One of the driving factors in our decision to produce the D8 Twin from brass in precision 1:24 scale was the influence of our good friends, Peterson Cat®. When Duane Doyle, Jr. of Peterson Cat came to us and asked for a model of this unique and innovative machine built by his great uncle Buster Peterson, the wheels began turning here. With the assistance of Eileen Grafton, Peterson Cat historian, and Eric Orlemann, author and recognized Caterpillar historian, the story behind these machines were sorted out. Over the years the history and facts had become a little clouded, not to mention that these clouded stories had been repeated enough times that they seemed to be factual.
With model #01/45 of the D8 Twin in hand, as well as one of our DD9G models, Classic Construction Models sales manager Gary Peterson recently made the quick trip out to Peterson Cat to meet up with Duane Doyle Sr. and Jr. and show off the newly arrived model. While on site, we had the chance to head out to the full-size D8 Twin replica which was built to commemorate the engineering accomplishment for the company’s 80th anniversary.
Following in the footsteps of his great uncle, Duane Doyle Jr. is still innovating at Peterson Cat. We had the opportunity to head out to the yard to see the Peterson Cat TSK, which is a Track Skidder project that was commissioned and led by Duane Doyle Jr. It seemed fitting to photograph Doyle Jr. with the scale model of Buster’s DD9G in front of his own project along with Duane Doyle Sr. and Gary.
Take a look at the pictures below to see more from our recent visit. Photos courtesy of Peterson Cat.
