2019 Model Car Hall of Fame Inductee Class

 

Automotive Artist: Marcello Gandini

Born in Turin, Marcello Gandini began designing for now-legendary marque Lamborghini early in their history as head of Bertone.  As the designer behind the legendary Miura and Countach, Gandini has solidified his position as one of the great designers in automotive history.

Automotive Legend: Giorgetto Giugiaro

Sponsored by Hagerty Insurance

Giugiaro is a legendary artist and designer behind some of the most storied automobiles, including Ferrari’s, Lancias, BMW’s and VW’s.

Collector of the Year: Roy Friend

Sponsored by Hagerty Insurance

Roy Lee Friend Jr. is a huge collector of Hot Wheels, a long-time member of DiecastNutz and has been active in the diecast collecting world for many years always offering his help.

Model Builder of the Year: Mark Gustavson

Leader of the International Model Car Builders Museum, a hub and resource for model kit builders worldwide.

Model Car Customizer: Jimi Coppola

Jimi Coppola is a diecast customizer under the name Jimi’z Junkyard Kustoms. Coppola specializes in Hot Wheels 1/64 scale models, and works with handmade aluminum parts fabricated by his self.

Model Car Designer: Alton Takeyasu

Prolific designer of Hot Wheels, in 2006 he became the Senior Director for Mattel Toys Wheels Design and went on to design cars like the El Camino, Double Loop Cars and Barrel Roll Buggy.

Model Car Entrepreneur: Leslie Charles Smith (posthumous)

Leslie Charles Smith co-founded of Lesney Toys, later Matchbox, a genre-defining producer of scale vehicles.

Model Car Entrepreneur: Bob Korunow 

Bob, an award-winning model builder into modelling since childhood, runs Model Car Garage, an online retailer dedicated to model car accessories Offering more than 400 items.

Model Car Historian: Mike Richardson (posthumous)

Mike Richardson is the author of two books on Dinky Toys, Dinky Toys & Modelled Miniatures, chronicling models from across the brand’s long history.

Model Car Historian: Tim Boyd

As a writer and contributor with Scale Auto, Boyd has reported on and reviewed hundreds of models for one of the largest scale publications out there.

Slot Car Racer of the Year: Tony Lester

A lifelong slot car fan, Lester maintains a huge collection of slot cars, especially Scalextric, documenting his pursuits on Youtube, where you can see his large detailed tracks populated with tons of unique cars.

Original article here