When Damon (pronounced D’mon) Montague tinkers with model trucks, he always goes with green. Green is the signature color on the seven die-cast trucks he’s created as short-run production models. The color signifies his other passion—the U.S. Army.
“Talking to me, we’re either going to talk Army or trucks, that’s it,” he says with a laugh.
Now living in El Paso, Texas, Damon’s passion for trucks came first. He started building 1/25 scale plastic model kits when he was about 8 years old, and he has early memories of being instantly drawn to the hobby.
“I was 7 or 8 years old, when it started to take shape, like, ‘I’m kind of good at this. I like this,’” he says. Growing up in Houston, Texas, he and his cousin entered their models in local competitions so they could get into the shows for free. He remembers one particular show that brought him affirmation of his skills.
“We came back the next day and there was a trophy next to my truck and I was floored. That was a big deal,” he says.
In 1986, Damon joined the U.S. Army, a career that would span more than 20 years before he retired in 2008 as a first sergeant.
During his career, he served in Desert Storm and Desert Shield with the 82nd Airborne Division.
“I have 20 years worth of stories,” he says. As a drill sergeant for three years at Fort Jackson in Columbia, S.C., he trained thousands of soldiers.
“I took a lot of pride in that,” he says. “Everything for me in the Army was setting people up for success and knowing how to get to that success.”

Lou Desbiens with an International TD-25C dozer that he scratch built in the 1970s. This model is a replica of the dozer his father, Raymond Desbiens, owned and operated for many years. ​

Greg Thompson, of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, has lived an adventurous life. By the age of 18, he had his first airplane pilot license. He paid for lessons and the license by “operating machinery every opportunity I could and saving the money earned. I drove tractors and snowplows through most of my high school days. I love machines.”
After high school, Thompson followed a family tradition. “I immediately went to work in the logging industry following high school,” he said. “My brother Len and my brother-in-law Ian McKinnon are still loggers, and my father, Herb Thompson, was a forest ranger for most of his adult life until he retired. 
“Now, just for the fun of it, he logs using a horse and skid. Dad used to tell me stories about his childhood when he used a horse and skid to haul firewood for his parents. I guess logging and the forests are just in the Thompson blood.”
As a logger, Thompson operated skidders, dozers and log loaders. As much as he loved the forest-green woods, the clear blue skies are what finally won Thompson’s heart. 
“After logging for about five years, I once again felt the lure of the open sky, so I saved some more money and earned a commercial helicopter pilot license. That was in 1989, and I still fly helicopters for a living today.”  
Thompson’s love of flying is what first led him to radio-controlled (RC) models. “About 30 years ago, I decided that flying RC model airplanes would be fun. The winters are long and cold on Vancouver Island, so I wanted a hobby to see me through from fall to spring.  Each winter, I would build a model airplane, getting it completed in time for spring flying.”
After seeing a RC semitruck model from Tamiya, Thompson decided that it might be fun to put together a RC truck kit and run it around inside his house during the winter. 
“I purchased my first RC truck model about 10 years ago, roughly 2002. It was a 1/14 scale model logging truck. I just knew if I was going to build trucks, they had to be loggers.”
Thompson’s first RC model was a kit version, commonly called a King Hauler, by Tamiya. He received an unpainted cab, frame and wheels to build a semi. He then scratch built a log bed by extending the semi’s frame and adding a trailer with log rigging on it. The trailer is held to the cab with a hook, which makes moving actual logs on full-size vehicles like this model very dangerous work.
The transition from RC airplanes to RC trucks proved easy for Thompson. “Since building that first logging truck, I have built on average one logging truck or vehicle a year; although, I actually work on two or three models at a time. Just like before, I build in the winter months when the snow is deep and the wind is cold.
“Some of my models include a D8N dozer, D8R dozer, Hitachi 350 excavator, Volvo A40D articulated dump truck and a CAT 330B log loader. Each of the models has electric-drive motors and hydraulics that operate at about 150 psi. And all are radio controlled. The models are made of aluminum with styrene (a form of plastics) cabs.”
The large articulated dump trucks (ADT) are somewhat complicated to build. The rig swivels in the middle so that the trailer follows in the cab’s tracks rather than cutting to the inside where it might just fall off of a mountain. Steering is accomplished via hydraulic cylinders that pivot the entire trailer in relation to the tractor. 

Texaco theme display. ​

Heading up to Massachusetts to interview Bill Semple, I started thinking about all the fascinating collectors with astonishing collections that I have covered for TT&C in this state. From Fred Heim’s 1/2 scale trucks to Alan Banes’ huge cement truck collection, Massachusetts has some unique collectors. 
I was familiar with one of Bill’s trucks before I had met him. His apple-green and white B Model Mack trailer truck was a common sight at truck shows. Of course, like all of us, Bill’s interest in trucks started at a young age. 
He was 5 years old when his grandmother would take him on shopping trips that would usually end up with a toy car or truck. His toy trucks started a connection to cars and trucks that still continues now with no end in sight.

Vehicles have always been part of Bill’s livelihood. He has worked for National Car Rental, Lily Truck Leasing and Minuteman Ford. He owned Semple Truck Lease in Boston, which he started with five used White trucks. He also owned 495 Truck Center in Marlboro, Mass., and Power America Cleaning Systems in Littleton. Bill sold his Power America business after building it up for 10 years.


 In the meantime, Bill’s collection was expanding. He bought a new house three years ago that came with a two-story barn in the backyard called Pop’s Garage. This was a perfect place to hold his real trucks on the bottom and display his toy trucks upstairs. His antique truck collection includes some vintage truck brands that I had never heard of. 
Another fact that intrigued me was that some of these trucks were manufactured in his home state of Massachusetts. Other than his B Model Macks, he also owns a 1915 and a 1923 White 3/4-ton truck. He has a 1938 Ford fire truck that was owned by Henry Ford when he owned the Wayside Inn of Sudbury, Mass. 
Two trucks I had never seen was a 1919 Northway built in Natick, Mass., and a 1925 Wachusett built in Fitchburg, Mass. 
Bill is also a serious license plate collector. His collection of plates includes ones dating back as far as 1904. Many of them are New England states, but his collection spans many states. 
It took me back a bit to think about the fact that these plates have been around since the infancy of motorized vehicles. Most of the early plates were finished in baked porcelain. 
As with most truck collectors, he also has other nice transportation-related items, including a White Trucks porcelain dealer sign and an old St. Johnsbury trucking sign. 
Bill was the president of the National ATHS (Antique Truck Historical Society), from 1985 to 1987. He founded the New England chapter that at one point boasted 800 members. This chapter has since been dissolved, and he has become involved with the Antique Truck Club of America, (ATCA) starting a New England chapter. 
The second floor of Bill’s barn is the toy room. It is also where he hosts meetings with friends and club members on a regular basis. 

This is the first truck that A&L Russo bought for his collection. It is a Surplus Tractor Parts truck made by Ertl. ​

The first two First Gear trucks that A&L Russo bought. He purchased the PIE truck as a box lot at auction. ​

A close-up of the cab of the First Gear semi that A&L Russo customized as an A&L Russo truck. ​