This fantastic little 1973 Ecolotec vacuum sweeper mounted on an International Cargostar chassis model was used by the Smithtown (New York) Highway Dept. until 1979. Model builder David Flynn only remembers seeing the prototype for several seconds only twice, but does have two photos of it. The model was built using a Herpa vacuum sweeper with a cab and rear fenders from a Wiking tow truck. David shortened the body by one foot and reshaped the lower front sides and removed the hose from the rear, reshaped it over a flame, and located it on the top. The rigid pipe on top is a piece of sprue from a Roco snow plow kit. The front bumper is from an Athearn Ford C truck and the wheels from Ralph Ratcliffe Models. David lost the gutter broom and had to make his own with a Dremel tool and plastic rod; it turned out to be more accurately proportioned than the original. David painted the model lemon yellow to match the prototype but decided to leave the mirrors unpainted because they looked right to him.

Posted May 9, 2015