Perth & Districts Model Club
Build Reviews
Perth and Districts Model Club has amongst it's members many talented modellers. Part of the ethos of the club is to produce build articles to share with members of the various projects undertaken throughout the year as well as reports on some of the hobby related events throughout the year.
This page will feature such reviews and reports.
Super Model Car Sunday Show Report
Report by Alan Barton
Where do you start trying to describe the atmosphere of Super
Model Car Sunday? This year was our ninth event, and for the organisers it felt
like a culmination of everything we have been working towards for the last eight
years.
Set-up started early on Saturday morning. You see, for several years now we have
had a tradition of giving away a kit to every entrant at the close of the event.
The models are donated by our sponsors and some of our enthusiastic entrants. To
get the best choice you need to get there early, because your position in the
draw is determined by the order in which you arrive to register. The boys are
getting pretty keen, because the first car rocked up at 6.40a.m., and by
7.00a.m. there were already four entrants registered! They’ll be camping in the
driveway before long!!!
Fifty six of this year’s seventy seven entrants were registered before
lunchtime, and after that it was a day of modelling fun. The traditional
“Give-n-Take box was getting a real work-over this year, with lots of cool parts
going home to new owners. The hall was just bubbling, and interstate visitors
Grant from AMC Supplies and Jason and Michelle from thepartsbox.com were doing a
roaring trade. Grant gave an outstanding demonstration on resin casting later in
the afternoon, and it was probably the only time all weekend that the hall was
quiet – you could have heard a pin drop as he described the ins and outs of
making moulds and casting duplicate parts in resin.
Every year we try to incorporate new features into our show, especially in
regards to theme displays or dioramas. Certainly the stand-out success this year
was the first display of the new AusModules hot rod show diorama. This is a
concept that I first tried in 1998and 1999 at the Hot Rod and Street Machine
Spectacular, but it needed refining. Third time was the charm, and it went off
superbly. Basically, the idea is that modellers use a standard sized board to
prepare a display of any 1/24 or 1/25th scale vehicle for a hot rod show. The
promoter prepares a 24440 x 1220 board (eight feet by four feet in the old
money) and some strips of MDF to represent walkways between the displays. At a
show such as SMCC, the displays are assembled on the board and Presto! You have
a hot rod show diorama, with the advantage that the promoter only has a board to
take home, and the modeller has a compact display that he can display in his
cabinet at home. When the modeller travels to a different show, he becomes a
part of a completely different hot rod show. There is no reason why this concept
should not grow to national and international status – indeed that is what it is
designed to do. Remember, it started here in Perth!
Sunday dawned clear and crisp, which is remarkable considering the foul weather
on the Sundays either side of the show weekend. Traders and entrants began
arriving shortly after seven, and by nine o’clock we were ready to go. There was
a steady stream of people through the gate all day, and boy, did they ever get
value for their money. The ¼ scale sprintcar guys had the top end of the carpark
to perform all manner of crowd pleasing stunts while Shaun Fishlock and the boys
had their 1/16th scale R/C big rigs lapping more sedately alongside the hall.
The trader’s area was a hive of activity. Our two largest sponsors, Stanbridges
Hobbies and Ace Radio controlled Hobbies had a range of kits at discounted
prices, while a number of private dealers sold new and old kits and diecast.
Keith Hahn had his magnificent mini-rods on display, and his son had the
prototype of a replica blown Hemi that you had to see to believe. Colin from
Checkered flag Slot cars kept all the kids happy, and the boys from West Coast
did a land sale trade in hot dogs.
But it was inside the hall where our beloved plastic reigned supreme. The hall
was packed with 742 models, in scales from 1/64 to ¼. Our long standing rule
that you must build it yourself meant that we had models in plastic, diecast and
metal and fibreglass. Of course, I’m talking about Bob Campbell’s mindblowing 32
Roadster. The wheels and tyres, sparkplugs, carbies and headlight s were the
only parts that Bob bought - EVERYTHING else on this amazing fully operational
model was built from raw materials.
Certainly it was no surprise that he won a very deserving Modeller's Choice
Award for 2007.
Other surprises included a beautiful trio of 1/8 scale E type Jaguars by Michael
Pederick, Tony Somer’s creative and humorous 58 Cadillac spaceship, Allen
Bunter’s amazing T-Shirt shop with hundreds of laser cut T-shirts hanging on the
racks and David Loye’s painstakingly accurate 1/16 scale dragsters.
While these may be the highlights, the hundreds of vehicles on the tables were
of an ever-increasing quality. The entrants continue to deliver new and exciting
models for us to view. We even had a record twelve junior modellers this year,
and twenty five rookies, so the show continues to grow.
Next year, our tenth, will be extra special. We are going to promote it across
Australia as the first National N.N.L. event. After all, we already have
entrants from three states, so it shouldn’t be too hard to get another three or
four states represented, eh?
To all our entrants, all our sponsors, all our spectators, all our helpers and
all the hot rodders, thanks for making this show such a fun event. See you next
year!
Alan and Ute Barton, Geoff Rea, Rob Gras, Richard Borozdin, Bruce Laker – SMCC
Committee.
Build Reviews
All build reviews are by club members
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©Michael Johnson 05/10/2007
