♪♪ Rick Klovski: I've always been constructive, always good with my hands and my mind.

>> Rick Klovski is a former patrol deputy, currently a truck parts salesman and is an artist whose work is increasingly in demand.

Rick creates model trucks, trains, tractors and more out of wood.

Rick: But, I've been dinkin' around, making things, sittin' around at home all my life.

Started as a youngster, makin' model cars in those kits that you could buy, "glue Part A to groove Part B, stick it there".

Now I've regressed back to what I was doing before (laugh), only out of wood.

>> Rick's new creative outlet began when customers would come into his workplace looking for model trucks, something that is not sold there.

Rick: And I told this one lady, "I'll make you one."

I came home and made her a toy truck, about this big, and brought it in for her grandson.

And she was amazed.

And that's pretty much how I got started.

♪♪ (Tool Sounds) Rick: The basic three woods I use are maple, which is your common table furniture wood, walnut which is pretty much everything in life, walnut tables and coffee tables.

But I've experimented into cherry, a lot of cherry wood which is a little bit lighter than this.

You'd be surprised, like the rainbows of colors that wood grows.

You don't have to paint them, and you don't have to stain them.

You hit them with lacquer and they just pop, like they were stained.

And people are amazed at some of these colors, like this orange here.

"How did you stain that?

", well I didn't stain it.

It grows orange.

I sit here and I imagine what color goes with what color and what brings out the accent in the wood.

Even though it's about the truck, it's about showing off what wood is.

When you use paint, you lose what wood is all about.

You lose the grain, and the way it grows and what-not.

You're just covering it up.

Now, granted you see red trucks on the road.

You see blue trucks on the road.

But in reality, you have to imagine that that's whatever color the customer wants, whatever the person wanted.

This would not fly.

They would get bored with it.

"I got a blue truck sitting on the shelf."

But, when people look at this they look at the grain.

They look at how this come out, and cut.

They look at the layers.

They look how the grain flows.

They look how the grain flows from the front to the back.

You lose that when you paint it.

♪♪ (Tool Sounds) Rick: These trucks have a lot of little detail.

There are sleeper windows, just the windows on the sleeper, fuel tanks.

But, I don't stop there.

We have a fifth wheel.

We have a toolbox back here that's made out of paduka, which is a purple wood that grows purple, just like you see it.

That's not stained or painted.

That's the color of that wood and it pops when hit it with the lacquer.

But I take it one more step, right down to... turn signals; yellow on the front, orange on the back.

Mirrors, this is representing chrome, maple's representing the mirror.

Once you get into the bottom of these trucks, I take it a little bit farther.

We have an actual Kenworth suspension here, made out of, that look like springs.

These are airbags.

These are airbags for suspension on trucks.

You see them driving down the freeway.

You've got drive lines, transmission, floating axles.

The wheels do turn.

You have axle stops.

I mean, there's no end to what you can do.

You just keep going.

It's not just about the outside.

Underneath it's finished, too.

Because, people that buy these, drive these for a living, and they know what they look like.

♪♪ Rick: I can't tell you the comments I've gotten from people who just, they're so excited they order stuff from me, left and right.

I'm backlogged.

I can't keep up with it.

You don't go to the toy store and buy this.

It's hand crafted.

(LAUGH) >> Rick knows he can charge several hundred dollars for each of his hand crafted models.

But in some cases if a person really wants it and can't afford the actual price, Rick willing to sell for less.

Rick: I'm told I should raise my prices, and I should sell them for more.

But, I can't.

My heart tells me I can't do it, right now.

I'm trying to make people happy.

It makes me happy to see my piece of wood on their fireplace.

Being as it's a hobby, I'm OK with it.

It's really not a talent.

I can tell you that.

Anybody could do it if you just apply yourself.

Sit and have imagination; practice, practice and practice.

I've thrown a lot of good wood in my fireplace because I wasn't happy with it until it's perfected, my vision.

If I'm not in this shop making sawdust, I'm really not happy anymore.

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