The Greater Salt Lake Model Car Contest (GSLMCC or just GSL) was promoted as the toughest model car contest in the US for decades. After a couple of false starts, the show got going by 1980. It was featured in the pages of Scale Auto Enthusiast, which was also just getting started at the time. They sort of grew up together.

Just for fun, I decided to mail in an entry in 1981--this AMT 1969 Ford Galaxie. The TV show "Chico and the Man" was popular at the time, and opening scenes of the show featured the Gypsy Rose, a '64 Chevy lowrider that had a floral custom color scheme.

I thought that would be fun on a model. My mom showed me a technique called "rosemaling," a Nordic folk art technique. In this case, it was done with acrylics. I practiced what she showed me, then tried applying it to the sides and trunk of the Galaxie. I had to repair it a couple times, but finally settled for what you see here. (Hers would have been better.) Once it dried, I clear-coated the model with Testors Clear Enamel.

It's held up pretty well over 42 years. The original vinyl tires started to eat the plastic wheels a few years ago, so I changed them out. But the rest of the model is original. The "clear" has yellowed quite a bit, so the original pink color is now kind of warm orange.

I didn't win any awards, but the model showed up in the contest coverage in Scale Auto Enthusiast that summer (Issue #15, I think), which might have been even better.

Wish I could have done a better job on that big rose but it worked, I guess.

Terry