Ok Chuck,
I have a million model stories, but here is one of my earliest, and probably most influential.
It was fall of 1967, in New Jersey, I was 11, we had came back from Germany earlier that year, and I built my first model cars at a guest house we were staying in at Mcquire Air Force Base. We bought a house in Mt.Holly NJ.
My Dad bought a new 1967 Dodge Coronet 440, when we arrived that year. Since my Mom was working also we needed a second car.
Even though there were at least a dozen car lots within walking distance, on Rt 38, my Dad decided to go car shopping in Penn.
I knew he was serious about buying a car, since we took a Greyhound bus to get there.
While they were car shopping, I took a little walk. I saw a store that had a sign that read "Model Cars"
So I went in, wasn't a huge place, but I was new at building and they had a lot of model cars.
A real nice man was behind the counter and asked about my building.
There was a display case with some built models, and I guess I said something derogatory about one of the models.
He went on to explain to me, that the builder was handicapped, built mostly in bed laying on his side, and some with his teeth.
Naturally, I felt like an Arse, and apologized profusely. He was very nice about it, given I was just a kid.
I bought an AMT 1967 Chevy pick up kit. As I was leaving he asked if I had their catalog, of course I didn't, so he gave me one.
As you probably figured out already, the town was Scranton, and the store was Auto World, and the handicapped builder was Dave Shuklis.
And could the man behind the counter have been Oscar Koveleski?
I have told this story to a lot of early industry insiders, some say it could have been others say no way, LOL.
My Dad bought a real nice 1966 Ford Fairlane station wagon. It was still light out when we headed home, so I opened the kit, then looked at the catalog. I was thrilled to see the truck I had just bought and a few other kits I built listed in the catalog.
Also there was an article about Dave Shuklis, (felt like an Arse again)
The real moral was, that from that day on I never criticized a built model again, I don't even use the term "gluebomb" for built ups I acquire, since I don't know who built them. As I became an adult and was heavily involved with model contests, I always refused to be a judge, I just couldn't judge other peoples work, so I always ran the shows, so I wouldn't have to judge, LOL.
Here is a picture of the kit I bought that day. Never been able to score one again. I built it as the hot rod pu version.
Here is the catalog he gave me (not the actual one, my original was lost in a rainstorm while moving) this one I bought at GSL in the early 1990s.
After he gave me my first one, I ordered every AW catalog up to 1976, all were lost.
I look at it all the time. Now I have most of the kits listed.
Here is a shot of the truck, the Fairlane above was the first 1/25 car I built.
I was also thrilled to see these, the 1/32 Willys, Fiat and Ford, that were the very first cars I built at Mcquire, AFB.
and here was the Shuklis article.
on a side note, my best friend Tim Pentecost, restored one of Daves models for the Model Builders museum in Salt Lake City
Shortly before Tim passed away.
So there you have it.
I have a lot of model stories, since I am one of the few that stayed in model building since then.
If this one didn't bore you too much, I'll tell you some more, some day.
Thanks
Jim
