Robert Denson of West Memphis, Ark., was a big winner at the Mid America Gateway Farm Toy Show the first weekend in February at the Sheraton Westport in St. Louis. Robert won the adult 1/16-scale scratch-built contest, with his remote control Caterpillar 140 H road grader.

While winning was nice, Robert said, “I already had 200 trophies – talking to the people. I enjoy encouraging, inspiring and sharing ideas with other people. If I can help someone, then I feel like I have accomplished something.

“I finished the road grader late in 2011, he added. “I was looking for a scale road grader and a local Caterpillar dealer had a brochure, and in the back they had 3-D drawings.”

The drawings were just what he needed to proceed. “I enlarged the drawings to the size of the RC tires I had on hand. That is one of the hardest things about scratch-building, finding the tires and wheels. Most companies make a generic wheel. For scratch-building you need a specific design and look.”

 Robert added wheel height and tread also are important. “You just can’t put tractor tires on a road grader. I look for all the scale parts. I want to make the model as realistic as possible.” For this project, “from the concept to the last screw, it took about a year to complete.”

The 140 Caterpillar H road grader was selected because “one day, I was driving down the road and I saw it working. It caught my attention and I said, ‘I’m going to build that.’”

Each of Robert’s remote control models has been progressively more difficult. “I like a challenge. I like to build a model that looks too difficult to build.”

His first remote control model at the Gateway Farm Toy show was back in 1994 when he built a John Deere 9610 combine. The next models Robert focused on were crop duster planes. He has built a few for owners who have enjoyed having a small version of their plane.

After the planes, Robert moved onto tractor conversions: “I take a die-cast model then disassemble it to make it radio-controlled. When I first started out adding lights, I didn’t know what I was doing.”

At the show, writer Phyllis Hembrough reminded Robert of a story he told her years ago. “I disassembled Mom’s hair dryer to make a truck move,” he reminisced, admitting while he never has told his mom he took her dryer apart, in his defense it was broken.

“I like motion, mechanics, gears and such. I like to see how it works together. Time isn’t the issue, patience is. If you stick with it, you can get it accomplished … I try to stick to the task until I run out of parts or money.

“The most challenging part (of the current road grader model) was saving the money to buy the hydraulic system. I had to know how, but I wanted the hydraulics to work as authentically as possible. I had to buy them from Europe; it was the most expensive part of the machine,” he explained.

Robert spends his days working on telephone systems at a hospital, and when he works on the models he likes to de-stress with pen, paper, calculator and handheld tools. “It is very relaxing; I can spend upwards of 15 hours a day. There is never enough time; I always know if I just had five more minutes, I could get it to run,” he said, laughing.

What is next? “I have an idea I want to build – a four-wheel hi-lift version of a TerraGator, called a RoGator. It looks like a giant mosquito. I have the plans and have been collecting and making parts.”

He creates parts from brass, aluminum and wood: “I take a photograph of the real thing, then make a prototype out of paper, cardboard or something discardable, then fit it to the right size.” He uses or creates diagrams or dimensions to ensure the model will fit together.

Part of Robert’s insight could be because he grew up on a farm before enrolling in the Army. “My last two years of high school, I drove a grain truck hauling rice to the grain mill,” he said, adding he learned how to drive a five-speed grain truck just by watching.

Robert’s talent is easy to see and a joy to watch. Visitors to the Gateway Farm Toy Show are always waiting to see what he and his lovely companion, Angela, will bring the next time.

  

Readers with questions or comments for Cindy Ladage may write to her in care of this publication.