About Jeff Tingle
Mr. Tingle doesn’t have a single fire engine, he has
somewhere around 250 of them—he’s never really counted them to tell you the
truth. With his wife’s approval he keeps them in the living room. That’s right,
the living room (see picture below).
Jeff first became interested in collecting miniatures while stationed in Germany when he was in the Air Force. He became fascinated with the detail that these little trucks had. He started buying a few, then another, which led to his massive and impressive collection. By the time he was back in civilian life and setting up a home, he and his wife discovered that he had roughly 4,000 miniature truck models!
To their credit they didn’t pack them away in
boxes,
shuddered in the attic. They set up the dining room with three walls of solid
models. Jeff’s wife is happy because they all are cleverly housed in cabinets
that Jeff built: the backs are mirror, the front is composed of Lucite
plastic—which makes for a very well organized and stunning display. Plus it is
easy to keep clean. He has his fire truck collection, about 250, all in one
area. Like for most us Jeff is not a really rich guy, so he concentrates on the
models that are affordable.
Jeff won’t admit to any favorites, because he’ll always point out various rigs that are the best ones; usually with a story for each one. Often in the morning Jeff will grab a cup of coffee and sit in his living room—looking at his many models, taking them all in, which makes him smile from ear to ear. Now that’s the way to start your day!
