This is a question that has always bothered me. When is an accuracy mistake so egregious that it becomes a craftsmanship error? Or worse, some errors could be one or the other, depending on who is evaluating it. If the builder who installed the exhausts up side down because he honestly thought it was the right way, it’s an accuracy mistake. But if he had the instructions in front of him, and did it wrong anyway, it is a craftsmanship error. How is the judge to know? Some mistakes, even honest ones, are too obvious and to outrageous for a judge to allow- like a model photo posted on this Forum a few years ago, during this very discussion, of a P-40 with the wheels inside of the main landing gear struts instead of outside. That is just too hard a “mistake “ to make and reflects work too carelessly done on a very well known and easily referenced aircraft- even if he or she did not have the instructions in front of him or her, which is not likely.
In the end, on Judgement er, judging day, the builder is throwing him or herself on the mercy of that judging team. This is such a grey area with no clear policy or answer-how could there be? I guess the builder better hope those judges are in a forgiving mood. At the very least, depending on the seriousness of the error, if spotted, it is likely to be “points off.”
Nick Filippone, Senior National Judge