Jairus

Not sure what settings your camera has since all are different. Gregg always told me to shoot at the highest setting the camera has. My camera settings do not say what the pixel sizes are but rates them as SQ2, SQ1, HQ, SHQ, and TIFF. I shoot at SHQ and never had a problem. At the TIFF level I can only get 10 pictures on the card they are sooooo huge it takes a minute to load to my computer! At SHQ for my old Olympus C-4000, the resolution can be reduced to 6"x8" at 300dpi which for printing purposes is spot on. G has never complained...

Wow, very nicely done!

Now you know my dilemma Donald... Nice layout Keith, looks like a lot of fun! Now and some grass and trees! Huh, huh, huh?

David, I wrote the following and published it in MCM a few years ago. The information was intended for those entering at GSL but most of it still holds true for any model contest. Enjoy and I think it answers most of your questions. 10 Secrets for winning at GSLMCC in 2009 By Jairus Watson “The winner is not so much determined by who shows up but rather by who doesn’t!†The Greater Salt Lake Model Car Contest is indeed one of the most prestigious gatherings of automotive modelers on this planet to date. Builders from all over the world travel to or send their creations to Salt Lake City, Utah in order to compete with acknowledgeable the best builders on the planet. Winning an award or simply placing in a class is a big deal and a worthy aspiration for all readers of Model Cars Magazine. But... what does it take to win an award or even take home a class win? A gentleman who accompanied me on the drive home after the 2003 show asked me this and the question has nagged me enough to put this information together. You see, I have won a few class awards a couple of master’s awards at GSL including Best of Show in 1986. But… even more important than that, I have also had the huge honor of being present while the judging takes place and overheard a tiny bit of the conversation that goes on during judging at every show since 1999. So I believe I just might have a unique viewpoint in order to suggest ways to make your models more competitive in 2009! Build a better mousetrap - …â€and they will comeâ€, or so the saying goes. What this means to you is that if the model is cool, different or unusual then by word of mouth everyone in the contest hall will know about it. There are two reasons any car gets an award and the first is because it’s built cleanly, painted sharply and detailed realistically. You might think that this is a no brainer but a lot of builders think that this is all that is needed. On the other hand, just because you took an award in a regional show does not mean your going to get anything at GSL. The guys who compete at GSL are the “best of the best†for a darned good reason! The second reason a car might receive an award is not so obvious and that is because it is looked at by the judges and the people at the show. The judge’s eyes do not examine every car on the table! There is just not enough time to do that and this is the sorry truth. However, by word of mouth your model will get looked at, judged and rated against the other cars on the table if it catches people’s eyes FIRST! Every time I have attended GSL more than one person has approached me asking if I saw this car or that truck! If word has spread about a particular car then you can be sure that the judges have heard about it as well. For example in 2001 Roger Yu entered a fantastic multimedia Diorama that featured a Future Formula 1 Pit garage. From the very moment that Roger set it down on the table word spread around the contest room and the expectation was that this was definitely in the running for Best of Show. You can be sure that the judges gave that one a good looking over… Pick your class – Best of Show winners in the past have come out of a wide range of classes registered at GSL so there is really no “Sweet Spot†class where Best of Show is chosen. However the Street rod class has been the host of 7 Best of Show winners and that is not something to take lightly! The Street Rod class has also been one of the most hotly contested classes and the most populated of all classes during most of the GSL contests since 1979. This is also true to a lesser degree of the Custom class, generally because of the artistic license allowed in these classes. Free form creativity is the norm here and many of the very best model builders participate in Street Rod and Custom classes so be warned if you plan to enter onto those hallowed grounds in ‘09! On the other hand, if you are looking for a relatively easy class win then look to enter in something a little less populated like Motorcycle, Light Commercial or Replica Class. Another area not generally concentrated on by other competitors is the Klingon cruiser award, the Ed Roth/Ricky Couch memorial award or one of the group/common kit classes. Generally those awards are not so competitive and easier to attain if a builder puts his/her mind to it. Something to note is that the Light Commercial and Heavy Commercial classes have yet to host a Best of Show win. This seems strange to me due to the essentially higher level of details, possibility for scratch building and weathering possible on trucks found in these two classes. Maybe this will change in 2009? Paint it red – Well, not actually… but it should be sharp and brightly colored in order to be noticed and getting noticed is half the battle as I mentioned before. Only three Best of Show winners were painted Red by the way. A dark green Corvette with no graphics or a Lowrider in white pearl on the other hand, just might be over-looked by everyone in the room unless there is something there to grab the viewer. Remember you are competing against the other cars on the table so create something that looks “Electricâ€! As far as paint quality goes there are quite a few awards given for those builders who can paint well and they are the Masters award for best paint and the Model Cars Magazine award for best use of color. There is also the Box plus class where paint is about the only variable (other than clean building style) available to the builder and Best in Class almost ALWAYS features a glass smooth paintjob. Dare to be different – Build something different and make it unique. A 1969 Camaro is going to get lost on the table when it is in a sea of other Camaros and Muscle cars regardless of the detailing and work that went into building it. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t build basic Camaros, Mustangs or whatever… but make it different somehow if you do by creating a long lost variety, a show car or a specialty vehicle not available in kit form. The Box Plus class is for “out of the box†models… so why build a nice car out of the box and only add just a few details like plug wires? All you are doing is moving your car into a more competitive class that will be populated by entries with waaaaayyyy more detailing…. Thus the term “your out’a your class babyâ€! Location, location, location – One way to get your car noticed is so obvious that many guys forget to do this and that is to put your car on the edge of the table. YES Really! Not so close that it is in peril of falling off of course but close enough for everyone to see it including those in wheel chairs. If the car is in the middle of the table, the viewer cannot get close enough to see all the little details you worked 2 winters to accomplish. Also a part of location is entering in multiple classes! If you like to build only small scale or only Muscle Cars… you may only end up only competing against yourself. What fun is that? My suggestion is to spread it around and leave the lesser cars at home as they are only going to end up watering the class down and making it harder for the judges to see your best work! There are NO awards given for the most entries in one class so why do so many modelers try to win it I wonder… Also connected with location is the use of a display stand. A stand can contribute greatly to the wow factor… but it can also make it look gaudy or too flashy if done wrong. Rotating stands are new but there again the effect can be lost if the stand detracts from the model. Rule of thumb is a simple stand with a slight backdrop will aid the realism and focus factor for the viewers eyes. Too big a stand and you’ll be moved to diorama… So far no diorama has EVER won Best in Show…. although Ken Hamilton’s “Home Sweet Home†came very close in 2005! The inner workings – This arena was popularized by the late Dave Shuklis and starting with GSL – V (1984), became a separate master award for working scale features. Including but not exclusive to: electric lights, opening doors/hood/truck, rolling down windows, working throttle linkage, door/hood/trunk latches, folding tops…. Etc. Mr. Shuklis was a fan of working features and many builders have accomplished better and more realistically features since, but Dave was the first and a true pioneer. Working features if well done can give your car a “class win†faster than a speeding bullet! Quite often I have heard the judges mention how fun it was playing with the door latches or watching how the hood popped open when the release was actuated. Working features can be your greatest asset when shooting for a class win. Or you can go whole hog and shoot for the Shuklis award, as it usually is another one of those masters awards that is not highly sought after for some reason and generally given to someone with the most working features regardless of the quality of everything else. Cutting open doors and the trunk lid on a model is a guarantee that the car is sure to be noticed. BUT… you HAVE to include correctly folding hinges, a way to keep the door/hood/panel closed and the correct under pinnings once the door is opened. In the case of car doors, the doorjamb is generally uniquely shaped to the particular car you are replicating so get it right or don’t do it at all! You can also make the mistake that just because the convertible top folds down that your going to win your class but if the fabric doesn’t fold correctly or looks out of scale when down then you have not improved the model and in some cases might have made it worse... My suggestion, if you have never done this before, is to start with something simple like a set of hood hinges. Nothing is more frustrating for a judge than to turn over a nicely built model to have a look at the bottom only to have the hood FALL OFF because the builder failed to hinge it! Hinging a hood is the bare minimum any builder should consider before entering it in GSL competition!!!! Opening doors on a small coupe can really add to the viewer’s pleasure by being able to see the work accomplished on a well-detailed interior, however, this is something that’s probably not necessary with a convertible and can usually make such a car less sturdy as well. Documentation – Never assume that the judge(s) in this or any contest knows intimately the base model kit you started with. If you built a Revell big “T†kit, added valve cover gaskets and made the shift linkage work then you had better well tell them! Chances are the judges have not built that particular car and may assume that these details were present in the first place. Way back in 1986 we were instructed to only provide information on 3 x 5†cards unless it was entered in Factory Stock class… however I have seen many entries of late complete with spiral notebooks documenting every tiny modification. And, amazingly the judges actually read through all that ######! I am not suggesting such overdone reference materials accompany every car, but a small place card suggesting where the judges should look and what changes or details you added to the model be the very minimum of documentation provided. Scratch the surface – One truism nearly all the Best of Show winning cars during the last 28 years have in common is scratchbuilding. In most of the cases large amounts of parts, pieces and bits were created or formed from raw materials such as aluminum, wood, plastic, steel and brass. Some of the cars featured cast metal parts such as those two built by Augie or carved aluminum like the engine in John MacGowan’s ’37 Woody. This is a trend that began back in the 80’s by replacing plastic rods with steel and carving bodies built up from sheet plastic or built up from wood. But the scratchbuilding wave crested in 2001 – 2005 when two of the top models built by Tom Kirn and Dave Cummings were completely constructed from scratch! They contained no kit pieces at all! A more reasonable approach to this craziness is demonstrated by the current Best of Show winner by Mark D Jones where he simply replaced many of the kit pieces with beautifully carved, bent and turned aluminum bits which vastly improved an already nicely detailed kit into one of the most extremely realistic model cars this author has ever see! Of course, the fact that these three aforementioned models were larger scale should not go unnoticed. My considered opinion is that you as the builder do not need to buy out a whole K&S rack for your next project but simply keep in mind that a nice model built out of the box will probably never win as long as others are taking up the file and lathe. It is the builders who think “out of the box†that is always going to take home that coveted trophy so get creative! The Illusionist – Many builders think that every wire, nut and bolt needs to be added to win awards but… if you actually put every thing possible in a scale representation of your actual 1:1 ride then more than half the wires and such would be missed by the eye. A modeler only needs to give the illusion that everything is present. Take an alternator for instance. Most alternators have two wires running into the wiring loom. If the accessory is highly visible by being mounted high in the engine compartment then the wiring is necessary and should be added. But if the alternator is located low, maybe even under the air-conditioning compressor, then leave it out. Nobody is going to check to see if you wired the alternator. Only once have I heard of two cars being sooooo close in detailing and build quality that the judges gave one the nod just because firing order of the sparkplugs was correct. That is super rare and the fact that the judges knew the correct firing order I figure is a 1 in 1000 chance. Most likely, a modeler who makes the spark plug wires simply LOOK like they are in the right order is enough. A realistic goal – Does it look real or cartoon like? Realism is of course in the eye of the beholder. What looks real to you is based on your point of reference and may not be so to someone else… but since we are trying to build a winner at GSL then your subject has got to be realistic enough to the judges eye to be believable. Of course the realism ranges widely depending upon which class the model is entered so keeping the subject within the real world is always a good idea. Fantasy models are cool but generally do better at IPMS contests. If you are building a Custom then keep it in the general parameters of the custom world else you might end up with the Klingon Cruiser Award (not such a bad thing after all). If you are building a Street Rod then try not mixing your “metaphorsâ€â€¦ which is a metaphor for don’t put nostalgic wire wheels on a car that features an engine capable of generating 500 hp! If you are building a racecar then be sure that it contains all the safety equipment required for the period the car was raced. You can be sure that if you don’t all things being equal with the car next to it… the judges will call in a racing expert. So be warned. Reading this article will not guarantee your car a win, nor will implementing many or all of these suggestions. Ultimately it comes down to building quality more than your choice of subject matter and making sure that your model gets noticed. You can’t win if it’s not on the table and you won’t win if someone better shows up, because as the adage goes: “There is always a bigger fish!†Good luck!

Thank you Matthew but I think you have me beat with this one. That is such a great picture that if you went in and could blur the prop blades you would fool everyone!

The year was 1945. The 27th of April to be exact, the sun was beginning to set once again over the French countryside. Benito Mussolini had been captured by Italian partisans that day and would be hung the very next. As the sun settled on the horizon a young pilot, Captain Hans Klose throttled back the engine on his shot up fighter in a vain attempt to conserve fuel. The pilot was now winging his way over the French countryside at near treetop level trying to make it back to base. He had accomplished two succesful sortie’s earlier that day defending the fatherland against the seemingly unceasing waves of American bombers, but now after the latest battle, found himself too far from home to return. His craft had received a number of well placed hits by the Americans and precious fuel was leaking fast from the machines wing tanks. Although his person was not wounded, the aircrafts magazines were empty and he knew he could not survive another dog fight while the lifeblood of the craft leaked to the winds. The pilot quickly arrived at the realization that the only way for personal survive was to set the damaged fighter down as close to Germany as possible. A glimmer of hope survived that he could walk, or better yet steal a car, and make his way home to Germany. A smooth open field presented itself ahead the spinning propeller so Hans started his descent. The stricken FW 190A bounced only once on the hard packed grassy field before settling down to a smooth roll and taxied up next to a low outbuilding near what looked like a small farmhouse. Hans pulled the throttle back to idle and switched off the magnetos... hardly needing to do so as the engine had already begun sputtering. He parked the plane as close to the out building as possible and away from the road and the farmhouse. The pilot slid back the canopy, removed himself from the cockpit for the last time taking maps, a jacket, a pistol and a picture of his wife Petra who waited patiently back home. As Captain Klose began to walk away, he glanced back one more time admiring his still proud fighting machine as it stood ticking quietly in the late afternoon sunlight, the engine slowly cooling. While sparrows flitted from tree to tree, the war at once seemed far away regardless of the bombers contrails that laced the blue sky above. Hans pulled a small flask from his kit, removed the cap, held it high in a salute to the proud machine and drunk deeply. The cap to the flask was replaced and he headed for the nearest country road, then turned north toward Germany and home. Silently hoping to avoid an errant French farmer's sharp pitchfork during the trek. 4 months later the U.S. Army arrived at the farm of Hervé Thomas with the express purpose of decommissioning the now abandon fighter. The guns were removed and a few pictures taken along with noting the aircrafts serial numbers for historical record. Hervé considered the aircraft to be a nuisance at first… but his sheep liked sleeping in the shadow of the wings so he figured he could let it be for now. Years passed while the tires rotted to the ground while mice lived in the fuselage. Farmer Thomas tossed a tarp over the cowl thinking that the powerful engine might be worth something someday while wondering why his cat seemed to be so interested in the grounded aircraft. Every surviving Warbird on this planet. be it in private ownership or a museum somewhere, owes its life to many many people down the years. Each has a story to tell and the tiny number of surviving German Focke-Wolf fighters that remain can be counted on slightly more than one hand. However it could happen! The above story is fiction of course but as my story goes... the aircraft was eventually sold and shipped to America where it began an annual campaign at Reno Air Races. You see, the German FW 190 contained a mighty BMW 14 cylinder turbo supercharged radial engine capable of producing between 1560 and 2000 bhp. Just imagine what it could do today with modern fuel management technology? The engine was originally built under license to Pratt & Whitney beginning in the 30's, the Germans made many innovative improvements culminating in a beautiful powerplant! A parallel universe if you will. I unfortunately did not get the model finished before the weather changed so these pictures were taken outside under a very cloudy and overcast sky. The pictures were shot against a blue backdrop, which I then replaced with swiped pictures from Google Images. The electric motor for spinning the propeller worked great and can spin at over 10,000 rpm without the prop running on 13 volts. With the prop a bit slower… but even so the darned camera still managed to stop the prop. So I simply left the blades off and applied a touch of photoshop. So sue me, at least its done before the deadline!

Mine is ready to shoot pictures of but yesterdays weather was not quite right. Today will be BEAUTIFUL so hoping to get some nice shots and post them.

Now THAT is true scratchbuilding and I like it!

Looking VERY good!

Well I 99% LIKE IT! (Like it, I Love it!) Still waiting by the mailbox for that bottle of hooch...

Marcos, the only critique I have on the interior is the fact that the seat belt buckles look a little thin. Not your fault but is it possible to add more material to them to make'm more hefty? Other than that... the rest of the darned thing is so perfect I had to look twice! Excellent job so far. Was sorting through my magazines trying to put a mess to order and came across a box of 1960's Road & Tracks with a cover you might find interesting. This is before the Mura was actually released and this engine debuted in 350 GTB as a longitudinal front engine/rear drive 2 place GT. If you are interested... I have a '66 Car & Driver with some nice pictures of a Mura in it. I can post them too?

Done! I talked to Richard Brown, a solid member of Scale Auto Builders Assoc. Inc in Portland, Or who works at one of the Boys and Girls clubs there. He has sponsored many build seminars with the kids in in the poorer section of Portland and I have known him for years. I trust he will know what to do and is the best person to talk with Dean. They will come to an agreement... and strangely enough, Richard knows Dean and his business. It was kismet that they should get together eventually. Please return to your regularly scheduled building program.

Very nice Wayne! Just post your pictures here for now. Eventually we want to have a voting thread started and either link the images or re-post them in that thread. Funny that you would use an old plaque like that. I have done the same thing for other ... ah, uses such as that.

Hmmmm, noted. Not really retro based on old designs but definitely an improvement!

Well, like it or not it is and has been Glenn's logo since before you or I were born. When dealing with the oldest existing Hot Rod Shop in the U.S. you don't try to change things too much.

The shirts are not printed yet. The printer has to get back from his Anniversary vacation to Las Vegas. Since then the two shirts have gone through some slight adjustments and changes. So, that said I still need opinions because nothing is set in stone yet. The printer suggested we do one of the images with a "machine wash" filter. This creates cracks and voids in the image much like a t-shirt would after being washed a bunch of times. BUT, the shirts are brand new American Made... it's just the image that looks old. I am not yet sold on the idea but think it does have credence when designing shirts that are made to look vintage. This one might be printed with the filter in place... and yet again, we might do a test run both ways and see which sells better. Or I could wait and do the 3rd or 4th image that way. At any rate this is the update so far. Logo #1 with filter. The backs will feature a neat trick that Pat Redmond made me aware of, that of printed louvers. Cool huh? The second design has gotten some letter spacing corrected and a neat little pinstripe detail added to the Phaetons rear panel. Once again, I am not selling these shirts on this forum! When they are available for purchase I will simply post where and who to contact. My purpose on this and other forums is simply to get your opinions on what YOU guys think is cool. Jim, these are being sold to a way wider market place and I really do appreciate your opinion. No worries.

It was just another variant of the model "T" Henry (or FoMoCo) came up with. Relatively as expensive as any other model. Judging from the body shape, a retro design harkening back to the days of the expensive carriage or commercial stagecoach in my opinion. Henry tried many different body styles and most were abandon after a few years of production. Roadster pickup, Convertible B-400 and Phaeton for example. Henry was very "cheap" and might have introduced the model with the thought that with only two doors... it cost less to produce. It may have initially been marketed to the more "affluent", but ultimately was only produced 1915 to 1922 or 23. As 1922 drew to a close, a $725 four-door sedan -- which Ford impishly dubbed a "Fordor" -- was added to the Model T roster. It was not well publicized in the beginning, but internally dealers were instructed to "push" the existing center-door sedan, with its two doors that opened into the rear compartment, requiring the driver and front passenger to squeeze through between the two individual front seats in order to be seated. (It seems safe to presume that the frugal Henry Ford was intent upon using up remaining stocks of the older bodies.)

Sunday night and Jairus is shooting color on his FW190 Sport plane, drinking beer and listening to ROCK AND ROLL!!!

Make your own! Not that difficult being mostly flat on both sides with a gentle curve and one little fin. I made these with basswood and mahogany. Took one evening to glue together and the next to sand. Then fiberglass with no cloth. More wet sanding and paint or clearcoat. Darned things are as close to the real article as you can get and I did it in just a few hours! Whole build shown here. (Why do I get the feeling nobody reads my posts?)

Salem SPEED Shop and "Rat Hole Customs" asked me to come up with a few t-shirt designs. I have two done and wanted your guys opinions. Would you wear one? Would you buy one? This one will be printed in two colors on either white or black shirt. This one will be printed in three colors on black only. Not sure if I am ready to leave this one alone yet... but both shirts will be sold via the many forums I frequent and eventually by "Rat Hole Customs" web site. (When Mark gets it set up, but we are printing NOW) Estimated cost will be about $19.00 each plus shipping. But that could change.

Pretty nice pictures there Mark. Pro-Track wheels? What's the chassis like? Motor? Class?

Nice stance on that Camaro! I need to build one of these...

Well, Harry I feel it filters out the rubbish what most of the Internet has become sadly. You call it fun, I call it needless distraction... Nice project there Brandon. Could you show us what you are starting with? I have no idea what the Jag kit looks like "unmolested". (Now there is a Google search sure to bring hours of fun....)

The internet is the biggest source of information this planet has ever seen. In thirty seconds I found these two images. You already knew the name of the duct, so just use "Google" and you cannot believe what help you can find!!! (Just keep the internet filters on tho... )

Skill level is a learned thing. This is a learning exercise that if successful then you win! If not... you move on from there. You asked for an answer and I gave you three solutions. The 4th is do nothing. But, you are never ahead by doing nothing and not giving it a try. Move out of your comfort zone, drill a hole and start filing until the hole is the right shape. Then Google "NACA" and find the right shape for the structure beneath. Vac-forming is very easy and basic. I have showed how to do it here on the forum and it's been printed in two issues of Model Cars Magazine. You don't need a store-brought vac-former... you can MAKE YOUR OWN! But there again it takes time to research and build and practice, practice, practice. Easiest way out is to simply paint a flat black spot rougly the shape of a NACA duct on the glass and your done! So, what will you do?