"Go West Young Man..."

  A 400 mile roundtrip and some serious sleep depravation was braved by your intrepid editor to bring you coverage of this event. The smiling faces and top quality model cars made it all worthwhile. That, and I also got 40 square feet of .040 styrene sheet for 25 bucks!

   When the alarm clock went off at 3:00 am eastern time, (remember that time zone thing) I rolled out of bed and stumbled out to the kitchen to get some coffee and a day old donut. with that infusion of sugar and caffeine I was then able to start my Trip.

   By 4am I was rolling down the road on my way to the Tennessee Tech Campus in Downtown Cookeville Tennessee, where the Mid Tennessee Modelers Association hosted their 23rd Annual Model Show & Contest. To stave off the desire to sleep, I had the music blasting, as I left the familiar hills of my home in Eastern Tennessee. I will admit that singing along to Steppenwolf's "Born To Be Wild" while driving a mini-van, made me feel a like a poser, but since sleeping and driving don't mix, I went along with it.

   I arrived at the show bright and early at 6:30am. The gates opened at 8:00am. I know what you thinking. you've done the math and, I'd have to be averaging 80MPH to get there in that time. You see, I know a lot about cars, I know quite a bit about models, but what I didn't know until yesterday morning is where the central time zone starts. That's ok, Shoneys was open so I grabbed some breakfast off their buffet, flirted with some the waitresses, and Got to the show in time to be first in line.

   I Brought along my "Barely 'Cuda" to enter into the custom category. While it garnered many a compliment, it brought home no gold. The competition in that category was tight. By reading the coverage you'll see the incredible models I was up against. The ones that beat me certainly deserved it.

   I also took this opportunity to rid myself of the last remnants of my failed attempt at being an aftermarket vendor , Seven years ago I had decided what the Model building world needs is accurate scale license plates. I was wrong, thus I was stuck with literally 1000's of packs of tiny license plates. I gave these to the guys at the registration desk to had out to the entrants. They appeared to go over well as they were all gone by mid day. Who knows, I may even get to see one of my plates on a model at a future show.

    You often hear horror stories about contests where "outsiders" are snubbed, but here in Cookeville, I experienced just the opposite. within minutes of walking in I was made to feel right at home. From the big name builders right down to the first time contestants, everyone was warm and friendly with out even a hint of politics or infighting.

    Looking around the room it was easy to see that I wasn't the only one who came. The room was full of incredible models, I can't think of a single kit on the tables that I would describe as poorly built. as you can see from the pictures the room was full to overflowing with talent.

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Highlights of my trip to Cookeville.

  The swap meet was brimming with bargains for the savvy modeler. Everything from model kits, detail parts, decals and even tools and supplies.

     I do a lot of kit bashing and  scratch building so Imagine my thrill when I found a vendor selling styrene sheet in bulk. I bought 40 square feet of .040 styrene sheet for $25. That should keep me stocked up for a while.

     A big surprise was meeting Clay Kemp. I didn't know he was from this area. For those of you not familiar with this man's work you need only pick up the April 2007 issue of Scale Auto Magazine .

  That "Mopar Missile" Duster on the cover is his. Words cannot describe the level of detail Clay puts in his builds. While he didn't bring the duster, he did bring along several highly detailed stock cars, a top fuel dragster, and the brut Funny car that is featured in a  recent Issue of Model Cars Magazine. Click on the picture below for more pictures of models by Clay Kemp

   For at least a decade or so I've been following the work of yet another model car artisan, Ted "Chopper" Lear. His unique customs have been featured on the pages of  Scale Auto Magazine both in articles and in contest coverage. Being a builder of customs I've been wanting to meet "Chopper" for years. His building style couldn't be more different than Clay's. While they are both know for clean building and technical skill, that is where the similarity ends. Where Clay Kemp builds replicas with tons of detail, "Chopper" is known for creative and smooth customs. (for more "Chopper" pictures click on the picture below)

   I was able to meet "Chopper" for the first time here at Cookeville. this also was the first opportunity I had to see his work in person. I picked his brain about his builds, and shared with him the details of mine. needless to say I wasn't disappointed with either the man or the builds. I'm looking forward to keeping in contact, and seeing him at shows in the future.

  Both Clay Kemp and Ted "Chopper" Lear were friendly and devoid of the ego you would expect to accompany talents such as theirs. The MTMA put on a show that ranks right up there with some of the best I've gone to. The judging was efficient and professional, the show was organised and fun, and the location was spacious and attractive. I can assure you I will be making this show no-miss event on my calendar.

-Darin Bastedo