NNL Nats #40 In-Depth Coverage with all builders identified....

[tim boyd]

Well...this one was one for the ages. In more ways than one, too....

As many of you know, this was the last-ever NNL Nationals...the 40th yearly get together of the original non-competitive model car event.

It was a terrific success. Modelers from all parts of the US and Canada, along with the UK. Many of our participants were the guys and gals who attended the NNL Nats during the first 10 years, before the other NNL Events around the US and around the world that were inspired by the Nats began to become overwhelmingly popular. Many, many old friendships were renewed and enjoyed. Why? Because above all us, the NNL Nats has been a venue for, even more than the models, the people that enjoy and participate in this great hobby of ours.

In the end, over 1,000 models were tallied - a collection of those we remember fondly from past NNL Nats, and many fresh models (many people made a mad dash to complete projects for this year's event). It was a great way to end and enduring legacy that some people credit with (along with the creation of Scale Auto magazine and the GSL International Model Car Contest and Convention) the ascension and success of adult model car building over the last forty years.

What follows is a look at some of the models, historic NNL Nats artifacts, and the people seen at the NNL Nats #40. Be sure to also check out the NNL Reunion album, which captured the Friday and Saturday night events curated by NNL Founder Chuck Helppie.

As in the past, I have attempted to identify the builder of each model. In cases where the handwriting was hard to read, I had to guess at the spelling of the builders' names - please correct me if I got the name(s) wrong....

Also, amidst the hub-bub and greeting/catching up with old friends, and meeting new friends, somehow the depth of field setting on my became maladjusted toward the end of the evening, so I apologize in advance for those images that are not fully in focus around the edges. I left 'em in anyway, because I thought you'd want to see the images anyway. I apologize in advance.

Thanks for visiting this coverage of the final NNL Nats ever, and thanks for your interest and support. And by all means, in the future please consider attending the nearest NNL events in your part of the country or world to experience the fun and camaraderie of non-competitive model car events! Cheers....TIM

LINK to NNL Nats #40 In-depth coverage

Randy Derr's John Greenwood IMSA Corvette project...

 

[mikemodeler]

Thanks for sharing! A lot of great models and cool to see so many faces from companies I have spent a lot of lunch money at!

 

[Modelbuilder Mark]

Thanks a lot for sharing. I would have loved to have made this. Between then, and the GSL ending, I am hoping there are a few other major events that step up to fill this upcoming void.

[BIGTRUCK]

Thanks for your coverage , great as always.

[echo]

Tim  thanks for taking the time to post the pictures and the comments with the builders name. It 's nice they get the recognition with their build. It looks like it was an unforgettable show, wish I could have attended, I recognize many models that I saw in the various model car magazines in the '60s, it's nice to see them again and to know so many survived. Thanks again.

[vamach1]

11 hours ago, echo said:

Tim  thanks for taking the time to post the pictures and the comments with the builders name. It 's nice they get the recognition with their build. It looks like it was an unforgettable show, wish I could have attended, I recognize many models that I saw in the various model car magazines in the '60s, it's nice to see them again and to know so many survived. Thanks again.

Second that.  Hats off to everyone and Mr. Boyd who took a few minutes while I showed him my box stock build of a rare 70 Revell Mustang convertible.  With 1,000 great models it was almost too much to take in to appreciate the fantastic range of scratch built to box stock models by so many talented builders.  Another first was I got to speak to Ed Sexton and we talked about the 70 (and 69) coupe/convertible kits and he mentioned the molds are long gone but there is a snowballs chance we could a 71 Boss 351 and/or Mach1 at some point to end almost 50 years of putting up with the many flaws of the AMT and MPC versions.  That would make my day, month, year and decade if we see an all new tooling of my favorite year Mustang.

Edited October 15, 2019 by vamach1

[Phildaupho]

Thanks Tim for your incredible coverage of an amazing event. 

[thatz4u]

"Thanks for the memories..."

[Phirewriter]

Thanks for your photo coverage and putting in names to identify all the builders. Must have been quite an effort! I really wanted to go as I attended a number of NNL's in the 90's but work and some health issues held me to home base. 

[sbk]

Thanks for the coverage, Tim. Almost like being there.

[doctor phillips]

Thanks for all of your work!

[peekay]

Tim, thanks from Switzerland, much appreciated!

[carrucha]

Looked like an awesome show.  Thanks for sharing!

[Silver Foxx]

Thank you for posting the great pics .

[misterNNL]

Great coverage as usual my friend.  Not easy to capture all of what was there and decide what to capture. Forty years and still the best darn concept in modeling ever conceived! I hope we were successful in passing along the history and importance of the non-competitive spirit we fostered originally.

[TimKustom]

Awesome coverage as expected! Good to chat with you. Hope we can do it again sooner than later!

[Bucky]

Hey, TimKustom! Haven't seen you since the last show I attended in Anniston!

[tim boyd]

On 10/23/2019 at 4:03 PM, TimKustom said:

Awesome coverage as expected! Good to chat with you. Hope we can do it again sooner than later!

Heh Tim....was great to see you again too.  And you brought some really killer projects to the show, too.  Lots to look at and like!   Best....TIM