noelsmith

Dak, the Telford method works quite well as all the entries have been logged onto a laptop by the entry date of at least a couple of weeks before the show. We have dedicated helpers to log on the winners on competition day, 1,2 and 3 in each class plus any odd commendeds and is done as the judges results come in. It is both efficient and quick. All the judges get together at the end to choose the overall best of show. The method of registration is about as anonymous as possible. I do take your point about us old timers who have been around IPMS a long time getting to recognise certain modellers own individual styles over the years. Unfortunately there is nothing any one can do about this, and the competition can only be made as fair as is humanly possible. Anonymity will I think remain a contentious subject judging by the differing posts on this thread.

At SMW Telford all competition models have to be pre registered by a certain date and are issued a competition number that is logged on to a computer with the builders name. Only the entry number appears on each entry card on the table, so the person"s name remains anonymous even to the judges. When the awards are given it is a simple matter for the Competitions Secretary to cross reference the entry number and match it to the entrants name on the computer.

I think that this discussion has wandered a bit. OOB should be ONLY about how well a kit is built and finished by the modeller as the manufacturer intended. Whether the kit is a 60 years old Airfix bagged kit or new state of the art kit with all bells and whistles is irrelevant. It is the skill of the builder we should be judging. OOB should be a leveller to assess modelling skills and nothing else.

The movie industry unfortunately generally takes too many liberties with history as more interested in box office takings than facts. Sad thing is that many movie goers have little history knowledge and simply take the films at face value. The Enigma movie is a prime example of liberties being taken and really distorting the facts. They do the same when they make a movie from a novel. Jurassic Park was a typical example. I read the book 2 years before JP 1 was made and boy did Spielberg distort it! If indeed the movie had stuck to the book it would have been rated 18. For example, in the book it described in graphic detail how Nedry the computer nerd was having his intestines ripped out by a dinosaur whilst he was still alive. Maybe if Tarantino directed it instead of Spielberg it may have kept better to the original novel. But of course, Hollywood toned it down to satisfy the desire for multiple marketing spin off toys, tee shirts etc. Whoops again. Still straying from the PR thing!!!!

Gary Oldman's portrayal of Chuchill in the film ' Darkest Hour' gives an insight into this well known political figure. Whoops! I am drifting from the PR problem again! Better stop or my quill will wear out!

That is quite a profound statement Dak! Whilst being philosophical, a late very good friend of mine, Tony Woollett, who was IPMS U K National Champion quite a number of times had this to say. No matter how your model is judged, it will be no better or worse when you take it off the table to when you placed it on the table! I don't lose any sleep over judging decisions on my models as it is on!y someone else's opinion at the end of the day. You win a few. You lose a few!

This thread has drifted well away from the PR problem and has become one about the finer points of judging. I think that everyone posting on this thread has made their personal views well known by now, and it is going nowhere except for just more lengthy replies being made. Regardless of all this IPMS is where it is, and I can foresee the same discussions and arguments taking place in another 10 years from now. So basically what I am saying is that I can't foresee any great changes being made, and the society will carry on in just the same way as it always has. Maybe we take ourselves too seriously at times and forget it is just a hobby that we should all enjoy regardless of skill level!

Thanks for the extra info Michael. I was not aware that there was an AMPS chapter in the UK. It is possible then that they might have a link with MAFVA?

Ralph, thanks for explaining AMPS and Jaxcon for me. In the UK the AMPS equivalent is the MAFVA (Miniature Armoured Fighting Vehicle Association) that is just about modelling AFV's and not full size vehicle preservation. Naturally MAFVA members would also be interested in the preservation of full size vehicles and have many contacts within museums and AFV preservation groups although not directly involved with preservation as an association.

Has Model Cars Magazine gone under? Heard nothing about it recently.

Seen AMPS and Jaxcon mentioned a number of times in this thread. What are they? Guess they are big Stateside modelling events. Please relieve this Old Englander of his ignorance.

Rick, Dry transfer sheets are rub down transfers. The backing sheet is for protection only. They are designed to transfer individual letters of numbers onto another surface after alignment and pressure applied with a stylus to the front of the sheet. They can be applied to clear decal sheet, after which they can be used as waterside transfers (decals) that we are all used to when cut out. Hope this helps.

Telford awards GSB but is based on 123 in each category. The Model Engineer and Modelling Exhibition as was, awarded Gold, Silver and Bronze medals, and this was done on a points system. So multiples of each medal could be awarded in each class, the criteria being to reach or exceed a certain number of points in order to gain recognition for that award. In my personal view this is better than the 123 system in recognising how good a model is without having to split hairs in reaching a decision.

Gil has summed up the PR problems in his last paragraph, but there is another. Many people outside the society still have the notion that we are just aircraft modellers. Why this still persists after fifty odd years is anyone's guess!

Getting back on topic, having won scratch built awards at Telford, I would consider myself a competent model maker rather than an artist. So, no I will not be changing my mind about being called an artist. I also enjoy drawing and painting pictures, so in that context I would consider myself an artist. In a previous life I drafted engineering drawings but would not class that as art though. Like I said before , model making has artistic leanings and good model makers have to have developed building and finishing skills along the way. Can my Scratch Built Car models be classed as art as opposed to models built from kits? Maybe miniature engineering in plastic perhaps?