English text Translation of page 3 Editorial Values and fears about the future Before visiting this year’s Toy Fair ning and the end of the journey. The I was getting a bit anxious about the cabin morphs into an office and the second part of the magazine’s title: driver takes care of all the forms and ‘Construction’ (especially excava- paper work. At least, this is the way tors). There were hardly any ‘ex- the larger truck companies see the cavator models’ shown and none, future of the driver. This is the end of with one exception, was announced. the Romance of the Street! Therefore it was very valuable for me to visit Nuremberg, where I was Maybe this is the reason that more able to make personal contacts, ini- and more historic models of trucks tiate conversations and gather infor- gain in popularity. They help us re- mation about a few new current mo- member a time when the world was del developments. As usual, these still ‘intact’, ‘Kings of the road’ are kept under wraps, are worked on ruled and were proud of their trade. quietly and we are forbidden to write TV (German Language) had a series about them. There is only one thing I with titles like ‘auf Achse (on the ax- can assure all, by the end of 2017 we les)’ and ‘Movin‘ On’. The drivers will be able to look back at a most were underway for days without a satisfactory model year. cell phone and had 300 hp under the I would like to give a heartfelt hood. Afterwards they told tales of thank you to all subscribers who Future fears for the hobby sector their amazing adventurous trips. have voluntarily rounded up their is without any foundation. In other subscription fees. You are making parts, however it is very understan- In this issue we are delivering an important contribution towards dable. In particular, the truck and things to match your hobby expecta- “unbiased reporting”. commercial vehicle sector of the in- tions. After all, we want to leave be- dustry is working on a future that will hind the worries of the day and our completely turn the profession of the hobby provides an escape. truck driver upside-down. When the new technology of Electronic Pla- tooning is implemented, then a dri- ver will be needed only at the begin- Daniel Wietlisbach Laster & Bagger online: www.lasterundbagger.net www.facebook.com/lasterundbagger www.twitter.com/lasterundbagger www.youtube.com/lasterbagger Laster & Bagger 2-2017 2 Translation of pages 6 – 10 Jonas Tschickardt used to collect Cat-Models Completed by Daniel Wietlisbach Jonas Tschickardt considers his collection to be small. However it is nicely presented, has is fascination for construc- tion machines was ’not given an interesting history and is ‘completed’ … Hto him in the cradle’ as he himself describes it because his father was, among other professions, a car- penter, an ‘All-rounder’, a male The first few boxes he used to About 12 truck sets were created Psychiatric Nurse and a part-time build an excavator loader and a during these years. The first mo- ambulance driver. At least his fas- tracked loader, both of them were dels were not painted and the glue cination with commercial trucks still operated by moving the gears oozed out of the joints, was very can be explained. Jonas grew up by hand. After that, the first real visible, and left bad spots. But the near a highway. There he was tracked excavator was released in standards of the builder rose and fascinated by the trucks going by Lego Technic, with real cylinders prototypically-painted models and and sometimes waved at them. He operated by hydraulics. From all even unique ones with scratch- also remembers visits to construc- the Lego parts, he created his own built bodies followed. Using a lot tion sites in the 80s and seeing the fantasy machines because fascina- of creativity, Lego parts were used yellow tracked loaders that where tion with the techniques and the and the stanchions of a lumber car- common on any site. young man’s joy of experimenting rier were crafted from brass profi- In order for Jonas to re-enact the knew no bounds. les. Jonas Tschickardt liked Scania things he had seen, a wonderful pile The enjoyment of Lego Tech- best, but Volvo, Mercedes-Benz, of humus in the garden was made nic still lingers today and Jonas Iveco and DAF models were added available to him, “not sand!”, as he Tschickardt, as an adult, still buys to the collection. The walls of his made known to me. In use where boxes of Lego Technic sometimes. boyhood room were literally ‘plas- the very well-known O&K mobile Among them, the recently-released tered’ with truck posters. excavators by Bruder in 1:16 and set with a bucket wheel excava- The finished models were stored a variety of models from Siku in tor, the largest set ever offered by in the attic where the great dif- 1:55. There was the Menck M500H Lego. Just now however, time is ferences in temperatures harmed hydraulic excavator with lowboy in short supply and so he looks them to such a degree that they trailer and a three-axle MAN trac- forward to when his children will fell apart and had to be disposed tor in white, lettered for Heitkamp, have grown some and he can enjoy of. Since then, Jonas Tschickardt pulling it plus many other vehicles, building together with them. no longer builds plastic models so that he could play out all kinds of because they do not last long situations neatly. Kits of trucks enough. Inside however, the youngster played increasingly with Lego Besides Lego, truck kits in 1:25 His professional life blocks and with increasing age scale interested him. Of these there he became accordingly more and was a nice selection available by The enthusiasm of Jonas more interested in Lego Technic. Revell and Italieri in the nineties. Tschickardt led to seeking an app- Laster & Bagger 2-2017 3 Translation of pages 6 – 10 renticeship as a truck driver at the for the first time where he disco- ded collectors and was taken to age of 15. Unfortunately, none was vered construction models, also some swap meets. Despite this, open in the vicinity. After even the for the first time. At a stand he he continued to pursue his collec- search for an apprenticeship as a purchased a Caterpillar D9N from ting in a smaller scale for himself truck mechanic was not success- NZG (#298), the first model in his amassing about 8 to 10 new mo- ful, he finally found a spot as an collection. His main interest was dels each year. apprentice mechanic in a Toyota the unique Delta drive and so he From the age of 29 to 32 the Garage. searched for further dozer models collector worked as a truck dri- Already during his apprenti- by known dealers and then right ver on a lumber semi-trailer set. ceship at the age of 17, Jonas away at Ammann, the Swiss Ca- First he drove a Renault Premi- Tschickardt moved out of the pa- terpillar dealership. The name of um 420 with a loading crane. On rents’ home because space was Caterpillar for the young collector the logging roads, partially in getting tight. His parents searched was synonymous with construc- bad condition, and when opera- for and paid for a Studio apartment tion machines, just like Scania is ting the crane, a high degree of where Jonas could enjoy his new- for trucks, so that he concentrated concentration was required. The found independence and could en- right from the beginning on that work in the forest, however, was tertain his friends at any time. brand. The limitations of this de- the most exciting and enjoyable After the apprenticeship follo- cision also helped with the limited of this job. Although he enjoyed wed the compulsory Swiss Mili- hobby budget. the work, it was at the same time, tary service. He served with the Besides a few white Caterpillar very demanding. Usually, star- supply troops and remembers models that only lasted a short ting time was 5:00 a.m. and so, fondly: “I learned a lot and we time in his collection, yellow is often the days were long. In par- were a great team!” During his and will always be the color found ticular, the volume of traffic on time he was able to take the test in his collection. To find his mo- the roads demanded high efforts for heavy motor vehicles (trucks) dels, the collector relied on dea- of concentration from him. The- and trailers and learned to drive lers or joined in combined orders se conditions where not ideal for the different kinds of trucks: Sau- with friends. He also used on-line a young father and so he at first rer 2DM, 6/10DM, Iveco Hen- auction sites and reports that he reduced his work load by wor- schel and Steyr all in use with the has not had any negative expe- king for two days as a car mecha- Swiss Army at that time. riences with them. In particular, nic before completely switching he bought quite a few models on back to the profession he learned Construction eBay at the beginning of his coll- originally. NEW machine models ecting hobby. When he, together with his part- Through the father of a good ner, began a family six years ago When he was about 22 years old, friend, himself a collector, Jonas and moved into a house, the first Jonas visited a toy show in Berne Tschickardt met some like-min- opportunity arose to nicely present the collection, as it is today.