Coal Truck

Built for the National Mining Museum, Scotland, the aim of this project was to build a portable display case that looked like a coal truck - it should move easily in and out of care homes by one person only. It should house a number of things during transport and then be able to open up and be used as a display case inside. We were asked to make it look like a mining cart that is 'full' during transport with realistic coal - it is used on a project that aims to bring back memories of mining to patients with dementia.

Designing the working part of it was the first step and this was sketched so that the client could view see how it would work in all its different assembly combinations. We took care to ensure that the case was as small as it could be (for portability reasons) whilst also being robust and big enough to house the larger objects. The case was assembled and painted before fitting in the felt and finally fitting the plastic for the case. The final item works well, and with its hidden castors, it moves easily between venues.

Read more about this project in our case studies