Augie Hiscano

A year ago today the great Augie Hiscano passed away. I would like everyone to pause for a moment of silence to honor, and remember what a great person he was. Thanks.

Am I the only person here, who doesn't know who this guy is! Who was he? What are his accomplishments? Never heard of him in my life, at all! Sorry! :grinno:

Am I the only person here, who doesn't know who this guy is! Who was he? What are his accomplishments? Never heard of him in my life, at all! Sorry! :grinno:

Shouldn't be hard to do a websearch, mate. You might learn something. I'll give you a hint- he built model cars....

Am I the only person here, who doesn't know who this guy is! Who was he? What are his accomplishments? Never heard of him in my life, at all! Sorry! :grinno:

http://www.craftsmanshipmuseum.com/augieH.htm

Educate yourself before making smartass remarks......

GTMike, thanx for reminding us all!!!!!!

Thanx
Doug

Mike, nice tribute. Augie meant a lot to many people.

http://www.craftsmanshipmuseum.com/augieH.htm

I didn't know nothing about Mr. Hiscano since Mike post his "Augie's lathe" thread, so I start to appreciate his work by surfing around the web.

But I've to agree with guys: I was hurted by Karmamechanic post but I just wait soemone answer for me: at least I wasn't the right guy to reply.

So once a time thanks Mike to let me know him and for this thread.

There is no better place to bring such a subject up than a modeling messageboard. Have some respect. He was a pioneer in our hobby.

Long time members of this forum will know of the Augie Hiscano legend well. He probably ment a lot more to the Amercian members as that was where he lived and displayed his work, etc. A memorial thread is an entirely appropriate thing on a forum such as this one.
To Augie. :cheers:

And guys, sorry if he offended you but lets give KarmaMechanic the benifit of the doubt on this one. He is an AF newbie with much to learn. ;)

I'm sorry fella's - please understand that this kind of attitude is not representative of UK model builders.....

I'm a UK modeller who learned of Augie Hiscano's work via Scale Auto Enthusiast many years ago and I understand what an impact his work has made on the hobby. I never met the guy, only admired his skill in creating some of the finest model cars I have ever seen. The man was a genius.:worshippy

I'm sorry fella's - please understand that this kind of attitude is not representative of UK model builders.....

I'm a UK modeller who learned of Augie Hiscano's work via Scale Auto Enthusiast many years ago and I understand what an impact his work has made on the hobby. I never met the guy, only admired his skill in creating some of the finest model cars I have ever seen. The man was a genius.:worshippy

Don't worry, we understand perfectly.

Once some necessary housecleaning is done (and I can see now the blatantly offensive posts have been properly removed in case people wonder what we are referring to) here we can carry on the tribute.

I am embarrassed with the direction this thread has gone. Im hoping we can continue to carry on the tribute without further interruption. Thanks.

I am embarrassed with the direction this thread has gone. Im hoping we can continue to carry on the tribute without further interruption. Thanks.

I'll help out with that.

I met Augie once at a show - he was friendly and easygoing, and did some terrific modeling too. A great man, a real loss and not just to our hobby.

I'll help out with that.

I met Augie once at a show - he was friendly and easygoing, and did some terrific modeling too. A great man, a real loss and not just to our hobby.

True enough. If you were willing to listen, he's willing to teach. I remember talking to him out the Southern NNL Nats in 2004. I stood there watching him for a couple hours with my jaw on the floor. Any question I asked, he gave an me answer too, and that goes for anybody that opened there mouth to speak to him.

Not just a great guy, but a humble gentleman too.

Here's an example of the real Augie Hiscano.

Augie set up annually at our show, we gave him a table to work from and he gave machining demos to anyone interested, no set schedule-he just did it throughout the day. He was quite inspirational; he really had a way of connecting with his audience, he was such a kind, gifted, and generous human being. After he retired from work and model competition he went to shows like ours throughout the US giving back his love for the hobby. Everywhere he went, he made new friends and reacquainted with old ones. He passed away the day before embarking on a 2-week tour, he was to drive to the most prestigious model car contest of all, the GSL in Utah from his home in Florida. Needless to say his loss stunned and saddened an entire hobby.

Augie often had an audience of younger modelers at the table. His influence spanned multiple generations; he was a true ambassador to the hobby no matter who you were, or your level of experience. You can see how it affected Mike. Augie would be proud.

With a younger audience at times he would give demos on parts that he knew his audience would appreciate. We had a "tuner" category for our 2004 show. He was making tuner parts at his table to a hungry audience.

After the show Augie came up to me after I had won an award for my NISMO 350Z. He said "Hey Bob, I didn't know until today that you were a fan of tuners. I really dig your Z car, congratulations. I thought you might like to have these muffler tips that I turned today while giving demos". With that he handed me a little baggie with three beautifully-turned exhaust tips. I thanked him profusely, I was honored that he would go out of his way to give me this personal token of his friendship. A generosity that I can only begin to aspire to.

To this day, that little baggie is a cherished and treasured part of my collection. Little did I know that day that moments like that would only be a memory in such a short amount of time.

Augie was the best. I'm honored to have been influenced by him. Even though he is not physically at the shows any more, he is most certainly there in spirit. ACME still has Augie's table at our show. He will never be forgotten.

Bob, you post made this whole thread worthwhile. If someone as generous and willing to share ideas as you looks up to him, then he must've been someone special. I'm sorry I never got to see him work.

Sounds like an amazing gentleman, let him Rest In Peace and never be forgotten for who he was.
Chris

Mike, it sounds like you and Augie had a great connection. Glad to see that you are continuing on with his tools and his memory. RIP Augie.

I was a little disappointed to see what transgressed earlier with karmamechanic and that it turned into a fight. I never knew who Augie was and have read a little about him in Scale Auto, but I guess with this being an international board that not all know who he was. I think karmamechanic's first post was ok but some others fueled the fire. It's too bad as karmamechanic looks like a great modeler and could have contributed here immensely.

I'm sorry fella's - please understand that this kind of attitude is not representative of UK model builders.....

I'm a UK modeller who learned of Augie Hiscano's work via Scale Auto Enthusiast many years ago and I understand what an impact his work has made on the hobby. I never met the guy, only admired his skill in creating some of the finest model cars I have ever seen. The man was a genius.:worshippy

It doesn't suprise me at all that KarmaMachainic didn't know who Augie was...I'm probably twice his age and have built models for 30 years - I've never seen SAE available in the UK anywhere - do you have any stockists addresses SheeneMachine?

I'm not defending KM's later posts (which of course I never read) but I've only known of Augie for about two years and I've spent quite a few years looking at automodelling sites on the Internet.

It was nice of you to remember him Mike, but to the few of you that responded in such a patronising fashion to KM's first apologetic post please remember that this is an international forum and life REALLY does exist outside of the USA.

This kind of 'know all' elitism is exactly what the hotrod community in the UK suffered from... a surefire thing to put youngsters off our hobby?

Thanks guys,

John S.

:sniff:

Mike, it sounds like you and Augie had a great connection. Glad to see that you are continuing on with his tools and his memory. RIP Augie.

I was a little disappointed to see what transgressed earlier with karmamechanic and that it turned into a fight. I never knew who Augie was and have read a little about him in Scale Auto, but I guess with this being an international board that not all know who he was. I think karmamechanic's first post was ok but some others fueled the fire. It's too bad as karmamechanic looks like a great modeler and could have contributed here immensely.
I agree.
>EDIT< I agree with what mikemechanic posted.

I Met Him Once Many Years Ago At A Show, I Was Talking Tips & Tech With Augie As
He Showed Me How He Made The Parts On One Of His Early Circle Track Racers
That Car (100% Scratchbuilt) Was Awesome!, I'll Never Forget The Hour I Spent With The Master,Augie Hiscano
A Super Nice Guy,An Amazing Talent,A Hero In The Model Car World

I'm not defending KM's later posts (which of course I never read) but I've only known of Augie for about two years and I've spent quite a few years looking at automodelling sites on the Internet.

It was nice of you to remember him Mike, but to the few of you that responded in such a patronising fashion to KM's first apologetic post please remember that this is an international forum and life REALLY does exist outside of the USA.

This kind of 'know all' elitism is exactly what the hotrod community in the UK suffered from... a surefire thing to put youngsters off our hobby?

Thanks guys,

John S.
Well, I guess i'll take this one. I did have the dubious honour of being the first to respond to him.

KM's initial post

Am I the only person here, who doesn't know who this guy is! Who was he? What are his accomplishments? Never heard of him in my life, at all! Sorry! :grinno: could have been taken a number of ways. It's the nature of online forums that posts are often somewhat ambiguous in their true tone. However, the intent of GTmike400's initial post was quite clear- he wished to remember and pay respect to a passed individual. If KM hadn't heard of this individual, that's fine- but he could well have at least been mindful of courtesy, both for GTmike400's expression of sentiment, and indeed for the deceased himself.

I took KM's initial post as disrespectful and flippant. I admit, I responded in kind- however I did so in a way that I hoped (perhaps unrealistically) would not escalate the trend. What I hoped to express was "if you were not familiar with the gentleman in question, please butt out and allow those that were to remember him". I felt, and still feel that those sentiments were at the time appropriate. Perhaps I was not alone in my sentiments.

I think that the true tone of KM's comments was amply illustrated by his further string of posts. Whatever benefit of doubt I might have considered was quickly erased by the continuation and escalation of this tone.

KM might well be a talented and accomplished builder- however, it does take a bit more than that to be a valuable and contributing member in a community such as this. In my experience, very, very few members, new or old, are given to outbursts such as he displayed. Those given to such outbursts are rarely net contributors in such communities.

I find the inferences of nationalism here both offensive and disturbing. I believe that GTmike400's initial post was not because Mister Hiscano was an American car modeler, but because he was a car modeler- a great one, and a gentleman to boot. I very much like to think that had a prominent figure in the UK car modeling scene passed away, that the Aussies, Kiwis, Yanks, Poles, Italians, and everyone else would show due respect for that individual. Individuals are rarely able to contribute evenly on an international level in a hobby such as ours (or indeed elsewhere in life). Such a person will almost always be most recognised by his local community, wherever that happens to be. Yes, Mister Hiscano was an American (I believe). Yes, most of the people lucky enough to meet him were probably Americans, and were likely in America when they met him. However, if you believe his passing to be primarily an American loss, then you truly misunderstand and dishonour the international nature of this hobby.

The direction this thread has taken has been unfortunate- particullarly in light of the honour and respectful intentions in which it was started. I regret my part in moving it away from this intended path (and recognise my continuation of that in this post). Perhaps now what needed to be said has been said, and those who wish to remember Augie can be allowed to do so without these interuptions.

Lets try not to get off track again here guys.

I'm sure a lot of us had some sympathy for KarmaMechanic's initial point of view. The fact he chose to go beyond that (antagonised or not) is another issue entirely.

It doesn't suprise me at all that KarmaMachainic didn't know who Augie was...I'm probably twice his age and have built models for 30 years - I've never seen SAE available in the UK anywhere - do you have any stockists addresses SheeneMachine?

I'm not defending KM's later posts (which of course I never read) but I've only known of Augie for about two years and I've spent quite a few years looking at automodelling sites on the Internet.

It was nice of you to remember him Mike, but to the few of you that responded in such a patronising fashion to KM's first apologetic post please remember that this is an international forum and life REALLY does exist outside of the USA.

This kind of 'know all' elitism is exactly what the hotrod community in the UK suffered from... a surefire thing to put youngsters off our hobby?

Thanks guys,

John S.


John,
Try setting up a subscription direct with SAE....oddly an independent newsagent near me in Southampton has stocked it for years.. you could also try Carkits International; 01702 615397..Bob Dobbins will set you up with regular copies.
Here's the link;
http://www2.scaleautomag.com/

MPWR,

You're right...in hindsight I should have chosen my words more carefully. :(
The point I was trying to make is that if you are based in America there's a far higher chance you would've known of Augie from the likes of SAE and the show circuit etc.

I apologise if anyone took offence,

John S.

John,
Try setting up a subscription direct with SAE....oddly an independent newsagent near me in Southampton has stocked it for years.. you could also try Carkits International; 01702 615397..Bob Dobbins will set you up with regular copies.
Here's the link;
http://www2.scaleautomag.com/

Many thanks for the info Paul,

John S.