Member Hans Hach's 50th birthday were reason enough to combine the Model Car Exchange in Lake Martin with a gathering of truckers.
More than 50 trucks designed using airbrush technology were on display yesterday. The kings of the road stood at the 25. Club anniversary of the Model Car Club Hesse (MAC) in focus. Where normally the cars of visitors to the Martinsee Sports and Cultural Center are parked, more than 50 artistically designed trucks presented themselves. The club members have their founding member Hans Hach to thank for the meeting of models and the large originals. In his honor, the truckers came to Heusenstamm with their vehicles.
For the passionate model builder, it all started when he photographed his great role models so that he could later reproduce the trucks as accurately as possible on a scale of 1:87 in his hobby cellar. In the course of time, Hach became a permanent institution among the truckers, who regularly visits trucking companies all over Germany to take photos. Hach has postcard-sized prints of all his photographs: "We have well over 1,000 folders full of pictures of the individual trucks at home," says the passionate photographer. When Hach became the stage photographer of the country star Tom Astor and accompanied him for ten years, he had finally arrived in the trucking scene without driving a truck himself.
In the 35 years, in which Hach pursues his hobby, innumerable friendships into the Trucker scene developed. He is a constant among drivers and airbrush designers, with a trained eye that knows the paint jobs of the individual artists well. Marcel Barth from MB Lackdesign in Delitzsch, Saxony, is in Heusenstamm for the first time. Hans Hach was also able to win him over for the big anniversary. Barth was able to present two tractor units designed by him at once. One of the two tractors has its premiere in Heusenstamm. With painted on dents, scratches and rust spots, the latest work of the paint artist has been received respectfully and at the same time with a good portion of trucker humor. "Find yourself another driver; everything is scratched and rusted," some truck drivers sneer, only to praise the work in the next moment. Barth spent four weeks working on the cabin: "It takes time to disassemble, paint and reassemble all the parts."
Trucker meeting in Lake Martin
For Hach, this day is a very special one. He was able to celebrate his 65th birthday this year. Birthday celebration and for the truckers and the MAC it was the birthday and thank you party for their founding member. Already the evening before there was a small celebration with drivers who are very attached to Hach. Hach: "The greatest joy for me is that so many drivers have come to Heusenstamm with their trucks. So many airbrush painted vehicles in one spot is very rare to find."
While the event is a big family reunion for the trucking community, the hall is where model car enthusiasts congregate. About 70 exhibitors present more than hundred thousand model cars. Robert Fischer, vice chairman of the MAC, is satisfied. All visitors got their money's worth: The truck driving scene, the model car collectors and also the photographers who besiege the trucks with their cameras on the outside area. Already in the early afternoon, the riders set off again. "The trucks are all in regular use all over Europe, and it took more than a year of organization to get as many trucks as possible together in one day in Heusenstamm," reveals Hach. It will certainly be a few years until the next big trucker meeting. Meanwhile, car and truck enthusiasts can once again enjoy the small 1:87 scale illustrations and photos by Hans Hach.