Who Is Gary Morton?


If you have been involved with any aspect of the diecast model truck hobby you have probably met, or at least heard of, Gary Morton. Gary traces his activities back to the early 1970's when he first attended toys shows in his area and began collecting a few diecast models. At that time, with no computers, internet, or eBay, the "collectors underground" was the primary mode of communication and Gary made many, many friends among his fellow collectors. He was also able to develop valuable contacts within the trucking industry itself, thereby enabling him to acquire several models that were intended for internal use by the fleet. His pleasant demeanor and polite attitude has been one of his greatest assets when asking company officials for a special favor. It was through these many varied connections that he was able to amass his collection. This Southern Gentleman (he lives in a small town in North Carolina) began collecting Tonkin Replicas in the early 1980s, when he heard that we would be making a replica of the C7. Next, he added the Conway and the Carolina Freight Carrier models, carriers that were real trucking companies, his primary interest. Since then he has amassed a collection that includes almost all of the many models ever produced by Tonkin Replicas. Gary also collects the PEM models'; starting in the 1990's when they were first introduced by Hartoy. His collection continues to grow with the many replicas now being made by Tonkin Replicas under the PEM brand.