On Oct. 16, 2021, the Circle City Modelers hosted its 27th annual model contest and swap meet in Indianapolis, Indiana. The show attracted modelers not only from Indiana, but Ohio, Kentucky, and Illinois, too. With the tables full of car, truck, and motorcycle models, we couldn't possibly show you everything, so here's a sample of the beautiful builds on display. Enjoy!
“If I owned a sprint car, I would like it to look just like this,” says Randy Convis about his Revell model. He spent about 50 hours building it box stock. He airbrushed the numbers with fluorescent yellow and pink nail polish, which contrast nicely with the Tamiya Black and Model Master White.
Lance Spangle’s ’71 Mustang is a great example of a dirt-track race car. Lance put an AMT body on a NASCAR chassis and detailed it using scratchbuilt and aftermarket parts. The wheels and tires, fuel cell, and quick change rear end came from Ron Coon Resin. The rear suspension parts were 3D printed and the exhaust headers were made from solder. Decals from Slixx finish it off.
Twelve-year-old Maggie Martinez spent a month building her Monogram ’58 Thunderbird custom under the guidance of her grandfather. She built it box stock and used Testors paints for the finish.
Mario Mendiola laid down a fantastic finish on his Revell After Nomad with low-profile wheels and tires. The lower body is painted pastel cream. The hood and upper body have House of Kolor Kustom Kandy patterns in tangerine, pink, and cream. Mario finished the undercarriage and engine in chrome.
Chuck Poi had wanted to build a model of Bobby Allison’s Holmon Moody GrandAm Mustang since seeing it in a magazine in 1971. He started with a Revell body on which he modified the front wheel opening before placing it over an MPC Southern Stocker chassis. The dry sump oil reservoir and plumbing were scratchbuilt, as were the metal exhaust headers and collectors.
Mike Pulliam says his ’55 Chevy gasser was a labor of love inspired by the cars that compete in the Southeast Gassers series. The flip nose covers a fully detailed Hemi engine that uses 3D-printed fender-well exhaust headers. The racing interior and roll cage were scratchbuilt.
The Revell Foose Custom Cadillac Eldorado is already a custom, but Dale Bartley made enough changes to make it his own. He modified the suspension to lower the ride height, added a set of Aoshima wheels and tires, and detailed the interior with photo-etched metal. The Ferrari red finish was applied by Tom Dill.
A resin body from Missing Link and an AMT ’53 Studebaker were combined by Al Hoffman to produce a ’59 Studebaker Silver Hawk. According to Al, this kit includes a nice resin body and correct interior, so the conversion went smoothly. The engine details include a MAD distributor.
Tim Boyd says John White is one of the top builders of traditional style hot rods, and this ’32 Ford roadster pickup is a good example of John’s work. The resin cab and top came from Drag City and the shortened bed from an AMT ’34 pickup. He stretched the Deuce chassis, and built the fuel tank from brass tubing. John also detailed the engine and swapped in wheels and tires from a Revell Model A kit.
Dennis Caudell bought a Revell Orange Crate kit when he was 10 and had it ruined by the next day. This build was revenge! He improved the fit of many parts and scratchbuilt the seat. He also added pleats to the top insert and came up with his own decals. The body is painted with Tamiya Brilliant Orange, and all the chrome parts were painted with Molotow Liquid Chrome.
Scott Liggett likes the stock cars from the ’60s and ’70s and wanted to build something unique featuring one. Here’s to his success! This MPC ’67 Charger was his first attempt. He modeled the crash damage by first forming aluminum foil over the hood, front fender, bumper, and grille. Then he deformed and finished the foil parts. The track surface is roofing paper.
Len Carsner’s vintage race team consists of an AMT ’55 Chevy stepside pickup and a Revell Kurtis midget racer on a trailer. The pickup uses the drivetrain and wheels from a Revell Black Widow ’57 Chevy. The paint on both is Dupli-Color clear over Dupli-Color Wimbledon White. Some of the decals were created for Len by the late Skip Samples; the rest came from Indycals.
Mike O’Leary drew on his memories of Indiana State Police cars he saw as a kid to aid him in building a replica of the ’63 Plymouths used by ISP. Mike altered the trim on a Johan Fury to convert it to a Savoy and added posts to make it a sedan. The chassis and interior tub came from a Lindberg ’64 Plymouth, and he plucked the wheels and tires from a Lindberg ’64 Dodge. Everything else came from his parts box or was scratchbuilt.
Dan Wilson says his nephew’s favorite muscle car is this ’70 Dodge Challenger R/T called “Lady Liberty”. The paint colors are Tamiya Racing Blue and Pure White. The decals are AMT “All American Graphics.”
Steve Prange was a firefighter and remains a fire buff. His fire chief’s buggy was made by cutting away the sides of a Revell ’57 Ford Del Rio wagon and replacing them with sides cut from a resin Meteor Rideau body. The interior contains a full array of firefighter equipment and gear, including a radio, helmets, and boots.
Mike Hylton has always admired Packards, and this ’48 Custom 8 represents Doc Brown’s Packard from the movie “Back to the Future”. He bought the F&F Resin kit in the 1990s, and it included everything needed to finish it — even plated parts! The Packard’s overall color is Maumee maize.