The Calnaga Story
It all started with the Freight Train dragster model. Steve needed four Mickey Thompson small block Chevy valve covers for the twin-engined rail. But he only had one good one from a swap meet. The answer: Resin Casting! Steve went up the learning curve on mold-making and casting. The next part was a scratch built Hilborn 4-Port Injector that was easily duplicated by resin casting.
Calnaga Castings was formed to allow Steve to share the work that goes into special parts with his fellow model builders.
Today, Calnaga offers over a 100 different parts. Some are scratch-built, some are modified or cleaned up kit parts. But all are made with quality in mind. They're ready for paint and assembly into your build. At Calnaga, our mission is to make your modeling projects more satisfying and fun to build!
Model Builder First
The model car hobby offers many avenues of enjoyment and participation. You can participate in various model car forums or surf the web and just enjoy the work of others. You could go to swap meets, shows, online marketplaces and collect kits. Some modelers write articles for magazines, and some offer products online, like Steve does with Calnaga Castings. But more than anything else, Steve is a model car builder. We think that focus, being a builder before all else, gives Calnaga the street credibility needed to offer the best in aftermarket model car parts.
The Contest Scene
Contests have been a foundation of this hobby since it's early days. The MPC regional contests in the 60's regularly had over a thousand entries. Contests continue to be well-attended and they have the benefit of raising the state of the art of the hobby. They will also drive the contest modeler to scrutinize winning models in an effort to improve their skills.
Steve enjoys contest modeling and has enjoyed success therein. Make no mistake, contests can be stressful and sometimes perplexing. Judges don't always see our work or our competitors' the way we do, so results sometimes exceed expectations, and sometimes fall short. Good competitors will keep on working to improve.
Steve finds satisfaction in a quality over quantity approach. His projects are typically in the eight to eighteen month timeframe with an investment of 200 to 600 hours per build. His style is founded on technical detail, not necessarily shine and gotcha' factor. Steve builds subjects meaningful to him with deep realism.
At Calnaga, we are glad to share some of Steve's efforts with you, our fellow model builders by offering resin castings based off of those used in contest-winning models.
