English Text Translation of Page 3
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English text Translation of page 3 New blood for the Editorial hobby and professions If I have time when I go shop- in the toy departments and are ping, I check out the toy depart- available for every age group. ment of the store I am in. I hardly ever expect to find collectible mo- Whether interest at the beginning dels there, but I am more interested becomes a hobby or a profession on how the larger toy producers will be determined in the youth’s think about construction machines later years. Transport and const- and truck toys. ruction companies are well aware I regularly hear from dealers that of this fact and so offer events that nowadays, more than ever before, attract youth of many ages. they get offered whole collections The Eberhard Group, which is for sale, a trend which confirms the one of our partners, has just laun- decrease of interest in the hobby. ched its own website for youngs- So too with the falling prices of ters. Kids and teens can find a lot old models that once were much of interesting things around the sought after and changed hands at theme of construction at ebiyoung. astronomical prices. ch. In addition to some games, in- For these reasons, promotion of formation about jobs in the const- I would like to give a heartfelt our hobby to the coming genera- ruction sector on an appropriately thank you to all subscribers who tions is important and because of designed page is also available. have voluntarily rounded up their this I was especially happy to find Such a specifically targeted page subscription fees. You are making the little Volvo Dumper from ‘Bbu- for young people was unknown to an important contribution towards rago Junior’. It is one of three Vol- me earlier. “unbiased reporting”. vo machines; a wheeled loader and tracked excavator are also availa- Whether you are alone or have ble. There is even encouragement young people around, I hope you given to collect as on the package all will enjoy reading our issue. it says, ‘My First Collection’. Trucks seem to have it a bit ea- sier as they are more readily found Daniel Wietlisbach Laster & Bagger online: www.lasterundbagger.net www.facebook.com/lasterundbagger www.twitter.com/lasterundbagger www.youtube.com/lasterbagger Laster & Bagger 2-2020 2 Translation of pages 6 – 11 Radi Wenger’s Scania and construction machines “There can be only this one” by Daniel Wietlisbach This somewhat sensationalized title is from a statement of this Scania collector whose adi (short form for Rudolf or Ruedi) grew up where others collection focusses on truck models. Howe- Rspend their holidays, in Brienz, on the shores of the idyllic Lake ver, there are also some construction machine Brienz where the water is so cold that it is possible to bathe only on models in his collection … the hottest days of the year. Origi- nally, Radi’s father was a gardener, like a model and never ever took it of Switzerland where she wanted to then he worked in forestry and fi- outside. His parents were astounded learn another language for a year. nally ended up as a school janitor. about how carefully the boy treated There, on the wall, hung a display His mother was a housewife and his vehicles. case with car models. These did to supplement the family income, Radi also liked the smaller cars not belong to the children of the made small wooden model chalets from Matchbox as their size was an household but to the father. Seeing for sale to tourists. Sometimes, on approximate to match the scale of this burned an image into Radi’s free afternoons, Radi helped to his Märklin train set. memory leaving a lasting impres- build the little model houses. To- At the local market fair that hap- sion. day, Brienz is still renowned for its pened once a year, he was allowed In front of the door of his parent’s wood carving work and even has to choose ‘something’. His desti- house he was often able to observe the only school in Switzerland de- nation was always the same stand trucks manoeuvering. The house dicated to learning this rare artistic which had vehicle and tractor mo- was situated at a hairpin curve with handicraft. dels and when he had found his new a road branching off to a joine- When Radi’s father became a toy he ran back home with it and ry. Because there was insufficient janitor at the school, Radi helped played until evening time. Neither room there for the big vehicles to with the cleaning on Saturdays. In the midway nor sweet treats held turn, the drivers had to engage the the 60s, to get pocket money was any interest at all for him. reverse gear and back down the nar- unusual but Radi received toys on row road to the joinery. birthdays and he remembers one Finding out about collecting Despite these experiences, his Christmas when he received a spe- passion during his youth and up cific Corgi low-deck loader which At age 10, Radi realized that one to adult years was football (soc- he played with frequently. Even as can collect models as a hobby. The cer) and as a junior with his team, a child, he treated the toy, which whole family accompanied his five- he even managed to reach the third designed to be played with, more year-older sister to the French part league. Laster & Bagger 2-2020 3 Translation of pages 6 – 11 Apprenticeship time occurred, among them a two-year brand which that interested Radi. stint as an electrician at a chemical In the beginning, there were mo- He learned the profession of industrial plant near Basle. del kits in 1:24 and 1:87 which electrician by ‘chance’ because he His interest in model trucks alrea- reminded Radi of the model train needed to find a place to appren- dy existed during his very varied experience of his youth. However, tice and the Electricity Works of professional career but because because of his contact with the the municipality had such a place of a lack of opportunity it did not Scania sales person, he always got available. But he was lucky, be- take hold. That is why he collected to hear about the newest models cause he liked and still likes his only a few Siku models which later which were produced by Tekno in work today. After the apprentice- on he gave to his nephews to play 1:50 for the Swedes. Soon, he liked ship he was able to stay on ano- with. He also had a Renault cab- them better; they were made from ther year but then changed over over truck from Eligor in 1:43 that metal and looked more valuable so to a construction company to ‘ex- he found quite by chance. he ‘took delivery’ of one after ano- perience something else’. There, ther. Today they stand in solid rows with a Land Rover and single-axle Collector in his display cabinet and one can trailer, he transported construction see how the trucks from Södertälje materials to construction sites and, In 1985, he took over the running developed over time. Many mo- as he remembers, he learned most- of a branch of an electric compa- dels from that time have the Scania ly ‘to drive in reverse’ because ny near Thun and managed it for logo on them and where painted in often the narrow mountain roads 18 years. And at this new loca- the company colors. did not allow turning manoeuvres. tion, to which he moved with his In the mid-70s at the construction partner Erika, he was surrounded Trucks company, he had closer contact to by transportation-related peop- construction machines for the first le. His neighbour drove a Scania The loosely-put-together fan time. They had an O&K RH6, a truck and trailer set, which was not group from the Bernese Oberland Gradall embankment excavator on surprising since the neighbour’s exchanged items regularly and tracks, as well as an International brother worked in sales at a branch also visited trucker meets inside tracked loader, a wheeled loader of Scania Schweiz. Furthermore, and outside Switzerland as well as and other machines. But also fas- in the same village, lived Marcel Truck Racing on the Nürburg Ring cinating to him were the dump Erb (Collector’s portrait 5-2019) racing circuit. trucks made by MAN. and one village over was the home On these occasions, the group After two years, he changed of Wittwer Transport with its blue encountered stands of model dea- back to his original place of app- Scania trucks. Such a collection of lers. Their collections could be al- renticeship and to the trade he had fans for the Swedish trucks was ways enlarged easily because the learned. A couple more changes contagious so there was only one number of models produced at that time was still very manageable. When the opportunity arose, Radi The collector Wenger always ordered exclusi- ve models that were advertised in Radi Wenger (63) apprenticed as an electrician and even today is the German magazine, ‘Trucker’. still working in his trade. Besides collecting models, he collects me- The hobby became really colorful morabilia from AC/DC and is an enthusiastic angler. He likes to pre- when the collector discovered the pare a very tasty dish of ‘Felchen’, a fish from Lake Brienz, caught first models decked out in freight by himself and he likes cooking other things as well.