A passionate model builder
Commercial vehicles not only form part of Kurt Mühlthaler’s professional life: The passionate model builder creates and builds his own model world of 1:16-scale trucks. Forget about using kits or following instructions, Kurt builds his model MAN trucks based on full-sized trucks – down to the very last detail.
Trucks have accompanied Kurt Mühlthaler throughout his entire life. He started out as a technician at the Knittelfeld MAN workshop before moving to a driving school, then worked as a truck driver and now works for Würth Hochenburger. His enthusiasm for commercial vehicles is not only driven by his professional life – the Commander Club member can think of nothing better than spending his spare time building models and making 1:16-scale trucks. The rather special aspect of his models is that they are not ready-made kits – each model is handmade and assembled without any instructions. The first step is for Kurt to choose a truck, which he then photographs. He builds the model based on these photos. Kurt uses the model of an older truck as the foundation – for example, he uses an MAN TGA to build an MAN TGX. He then covers this model with plastic and moulds it into shape. What may sound simple actually requires hours and hours of detailed work. The plastic panels must be cut, milled, sanded, glued and filled. Kurt then paints the model true to the original in the matching colours and tops it with a clear coat. He only needs to buy small parts, such as matching tyres or rims, and the model is ready to go.
Challenges create growth
The current MAN Truck Generation has already proven to be a model for Kurt’s replicas. The golden MAN TGX presented him with a very special challenge: The characteristic MAN Truck GoldenTopaz colour was initially impossible to find and also difficult to mix. It was only by chance that the model builder came across the right shade. As with other models, the MAN TGX was also based on an MAN TGA. This was rebuilt and modelled using 15 millimetre-thick plastic panels.
The most expensive truck in his collection is currently an MAN TGS with a remote-controlled PENZ timber-loading crane from Limbach, including a genuine hydraulic system, all-wheel drive, two-speed gearbox, light, sound and a smoke module. The model’s material costs alone stand at EUR 6000, and that’s not including countless hours of work involved.
Kurt’s models are so unique and also varied and versatile that it comes as no surprise that his trucks attract a great deal of attention at model building exhibitions. Some of his trucks are even designed in such a way that the attachments can be converted into two-axle vehicles, tippers or three-axle vehicles thanks to a mounted changeover system. At any rate, these special vehicle models have become so popular that some of the Mühlthaler-designed models have already found a legion of enthusiastic replica builders. You can admire a selection of Mühlthaler originals in our gallery.