The 74-year-old is a member of Dunedin’s new Radio Controlled Construction and Trucking (RC-CAT) group that builds fully operational scale models of heavy earthmoving equipment that can actually dig, grade, transport and dump dirt, sand, stones and even rocks up to 25kg.
So when he says he plans to use his machines to do the gardening instead of using shovels and rakes, he is serious.
And the best part is, no resource consent is required for his work (also known as playtime).
The remote-controlled machines can be made with 3-D printed parts, or can be bought fully built and ready-to-go, costing anywhere from about $900 up to $6000, depending on the level of detail.
Mr Wright said some of the models were extremely detailed, right down to the steering wheel, indicator switches and flashing lights, and they also had sound cards, which reproduced the sounds of heavy machinery starting up and revving with each movement.
"If you had the right sound card, you could probably even programme the driver to swear as well.
"One of the boys, he’s got a camera in his driver, so that whenever it moves, you can actually physically see it doing it — it sort of gives it more that realistic look when you see it on your tablet or phone."
Contrary to the belief that the club was made up of men who never really got over having their Tonka toys taken away from them, Mr Wright said members were actually people with a keen interest in engineering and model making.
"The guys are from a pretty broad spectrum — they’ve probably been in to some form of modelling at some stage.
"It is becoming more popular, this form of modelling."
Using the machines was relaxing, if not cathartic, he said.
"Just the fascination of seeing them working — they’re not just a static model sitting on a shelf at home."
Mr Wright said his wife was very accepting of his hobby — even of his wish to do up the back garden with the machines, but she had put boundaries in place and he was being very careful not to cross the line.
"I think she will draw the line at making Christmas dinner with my machines.
"In the past, people have actually been known to put the turkey on the back of a truck and use excavators to mash the potatoes — that kind of stuff."
Mr Wright and fellow RC-CAT group members will be at the Otago Model Engineering Society in Dunedin tomorrow afternoon, showing their models to the public in a newly created "quarry area" in the corner of the facility.
