Cruisin' for a Cure Model Car Show

The Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, California, was the site of the Third Annual Cruisin' For A Cure model car contest, part of the much larger Cruisin' For A Cure charity event to help find a cure for cancer. There were seven tables holding model cars of every make and fashion bumper to bumper and 14 categories in which to enter a model inside building number 10. Printed right on the flyer are the words that specify that the judging will be highly critical of even the smallest detail. Man, those guys look at everything! And the judges were ready with sharp eyes and a flashlight to get into the dark areas and go where no judge has gone before. Saying, "I arrived with my car!" were some very proud model makers who were all around the venue. There were even real hot rods cruising the show grounds.

Oh yeah, LRB was on the hunt for top-quality lowriders and we were not disappointed in the least. Jay "Nutty" Holt and best friend Steven Hernandez both participated in the event and each builder brought at least four models to compete with. What's interesting to know is that these guys have a strategy tested throughout the hobby shops of Los Angeles, California. They'll bring a good 10 cars, scope out the competition and then unbox the best model for the job.

While these guys were impressive, there were a couple other lowrider model makers who deserve to be mentioned. Robert Lacki showed up wearing a black Lowrider Magazine dress shirt and plopped down a mean cream-colored (Tamiya racing white to be exact) full-size '99 Chevy made by Revell. And his Lifestyle plaque-wearing lowrider bike was another cool complement. Catching our eye was a flamed '39 Chevy panel built by Santa Ana, California's own John Porras. In addition to the attractive panel, he also smiled with pride upon setting up a '62 Chevy and a '40 Ford sedan. And another surprise was longtime model maker Laron Abram who masterfully display some clean hardcore lowriders which you can expect to see more of in the future.

This year, we heard about a number of model car shows including one from UFO Hobbies in Los Angeles. However, it is tough for us to get every single one (which would fill this magazine from cover to cover) but we definitely do our best. LRB thanks the staff of the Cruisin' For A Cure model car show for allowing us to enjoy the event. We're happy to report that it was a great success. If you would like to get in on next year's show please call 1-949-588-8777.