the business full-time from a workshop out the back of the house. Like all small endeavours, Auslowe started with a handful of products, selling to a handful of customers. Renee remembers how the very first Auslowe catalogue they published was simply printed on four pages of A4 paper. The current catalogue now consists of no less than 65 pages and is full from cover to cover with more than 900 individual, handcrafted items. It is a true reflection of the incredible efforts applied by the couple to the business over the past three decades.

1:25th scale Mack Cruiseliner plumbing – Nigel’s attention to detail is phenomenal.

“Over the years, we have had orders phoned through to us, sent via the fax machine and, of course, also the post. Sometimes I would go out to the letterbox, and it would be stuffed full of letters all with orders inside of them,” Nigel says with a laugh. The advent the internet and social media certainly has had a profound impact on the business as well. “We have clients from all corners of the world now – all the usuals, like England and America, but also places like Holland, Slovenia, the Canary Islands and even Japan,” says Renee.

It is the local market that keeps them eternally busy. Renee and Nigel actively support the local hobby industry through the many model shows held annually throughout Australia. They meet directly with new and regular customers by attending as a trader and setting up a stand with items for sale at these shows. Alongside this, over the past 16 years or so, they have also organised their own show held late in March on Philip Island. It has become somewhat of a pilgrimage with many clients, now close friends, making their way to Cowes to attend.

The brains behind Auslowe Model Accessories, Nigel and Renee Lowe. Alloys are cool, but artilleries are cooler.

“We get in excess of 400 entrants now across all forms of scale-model building, not just the trucks,” says Renee. “It is a fantastic weekend, a real social gettogether. Friends from all over Australia – even some Kiwis have popped over. All profit from the weekend is donated to local non-profit organisations such as the Country Fire Authority (CFA), who have a hard job getting the equipment they need to keep us all safe, so it is great to be able to help out in this way.”

Stepping outside and into the workshop, we see the array of various parts neatly hanging, ready for picking, packing and despatching – it is nothing short of impressive. From all manner of artillery wheels to aluminium mudguards, sleeper cab conversions to tri-axle trailer suspension sets, it is all here, solutions that turn any model trucker’s worst nightmare into their favourite daydream.

Nigel’s desire to scratchbuild a typical Australian self-loading log jinker for his collection has resulted in the development of this resin cast kit that now features in the Auslowe catalogue and is available for sale – what a man!

The old and the new: generation 1 SAR alongside the new Legend SAR, currently being developed by Nigel.

Ask Nigel and Renee what they feel would be the most popular items within their catalogue and they are both quick to point towards the various wheel and tyre options, agreeing that they are a staple item for all modellers. The smaller items like wheels, air cleaners and diesel tanks are all problem-solvers for everyday builds. But, from there, you move up to the top shelf, into a realm for the more adventurous modeller.

The top shelf is where you find a specialist area in the market for Auslowe – an incredible line-up of transkits. These packages contain all the components you need to successfully convert an off-the-shelf kitset into something more obscure. You will find trans-kits that turn an Italeri #717 Western Star Constellation into a Mack Titan or the AMT W925 Kenworth ‘Watkins’ into a true blue Australian sloped-hood SAR. The line-up of transkits is incredible and forever-evolving. Recent additions like the Australian version of the Mack Cruiseliner, with its twin-stacked rectangular headlights, and the 86” version of the Australian Kenworth Aerodyne further adding to the list of options.

This period SAR Kenworth logger is one of Nigel’s personal builds, a true snapshot from his childhood memories;

           Typical of the era: an early 1980s SAR running an 8V92 is so well detailed you can nearly hear the jakes screaming at 2500rpm.

Alongside production, there is always development and, whetting the appetite a little, Nigel is now working on a new trans-kit package based on the SAR Legend currently rolling off the production line just up the road at Bayswater.

Nigel’s eye for and attention to detail is phenomenal. Looking closely at the level of accuracy applied to the development of each part leaves you in awe of his abilities, not to mention his gauge of correct scale and proportion. The casting process and the resin that Nigel and Renee use is a secret recipe that is guarded akin to how the good Colonel protects his list of herbs and spices.

“Over the years, we have worked hard at getting this process as good as we possibly can and it is not an easy job, but we feel we have a great process now that is achieving the finish we need,” explains Nigel. We could not agree more, the accuracy of the finest details such as rivet heads as well as nuts and bolts is nothing short of remarkable.

Once again, Nigel’s eye for detail at work – bark and twigs scattered about as well as wear and tear weathering that seriously defies belief;

Even the underside has received Nigel’s attention – mud and diesel stains and the mandatory 8V92 oil leaks.

As we bid Renee and Nigel farewell, thanking them for their time and hospitality (especially the Long Johns), we journey back towards the Melbourne CBD and reflect on what we have just seen. It is fair to say that the decision Nigel made the best part of 30 years ago when faced with medical adversity to set up a little business at home and provide model truck builders like myself with resin-cast solutions to their problems, has had a profound impact on the hobby at a global level. Looking at photos on various model-truck Facebook pages from around the planet, you will see many models sporting products directly from the workbenches of Nigel and Renee, assisting yet another model trucker in achieving the build result they want, and for that, we say a sincere thank-you for what you do and the passion you do it with.

Do you build model trucks? Would you like to share your stories and model builds with our readers? Please feel free to contact us by emailing carl@nztrucking.co.nz. These pages are dedicated to supporting the hobby, and we would love to hear from you.