CRT COLLECTORS CORNER Number 15, Summer 2009 ANOTHER PIERRE COLLETTE ORIGINAL MODEL 
Quebec's Pierre Collette kindly sent photos of his latest creation, a replica of the Heil Mark V on a Ford LTN800 "Louisville" chassis. The Mark V was Heil's commercial bulk packer through the 1970's, and featured one of the most unique packer designs to ever hit the streets; a telescopic-slide platen with eccentric swing-links for the lower end. In the USA, the Mark V was phased out with the introduction of the Formula 5000, yet it has been produced in the United Kingdom since 1973 and is still available there from Heil Europe. 
This hand crafted body is a faithful reproduction of the original, very similar to one the Pierre operated in the 1970's, which was mounted on a Chevrolet C60 with a twin-stick 5/4 transmission. (back in the days when the Allison automatic was exception rather than the rule). Pierre says "As I worked in the garbage collecting industries for over 23 years, I had the chance to drive and operate a lot of different kind of trucks and boxes. Unfortunately I never thought of taking pictures of those, and sometimes I regret it." Pierre did send us some pictures of the truck that this replica was modeled after, and I have to say it is a fantastic reproduction. The two-tone paint looks great on this classic. Many thanks, Pierre, for sharing these. We always look forward to seeing your creations! 
Here's a rare toy that I had never seen before, until this example sold for $254.00 on ebay in June. It is a pressed steel ride-on truck a little over two feet long. The seller could find no markings on this, so the maker is not currently known. The vintage is likely 1940s or 1950s. This was a nice find for whoever the high bidder was. 
TONKA FRONT LOADER 
These have not been as common on ebay recently, but the round-back version shown here sold for $510.00 in May. It appears to be an exceptional original with only minimal wear. These are pretty good replicas of early 1950's California (non-compaction) front loaders, and the cab is based on the 1958 Ford F-series. These toys seem to hold their value despite tough economic times. 
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