MODELS BY
THE MASTER
By Owner Operators Rod & Kim Grimm

Last month I told you we were taking delivery of our new truck and trailer in Louisville this month. That was a bit of an April Fool. We are getting a new truck and trailer, but there are a few things it won’t be doing. This summer, no bugs will splatter the windshield; next winter, there won’t be 2000 lbs. of snow and ice packed up under her; and the biggest thing she won’t be doing is hauling any freight! The new truck and trailer has had as much love put into it as we’ve put into the combo its “modeled” after. Our new rig will be parked on a wood base with a plexiglass cover, and be forever clean!

For years, I’ve dreamed of having a model of our truck made by Master Model Builder Kuenn McClinton of De-Elegant Model Truck Fleet. Last March we ordered that dream and this year it becomes a reality! Even better, it has the trailer too.

At the time of this writing, the “working truck” is in Yukon, OK at Beatty’s Body Shop. While there, she’s getting the frame on both the truck and trailer sandblasted and repainted, the stress cracks in the hood fixed, and the rub rails and unit repainted. Taking everything off (the hood, fuel tanks, boxes, stacks, half fenders, light bars, bumper and even the fifth wheel) to really do it right, Chris does a first class job. When he gets done, you’d say, “show truck”. Stripped down to just the cab, bunk and engine, she doesn’t look like much, but wait till she gets put back together! I can’t wait to drive it!!

On the way home from Yukon, we stopped at 4-State Trucks in Joplin, MO and visited Bryan to see what was new in “can’t live without things for our truck”. Yes, I found a few things. He asked about the “new” truck and trailer. He said, “I couldn’t believe it when I read you were getting a new truck – you put your heart and soul into this one.” That’s when I had to fess up. It will be a new truck, just not so big.

Next stop was Brunners’ Fabrication, where David will be taking care of creating stainless from the rusty mess we left him. While we were there, a friend named Tod Job was also there and I must thank him for another job that David will have to do in the near future, although it won’t be in time for Louisville – belly air. That’s when you run the air lines and electrical hook-ups out the back and under the trailer. I’ve wanted it that way for years but Rod always said no. Had I only known that just by telling him “it would make the truck look longer” it would have been done long ago! Thanks Tod! And thanks to David, too – if it can be done with stainless, he can do it.

Now more about our new baby. If you think I’m pretty protective of the fenders, back doors and everything in between on the big truck, just imagine how fussy I’m going to be about our new truck. Kuenn McClinton will be delivering it to us in Louisville at the truck show. I can’t wait to bring home this masterpiece.

If you know Kuenn McClinton and have seen his work, you will appreciate all that goes into his creations. Personally, I can’t imagine being able to do what he does and how he creates these miniatures of the trucks we love. Just look at the fine examples of his work on these pages – all of these trucks are exact replicas of someone’s real thing, only smaller. When asked about his motivation to build such elegant machines, Kuenn said, “Everything I do, through the grace of God, I do for my kids.” De-Elegant is truly a family effort, and Kuenn’s kids really help with the business. Currently, there is some reorganizing, renovating and expansion going on at De-Elegant, so expect even more amazing creations coming from Kuenn in the near future.

Built completely from scratch, a model made by Kuenn isn’t the kind you could ever find in any box. He molds his own hoods, cabs and bunks, and includes even the smallest of details on all of his models – it’s incredible! He even framed and replicated the custom cabinets that my brother Paul put so much work into. If you’ve seen the inside of our truck, you know what kind of detailed work that Kuenn had to replicate to properly reproduce our interior.

Maryann Lewandowski, owner and founder of Blast Graphics in Hartland, WI was really excited when I told her about the model. With all the graphics for the truck and trailer already in her computer, the challenge would be to make them a lot smaller. But, of course, she can. She can’t wait to see the finished product. Kuenn said that he looks forward to working with her again in the future.

When asked about some of the other De-Elegant trucks in the fleet that we are so PROUD to become a part of, he told me about a few. The most exotic he felt was Bob Simmons’ Pete, which featured a paint job with six shades of blue. The hardest was Donnie and Diana Harper’s 379 Pete and car carrier. But for all his hard work, Kuenn got an added bonus – two wonderful friends. The most interesting model was Chris Fischer’s W900 Kenworth, complete with a flame and clown mural that you won’t soon forget. For his help on this project, Kuenn would like to give special thanks to Jim Shivley for doing the GREAT graphic paint designs. We know Jim and his work is outstanding, and one day we would love to have him paint a picture of our truck with the perfect background. Kuenn loves all the trucks he builds, but as for a personal favorite (and I would agree) it is Leonard and Charlene Testerman’s dark red Pete. Kuenn not only made a model for the Testermans, but he also made a 1:16 scale model of their truck for himself! It is a beautiful truck and Leonard and Charlene are the nicest people you’d ever want to meet.

De-Elegant started out as Elegant, but anybody can have that. Seeing a Cadillac DeElegance, Kuenn got the idea to put the first two letters of his middle name in front of Elegant and created De-Elegant, which in French he was told means “most elegant”. The name fits perfectly, because if you’ve ever seen these trucks, they truly are the most elegant models you will ever see.

Kuenn still likes to thank the men who have encouraged him and helped him get his start. Ray Miller, president of Double Eagle and Elwin Ashe, vice president of ICT, are two men that helped him get rolling. In the early days, Kuenn made models for both of these men entirely from photos and phone conversations. Kuenn, to this day, has never met either of these gentlemen face-to-face. Vince Taratino, Al Scarbrough and Gene Schriendl (who had the Movin’ On KW which was used in the movies Smokey and the Bandit II and Thunder Run), are also a few people worth mentioning. Kuenn offers a heartfelt “thank you” to all these folks.

Last and most important, I would like to dedicate this story to Kuenn’s younger brother Kevin whom he lost in 1992. Kuenn misses him very much and still dedicates all he does to him. I have a younger brother who I feel the same way about, but I’m blessed that he is still here (and he helps work on our truck). I gotta love him when he says, “I’ll do the thinking, sis, you just drive the truck.”

Take care and be safe out there. If you too would like to be the proud owner of a De-Elegant model of your truck (or have Kuenn make you the truck you’ve always dreamed of), call De-Elegant Model Truck Fleet in Chicago at (773) 379-1055. Look for a full story and pictures about OUR completed model next month after we take delivery of it from Kuenn in Louisville. We haven’t seen it yet. Sometimes Kuenn likes to make the delivery extra special, so he waits to show the model until he is completely finished, and then formally “presents” it to the owners. And we can hardly wait for that day!