
"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.
_______________________
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 .
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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
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