Special feature: Metal Models
A hobby quickly turned into a highly sought-after business for one young artist, turning metal into prized pieces of art
Now before we start, let’s make one thing perfectly clear: this is not an infomercial. It’s not a paid write-up to drum up business and there will be no buy one, get two offers being made.
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Name a more iconic duo…we’ll wait. Stacks for days! |
The reason for that is actually because Mitchell Agate at Metal Models is already flat out with more than six months of orders on his books. The young artist is already working 12 hours a day, six days a week just to keep up.
What this is, is an introduction to the amazing artwork coming out of a small Gatton workshop, artwork that’s being sent to countries from NZ to Canada, the US to Scotland; artwork that people are happily lining up and waiting months for.
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We just love the wheels on Mitchell’s truck builds |
All from a mad car fanatic with incredible welding skills and who, up until a few years ago, couldn’t pick a Scania from a Skoda.
So, let me introduce the man behind the welders’ mask: Mitchell Agate. Mitchell’s dad runs Gonzos Racing Pipes, a world-renowned company when it comes to fabricating all things race cars.
Nuts and bolts
Right from a young age, his dad’s engineering passion rubbed off on Mitchell and upon leaving school, he followed in his father’s footsteps when it came to fabricating and welding, first working alongside him in his workshop before branching out to further diversify his skills with Kennedy Welding in Brisbane. Eventually, he returned to assist his father at his Gatton workshop.
While his days were spent with commercial builds and repairs, Mitchell had transformed his basement so when he ‘knocked off’, he could express his more creative side and further develop his welding skills by designing artwork.
The engineering skills were a lesson from his father, the artistic skills though, Mitchell admits, came from his mum Sue. It was in her basement that he first started to expand his welding beyond the practical.
The pieces he was creating turned out to be very popular with friends and friends of friends and he found himself a bit of a market. His first automotive piece was actually a 1:10 scale tube chassis Pro Stock car.
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The attention to detail on trucks like this Kenworth is astonishing; this belongs in a gallery. Or, better yet, a man cave!
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With his artwork selling, his first car done and like all of us, a hankering to earn a few extra dollars, Mitchell spoke to his dad about the idea of trying to build a truck and if it would sell.
That first truck was based off a Peterbilt and after several people came through the workshop and to quote Mitchell "were ‘tripping out’ on it" he decided to throw it up on a Facebook page and see if it would sell.
Less than 30 minutes: that’s all it took for the sale and all it took to change Mitchell’s after-work hobby into a now highly sought-after business. With the sale of the first truck, Mitchell tried again.
Another 30-odd hours of work produced a second truck and again it was snapped up on social media. From there, Metal Models took off. Mitchell again posted on social media offering to build customised replicas and seriously, the poor boy couldn’t even get his first beer cracked before enquiries flooded in.
Growing fan base
It’s now been a couple of years and the interest keeps growing. Mitchell has had orders from seven different countries, with the US making up nearly 40% of his orders, despite the fact it’s almost cheaper to buy an actual ticket to America than it’s to post something there.
The Metal Models are not lightweight; even moving them around for me to take photos would have had Health and Safety requiring a two-man team and a forklift.
A labour of love
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Metal the canvas, welding machine the paintbrush—what can’t Mitchell do?
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He has custom built everything from harvesters to forklifts, stretched-out Petes to truck and dog UDs. Every project is one of a kind, based on the client’s photos. There’s no mass production line here. Like me, most people have an attitude of ‘I want it and I want it now!’ Fortunately, those requesting a Metal Model are more than happy to join the six-month (and growing) waiting list.
With each build being different, the time Mitchell puts in is incredible. A bulbar alone can involve three to four hours’ worth of work. A truck in its entirety can take in excess of 30 hours and that’s just the welding. That doesn’t include the time Mitchell has to spend looking at photos and working out exactly how he’s going to go about it.
Enough waffling from me; check out the photos as they demonstrate the extent of Mitchell’s skills. If you’re keen on getting your truck replicated as a Metal Model, then you’ll have to be prepared to wait. Good things do take time.
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