Bob Paeth has been around one looooooong time.  He has accomplished a great deal in making our hobby what it is today.  His first model was a 1/32 scale rubber Oldsmobile sedan that his grandfather gave to him when he was born ( he still has it ).  According to family history, he had started customizing other small rubber cars by the age of three.  Changes were accomplished using modeling clay, fender changes, roof profiles, etc.  When he was old enough to reach the knife drawer in his mothers kitchen, he grabbed the paring knife so he could cut open the windows and cut off the running boards ( in 1938 all cars had running boards ).  His next step in his evolution of modeling came in 1949 with the purchase of a 4-door Ford (with chrome windows ).

             Primary tools were an Ex-acto knife and a hack saw blade.  Instead of modeling clay a mixture of talcum powder and clear dope was used for alterations.  A little later, Testors offered a putty named "Fyll" that was quicker and easier to use.  Experimenting and building what has to be considered "glue bombs" continued thru 1953 with models of the '50 Ford, '50 Plymouth, '51 Ford, Pontiac and the '53 Pontiac.  These cars were built and re-built several times as money became scarce.  Activities during these years were mainly kept to cutting out photos from new car brochures, cutting and pasting them into "customs on paper". 

             1958 brought the advent of the AMT 3-in-one model kits ( including the famous '32 Ford roadster ).  Money was again no problem so Buicks, Fords, Edsels etc.  went "under the torch".  Bob has always wondered how close he was to being the first modeler to customize scale cars.  His first encounter with another modeler came in 1960.  He and three others formed a very loose-knit club and exchanged ideas and parts.  On a whim the four approached the Oakland Roadster Show with the idea of holding a model car contest.  The show promoter, Al Slonaker, liked the idea and the contest ran for three years, terminating in 1963. 

             The termination was brought on by Bob accepting an offered position with Revell.  It was in the new products department with the responsibility of new kit selection.  From April of 1963 through most of 1970 all of the car kits, motorcycle kits and slot racing selections were Bob's ideas.  All in all he was responsible for over 85 model cars, "bikes" and slot cars.  His selections were, among others, '51 Henry J, '55 Chevy, '51 Anglia and the Thames panel delivery, his own personal designs, "Meter Cheater", "Pat Pending" ( this series was Corvair powered and considered street rods).  He also designed "Miss Deal" and "The "Dodge Revellion".  All of the custom 1/8 scale custom motorcycles through 1969 were of his designs also. 

             During his tenure at Revell he participated in the two Testors national contests and (with help) judged over 10,000 entries.  One of his extra curricular activates during these "Revell years" was to write “how-to-articles” for the old magazines "Model Car Science" and "Car Model".  Over 100 articles appeared under his authorship.  Bob left Revell in January, 1970 and moved to Portland Oregon. 

             In 1970 he approached the Portland Roadster Show and tried to convince them that they needed a model car contest, but was turned down.  The show had the same answer in 1971.  They gave up in 1972 and the first Portland Classic Model Car Contest was held.  In February 2008 this contest will hold its 37th annual.  This is the longest, continuous contest in the U.S, and probably the world. Two BIG years for Bob was in 1997 and 1998 when he received the "Cassie Van Draiss Award” from the NNL West and was also inducted into the Salt Lake City Model Car Museum, Hall of Fame. 

             In 1982 he helped form the "Scale Auto Builders Association", SABA, which celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary in 2007.  At 73, Bob is still going strong: a "dinosaur" from the "Golden Age of Modeling".

 

Special Note:

   We asked Bob to provide us with some bio information for this page.  This is what he sent us “verbatim”.  (He even wrote it in third-person for us in true professional editorial fashion.)

    The KC Slammers would NEVER consider Bob a “dinosaur’  so we really want you to know that those are his own words!

                 Bob will be conducting special modeling workshops during the Heartland Contest for all interested modelers on Sunday, June 22, and will be a member of the round-table discussion to be held from

7:00 PM - 9:30 PM the evening of Saturday, June 22, at the Overland Park Convention Center.

           We hope that you’ll be able to join in on the fun, information, and great memories that Bob has to share with us!

           Here are some pictures of just some of Bob’s modeling work and the fruits of his Revell Years!

Source:  The International Model Car Builder’s Museum Website

Revell produced a model kit of this Road Agent, under the direction of Bob Paeth and Jim Keeler.

Source: Mark Gustavson’s Custom Clinic Website