Or more accurately, one evening awhile back: Your Illustrious Editor (YIE!) and I were typing back and forth on the AOL Instant Messenger and somehow fell upon the subject of the Ten Most Important People in our little "HO" slot car hobby. Of course, since he is The Editor, he suggested that I use this as a basis for a story to be used in HO World. Since I used to be an editor, I had used this ploy myself, quite successfully, numerous times ... turning an otherwise polite conversation into a story assignment . . . so I saw it coming. Not having learned to prevent my own weapons from being used against me; here I sit typing said article! Your Illustrious Editor , came up with his list of the top ten Most Important, and I had several nominees that didn't match his . . . that's the way these things go. On top of that, he said I couldn't use his list in the article. Guess he didn't want to fight the backlash!

I thought it might even be fun to have HO World members vote, . . . just to see if we could come up with some kind of Universal Consensus; and we may have a chance to do that at the end of the article. For now, though, you'll just have to suffer through my version of Top Ten! You may or may not agree with my lists, either in population or in order, so please feel free to write into the member's section and voice your opinions/corrections!

First and Foremost!

On the very top, and agreed upon by both YIE and myself, is one Derek Brand. Derek is the inspired Englishman who invented, not only the vintage Vibrator (slot car, that is!), but more importantly, the Very Famous Thunderjet 500. As a pioneer in our hobby, no one else even comes close. While you may say that someone else might have invented our hobby if Derek didn't, the fact remains that he not only thought of it, he put his sizeable reputation on the line to promote it. Well done, Derek, and a hearty "Thank You Sir" from all of us here!

After number one, however, it gets tough! To lighten the load a bit, I have separated these following folks into categories. Even that wasn't easy, however, since several of these gentlemen properly fit into more than one!

The Writers (a. Books, b. 'Newsletters and 'zines):

1.) Thomas Graham, 2.) Bob Beers, 3.) Dan Esposito and 4.) Johnnie Clark. With an Honorable Mentions to Rob Budano and Howard Johansen.

Tom Graham's book gets number one in my book, because he was the one who not only cataloged the pieces, he told the story! And a beautiful story it is. I read his book cover-to-cover the night I received it, and have re-read it several times since. A truly wonderful work, exceptionally well written! Perhaps Dan Esposito and Bob Beers should share the number two spot, but just because Aurora is a more popular subject, I'm giving Bob the 2nd step on the podium. Excellent works by both, however, absolutely no question. Since Dan did tell some of the Tyco "story", maybe he does deserve 2nd more. I can't decide, really! Tough call . . . Johnnie Clark, because of his research and presentation on his Aurora Guide, Rob Budano ditto for his work on Tomy, and Howard for his useful catalog of darn near everything. Lack of photos drops Howard's Guide down a notch in my opinion, but a great published resource none the less.

Newsletters and 'zines

5.) Ken Shapiro and Rick Burneson for HO-USA, 6.) Joel Vanderkolk for Lots of Slots, 7.) Doug Passell for HO:RACE, 8.) Bob Beers for HOCARS, 9.) Art Zebrecky for Slot Car Trader, 10.) Rod Thurgood for HO-OZ and 11.) Rob Anderson for HO'sers. 12. Andy Meyer for "The HO Mailing List." Yes, I know it was supposed to be a Top Ten . . . I might also add that its not really fair to put Andy in this list, but he fits here better than in any of the others. HO World has been left off only because its so new, but Mr. Marketos has done a wonderful job with it so far. With all the articles and photos, it's a perfect compliment for Andy's "The Mailing List."

The Top Three

Okay, slam me for putting HO-USA first, but in my (perhaps not so humble . . .) opinion, it really was the best of the lot. And I subscribed to the others, so I actually do know what I'm talking about here. For those of you who have been there and read that, I would think you'd agree. For the rest of you . . . have a shot at me, I don't care! I know what was in each of those Newsletters and 'zines, and I feel like that's an honest (and not egotistical) evaluation! That said . . . I put Joel in 2nd just because Lots of Slots was so well written. It didn't claim to cover the whole hobby, but what it did, it did very, very well. I just wish I could write as well as Joel! I still have every issue of Lots of Slots, and don't intend to get rid of them any time soon! Doug gets the last podium spot, because not only is HO:RACE well written and organized, it continues to this day in spite of the huge pull to "put it on the Internet" that launched the final blows to the printed version of HO-USA.

The Best of the Rest

Bob Beers (2nd list mention for you Bob!) is next up, since HOCARS was a fine (if rather small) publication for many years, and catered to the hard-core T-Jetters amongst us, with long lists of cars for sale, long before ebay was a glimmer in anyone's "e-mind". Art Zebrecky was not quite as successful, but had a loyal band of followers for several years as well. He was known to wander off into the world of Hot Wheels (before they were "electric"!), and had a few other idiosyncrasies, but his was a valuable asset to the hobby too. Rod Thurgood (Australia, mate) and Rob Anderson (Canada, aye) both made fine contributions, but both of their 'zines met with unfortunately early deaths. Rod's HO OZ became badly infected with the disease of the "larger scales", all of which eventually caused a change of name, and a huge change of focus. HO'sers ran out of steam for some reason (I'm sure Rob told me once . . .) but the Canadian voice was welcome while it lasted!

Not Forgetting . . .

Finally, we have Andy Meyer, the webmaster of the HO slot car Mailing List, oft called (incorrectly, as Andy points out) "The D.L.," who was the first to bring our hobby a daily presence on the Internet. Andy brought the communication up to speed, and allows all of us to enjoy our hobby (and communicate with similarly stricken addicts) much more readily than any of the forms of printed communication mentioned above.

The Race Promoters:

There are so many different kinds of "HO" racing, yet so few really large events, that this one will probably be a topic for much debate. From my experience, however, this is how I call 'em:

1.) Nick Sismey for this tireless efforts on behalf of the H:O 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Largest HO slot car race on the planet, based on total number of miles traveled by 8 little racing cars, over a full 24 hour day (technically, a bit longer due to lane change times, but you get the idea!). Since I have raced in this event myself, and seen the kind of work that goes into it, both on "race day" and the many months before, this one gets my highest vote. On top of all that, Nick swings his personal weight around (difficult for such a skinny guy!) and pulls in such Big Name sponsors as Rolls Royce and UPS! Not to mention that the proceeds go to children's charities ... Phil Rees gets a Le Mans mention as well, for being the guy with all the work and very little glory ... without whom the event probably would not happen either!

There's Nothing Like The Fray
2.) Rick Phillis for his equally (I'm sure!) tireless efforts to "Manage" The Fray in Ferndale. When you see all those racers, with all those cars, racing for all those teams on all those tracks (whew!); you may justifiably wonder how anyone could put all those variables in place and bring off an organized event. As if that's not enough (and many think it is!) the team competition is followed by an individual competition (seeded by one's team-race results). Rick and his computer-genius daughter Megan Phillis manage to keep all the results tallied, scored and totaled, so that every team (and individual) knows where they stand as the day (and night) progress. Amazing, really. The same can be said of Brian "Gearbox" at Le Mans, as no one really appreciates the timekeepers, as they should! Bob Marketos (YIE!) gets the 2nd banana award in Fray-dom, for his tireless efforts as a promoter of same. Not that he does much actual work, but he does talk (and type) a lot!

The HOPRA Nats!
3. I don't know who to name here, but the HOPRA Nats are the other racing event-celebrations that should be nominated for this award. Perhaps some of the HOPRA racers can help me here and fill in the names! Bill Miles is the only one that comes to mind as the promoter of multiple HOPRA Nats., though there may well be many more that I don't know. The only HOPRA Nats. I attended was '95 in Milwaukee, and that was a beautifully organized event, with many racers, a huge diversity of racing classes (as opposed to just one each for Le Mans and The Fray) and 100+ drivers to keep tallied. I have heard consistently good things about this event for some 25+ years now (longer than H:O Le Mans and The Frey put together) so one may argue (rightfully) that perhaps the HOPRA Nats. should be in Number One position!

Honorable Mentions

Okay, there you have the Podium for The Events! If anyone has more nominees I would be happy to hear them! The Western States Championships would be one, I'm sure, as would the UFHORA Nats., yet I would tend to discount both, since the former is really the competition arm of Scale Auto/BSRT/Gary Beedle, while the later is ditto for Wizzard/Bob Lincoln. In that sense, both of these events are more for the monetary benefit of their perpetrators than for the abstract good of the hobby. They exist in quite a different realm for that reason, since neither Nick Sismey nor Rich Phillis make a dime from their events. From what I've heard of the HOPRA Nats, they're pretty much a break-even thing as well. Please correct me if I'm wrong!

The Inventors, The Engineers, The Proprietors . . . and Racers

2). John Cukrus (remember Derek Brand got #1 on this list!); as the inventor of the G-Plus motor/chassis and the Tyco 440 (and later X-2), with his fingers not only on the trigger of the controller (several times National Champion in his younger years and a very competitive driver to this day), but also on the development of a huge variety of aspects of our hobby (yes, even U.S. 1 Trucking!). And he is still the president of our local HO racing club; thank you John!

3.) The third spot on this podium goes to Tony Porchelli, the inventor of the Super II (even though Aurora did lose it in the translation to production!), an engineer to AFX and MagnaTraction, an absolute top level racer (to this day) and the owner of SlotTech. This guy has forgotten more than most of us will ever know about how to make the cars go faster, work better, and last longer than the competition. And this is not to mention that he's the top racer in the highest echelon of Neo Unlimited racing. Yes, Neos, . . . the ones that are so fast that we mere mortals can't even see them!

4.) Gary Beedle, as the owner of Scale Auto/BSRT, another fine racer, with a history of one go-fast part after another (armatures, tires, chassis, you name it!), very much parallel to Tony Porchelli, in fact. Funny how they seem to be doing very similar things, at the opposite ends of the U.S. (Gary in Washington state, Tony in Florida) and meeting every year (almost) at the HOPRA Nats! So yes, Gary can engineer, he can race very competitively, and he can manage a business totally dedicated to HO slot cars. Sounds like a lot to me!

5.) Jim Russell, former Main Man at Russkit, and the U.S. arm of AFX-Tomy; presently the head of Racemasters, Tomy's agent in the U.S. and inventor of the "Parma" controller. 6.) Bob Lincoln at Wizzard, the developer of the Patriot and numerous other parts for the go-fast magnet racer HO slot cars, and 7.) Finally, we have Phillipe deLespinay, the inventor of the Cox HO slot car, which eventually (Amrac to Rokar to Galoob) morphed into the LifeLike we know today.

Men with Great Bodies (slot car bodies, that is)

1.) Jason Boye (BRM) 2.) Chris Mullis (HO Detroit) 3.) Jorgen Mueller (Bauer) 4.) Harrison Woodrow (Model Motoring), 5.) Mike Vitale (MEV Originals) 6). Thierry Taupanes (Racing Legends) 7.) Mark Hilderbrand (NightMare Racing) 8.) Phil Pignon (Road Race Replicas), 9.) Randy Neidert, 10.) Dave Rothwell, 11) Bill Miles.

Geez Louise, this is tough! Okay, let's put it this way . . . Chris Mullis and Jason Boye are both on top. They are far ahead of whomever is in 3rd. Regarding which is better, that's a really difficult judgement. They are both artists and craftsmen, and they’re both absolutely anal about accuracy, detail and getting the right "look" to their cars. After a lot of careful consideration, I guess I have to give the title to Jason, overall, just because I know he sculpts all his own masters, and Chris doesn't. And as good as their work is ("perfection" is not a good enough word!) their emphasis couldn't be more dissimilar. Chris makes American Muscle Cars that fit T-Jet motor/chassis, while Jason makes Sports and GT cars that fit the Tyco / Mattel motor/chassis. So which ones you buy depends more on how your personal automotive and slot car affinities line up. In either case, you can't go wrong. Both HO Detroit and BRM (Boye's Racing Models) are fantastically well crafted and manufactured. You just have to wonder how much racing action any of these cars is going to see, because who is going to risk damaging one of these lovely cars to the hazards of race day?

Who's On Third?

That brings us to the (almost) equally difficult question, "Who's in third?" I'm thinking it has to be either Harrison Woodrow for his (new) Model Motoring cars, or Jorgen Mueller for his Bauers. But maybe it's Mike Vitale? The one thing they all have in common is that they are working with the Thunderjet platform. The other thing is that their work is all very, very good. I know that Mike does all his own masters, and the other two don't, so I'm inclined to name Mr. Vitale to the third and last Podium step. On the other hand (and this is difficult to have to say ... sorry Mike!) the accuracy and "look" of the M.E.V. cars is a (small!) step below the Model Motoring and the Bauer examples. I know this is a subjective judgement, so please feel free to disagree ... but to my eye, there are several M.E.V.'s that are close, but not quite there. By this point in the article, you're probably saying the same thing about some of my assessments! So again, this is just my opinion!

Doesn't Get Easier!

However, moving right along (and pushing M.E.V. down to fifth), that brings us to decision time, i.e. Model Motoring vs. Bauer. Since I'm the one writing this article, and I am a sports car guy, a foreign car guy ... and I really do like so many of the Bauer subject cars (Oh My God, an MGB!) ... I'm going to put the Bauers in 3rd place, and the (new) Model Motoring in 4th. Sorry Harrison! You do make some beautiful cars, but they're All-American cars, they're all (well, almost all) Muscle Cars, to the point of being an automotive cliche of that whole period (the 50's and 60's). While this suits some folks just fine, frankly, I find it a bit boring. And okay, okay . . . say what you will about the Borgward Isabella, the D.K.W. and the ancient B.M.W.'s and Volvos, but at least they aren't boring! The variety is amazing, and the outright audacity of Bauer's coming up with some of these obscure beasts; . . . I, for one, think it's really wonderful! Finally, the detail, the "look" and the fit/finish (aside from the rather rough v.first lot) are excellent. Depending on the examples you pick out, it is possible that this particular Model Motoring car will be done better than that specific Bauer, or vice versa. From that standpoint they really are very close. So I will grant you a tie here, but my points go to Bauer. This isn't going to be a popular call, I know! No, Really!

That said, however, I really do like Harrison's cars, most esp. the '69 Donohue Sunoco Camaro. They are well modeled, well finished, display handsomely and race well in a "Fray" or similar setting. If your tastes tend to run to Chevrolets, Mustangs and Pontiacs (and T-Jets of course), you won't be disappointed in the offerings of the new Model Motoring. Now that I have that settled (hah!), we move into the hotly contested battle for sixth place in HO bodydom (Mr. Vitale got 5th, remember).

The French and the NightMare

For sixth, Thierry Taupanes of Racing Legends gets my vote. While not well known in the U.S. (Thierry is French), I see his diverse work every year at the H:O Le Mans event in England. And I don't use the word "diverse" lightly. Thierry does every thing from a Panoz to a Lakester '32 Ford. His Corvette Grand Sport makes the Johnny Lightning example look like a bad joke, plus a lovely Porsche 550 Spyder, even a Marcos! Thierry's work is all for the AFX and Tomy motor/chassis (not so diverse in that way!), and all very high quality. Thierry does absolutely beautiful work. I put Mark Hilderbrand (NightMare Racing) in seventh; another diverse character, with Speed Racer and Racer X, the Monkee Mobile, . . . and then the Tyrrell 006, McLaren F-1 Road car, and the Mercedes CLK at the other extreme. Not to mention (but I will), that Mark does all the casting for Jason Boye's BRM bodies. No HO slot body list would be complete without a mention for Phil Pignon and Road Race Replicas. This is the man with all the small parts (chrome, drivers, exhaust pipes, etc.) for the T-Jets and some of the AFX series. Honestly, I haven't seen any of his more recent work, so he may belong higher up on the scale. In the land of clear bodies for racing ... Number one is definitely Randy Neidert (9th overall), #2 Dave Rothwell (10th overall), #3 Bill Miles / Thunderbolt (11th overall).

The Artists

Number one in my book is Frank Figuls. His art, his style, his automotive knowledge and sense of humor all combine to make the finest examples of HO slot car Art I've ever seen. I was happy to see each and every piece of work he sent to HO-USA, and I have his paintings and drawings on my walls to this day. Great work Frank! All this is in addition to serving as the captain of the French Team at H:O Le Mans! 2.) Second place goes the T-jet Thrill-ustrations creator Bob Hardin (with an eye!). Bob certainly has a sense of humor too, and anyone who has seen his paintings and drawings will no doubt agree. Another contributor to HO-USA, his art was always welcome, well done, and very funny too! On the third step of the podium I would have to place David Romero, yet another valued artistic contributor to HO-USA and a creator of some of the best HO slot car decals I ever had the pleasure to apply!

The Trackies

When it comes to the manufacturing of "HO" slot car tracks, Derek Brand deserves serious considerations once again. Without having a statistical leg to stand on, I would venture to say that more miles of racing have occurred on his original Aurora track (and its close offspring, AFX track) than all the others combined. When the conversation goes over to "custom built" and "hand routed" (as in hand-routed with a router, i.e. not CNC'd) tracks, my vote goes to Brad Bowman. Again this is a personal preference call, but to my eye, a track with elevation changes is at least ten times more attractive and fun to drive than a (take your pick) Buck, 21st Century, MAXX Track, or whatever. I have had the pleasure to drive several of Brad's tracks, and (to paraphrase), I've never driven one I didn't like! I've never seen one of Ed Bianchi's Slider tracks, so I'm not quite sure where to put him in this list. The photos look good though! I should also note that Jason Boye's Le Monzaco takes my award for the most beautifully and creatively (not to mention accurately) scaled and detailed slot car track I've ever had the pleasure to observe! After it's all said and done, I have to put Brad first, Mr. Brand 2nd, and everyone else tied for third.

In conclusion ...

If I really had to put together a top ten list (which, apparently, I do!), it would look like the one below. As a disclaimer, I just have to say that all of these guys (yes, even the Honorable Mentions) gave a lot of their lives to the hobby (and sometimes business) of HO slot car racing, collecting and modeling. Every contribution was appreciated!

Another thing I might mention is that several of these folks have made contributions to your hobby/sport from a number of different angels. Jason Boye, for example, is a gifted modeler and motor racing historian, a true artist with track scenery, a wonderful writer and one of the best slot car drivers I've seen. Several of these guys, of course, are multi-faceted, but you get the idea! I could go on and on, I guess (some would say I already have!), but the overall impression is positive, fun loving yet competitive group of true slot car fanatics. And for anyone who's wondering ... no, I will not name those very few who have, in my opinion, actually harmed our hobby, or made it less fun, even for a short time. Honestly, I just don't want to go there.

Rick's Top Ten

1 Derek Brand
2. John Cukrus
3. Tony Porchelli
4. Jim Russell
5. Rick Phillis
6. Nick Sismey
7. Jason Boye
8. Doug Passell
9. Brad Bowman
10. Gary Beedle

Honorable Mention (in alphabetical order!)

Rob Anderson (HO’sers)
Bob Beers (HOCARS, shows, books, etc.)
Ed Bianchi (Slide Guide, etc.)
Rob Budano
Johnnie Clark (Slot Car Johnnie)
Rick DeRosa (Quicker Engineering)
Mike Dore (the Dolton Show)
Dan Esposito (the Tyco expert)
David Ferguson (Concourse Modeler)
Frank Figuls (artist, French Team Captain at Le Mans)
Joe Furuli (resin bodies)
Thomas Graham (writer)
Bob Hardin (with an eye)
Mark Hilderbrand (Nightmare Racing)
Richard Kerr (HO-USA)
Howard Kilgore (historian, legend)
Oscar Kovaleski (Auto World)
Philipe de Lespinay
Bob Marketos
Bill Miles (Thunderbolt)
Jorgen Muller (Bauer)
Chris Mullis (H.O. Detroit)
Andy Meyer (Internet HO Mailing List)
Randy Neidert (Bodiees by Neidert)
Phil Pignon (Road Race Replicas)
Phil Rees (H:O Le Mans)
David Romero (Decals by Romero)
Dave Rothwell
Ken Shapiro (early HO-USA)
Carl Shorle / Justin DeRiso (St. Louis Show)
Abe Sikes (Aurora)
Jim Stephaniac (early repros)
Tom Stumpf (collector)
Thierry Taupanes (Racing Legends)
Rod Thurgood (HO OZ)
Joel Vanderkolk (Lots of Slots)
Mike Vitale (M.E.V. Originals)
Harrison Woodrow (the new Model Motoring)
Art Zebrecky (Slot Car Trader)

Okay, I'm finished . . . give me your opinions now! Build me up, shoot me down, point out my obvious omissions and my stupid blunders! Who did I forget? To whom did I give too much credit; or too little? Who are the significant folks that made huge contributions to our hobby . . . that I totally blanked on!

Best Regs,
Rick Burneson