Man that sucks. As a lover of old school RC paintjobs, I have always admired his work. The simple color blocking is so classic, I still use that style on modern bodies.
i'll see if romulus could post his recent words on chris chan that he shared on facebook. there's some interesting photos that you guys will like too. this guy is probably the reason why we bought rc10's and rc car action magazines. i know i did.
Chris was found dead from a blunt force trauma caused by a fall in his Santa Monica condo.
Chris is survived by his mother Bertha Chan, ex-wife Lyn Chan and their two sons.
Chris has been a slot racer since 1959, starting with Aurora Model Motoring HO scale vibrator cars before moving on to 1:32 scale Strombecker and Revell cars at Janohn's and the Brentwood Youth House in 1960.
When the slot car boom hit in the mid-60's he turned to 1:24 commercial tracks and was the Los Angeles area representative at the 1965 Western Regionals, where he was awarded the concours cup. While still attending University High in West L.A. he became the technical and feature writer for Model Car Science magazine for three years.
Retiring from the professional slot car ranks in 1967, he went to the Art Center College of Design to study advertising and graphic design. In 1971, Chris won Team Associated's first National Championship and switched from slots to RC. Shortly afterwards he founded Chan Design, the advertising agency which created advertising, logos, packaging and events for Aurora/AFX, Tyco, Team Associated, Futaba, Tamiya America, Yokomo as well as bicycle accounts such as Shimano, Diamond Back, Nishiki and Vetta.
Deciding that three decades in the Ad biz were quite enough, Chris has gone back to future to bring back slot car racing and model cars in general to the Westside with Mr. Model Car. He has converted an office suite into a raceway with a semi-scale replica of the now-defunct Riverside Raceway in 1:32 scale.
In recent years Chris’s health did not permit him to participate in Slot Car Racing as much. Though when well would participate in the FarrOut Slot Car club.
Chris has touched and inspired many people over the years through his work in Design and his many affiliations through the Slot and RC hobbies.
Sincerely,
Romulus Von Stezelberger
Golden Years RC Museum
chris chan and roger curtis tearing up chris's backyard.
thanks romulus for letting me share these. there are a few other pictures worth mentioning. check out romulus's golden years facebook page and other great photos.