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The International Model Car Builders' Museum was founded with a simple goal: Preserve the memories of
this great hobby for all hobbyists - old and new – and promote and support contemporary contests and displays which encourage current builders. The mission of the Museum is multifaceted. Our
initial effort has been to gather and chronicle the history of the model car hobby from the perspective of the builder. The Museum isn't about collecting kits, though we have a modest collection of
rare items. Instead, our goal has been to collect as much information and as many artifacts about services and supplies offered to hobbyists, and to focus on those individuals who have expressed their
craftsmanship and creativity by constructing scale miniature automobiles. The Museum has several display cases filled with the models of the famous and the obscure alike, each divided into topical
displays: street rod, customs, replica stock and competition. We have a large library, display cabinets dedicated to the major kit manufacturers, and we collect memorabilia from contests and
displays from around the world.
As part of the effort to chronicle and celebrate the history of our hobby, we have created the Hot 150/Clone the Past program with its accompanying display case that identifies the most influential models in the history of our hobby, and then to either
acquire/restore the original model, or replicate and present the same in a chronological display. This program is an essential "core" effort because there needs to be a way of acknowledging, and
understanding, the history of the technological development of model car construction since the hobby first emerged. Click to learn more about the Clone the Past and Hot 150 programs.
Additionally, we have created the Scan the Past program which focuses on the goal of digitalizing
significant model car magazines and related publications that have chronicled the history of our hobby. Said another way, we need to preserve the written history of our hobby while the original
magazines are available to us. This Scan the Past program is based upon the burgeoning collection of magazines that we've been collecting since 1988.
Another goal is to participate in current activities in the hobby. For years, the Museum has been the
chief sponsor of the GSL International Scale Vehicle Championship and Convention which has, since 1979, sought out the best builders in today's hobby and provided them a venue in which craftsmanship would be rewarded. The Museum now presents publications in each Championship, including the most recent, when two books were created. As recently, the Museum has realized a long-term goal by reaching out to local contests, and the famed NNL events, and local/regional contests around the United States and Canada: Museum Trustee Jim "Hollywood" Fernandez has most ably taken on the task of creating a large data base of competitive events and NNL displays, and offering those events Museum support while working with promoters to distribute Museum brochures and gathering donations to support our efforts. Our ever-garrulous Jim has very successfully contacted many dozens of clubs and offered our support. In the next year, we hope that Jim's efforts can be extended to get these many organizations to assist the Museum with our several programs.
We're always looking for volunteers and people who want to be actively involved in the
Museum. Please contact us to find out what we need, or to assist in any way.
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