This is a great topic, like others have said it's tough to narrow the names down to three. This three are the ones who inspire me any time I see one of their builds. The names will show how long I have been in this hobby, about 40 years. Here they are, the order is only by who came before the others:
Don Emmons, the first I remember to make realistic builds and kit-bashing.
Hank Borger, for his imagination and stories behind the builds.
Tim Boyd, for his quantity and quality, and bringing models to mainstream publishing (Street Rodder)
I still read old magazine articles of theirs and it never fails to get the creative juices flowing!
Thanks for letting me voice my opinion.
Lance