Model Cars Best Of

[Gregg]

Here's one for everyone to put their two cents in.

I am looking for the top, say, fifty models of "our" time, the modern era, from the start of Gary Schmidt's trend-setting mag, the good `old SAE, till now: What are the best model or models that you have seen or know of.

Please send as detailed description, or reference, picture, or link to, the model you think is "One Of The Best"

Send your email to me

I have rhymes to my reasons, and I want your input to my ideas.

For me, it would be, in no particular order:

John MacGowan's `37 Ford Woody and yellow `41 Willys (there's a reason this is first for me)

Augie's models (all of them)

Bruce Owen's GSL Winner (that red thingee)

Jim Drew's 1/12 Corvette

Randy Derr's 1/12 Sunoco Camaro (one of my top ones)

Don Fahrni's Old P/S

Juha Ario's models (all of them)

My Spanish scratchbuider, Francisco Pulido Luque

Gerald Wingrove's models

Dave Cummins' Bugatti

I could go on and on, or maybe I should, but I want your opinions on this also

I have seen in my humble opinion, at least thousands and thousands of models over the past ten years of doing the mag.

I added it up one year, and I had over 12,000 spec sheets!!!!

Now, do the math, and yes, you can say WOW!!!!

I have almost all of those spec sheets still.

They take up a bookcase here in the office.

So, let's hear what you have to say, please!

[Howard Cohen]

Do these builders have to be nationally known? Can I suggest some local builders who I believe are as good as anyone else anywhere? I can think of several local builders who over the years have constantly built models of superb quality, some of them going back 30 years or more.

[Guest Davkin]

Can I suggest some local builders who I believe are as good as anyone else anywhere?

I think Gregg is looking for specific models, not builders.

Besides all the great models you mention Gregg, (and I agree with all of them) Mark Gustavson's Mercari comes to mind. Going back farther in time, what about that light blue and white '32 Ford that Dave Shuklis built? Did Thomas Kirn finish his Duesenberg? I'm sure that one would qualify.

David

Edited December 11, 2007 by Davkin

[Dr. Cranky]

Yeah, I agree with Howard, there are builders like Ricky Couch, Pat Covert, Tommy May, etc who've been doing some great work for decades . . .

[RyanK]

I would have to nominate Ray Patrick's 59 Impala called Seahawk. This is one model that will always stand out. I would also have to nominate Tim K's coral Aura the custom 61 Impala.

[Paul Payne]

How about Steve Catron and his scratchbuilt T bodied hot rod, and scratchbuilt belly tanker?

The late Joe Cavorly did some incredible weathered vehicles.

I second Augie Hiscano, his blue roadster (aka the XK-R, R stands for Rod) is still one of the greatest.

There are so many more, I am sure other readers will contribute them.....

Edited December 11, 2007 by Paul Payne

[dustym]

Terry Jeese's Cowboy Cadillac. Hes one of my favorite builders.

[Paul Payne]

A couple more:

JBWELDA's street Cheetah and Offy powered lakes car (is it finished yet?)

Bill Geary's D Jaguar

Damncranky's rendition of Jairus's Frankie illustration

Doug Whyte's 1953 Studebaker

John Goschke's 1932 Ford roadster

Edited December 11, 2007 by Paul Payne

[Howard Cohen]

Let me clarify...there are some local modellers who have built models that are as good as anything you sould see at any contest, yet these modellers do not enter many contests. Could I nominate their models? For example...a friend has a scratchbuilt Divco milk truck that he built in brass about 30 years ago...it is as good as anything I have seen and it deserves to be recognized. Would that qualify?

I think Gregg is looking for specific models, not builders.

[Dr. Cranky]

Yeah, you are right. Mr. Gregg is looking for models . . . specific models . . .

I have to say though that a big influence on all of us who like to build beaters and junk trucks was the great Hogdoo Grundy himself (Pat Covert's alter ego) and I can think of at least three or four builds that just ring CLASSIC all the way around.

The first one that comes to mind is the Carnival Truck he built probably back in the mid to leat 80s.

The other one is the camp mule Pat built in collaboration with Ken Hamilton!!! The model was feature in back-to-back issues of Scale Auto Enthusiast . . . I think everyone has seen it.

[Andy Wyatt]

Anything by Bill Geary. If I had to pick a favorite of Bills I'd pick the '69 Daytona Charger only because it was the first of his I saw in person. I'm quite lucky to be located in a hotbed of great talent from Pennsylvania and Maryland. Bill Geary, Lyle Willits, Irv Arter among many others (yeah you too Jeff Sauber ). I've also been to one NNL East where I had the good fortune to meet many great modelers and see their work. Ken Hamiltons camper diorama was amazing to see. I also like anything built by Matt Trotta. Everything else I could mention I have just seen photographs of online...guys like Steve Boutte, Christopher Roldan....way too many to list.

[Dr. Cranky]

Oh, my, and let's not forget Dave Roehrle from that part of the country too, who builds a mean mean beater . . .

And who is the infamous builder of the legendary MERCARI HUNTER!!!

[Ron Hamilton]

A few models come to mind for me:

1) Larry Boothe's '57 Thunderbird

2) Bill Geary's '58 Impala Convertible

3) Lyle Willits' '66 Chevelle Convertible

4) Irv Arter's '56 Mercury

5) Matt Guiffoyle's '59 Dodge Custom Royal Convertible

Ron Hamilton

[gasman]

There are so many great model that I've seen in person and on message boards over the years, it hard to pick a best of list. but these are some of my favorite builds

Bob Downie's, Subaru Brat

Bill Geary's, 69 Daytona

Alex Kustov's, 64 Ferrari GTO 4399 GT

Juha Airio's, 78 Chrysler Cordoba

Hiroboy's 1:12 Nissan Skyline R32 GTr

[jbwelda]

i am way out of my depth here but let me add a couple things...

first off god bless the guy who said:

>JBWELDA's street Cheetah and Offy powered lakes car (is it finished yet?)

but thats not my street cheetah (if only)...i just contributed some slobber to the thread about it.

and no the lakes car isnt done yet but its on my workbench and i hope to get some more done before NNL West this year so thanks much for bringing it up! ive been meaning to get back into it but things just keep coming up. its another i started as a "quickie" project but its gotten so nice now that i really have to concentrate to lay hands on it, but...

as to the best ever, i dont really know cars but ive been more than impressed with everything ive seen (in mags, never seen the work in real life im afraid) by augie hiscano, by juha airo, and by steve boutte (please excuse the misspelled names). each for their own reasons: augie hiscano for his work with metal in creating actual miniatures of cars, juha for seemingly being able to come up with seemingly perfect never-made models from a old glue bomb palmer body and steve boutte for his obvious eye for style and the ability to manifest that vision into something physical.

and that dave shulkis guy from back in the dawn of the era, i remember some stuff by him in car mags that i totally dug when i was a kid.

and any of jerry cardinals brass constructions.

and any of roger lees brass top fuel cars and for that matter everything else he has lying around the house.

oh and that one cats lotus sevens (they are caterhams actually) hold a place close to my heart.

and lets not forget bill geary who constantly amazes me with what he posts here. i would have to say that turbine car has to rank high even though it was a build of a stock car and didnt involve a wild design (but what could be wilder than the design of that car to begin with?)

my friend jerry amaral certainly has his moments as well as does our mutual friend jerry (im drawing a blank on his last name but he lives in fairfield california and his cars often show up in contest coverage...starts with an "s" (jeez how embarrassing))

and ive seen so many blow-mind models at the NNL each year whose builders i dont even know! its just kind of overwhelming.

those guys are all in my top ten and while im sorry i cannot name specific models im pretty sure a top 50 models could be made up of just their stuff.

[Hollywood Jim]

What make a model car "the best" model car?

That's a really hard question. Some I really like because of the way they look. Some I like because of the technical ability it took to build them. Usually a model does not have both things going for it.

[Dr. Cranky]

Okay, I guess I will also toss in some of my very favorite builders

ROGER YU

and

JIM "HOLLYWOOD" FERNANDEZ

When it comes to imagination, those two have the market cornered!

Edited December 12, 2007 by DamnCranky

[Hollywood Jim]

Okay, I guess I will also toss some of my very favorite builders

ROGER YU

and

JIM "HOLLYWOOD" FERNANDEZ

When it comes to imagination, those two have the market cornered!

Yea see what I mean. Some models just look cool, but may not be techincally the best......

[Dr. Cranky]

I am hoping you are getting an earful, Gregg . . . it's a big wide world of builders out there and there are all sorts of factors you will have to evaluate . . .

I like the work of new killers like Clay Kemp and Steve Boutte, but I also get wowed by builders who can do amazing imaginative work like another favorite

BILL BORGEN!!!

Here's a simple formula I would use to be able to detect a classic.

Skill + Imagination = ORIGINALITY

Edited December 12, 2007 by DamnCranky

[Gregg]

You guys are on a roll all right.

A few of the models I don't know of, so I will have to look them up.

And yes, this is about the model, not the builder

:-)

[Dr. Cranky]

So if it is about the model, then something like this will grab a hold of you and not let you go . . .it will live in your dreams for a good long time . . .

[Lyle Willits]

While I am truly and honestly flattered that a couple of you have mentioned my name, I would like to point out a few things that Gregg asked for.

He asked for your opinions of the top 50 MODELS built since about 1979, sent to him by email, with pics, references, etc.

Again, I am very flattered but, frankly, there's no way in hell that any of my models could be considered "top 50", or even "top 200" for that matter. We all have favorite builders and favorite models that we have seen, but really, are these models in the same category as Gerald Wingrove, Larry Boothe, Bill Geary, Joe Cavorly, Harold Bradford, Dave Roehle, Ken Hamilton, etc. etc.?

Let's try to put some serious thought into this. I'd really like to see this list develope and see what becomes of it in the magazine

Okay, I'll stop wagging my finger at you like a grumpy old school teacher now.

[Seattle Mike]

I feel lucky to have been able to have seen many of the top models in the country in person over the years. This is a really hard list to compile, as there is a ton of great models out there, but here are my nominees.

1 - Russ Schwenkler's GSLMCC winning motorcyle

2 - Jim Drew's 1/12 Corvette Grand Sport

3 - Cody Grayland's Williams FW-07

4 - Bill Brown's 1/43 NASCAR T-Bird

5 - Doug Whyte's '53 Studebaker

6 - Ken Hamilton's Oakland Roadster Show diorama

7 - Ray Patrick's Custom Ferrari 250 SWB

8 - John MacGowan's 1940 Willys Pickup

9 - Randy Derr's 1/12 Penske '69 Camaro

10 - Mark Gustavson's '51 Mercury Custom

As I said, this is not an easy list to keep to only 10 or so entries, and there are certainely a LOT more examples of incredible model building out there.

[Paul Payne]

I think everyone can keep adding models as they think of them- here's a few more:

Larry Boothe's 1932 Ford coupe and 1961 Thunderbird custom- I saw the Deuce at NNL East a few years back when Larry had it on the primer projects table. He was there at the time and I had a chance to talk with him about it and he very generously held parts for me to photograph and pointed out various details- a very modest and super guy who was a joy to share time with!

I remember a blue and white 1932 or 1934 Ford coupe with an amazing number of working features- super miniature engineering- I just don't remember the builder's name- sorry!

Pryor Passorino created a number of super detailed models, but I haven't seen anything of his in several years- hope he is still building....

[Howard Cohen]

This is a Cooper formula car built by Dale King. He also has a Porsche 917 that has to be seen and several others. Oh, many of these are 1/12th scratchbuilt.