Gerald Wingrove has passed away.

[Bugatti Fan]

Probably not Greg, but their creations are much sought after by well heeled collectors in the know, and in demand through the top auction houses.

I would urge anyone to look at models made by these masters.  A quick trawl of the web will unearth pictures of many of their fantastic scratch built models.

[Greg Myers]

I got my first look in the short lived Rod & Customs Model Car magazine of the sixties

[Bugatti Fan]

Not aware of that magazine Greg. Way back in the sixties I managed to get hold of just one or two copies of Model Car Science.  American Car Modelling magazines were as rare as hen's teeth in the UK back then.

[iBorg]

I had a brief conversation with Gerald Wingrove about ten years ago via email. First it was amazing that he responded. I learned both he and my father had spent time in High Wycombe in the same time frame. My father was into model trains and marveled at some of the English model makers. I asked Mr. Wingrove if he for chance knew Dad. Sadly he didn't recall Dad although I do believe Dad was inspired even then by some of Mr. Wingrove's work.

I think the skills Gerald Wingrove and a few other world class craftsman possess are the true artists of the hobby while most of us are skilled craftspeople.

[Greg Myers]

Here are a few, i think they did eight before they stopped.

[Richard Bartrop]

1 hour ago, Greg Myers said:

You mock, but if you look at '50s cartoon styles, that's exactly who they were copying.

[Greg Myers]

And surely you jest. Comics ,early and WWII are something I have made a study of and can't think of any off hand.

Maybe you could give an example or two?

Nope, just don't see it

[Junkman]

4 hours ago, Greg Myers said:

I would garner a bet, most here have never heard of those you have listed, much less seen any of their work.

You lost that bet.
Not only have I heard of all of them and seen their work, I think I posted the passing of Manuel Olive Sans on this forum a few years back.

I also think it's safe to add Tom Kirn and Roger Zimmermann to the list.

The Wingrove/Kirn anecdote I know (no idea whether it's true) is that they met the curator of the ACD Museum when doing research on real cars.
The man asked them how many people in the world build models to the standard they do and Wingrove replied: Two. And they are standing right in front of you.

However, I think they've meanwhile all been topped by Louis Chenot from Missouri, who built a 1/6 scale SJ Duesenberg that's fully functional,
including its dual overhead cam 32 valve 2.0 CI supercharged straight eight that actually runs.

Edited June 11, 2019 by Junkman

[Greg Myers]

Most, not all 

[Richard Bartrop]

31 minutes ago, Greg Myers said:

 

Maybe you could give an example or two?

 

I did say '50s, though you can see a definite Cubist influence in John Held Jr's work

 

The Picasso influence is pretty obvious in the UPA cartoons, and their imitators

 

And peanuts probably owes more to Paul Kee

 

 

 

 

Edited June 11, 2019 by Richard Bartrop

[Greg Myers]

[Greg Myers]

[Richard Bartrop]

Anyway, before this gets too far off the track, clearly you get where I'm coming from.

 

[Twokidsnosleep]

Sad news indeed, first I have heard of his passing

Own two of his books, fantastic modeller, very skilled scratch builder and amazing attention to detail

Big loss for the world

Edited June 11, 2019 by Twokidsnosleep

[Richard Bartrop]

1 hour ago, Twokidsnosleep said:

Sad news indeed, first I have heard of his passing

Own two of his books, fantastic modeller, very skilled scratch builder and amazing attention to detail

Big loss for the world

No argument there.

[Trendsetta68]

GOD Bless Him .... ????

[Bugatti Fan]

Junkman,  the craftsmanship of Tom Kirn, Roger Zimmerman and Louis Chenot is known to me, and is well up there with the skills of the professionals that I mentioned in an earlier thread. I have two articles about Tom's Packard and Duesenberg models that were in Scale Auto Enthusiast a few years back. I read about  the Wingrove Kirn visit to the Auburn, Cord Duesenberg Museum and think it was mentioned in one of those articles, as your mention of it rings a bell. Roger Zimmerman's fantastic builds can be followed in the Scalemotorcars Forum. Louis Chenot's incredible 1/6th scale model can be seen on the Craftsmanship Museum website. The true to scale engine was actually test run for its only one time before being fitted to the model. I think there may be a UTube video of this being done. These three remarkable model engineers it must be remembered built the models for their own pleasure and to.meet the challenges involved. I am sure that there are many other skilled amateur craftsman artisans beavering away in their workshops making fantastic creations as we!l.

[Bugatti Fan]

I learnt recently that Gerald Wingrove 's wife Phyllis is alive and well and has moved back to the uk.

[claudpipkin@gmail.com]

I have followed GW for years....His work was superb, outstanding.....and many other superlatives that one could apply......I have one of his "how to" books(from the 1980's as I recall)....I remember his entre' into the hobby was because he was a trained machinist..........Sad to hear of his passing...... 

[HotRodaSaurus]

On 6/11/2019 at 12:41 AM, PeeBee said:

I'm usually flame-proof on this forum, but here I go:

I don't think you can compare Gerald Wingrove to Pablo Picasso, wether you like Picasso's body of work, or not.  Gerald Wingrove was a (probably the) first-rate master at reproducing cars in miniature.  He was a great problem solver and machinist, and he had an eye for capturing proportion, etc.  A very creative man. 

Picasso was a great draftsman and painter, academicaly rendering accurate representative subjects when he was studying under his father, and then when he came into his own, conjuring stuff the likes of which nobody had ever imagined.  Art is subjective, and I get that a lot of people might not get Picasso or care for his work.  But I don't think a comparison to Picasso and a model-maker is reasonable; it's (insert old cliche here) apples and oranges.

My career has been centered around my ability to create stuff from a "blank canvas."  It ain't easy.  What do I do to clear my mind and relax?  Other than rebuilding the bathrooms and the kitchen in my house, and washing my Mustang, I go into the model room and work on my models.

Sorry.  It just drives me crazy when people discount the works and accomplishments of people who are probably a little bit larger-than-life than the rest of us.

Best regards and sincerely, PB.

Bringing up an old post:
I totally agree with you. As a youngster I thought like many that anyone could paint like Picasso, but after studying his work later in my life and realising who his subjects were I noted that despite their abstract look, the painting could be reasily recognised as the person they were supposed to be.
Gerald Wingrove was a great craftsman, also he wrote that his wife was probably as good as he, and a generous man who would share his skills with others.

[Richard Bartrop]

If you ever looked at Picasso's early work, there is no doubt the man knew how to paint.

By any standard, Gerald Wingrove was an amazing craftsman.