Late Breaking News for GSL XXIII

Please check in here often for the latest information on the Twenty-Third GSL International Scale Vehicle Championship and Convention, presented by The International Model Car Builders' Museum. Here, we'll post new information and developments on GSL-XXIII, along with the date(s) that news is posted so that you can keep track of when you last checked in.

July 28, 2010

We are pleased to announce that the Trade Show will once again be presented on Saturday morning, April 30, 2011, from 8:00 a.m. to noon at GSL-XXIII. We have allocated our largest number of tables ever for a GSL Trade Show and expect a large number of vendors to be available to present their products and services to GSL attendees.

While we are soliciting a wide array of aftermarket vendors and manufacturers and encouraging them to attend, we invite you to make contact with your favorite vendor or parts/kit supplier and see if they plan to be part of the "GSL Experience" in 2011. As registrations are received, we will prominently feature the names and contact information of vendors who will be present. Additional information about being a part of the Trade Show is available here.

Additionally, we've created another new page to pass along information on the Seminars which have come to be a large part of the attraction of attending the GSL Championship. Since GSL-VIII, we've hosted seminars and other gatherings for the enjoyment and edification of GSL competitors and attendees, and GSL-XXIII will be no different. Learn more about the seminars planned for the next Championship!

Plan on attending the next GSL Championship. Already, we know of a number of great projects that will be in competition. You'll have a great time!

June 19, 2010

We're pleased to say that we've signed the contract with the Sheraton City Centre Hotel, the same great place we've held the GSL Championships in 2007 and 2009. Please note the following details about the hotel, and how to reserve a room for GSL-XXIII!

• Room cost (single/double): $102 plus applicable room tax;
• Reservation number (toll free): 800-325-3535. Be SURE to tell them you're with GSL to get the special room rate
• Every GSL registration will receive, upon arrival, a 20% discount card to the on-site restaurant, Olio Ristorante that can be used throughout the Championship
• The Sheraton offers a complimentary airport shuttle
• On site parking is without charge
• You should reserve your room at least thirty (30) days in advance of April 27, 2011 to be guaranteed the room rate (after that, the room block will be "released" and you'd almost certainly be probably be charged the higher rate of $149 and up, depending upon availability)
• The Sheraton City Centre is a place of "public accommodation" and is in compliance with the Americans with Disability Act.  If you have a requirement for special accommodation in your overnight room, inform the Hotel when you reserve your room
• To learn more about the host hotel (which has just undergone a $14M renovation), go here: http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/search/hotel_detail.html?propertyID=1327

We've got a great GSL Championship and Convention planned. See you here next year!

June 10, 2010

We have just published the GSL Review/Preview which succinctly summarizes the 2009 Championship as well as outlining the next Championship. View/Download

May 2010
 
New Website Section
To make access to GSL publications easier, we've created a "GSL Library" icon on the home page. There, you can find these books and other publications all of which are free downloads. Please check out the GSL Library that will be supplemented soon with a revolving series of past GSL seminars and related publications.
 
Display at GSL-XXIII:
The International Model Car Builders' Museum will present a special exhibit – "The Models of How-To Articles" – at GSL-XXII that will feature a range of models that were the subject of how-to articles in Models Cars, Rod & Custom Models, and Scale Auto magazines. These models will range from the Sixties through 2010. More information on this soon!
 
Remember the special Classes for the next Championship:
We will again present the traditional competitive Classes including the Common Kit Class (Revell's 1957 Chevy Black Widow) and Group 11 (any of the following Daniel kits can be entered: Bad Man, Bad Medicine, Beer Wagon, California Street Vette, Cherry Bomb, Dragon Wagon, Garbage Truck, Horn Toad, Paddy Wagon, Pie Wagon, Quicksilver/Street Fighter, Red Baron, Rommel's Rod, S'cool Bus, Tijuana Taxi and T-rantula). Remember, these kits can be built in any style or with any modifications you wish to make).
 
Third GSL Judge Not Yet Selected:
GSL Championship Judges Mark S. Gustavson and Bob Wick are always joined by a third, ad-hoc judge typically (but not always) invited from GSL competitors. Several candidates are being considered, and a selection will be made in the next few months.
 
GSL Review/Preview:
To acquaint the hobby generally with the GSL Championship, GSL Trustees have written the traditional Review/Preview, complete with photographs, that should be available in the very near future. Thanks to Jeremiah Gladstone for layout and photo placement.
 
Statistics of Best of Show Models for first Twenty-Two Championships:
The GSL Championship had its genesis in the idea that high-quality automotive modeling should be presented in a setting befitting the excellence of the models entered there. And, at each Championship, just one entry is honored with the "GSL Best of Show" award. Since the first GSL event in 1979, a series of great models have won the coveted designation. As well, each Best of Show model would also win other major awards in the Championships in which they were entered – those additional awards are listed below.  
 
Each Best of Show winner not only exhibits mastery of basic craftsmanship, but also shows a commitment to risk-taking and the highest levels of the builder's modeling skills and creativity. Each model is the finest representation of the art of scale vehicle modeling in the Championship it won.
 
The list of winners and their models reveal a number of interesting facts and firsts: 

• There have been two factory stock models, two customs, seven street rods, four competition models, four replicas, one motorcycle, a street machine, and one design study that have won Best of Show;
• There have been three builders with multiple Best of Show wins;
• Both of the two customs were the designs of their builders, and both were painted red. These models were separated by a 22-year interval;
• The first "large scale" winner appeared in the third Championship;
• The sole design-study "phantom" model picked up on cues from the Classics era in French coach building;
• One of the four competition models was open-wheeled, and the other three built for road coarse or a circle track racing;
• The replica models were diverse: a land speed racer, a vintage Barris custom truck, a vintage Thunderbird, a NASCAR vehicle, and the George Whittell car;
• Real chrome plating first appeared on the GSL-IV Best of Show model;
• Street rod models were the subject most represented with seven models, all of which featured contemporary in chassis design and driveline appointments;
• Only two models have exhibited real-use weathering in its finishes;
• Only one Best of Show model has not enjoyed a feature in any model car magazine;
• Three Ford "woodies" have won the top award, two of which were street rods;
• Six of the Best of Show models have been in a scale larger than 1/24-1/25;
• It was not until the seventh Championship that the first Street Rod took Best of Show, after which six of the next 14 winning models were Street Rods. No Street Rod model has won Best of Show since 1999;
• Three of the last five Best of Show winners are in a scale larger than 1/24-1/25;
• There was an eleven-year hiatus between the first and next "large scale" winning model;
• Only one builder has claimed the Best of Show award two consecutive times;
• There has been only one non-strictly automotive winner – a motorcycle;
• Machined parts have appeared on fourteen of the twenty-one winning models to date;
• Only three Best of Show models have been totally scratchbuilt;
• No Street rod Best of Show model was in a scale other than 1/24-1/25;
• Only six of the Best of Show models were voted Modeler's Choice;
• No Best of Show model has been awarded more than three Master Awards, and only two such models enjoyed that many Master Awards;
• No Best of Show model was built strictly out-of-the-box or using only kit-supplied parts;
• One Best of Show model appeared in two feature articles in Scale Auto and was on the cover twice;
• Two of the Best of Show-winning builders have passed away; and
• Nine of the Best of Show models have been donated to the International Model Car Builders' Museum, with three additional models presently on loan.

March 2010
Seminars at GSL-XXIII

We've tentatively decided upon our seminar schedule for GSL-XXIII. To inaugurate a new tradition, we've decided upon a theme for our instructional seminars: "Creating Scale Vehicle Realism" around which a series of seminars will be organized: 

• Researching Your Project
• Scale Model Painting
• Authentic Mechanical Detailing
• Realistic Upholstery Techniques

Invitations have been extended to leading craftsmen in our hobby – we hope to announce the presenters soon. These seminars will start Thursday, April 28, and conclude on Friday, April 29, 2011 at the host hotel.

Each of these "theme" seminars will be 45-75 minutes in length, and be augmented by handouts and possible power point presentations. 

Additionally, the following seminars will be presented on Thursday and Friday: 

"How I Built My GSL Best of Show Winner"  Randy Derr was the big winner at GSL-XXII (2009), and he'll present a seminar on how he built his top award-winning model. 

"The Wonders of the International Model Car Builders' Museum" By Mark S. Gustavson and Alan Raab 

"Diorama Construction: How to Research your Subject and Stick with the Plan" By Don Strong and Jim Fernandez

"The Predicta Project – Redux and Developments" By Mark S. Gustavson with assistance from Bob Wick. Please visit here for more information on this project.

January 2010.
During GSL-XXII in 2009, the International Model Car Builders' Museum published a major modeling book, How to Build Championship Models: Construction Considerations for Building Championship-Caliber Models, authored by Mark S. Gustavson and Robert A. Wick. The Museum extends its deepest appreciation to Paul Anagnostopoulos for laying out this book, and to Jeremiah Gladstone for perfecting the photos and producing the illustrations. This book is being distributed by the Museum without charge for the sake of passing along critical planning and technical articles on building championship models. Download this book. Or see what else is available and download it from the Library.

Additionally, the Museum published a book on the past GSL Best of Show winners (GSL-1 through GSL-XXI) and this book is also available as a free downloadable PDF in the Library. Thanks to Jeremy Gladstone for laying out this book. Text is credited to Mark S. Gustavson and Robert A. Wick. All photos courtesy the GSL Archives at the International Model Car Builders' Museum.   

December 2009:
The Twenty-Third GSL International Scale Vehicle Championship and Convention will be presented Thursday, April 28 through Sunday, May 1, 2011 at the Salt Lake Sheraton City Centre Hotel (the same excellent place where GSL-XXII and XXIII was held). The overnight room prices have increased by just one dollar per night! Here are the details: All rooms are $103 base rent (1-4 person occupancy) plus room tax of 12.46%.

Plans are well underway for the Twenty-Third GSL Championship. We will again present the traditional range of competitive Classes, three days of seminars, a day of Museum tours, the Museum-benefit auction, the famed Trade Show, four days of renewed friendships and shared experiences, and the Awards Breakfast on Sunday morning, May 1. We will start the Championship and Convention on Thursday morning, April 28, 2009 with a general "welcome" opening session at 10:00 a.m. to hand out the Championship and Convention schedule, acquaint everyone with last-minute details and developments, and talk generally about the event. The Contest Hall will open for registering scale autos for competition at 11:00 a.m. that Thursday morning, and seminars will start at Noon, Thursday and extend through Saturday afternoon, April 30, 2011. Judging will occur on Saturday evening, starting at 5:30 p.m. with the Awards Banquet held on Sunday morning, May 1, 2011 at the Sheraton Hotel.

Of course, Class Rules and definitions for Box Plus, Common Kit and Group 11 Class have changed. Please check out the following new details for GSL-XXIII: 

1.The BOX PLUS Class now permits the use of any decals – from any source whatever
(sourced from other kits, the aftermarket, or self-produced) on your entry. Please go here to read the full text for this Class (scroll down)

2.COMMON KIT: The Common Kit for GSL-XXIII is the Revell 1957 Chevrolet 210 Sedan/Black Widow kit (#85-4240). The entrant may build this kit in any style (e.g., factory stock, custom, drag, etc.), and may modify the kit body shape, swap parts from any other kits, and use any aftermarket parts (except for complete aftermarket resin bodies), and use any building materials, techniques or technologies, subject to the "single builder" rules of the Championship. The intent of this Class is for each entrant to start with the same kit, then display their widest array of individual creativity, building skills, craftsmanship and technical innovations. 

3.GROUP 11. This Class is intended to revive and celebrate vintage kits and building styles,
to create a low-key, fun and challenging forum for creative and enthusiastic building, and to celebrate the way models were built in the "good old days."

For GSL-XXIII, we're expanding the basic kit definition to include the following Tom Daniel 1/24 scale glue kits from Monogram, available from 1968 through 1976:

Bad Man
Bad Medicine
Beer Wagon
California Street Vette
Cherry Bomb
Dragon Wagon
Garbage Truck
Horn Toad
Paddy Wagon
Pie Wagon
Quicksilver/Street Fighter
Red Baron
Rommel's Rod
S'cool Bus
Tijuana Taxi
T-rantula
 

Please note: No other Tom Daniel kits are eligible for Group 11. 

Entries may be built from any original or re-issue version of the listed kits, in any style, with the skills and craftsmanship you have today, but using only parts, materials and supplies (except current putties, adhesives and paints) available 35 years ago (1976 or earlier), including Bare Metal Foil. There are just three additional limitations: no one-off machined or photo-etched parts not fabricated by the entrant; no aftermarket products available in 1977 or later; and no resin bodies or resin body parts (regardless of who made these resin parts).

We have a new feature – FAQs! – where common questions are asked and answered.

Note also that we no longer permit mail-in entries because of substantial damages that these models always suffer in transit. If you can't attend, please find a friend to bring your entry(ies) to GSL.

Because of the cost of doing so, the Championship no longer generally publishes the GSL Preview and the GSL Manual. These documents are available only online through this website.

Starting now in December 2009, we'll update this GSL website as often as the need arises and, starting about 6 months before GSL-XXIII, the site will be updated once a month. Please check back here often for the latest/most correct information on the upcoming twenty-second GSL Championship. 

If you wish to sign up for e-mail notes about GSL-XXIII, please go here, fill out the form, and submit it.