With a number of trucks being unveiled to the public for the first time at the Brisbane Truck Show, it would be fair to say the variety of scale models released by the team at Drake Collectibles across the four days drew the biggest crowds.
The Brisbane-based company has become a highly regarded manufacturer of scale truck and trailer models over the last 14 years and the show saw some exciting new releases for collectors, along with a preview of planned releases into 2024.
Kicking off the releases was the Kenworth K200 and 5×8 float, presented in the green and white colours of Sydney based Hi-Quality group, the first such model to be produced in their company colours.
A range of Kenworth models also followed across the show, including a T909 Director for both VE Group and Membrey’s Transport, along with a pink-liveried T909 for Wollongong-based Ross Transport.
Netherlands-based Mammoet Group is one of the largest heavy-haulage companies operating worldwide, and 2023 also saw another Drake release, a Kenworth C509 based on their trucks which operate in Australia.
Paired up to the C509 is a Freighter triple road train trailer set, which is also the first time a triple road train combination has been produced as a set.
Also on the trailer front, a number of Boxloader container-trailer variants were launched, including those in Doolans and Membrey’s liveries.
With the success of the Kenworth SAR Legend, unveiled by PACCAR in 2021, Drake also took on the task of replicating it in 1/50 scale, with the unveiling of a resin prototype as the model undergoes development and tooling for a production release next year.
The trailer range produced by Drake will also be enhanced, with an O’Phee livestock trailer currently being developed for release in 2024.
At the helm of Drake Collectibles is Bruce Hay, and he is justifiably proud of the advances made since first launching at the 2009 show. “If you had of told me when we started how much we would have grown, I wouldn’t have believed it,” he said.
“We never set out to become a model manufacturer but here we are with a distribution network throughout the world and a cabinet full of awards for our diecast models – people look at the trucks downstairs and can’t afford one, but they come upstairs and go home happy with one of ours.”