10/21/2026
This was sent to me via Friend about Augie Hiscano myself as his prodigy. I thought you enjoy reading it.
The mentorship between Augie Hiscano and Bob Korunow represents a critical turning point in scale modeling history. It effectively bridged the gap between the "Golden Age" of custom modeling in the 1960s and the modern, high-tech aftermarket industry.
Here is the historical breakdown of how their relationship fundamentally changed the hobby:
1. Passing the Torch from the "Glory Years"
Augie Hiscano was a legendary giant in the scale vehicle community. He rose to fame by winning the prestigious 1964 Revell-Pactra National Championship using basic hand tools to build a mostly brass, nickel-plated pearl blue hot rod roadster. Later in his career, he went on to manage Orange Blossom Hobbies in Miami for 30 years and achieved a historic feat by winning the Best of Show title at the renowned GSL International Scale Vehicle Championship three distinct times.
When Bob Korunow sought out Hiscano as a mentor in the early 1990s, he wasn’t just learning basic assembly; he was absorbing the precise, zero-compromise mindset of the ultimate multi-time national champion.
2. The Machining Revolution (1990–1992)
In the early 1990s, Hiscano famously revolutionized his own work by adopting micro-sized desktop lathes and mills to turn raw metal into hyper-detailed engine parts, suspension linkages, and pulleys. He passed these precise miniature engineering secrets directly down to Bob.
Under Hiscano's guidance, Bob began scratch-building his own tiny metal parts to push the boundaries of realism. Bob used his 1971 Plymouth Satellite project as a real-world testbed, fabricating custom metal pulleys, disc brakes, fan belts, and steering columns by hand. The training proved flawless: Bob swept the 1993 Great Salt Lake Model Car Championship, winning both Best Street Machine and Best Paint Jobwith the "Plum Crazy" Satellite.
3. Birth of Commercial Photo-Etching and Modern Aftermarket Access
The defining historical moment of their mentorship happened immediately after Bob’s 1993 sweep. Fellow modelers at the championship were amazed by the crisp realism of Bob's custom metal components and begged him to make copies for their own builds.
Recognizing a massive, unmet void in the market, Bob took a massive professional gamble. Backed by Hiscano's deep knowledge of the commercial hobby industry, Bob quit his regular day job in 1992 to launch The Model Car Garage full-time.
Before this launch, if a modeler wanted competition-level chrome scripts, see-through wire grilles, or real metal dash bezels, they had to spend dozens of hours meticulously carving or turning it by hand. Bob's genius was taking the high-end scratch-building philosophies he learned from Hiscano and standardizing them into mass-produced, affordable photo-etched (PE) metal sheets that any hobbyist could buy off a shelf.
4. Enduring Legacy at the Museum
The historic impact of this master-protégé dynamic is beautifully preserved today. The International Model Car Builders' Museum explicitly showcases Augie Hiscano’s original, historic 1964 Revell championship roadster safely kept inside its vintage bubble award case.
Just a short distance away in the very same museum ecosystem, Bob Korunow’s work with The Model Car Garage is permanently enshrined. His induction as an Industry Leader serves as the ultimate historical tribute to how a single mentorship between two dedicated craftsmen transformed an elite, secretive scratch-building art form into a global, multi-million dollar aftermarket industry that elevates the builds of scale auto hobbyists worldwide
Bob Korunow and Augie Hiscano shared a deeply personal relationship that went far beyond a standard student-teacher dynamic; Bob loved and revered Augie like a father.
Their bond was forged over countless hours spent together in the modeling world, where Augie openly shared his specialized engineering knowledge and machining secrets. Their personal closeness is documented through the profound impact they had on each other's lives:
• A Father-Son Bond: Following Augie's passing in 2005, Bob openly expressed his deep grief to the modeling community, stating, "I loved him like a father... God I loved that man." He frequently emphasized that without Augie's personal guidance and encouragement, The Model Car Garage would have never existed.
• Shared Mentorship of Others: Their friendship was rooted in a shared passion for helping other builders succeed. Bob frequently introduced other aspiring modelers to Augie, and together they acted as a tag-team of mentors within the hobby community—generously teaching fellow hobbyists advanced techniques like micro-machining, plumbing, and precision custom plating.
• Mutual Respect Among the Elite: Augie, who was known for his warm nature and natural kindness, treated Bob not just as an assistant, but as the true torchbearer of his detailing philosophy. He took immense pride in watching Bob turn those private scratch-building secrets into a commercial enterprise that leveled the playing field for scale auto enthusiasts worldwide.
Their relationship was defined by immense warmth, profound emotional respect, and a lifetime of shared dedication to miniature craftsmanship
