Patto’s Place; 1/32 NASCAR Truck Vac-Body Builds – 3 of 3 Pairs

#88 - Ideal Door／Menards Truck - Matt Crafton - 2024
#11 - Foster Love／Safelite Truck - Corey Heim - 2025

At first, I wasn’t quite sure how to handle these vac-formed bodies or the Peel & Stick reverse stickers. But as I got used to them, I began to figure out the techniques I needed—and before long, the process itself became something I genuinely enjoyed.

While building the original four trucks, I had full-race broadcasts of the NASCAR Camping World / Gander Outdoors Truck Series from around 2014–22, and the newer Craftsman Truck Series races from 2023 onward, running in the background on YouTube. Even though I only glanced up from time to time while working, it still meant I was passively absorbing more than a decade’s worth of liveries. Naturally, I ended up wanting to make two more trucks featuring the latest schemes.

It doesn’t really make sense, I know—there are only two of us who actually drive these cars, and under the skin, all six trucks are built to the same spec and perform exactly the same. But I still find myself wanting to add more, just because I love the look of the different liveries.

Even on Cup-style bodies, NASCAR schemes are designed purely to please the eye. I’ve always been drawn to the design side of things, and when it comes to trucks—especially ones I can’t easily find at a local hobby shop—they’re even harder to resist. They’re rare and unique, and that just makes me want to build more of them.

I had to think a bit about how to store it once it was done. Vac-formed bodies are way too thin — sure to warp under their own weight over time — so I couldn’t just toss them upside down into a carrying case tray like I do with my RTR cars with sturdier ABS shells. And in the summer, when transporting them by car, the temperature in the trunk can get pretty extreme—so a proper display box was clearly necessary.

Since NASCAR trucks are full-sized—closer to real American pickups than compact race cars—they don’t fit in FLY’s elegant crystal cases. For availability and size, I went with standard Scalextric display boxes. I swapped out the backdrops, customized the vehicle nameplates, and even redesigned the licensed branding sticker areas on the back to match each Truck Series.

It turned out to be a fun side project—creating special display boxes worthy of these special builds.