Scudi, a model Ferrari business.(News)

Byline: MIKE COVELLO

Some of us are pretty lucky and the business we're in allows us to indulge our passion. Todd Lockwood's lust for Ferraris led him to start Scudi, a website touting all things that would interest the Ferrari nut, including tours and Ferrari accessories. It's also through that site that he is able to spread the gospel according to Conti.

If you've never heard of this Italian artist, you need not be embarrassed. It was just in 1996 that Lockwood became aware of Michele Conti, whom some consider the world's premier model builder. Conti's training at Stabilimenti Farina included constructing the classic grilles that became a Ferrari trademark in the early 1950s.

Conti went to Pinin Farina where his skill at shaping metal was used to make detailed models. While he initially used wood, he soon began to form aluminum bodies for his models on wooden bucks, just as the car bodies were done at that time. Michele passed his skills along to his son Maurizio, who took over his father's shop upon his retirement in 1994. Michele Conti died in 1996.

While Conti's name is not a ...