After 50 years, the "Best Detail" winner at the 1970 MPC "World's Largest Model Contest Ever" Detroit Show returns...!

[tim boyd]

59 minutes ago, mrindy77 said:

Cal....now i remember.  That model was terrific!  I need to dig out my old copy of the mag and check it out again.....great to hear it is still around and in restorable (although it sounds more like all it needs is a minor freshening) form.   And great to hear my old Track Roadster is still a favorite of yours.  41 years later, it may still be my most favorite of all the hundreds I''ve built over the years.   

Thanks for posting and for the update!   Best,,,,,TIM 

Edited February 2, 2020 by tim boyd

[tim boyd]

4 hours ago, HOLMES55 said:

Hi Tim, I would like to know how you built a working drive train on the 1969 charger. Slot car gears??

BTW enjoy all your articles and learn something new from them every time .

Brad....yes, from what i recall, I put together the setup from a grab-bag of HO gears that I ordered from Auto World.  I didn't (and still do not) have soldering skills, so I used some industrial strength 24 hour epoxy from my Dad's workshop in the basement.....it took forever to setup, but once it was dry , it was indestructible.  The setup still works somewhat today, although it has a couple of what I think must be broken teeth in the gears.  This model was carefully packed and sent of to Car Model Magazine for the 1970 MPC finals, but returned several months later in many pieces without any packing material for its return trip.  I was able to rebuild most of it but it was never the same as it was under original condition.  Needless to say, I was appalled that the people that ran the finals - who of all should have known better - would pull a stunt like that! 

Thanks for your feedback on my articles....really good to hear!   t...TIM 

 

 

[tim boyd]

On 2/1/2020 at 3:11 PM, AmericanMuscleFan said:

 

Long live this wonderful pastime and thank you for sharing this renaissance! Forward-thinking and Inspiring!

Francis...."long live this wonderful pastime" are words that capture my sentiments exactly.  And very, very glad to know that you found the info to be inspiring....Cheers....TIM.  

[Phildaupho]

This thread has been a very enjoyable read. Thanks Tim

[Claude Thibodeau]

Hi Mr. Boyd!

Your winning car was very advanced for the times. No surprise it won back then. And your resto job is world class. 

Come to think of it: If Barrret-Jackson can run auctions for mega $ restored seminal cars of the past... why not do it for notable models? The old guys out there (of which I must confess I am!) would gladly unfold some money for those prized icons. Just the sight of the cover of Model Car 1970 brought me back to my teens... 

Nostalgia: Priceless! For the rest, we all have credit cards, don't we?

Regards,

CT

[thatz4u]

I'm guessing that the appearance of the builder has also changed in the past 50 yrs.. LOL,    nice restoration....

[1972coronet]

On 2/1/2020 at 7:49 PM, tim boyd said:

Steve....Yes...you caught my MC5 reference.  Cool!  I more or less grew up in Ann Arbor, and back then (late 1960's) the MC5 frequently performed at the Gallup Park Sunday afternoon concerts (or at least that's what I think I remember), along with SRC, The Rationals, Iggy and the Stooges, and maybe even The Frost although I think they were more Grande Ballroom in Detroit (I was a little too young then to travel that far!) 

TIM 

I was in contact with Michael Davis (when he was still with us) some ten years ago . He told me how he and Rob Tyner were avid model builders , esp. the AMT offerings ! 

Fantastic work with those kits ! 

[Nazz]

  That looks great for a 50 year old model Tim !  I am glad to hear you say that you were leaving some flaws in it as I am working on an old Camaro Funny car that I built as a kid and will not be able to correct all the flaws. This one is not mine as I lost it somewhere along the way, but this glue bomb is pretty close to what I built back then. So I am hoping it turns out  1/2 as well as yours did. Will post when done.

[Impalow]

Thanks for posting this Tim!   Very interesting, a great model and a little history lesson.  

The recent resurgence of nostalgia in the Hobby has really struct me...   Not sure if it was just from the last Toledo NNL, or the afterparty/event but I have suddenly been more drawn into the story's these fabulous pieces of plastic we create tell. 

 

[tim boyd]

19 hours ago, Impalow said:

Thanks for posting this Tim!   Very interesting, a great model and a little history lesson.  

The recent resurgence of nostalgia in the Hobby has really struct me...   Not sure if it was just from the last Toledo NNL, or the afterparty/event but I have suddenly been more drawn into the story's these fabulous pieces of plastic we create tell. 

 

Thanks Eric for the comments.  Particularly interesting coming from you, as I personally see you as one of the most innovative and accomplished model car builders of your generation of model car builders, and I think that you represent a very bright future for our hobby.   Best Regards...TIM . 

[tim boyd]

On 2/5/2020 at 4:46 PM, Nazz said:

  That looks great for a 50 year old model Tim !  I am glad to hear you say that you were leaving some flaws in it as I am working on an old Camaro Funny car that I built as a kid and will not be able to correct all the flaws. This one is not mine as I lost it somewhere along the way, but this glue bomb is pretty close to what I built back then. So I am hoping it turns out  1/2 as well as yours did. Will post when done.

Jerry....I've always said that a slightly flawed model that is completed and in the display case is worth so much more than an otherwise perfect, but incomplete model (because of some new flaw during the build process) that is sitting in a box somewhere. 

Of course, sometimes that is easier said than done.  This one really challenged me to hold to that goal, but glad I eventually did so, and even happier to see that my fellow model car builders see value in the restoration effort.  Best of luck with yours!  TIM 

[tim boyd]

On 2/3/2020 at 1:55 PM, 1972coronet said:

I was in contact with Michael Davis (when he was still with us) some ten years ago . He told me how he and Rob Tyner were avid model builders , esp. the AMT offerings ! 

Fantastic work with those kits ! 

John....I had no idea that our Michigan Rockers had these interests.  I do know that these guys were in other ways really normal guys.  My former boss sat next to one of the original members of the Stooges on an overseas flight to London a few years ago, and J later commented to me something to the effect of what a normal guy he was. 

And of course, I knew where the "flop houses" were near campus for some of these groups....amazing that they accomplished what they did given those surroundings....  Best...TIM 

[tim boyd]

On 2/3/2020 at 10:33 AM, thatz4u said:

I'm guessing that the appearance of the builder has also changed in the past 50 yrs.. LOL,    

 

.....ummm.....yeah, that would be correct.  Fortunately, I have yet to be "restored" myself...and hope it stays that way!   Best...TIM 

[tim boyd]

On 2/3/2020 at 8:36 AM, Claude Thibodeau said:

Hi Mr. Boyd!

Your winning car was very advanced for the times. No surprise it won back then. And your resto job is world class. 

Come to think of it: If Barrret-Jackson can run auctions for mega $ restored seminal cars of the past... why not do it for notable models? The old guys out there (of which I must confess I am!) would gladly unfold some money for those prized icons. Just the sight of the cover of Model Car 1970 brought me back to my teens... 

Nostalgia: Priceless! For the rest, we all have credit cards, don't we?

Regards,

CT

Claude....I have often wondered about this myself.  I know Mark Gustavson has at times bid for notable historic models that have appeared up for auction, but I don't think the prices to date have reflected the historic value of those artifacts.  Maybe it will change in the future.....hope so.  Thanks for the thoughts...TIM  

[tim boyd]

On 2/2/2020 at 7:22 PM, Phildaupho said:

This thread has been a very enjoyable read. Thanks Tim

Thanks Phil!  Best regards...TIM

[1972coronet]

On 2/7/2020 at 6:00 AM, tim boyd said:

John....I had no idea that our Michigan Rockers had these interests.  I do know that these guys were in other ways really normal guys.  My former boss sat next to one of the original members of the Stooges on an overseas flight to London a few years ago, and J later commented to me something to the effect of what a normal guy he was. 

Best...TIM 

I wonder if your former boss was sitting with either Ron Asheton or his brother Scott . 

Scott "Rock Action" Asheton told me via email that he was a fan of my artwork --- a true compliment !

Wayne Kramer ( MC5 ) worked at the race track in the summer ; named his pre-MC5 band "The Bounty Hunters" after Connie Kalitta's dragsters of the same name . Mike Davis' father worked at Ford Motor Company ( I don't remember what his position was within Fo-Mo-Co ) .

_________________________________  ____________________________________  _______________________________________

I apologise for hijacking your thread --- I just get excited whenever someone mentions one or more of my favourite bands ! Besides , they were all gear-heads , so I suppose that my jubilation is more of a side bar .

Again , great work on restoring your contest winning beauties ! Those marvels are as old as yours truly ! 

[Dave Toups]

On 2/1/2020 at 8:30 AM, tim boyd said:

Roger....thanks for the comments.  In response to your question, here's what I wrote under that picture at my Fotki album presentation on the model...."(As far as that future architecture career mentioned in the text, I worked in an Architect's office over the summer of my Junior [high school] year and quickly determined that wasn't what I wanted to do for a career. I ended up working 35 1/2 years in the auto industry in a number of executive level positions in marketing, strategy, and design, and thank my lucky stars to this day I went that route instead of architecture!)"

Now about that stereo equipment....not long after that magazine appeared, I took out a loan (still as a 15 year old, with I think my father as a co-signer) at the Olsen Electronics Store in Ann Arbor and bought their AM/FM Stereo receiver and two Utah 3-way floor speakers with 12" bass cones.  I still have both; the speakers positioned (along with two other smaller, more recent ones) in my basement rec room setup.  Within a few months of starting work at Ford, my first big purchase newly enabled by my pay checks was two JBL 4311BX Studio Monitors; generally considered the best speakers in the world at that time, and notably used as the studio monitors in most professional studios where rock artists recorded and produced their albums (they were the commercial versions of the consumer oriented "JBL 100" speakers which included geometric cube foam speaker grilles - mine blessedly omitted that feature).  These now 42 year old speakers are still rockin' in my first floor family room, and man do they still kick out the jams.  It was a ridiculously expensive expenditure back in 1978, but has proven to be well worth it over the ensuing years.  Then, starting the in mid 1980's and continuing through today, my stereo equipment has  all been of the Kenwood brand, originally bought new and more recently, through acquisitions of used/renewed Kenwood components.  I know, I know, way too much info but you asked!   

Thanks again for the question....TIM

Great job on the restoration of the Cuda Tim! It's cool that you still have it after all these years. One the stereo front, I still have all the 1980's Technics equipment I bought with my dishwashing money when I was in high school. I'd like to set it all back up someday. All I need is speakers. I never really had decent speakers back in the day.

Edited February 8, 2020 by Dave Toups

[Rocking Rodney Rat]

Great resto....thanks or sharing, I certainly wasn't building to that level of detail back in those days! -RRR

[tim boyd]

6 hours ago, 1972coronet said:

I wonder if your former boss was sitting with either Ron Asheton or his brother Scott . 

 

 

_________________________________  ____________________________________  _______________________________________

I apologise for hijacking your thread --- I just get excited whenever someone mentions one or more of my favourite bands ! Besides , they were all gear-heads , so I suppose that my jubilation is more of a side bar .

 

John....it was one of the Ashetons....just don't remember which one.   More recently,  I thought one of the original Stooges band members passed away a few years ago....there was a benefit at one of the Ann Arbor Dive Bars (the Cave?) after he passed.  I didn't go...

No apologies necessary.  Model builders seem to have certain things in common....including an appreciation for first gen progressive/underground bands (and in my case, 1980's New Wave/Alternative artists as well), and it seems, cats as hobby companions!  It's all part of this great hobby we share....TIM 

[GoatGuy]

Great story Tim. I started in the 60s and learned from a friend that you can add spark plug wires by putting holes in the heads with a hot pin and then using some of Mom's thread for the wires. Ha. My collection of unbuilt cars got thrown out when I went to college and  my parents moved, assuming I didn't want them. Oh well. 

[Dave Darby]

On 2/1/2020 at 8:34 AM, tim boyd said:

Heh guys....thanks so much for your comments.  

Too be honest, as I was posting the pictures in my Fotki album, and then typing out the missive above along with its photos, I was really wondering whether anyone would find all this to be evenly remotely relevant in today's context.

For many years, the widespread view of the model car community (at least the view held by the magazine editors at the time - we're talking 10-20 years ago here) was that modelers didn't care a whit about the past history of the hobby.  I always thought that was a bit short sided, but the evidence at the time seemed to support their view.   Thankfully, you guys (and many others) have ultimately proved them wrong on this subject.  

I suspect all modelers have stories of their early years not unlike mine above; I do thank my lucky stars that I was able to save some of my earliest modeling endeavors and finally get to a point where I was able to invest the time to return them to their original "glory days" status. 

It is really gratifying to hear that you guys share my sentiment for this part of our model car legacy....TIM  

I for one really enjoy hearing and reading the history of our hobby. Our Facebook group "Scale Survivors" which promotes the preservation of vintage builds, and memorabilia from the golden age, has over 3500 members. That, my friend is just the tip of the iceberg. If you write it, we will come.

[rustybill1960]

Tim

Thank You for sharing the history and the build with Us

Really do appreciate Your skill

Later

Russ

[johnny rocket]

What a great story

[tim boyd]

Given the interest of you MCM forum readers in my restoration of the 1968 MPC/Dodge/Car Model magazine "Dominator' funny car, as displayed at the 2023 GSL Finale, i am bringing back up front this story on my subsequent restoration of the "Best Detail" winner at the 1970 Detroit Autorama MPC Contest, which Car Model magazine subsequently billed as the world's largest model car contest....for those that missed it when originally posted in early 2020, hope you enjoy the read....TIM 

[ColonelKrypton]

1 hour ago, tim boyd said:

i am bringing back up front this story on my subsequent restoration of the "Best Detail" winner...

Thank for doing that as I would have missed out on this great story otherwise.

cheers, Graham