Dr. Cranky

What I really meant to say is that if I am still alive by tomorrow, I will be here to wish you a happy birthday.

Harry, AARP begins at 50, my friend. You could have been cashing in on all the early bird specials 3 years ago!!! Hey, if I drop dead overnight, have a great birthday!!!

Now, now, fellas, listen this was done in the spirit of fun and because I thought it'd be a neat idea for at least three modelers to have a little bit more spending case for their hobby during the holidays, AND walk away with what I hopes turns out to be a nifty trophy. It was done to have fun. J. Sauber, like I said before, I have seen your work and I believe you build one heck of a model and you can represent it in the best light with your pics. Obviously, you are not really tickled or challenged by this contest, which is fine. What I am saying to you is that perhaps the next one will interest you and you will enter. The 2 dozen or so modelers who will enter this contest are really doing it, I hope, for the challenge and the fun of it. Our judge knows what he is doing and he will make his decision based on all sorts of things about the model, not just the way it was photographed. This contest does two important things: it keeps people building and it keeps what they build at home without having to send it or take it some place else. I hope this helps.

Actually, I think Jairus is making a good arguement here. When I started building models the farthest thing from my mind was being able to take a good photo, but in the process I learned that no matter how good the model looks, I could not do it justice without learning to take better pics . . . Here's an example, as if you needed one, right? Before (a few years ago and one of the first models I built after I got back into the hobby): After (a build from last year)

Harry or Gregg, can either one of you please zap me the ad cost and schedule for next year? Thanks in advance.

Yeah, three months will make a difference. I'm pretty sure this contest will return next year, and I would like to advertise it as soon as this one ends . . .

J--the contest is not really a Xmas contest. Next year it will be called CRANKY'S HOLIDAY CLASSIC, and it will start Oct. 1st. We wanted to get some building excitment going during the last couple of months of the year when things begin to slow down. Sorry about the paint issue, buddy, but the rule is going to stick for this year. Maybe next year we can change it and open it for all kinds of paints.

We decided to have the contest without having to mail in the models because it was better for the models that way, so the next best thing is the best pictures the builders can provide . . . I return to my original point, which is that ten dollars in to stand to win 300 and have heck of a lot of fun is still a small price to pay for the friendships and the fun! We are already getting up into the double digit builder participation, so hopefully other folks might want to join the fun!!!

Hi, Harry and Gregg. If the show is successful this year, we will do it again next year, and I would love to advertise it in the magazine. Can either one of you send me the ad/price schedule. Thank you. We will definitly advertise in MCM, but not in THAT other magazine . . .

Jairus, your problem is you can't resist a good competition. It's in your heart!!! LOL! It's going to be a great one, buddy.

Here's an OPEN LETTER from our contest judge, Mr. Ken Hamilton. I am posting it here in hopes that it will help give those of you on the fence a clear idea of how things are going to be judged. I hope this helps . . . An Open Letter to Contest Participants I’m honored to have been asked to judge Cranky’s Christmas Contest, but let’s face it: contests that offer cash prizes beg controversy on many levels. In order to ensure impartiality, I’m going to conduct the judging of with the following self-imposed restrictions: First, I will NOT view any of the in-progress photos that will be posted on the Forum so I won’t see who is building what. You’ll just have to trust me on that one. Second, when it comes time for the judging, I will ask Virgil to open a Fotki album where all entries, with no names, will be posted. Since each entry will have 6 photos, I’d like to see a Fotki page with all 6-pictures across each row so the entries will be easier for me to observe. Judging will be based solely on photos submitted by each builder, so the higher the quality of the photo, the more accurately the model can be judged. I will assume that, by the time photos are transferred to Fotki, any glitches regarding eligibility (model year, parts used, subject, etc.) will have been addressed by Virgil and each model that makes it into the final Fotki “Judging Album†is, in fact, compliant with all the rules. Third (and here’s the tricky part), be prepared that this one-man judging procedure will be purely subjective. I’m working up some personal ground rules, which may include some sort of points system, to evaluate each model. I’m still working on this one so everybody will be on (…Cliché Alert---à ) a “level playing fieldâ€. Great emphasis will be placed on general construction, believability, sound automotive practices, clean (in a technical sense) building and other boring stuff like that but, in the end, the winner will be the car that – in my opinion – is the best (for whatever reason in my opinion) of the pack. Will this be a perfect system? Probably not. But I want to assure everyone that no favorites will be played and I will make every effort to be as fair and thorough as possible. Somebody is going to win, but more people than that will lose…and for that I apologize in advance. I hope there are no hurt feelings or grumbling comments when this is over, and I’ll do my best to avoid that. Now let’s go have some fun. Ken Hamilton

For those of you who are unsure about how the contest is going to be judged, we just got this OPEN LETTER from the judge, KEN HAMILTON, about how he's going to be performing the judging. Hopefully this will help many of you make up your mind. An Open Letter to Contest Participants I’m honored to have been asked to judge Cranky’s Christmas Contest, but let’s face it: contests that offer cash prizes beg controversy on many levels. In order to ensure impartiality, I’m going to conduct the judging of with the following self-imposed restrictions: First, I will NOT view any of the in-progress photos that will be posted on the Forum so I won’t see who is building what. You’ll just have to trust me on that one. Second, when it comes time for the judging, I will ask Virgil to open a Fotki album where all entries, with no names, will be posted. Since each entry will have 6 photos, I’d like to see a Fotki page with all 6-pictures across each row so the entries will be easier for me to observe. Judging will be based solely on photos submitted by each builder, so the higher the quality of the photo, the more accurately the model can be judged. I will assume that, by the time photos are transferred to Fotki, any glitches regarding eligibility (model year, parts used, subject, etc.) will have been addressed by Virgil and each model that makes it into the final Fotki “Judging Album†is, in fact, compliant with all the rules. Third (and here’s the tricky part), be prepared that this one-man judging procedure will be purely subjective. I’m working up some personal ground rules, which may include some sort of points system, to evaluate each model. I’m still working on this one so everybody will be on (…Cliché Alert---à ) a “level playing fieldâ€. Great emphasis will be placed on general construction, believability, sound automotive practices, clean (in a technical sense) building and other boring stuff like that but, in the end, the winner will be the car that – in my opinion – is the best (for whatever reason in my opinion) of the pack. Will this be a perfect system? Probably not. But I want to assure everyone that no favorites will be played and I will make every effort to be as fair and thorough as possible. Somebody is going to win, but more people than that will lose…and for that I apologize in advance. I hope there are no hurt feelings or grumbling comments when this is over, and I’ll do my best to avoid that. Now let’s go have some fun. Ken Hamilton

Chuck, you'll get a wonderful sense of competition, completion, and a general good feeling that you've added yet another build to your collection. All while trying to get your hands on 300 bucks. Oh, come on, it'll do you good, and you know you stand a much better chance than MOST other CHUCK MOSTS! I just had to do that!!!

Folks, we have about a dozen people already building. Don't miss this opportunity to join in . . . the clock is ticking.

Cool, Rob. I think there are going to be lots of building action going on . . .

The page is fine now . . . I don't know what happened when you logged on!

The excitement continues to build!!!

No, I wouldn't call it that. I would call it split personality disorder!

Harry, I live in a cave . . . and on the weekends I put on the Bat Suit.

FIRST ANNUAL CRANKY'S CHRISTMAS CLASSIC MODEL CONTEST (Nov. 6th - December 31st) Prizes will be announced by Jan. 6th. First Prize = 300 dollars Second Prize = 150 dollars Third Prize = 75 dollars For more information and to participate go to: http://s13.zetaboards.com/B_n_B_Auto_Build.../6653621/1/#new

FIRST ANNUAL CRANKY'S CHRISTMAS CLASSIC MODEL CONTEST (Nov. 6th - December 31st) Prizes will be announced by Jan. 6th. First Prize = 300 dollars Second Prize = 150 dollars Third Prize = 75 dollars For more information and to participate go to: http://s13.zetaboards.com/B_n_B_Auto_Build.../6653621/1/#new

Very nice build. I love it. It's ready for the salts.

Beautiful job! Congratulations. Wow!

Still enjoying every step of the way, Bill. Looking good.