Compare
List two differences between the car and truck. Which differences help carry people, and which help carry a load?
Transport & design
Build the car and work truck
Compare a Model T-style passenger car with a flatbed work truck, then give each a role in your miniature scene.
Created by the Restoring What Was Lost History Workshop
- Experience
- Some folding experience helps
- Estimated build time
- 35–60 minutes per vehicle, plus drying
- Finished size
- Car about 3¾ inches · truck about 5.42 inches long
- Who it’s for
- Grades 4–8 and families
Free educational use. Times are estimates; allow extra time for drying, practice, and younger builders.
Before you build
Set up your worktable.
- Four model pages, printed on medium cardstock
- Scissors and a blunt scoring tool
- Paper glue
- A ruler and plain paper for a practice copy
The build, at a glance
From flat paper to a small piece of history.
Use these stages to plan your work alongside the instructions inside the model PDF.
Keep each vehicle’s parts together
Match its two illustrated sides with the roof strip on the following page. Score the blue folds, then cut around the outlines with the pale tabs still attached.
Shape the connecting strip
Bend the strip to match the side outline. Fold the side tabs behind the pictures so both printed side faces remain outside.
Join the shell
Start at the roof tabs, then work along the windshield and hood. Follow the back, close both ends, and attach the other side in the same way. The PDF illustration shows how the shapes meet.
Let the vehicle stand
The bottom stays open and the printed wheels remain part of the flat sides. Add the optional brace if the sides need support. Allow the shell to dry before adding scenery.
Look closer
How does a vehicle’s job shape its design?
Design a trip
Give each vehicle a job in your model brickyard. What would it carry, and where would it stop?
Check the evidence
Study a period truck brochure. What can it tell you about a vehicle’s design? What further evidence would you need to say a particular brickyard owned one?
A 45-minute learning session
Spend 5 minutes noticing the model, 10 minutes exploring the historical context, 20 minutes on a first building stage or measurement activity, and 10 minutes sharing observations. Plan additional sessions for finishing longer builds. The teacher handout includes a lesson plan and learner pages.
The model and the evidence
Keep the history in view.
The Henry Ford’s collection includes a 1918 Ford truck brochure and places the first Model TT in July 1917. Our car and truck are representative paper scenery. The truck is not a measured Model TT replica, and this activity does not claim that Louisville Fire Brick Works owned these vehicles.
Connect the vehicles to brickmakingKeep building
Add another piece to your scene.
Created by the Restoring What Was Lost History Workshop. You’re welcome to print copies for classrooms, family activities, and community displays.