Zen and the NNL Western Nationals

"As for finding the meaning of life, simply sharing time and making new friends in the company of other modelers was trueth enough for most of us. Certainly hundreds of high-quality models, but the vast majority were built by enthusiastic modelers whose skills are still developing. They were there simply to show and share their work at an NNL, where all modelers are created equal."

-Car Modeler magazine, July 1998

A Day at the NNL West...

If you're a die-hard model car builder, then the NNL West is one of those shows you look forward toevry year. If you live here in the bay area, it's a big national event right here in your back yard. If you're coming from other parts of the country it's a chance to get away from the bad winter weather and take in a great event at the same time. I'll never forget the guys from the MASSCAR model club pulling grass from my front lawn and putting it in their pockets to take home!

The NNL West is about a lot of things: it's about great looking model cars, it's about meeting old friends and meeting new ones, it's about maybe getting your model photographed for a magazine (did you see last year's coverage in the Scale Auto & Model Cars?), most of all it's about having fun. During the day you can check out the door prize table and maybe win a prize, or the kids can sign up for the "Make N' Take" program and have a chance to build a model right there, and then put it on the display tables, the Children's Fun Table will return in '08, or you can set-in on a How-To seminar. You can also walk through the NNL West Model Expo held in the same huge hall as the NNL. Vendors come from all over the country bringing great deals on the latest aftermarket parts, NEW kits, or rare old kits!

The NNL West is a non-competitive event. The only two awards are the "Youth Modeler's Choice" award, and the "Adult Modelers Choice" award. But there will be some awards from other sources. The Silicon Valley Scale Vehicles will be continuing their tradition of presenting a "Club Pick" award, for their favorite car at the show,and there will also be NNL West "Staff Picks". I'm sure there will be others as the show draws closer. Keep your eye on the "What's New" page and we'll let you know.

If it's your first time at NNL West let's give you a quick run down on what to do; first you'll want to buy tickets at the box office located in the lobby ($10.00 for adults, children under 12 yrs old free, ticket sales start about 8:30am, & doors open at 9am), make your way to the front door where NNL volunteers will take your ticket and give you numbered placemats to put under your models, take your models to a table and display them. You'll also receive door prize tickets but you might want to buy extra (there's a lot of door prizes to go around, but the more tickets you have, the better chance you have to win). This year, if you have kids, sign them up for the Make N' Take, or stop by the Children's Fun Table. There's great how-to seminars through out the day.

"Modelers from all over the country have learned that few events attract such a wide variety of indivuals, models, vendors and ideas as the "NNL West".

-Scale Auto Enthusiast, June 1995

"So, after the long weekend exhuasted modeler's loaded their models into their cars, or baggage, for the long trip home, knowing that they just attended one of the largest (and most fun) model car events in the country."

-Plastic Fanatic magazine, May 1997

"Founders Roy Sorenson and Kevin Drake couldn't have imagined how big this show would become when they planned the inagural event some 16 years ago."

-Scale Auto Enthusiast, June 1999

Click on this flyer to get a full size version to print out and mail to friends or post at your local hobby shop. We appreciate any help you can give the NNL in spreading the word about our great event!

At 4pm the last door prize drawing and awards ceremony will be held. Please stick around for the awards ceremony and cheer for your fellow modelers. But, as soon as the awards ceremony is over please pack your models as soon as possible and leave the hall. The volunteer staff needs to clean the room and be cleared out by 5pm. Your cooporation would be greatly appreciated.

Speeking of volunteers; this show is manned by model car enthusiasts who are there strictly because they love the model car hobby and want to give something back to the hobby. The volunteers come from all over California, Oregon, and Washington to help, so if you have any questions or need help with anything just look for a staff member in their "NNL WEST STAFF" t-shirts or red "STAFF" jackets, and don't forget to shake their hands and say "thank you" at the end of the day!

We look forward to "Seeing you in Santa Clara" on Saturday, March 1st, 2008 !!!