Growing up on a dairy farm, Leigh Grigg owned a small collection of farm toys. Little did he know that one day, his hobby would turn into a flourishing family business.
Unsurprisingly, he developed a genuine interest in all things mechanical and Leigh eventually became a qualified Mechanical Engineer.
However, the entrepreneur in him sent him searching for a business idea that will one day turn into a sustainable source of income for him and his family. It was 23 years ago in America that he found it.
“I haven’t seen (farm model replicas) in a long, long time and when we were in America in 1990, they were available in a few of the specialist shops over there,” Leigh told us when we visited his stand at the Mallee Machinery Field Days.
He listened to his inner child, bought a few models to bring home with him and attracted quite a bit of attention from family and friends. And the rest is history.
His model business, Collector Models now sources models from all over the world and stocks over 900 replicas of a wide range of machinery, including but not limited to agricultural equipment.
On top of tractors, the business also offers models of ploughs, seed drills, trucks, trailers, steam trains, earthmovers, loaders and even farm animals.
Being the mechanical expert that he is, it comes as no surprise that he built some of the models himself to sell alongside all the other sourced toys.
His 1/16 scaled replica of the iconic Australian-made Chamberlain 9G tractor was remodelled to the T, with absolute fine detailing such as swing drawbars and rotating belt pulleys.
It is evident that he found his true calling in life, smiling from ear to ear as he shows off his impressive collection of models.
Jump onto www.collectormodels.com.au to browse through the company’s offerings.
Who knows, you might even spot your next birthday or Christmas gift among Leigh’s massive collection.
Photography: Irwin Liaw VIDEO: Guy Allen