TEXT BY: Chris Hunter PHOTOS: Martin Aveyard
fascination with tiny objects is hardwired into the human brain. It’s a psychological pull that has captivated us for centuries, because there’s something almost magical about miniscule replicas of the world around us.
It’s always been that way: the ancient Egyptians had tiny Shabti figurines, the Chinese and Japanese were charmed by bonsai trees, and the Europeans loved their doll houses and train sets.
In the modern era, this passion takes the form of scale model cars, and few do it better than Martin Aveyard. The England-born craftsman, who now lives in Canada, has created a cult following around his Instagram account Stoke Models that is redefining scale models. Over 180,000 followers pore over images of his creations, and it’s not hard to see why.
Aveyard is an advertising creative director with a restored 1972 Triumph Spitfire convertible in his garage. When he’s not in the office, he creates and photographs incredibly detailed 1/24 models and, as you can see from the images here, they’re virtually indistinguishable from the real thing. (Before you ask, his models are not for sale.)
The Stoke Models garage is eclectic: it houses everything from a classic ’63 Corvette® to a custom Volvo® 850 wagon to a Ford® hotrod. And once the vehicles are built, Aveyard drops them into equally realistic dioramas for the benefit of his camera.
After he finished working his magic on the vintage Scout II™ truck we’re looking at here, we persuaded him to reveal a little about his process and passions.
“I saw the new Scout trucks when they came out and was impressed by the details in the prototypes. Lots of nice touches.”
“I keep a folder of inspiration that fuels my upcoming build ideas,” he says. “Sometimes it’s a complete car and other times it can just be a cool wheel or paint livery. I’ll also put aside images of architecture and spaceships if the aesthetic appeals to me.”
All Stoke models begin life as off-the-shelf plastic kits. Aveyard then modifies those bodies and adds 3D-printed parts, but not all kits are up to scratch.
“I tend to be picky about the kits I use,” he says. “As long as the proportions and shapes are right, I can make them look real. Some kits, however, are just too far off—and will always look too ‘toy-like’.”
The 3D printing work can range from mild to wild. Aveyard often designs and prints entire wheels—or he’ll buy an existing digital file from a 3D marketplace such as Cults.
“For the more intense builds—like the Volvo wagon—I’ll photograph the body from the side, front, top, and back and load those into Blender [open-source 3D computer graphics software].
The printer that Aveyard uses can print at a wafer-thin layer height of just 0.01mm—equivalent to the tiniest whisper of paint. “This makes the parts very smooth, and I can usually clean up any visible layer lines with a coat of surfacer and a light sanding.”
Once the construction is finished, it’s time to get out the airbrush—the only way to get a truly realistic finish. “I use lacquer paint for everything and have developed a pretty good process for the shiny paint jobs,” he says. “Base coat, clear coat, wet sand, and polish.”
“The matte and weathered finishes are fun—they offer more freedom. The cyberpunk style builds look better with a bit of wear and decay.”
Aveyard’s graphic design background comes in handy when conjuring up liveries. He often draws up his own paint schemes and then uses a Cricut® vinyl cutter to finesse masking tape for the larger graphics. Sometimes, he’ll then add leftover decals from other kits or apply custom decals of his own design.
Perfection is never easy though, especially when the bar is set so high. “The hardest part of kit building is fixing my mistakes,” he admits. “My standards have gone up over time, as I photograph the models from closer angles.”
His favorite part of the model building? “That would be final assembly. They feel like little pieces of jewelry on my desk, especially something like the E-Type with the shiny paint and all the chrome details.”
And the worst part? “The window trim masking. You spend two hours with masking tape for the rubber window surrounds and then spray it in about two minutes.”
Despite living in England, Aveyard knows the Scout brand. “I’ve been familiar with Scout vehicles for quite a while. They were never common when I was growing up, but I remember them being around. My perceptions were always that of a solid work truck, nothing fancy but capable.”
It’s this all-round capability that drives the design direction of the latest Stoke model. It’s clear that Aveyard is a fan of the chunky, high-riding restomods built by New Legend 4×4—the Iowa company founded by Baja racer Sean Barber.
He’s also a fan of the new truck concepts being readied for production.
“I saw the new Scout trucks when they came out and was impressed by the details in the prototypes. Lots of nice touches.”
“A lot of concepts and modified cars can feel almost over-designed these days—as if every part is screaming ‘look at me’. But I felt like the details on the new Scout didn’t overpower the overall impression.”
Aveyard’s latest model is a testament to his skill in capturing the soul of legendary vehicles. By breathing life into this tiny truck, he’s connected past and present, allowing a new generation to appreciate the Scout brand’s iconic status. And if you look closely, you’ll notice some contemporary details snuck into his new creation.
Proof indeed that it’s the little details that often make the biggest impact.
Follow Stoke Models on Instagram.
Scout and Scout II are registered trademarks or trademarks of Scout Motors Inc. The logos and trademarks displayed in this article are the property of their respective owners. Their inclusion is for informational purposes only and does not imply any endorsement or partnership with Scout Motors Inc.
