Dakimbrell

While this is basically true, the reality is often in favor of more and nicer detail. Most people want to do the nicest model they can and that means picking a "better" kit to start with. This is precisely my point; things have changed and the original intent is no longer valid. Certainly, beautiful kits can be trashed and poor kits turned into fine art, but it all rests on the skill of the builder. That is true in every category. I think the OOB categories no longer reflect the changing modeling scene. People are wanting to do scenes which contain more than allowed in the main categories and not so much that they are strong dioramas. Dak

I don't know, with most modern kits available, it seems to be more of a case of picking a well detailed model, than actually doing a superb job. Would a Lindberg Ju-88 stand a chance against a modern version? Yes, I there is always a chance, but realistically? I find I build almost exclusively OOB these days because the kits have almost everything I need. My two winners at Chattanooga were virtually OOB. But, would not newer categories also attract entries? There are a lot of people doing vignettes with no clear category for them. You either build bare bones or risk ending up in dioramas. From what I saw this year, some distinct vignette categories would see a lot of entries. Hard to prove. Hard to disprove. True, just picking a well detailed kit doesn't mean you are automatically going to win, but if you are a competent builder, it does give you an edge. Except every one else is also using something similar, so the category is rarely more than just another subject category. Dak

When Out-Of-The-Box was started in the late 1970s, there were a lot of kits that needed work to be competitive, so it made sense to have way for those who just wanted to do a nice looking model without having to super detail a kit, to compete. However, it is now 40 years on and the quality of kits has dramatically changed. So, I have to think we are perhaps past the point where OOB serves a true purpose. I now hear people talking about picking a well detailed kit for the OOB category and I never see anyone doing old Aurora kits OOB. Perhaps it would be better to dump OOB categories and change those to categories like a true vignette category. Dak

I was glad to meet you too, Ralph. I wish we had more time to chat. The tracks may be crappy in the box, but basic alignment is another issue. Most would have done better if they had been glued down to a base. Many were on a base, but perhaps only half of those were attached. Constant handling of a model degrades it. 1/72nd tanks should always be glued down to protect the model. A well made point and one I made to those who feel IPMS is too picky. I was one of the Saturday critique judges. Surprisingly, most of those who came up for critique turned out to be winners. No armor modelers came by while I was there. Dak

If you are putting your airplane on a mirror base, make sure the underside is as flawless as the top. With 3112 entries, the judges will bump stuff that has inconsistent seams and such. Dak

I was one of the judges at Chattanooga. With 3112 entries, it required some serious work to pick the top entries. For dioramas, don't try to put EVERYTHING into a scene. Less is better. Consider how the main subject got into position; tanks, airplanes, and artillery are not weightless and need to be moved. Remember, gravity is a heartless master, this on a ramp or slope roll down hill. Dak

I was judging at the Chattanooga show and the most common flaw we found on 1/72nd scale armor was crooked tracks. This seemed to be a problem on about half of what we looked at. Tow in; tow out and floating roadwheels. Also, if you are super detailing your 1/35th tank, make sure you drill out the machine gun barrels. Dak

I enjoyed the movie, but felt it took a few liberties with history. I did like Oldman's performance.

To paraphrase Oscar Wilde.....I will continue to say the models were badly judged until I win.😀 Noel, I like the Woollett quote and quit worrying about it a long time ago. I just leave a treat for the judge's seeing eye dog and let nature take its course. The really important element is to keep coming back. Many never learn that part. Nick, I steal from the witty and give to the bored. Like I told Jim, I'll be the one wearing the cape and goggles. Dak

No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. Dak

Keeping busy before the National Convention. Threw the Tamiya kit together OOB as a prize cow. Fits superbly,; no putty. Kit figures could be better done than I did. I didn't like the markings in the kit and used a set out of the MiniArt kit. Dak

Exactly! Dak

Jim, You and Nick are being both obtuse and sanctimonious about this point. Additionally, you have latched on to a small remark and blown it way out of proportion and removed it from context. When you are trying to decide between 1st and 2nd, you must make a call about which flaw is more damning. Is the tiny mold seam more import than the tiny bit of silvered decal. That is a personal choice, even if it is agreed upon by all involved. Personal choice or opinion always comes in at some point. Maybe both are considered equal and in the end, you go with which model you like best. -The one you and the other team members like best- Keep in mind, all of my "personal choices" were backed up by at least two other judges and certified by the class head judge. To some degree, both you and Nick (if you were judging) signed off on it by accepting which one we submitted as a candidate for Best of Class. A lot of people looked at the winners chosen and had no problem. At no time was this ever a case of one person working alone. The judge's handbook is a group of guidelines..... and something that changes, from time to time. If you look at the first line of the first paragraph, you will see it says model building is an art. And what is good art is always a case of personal taste. In the end, we must rely on the judge's experience as both a model builder and judge. If you move down to the aircraft section, you will see it says "contours should be corrected". Who decides what it correct? How would you decide it is correct, unless you are judging accuracy? It may not look right to you, but it did to the builder. If there is one line I here constantly when judging, it is "that doesn't look right". That leads to (or at least should) discussion between the team members about what we are seeing. At no point in the handbook does it say one flaw or problem is more important than another. That is left to the personal choice of the judges. Dak, IPMS Judge and renaissance modeler

All I am saying is that in the final stages of judging, depending on the entries, it sometimes comes down to personal choice. For example, at a recent National, one category had three poor models. I mean none were well done and none were better than the other two. We explained it to the head judge and he had no problem with our choice. In the end, my team just went with the one we liked the best because the work was so poor, but all three got awards. In 2017, my team was judging some very good models and in the end, the choice between the two very best was based on the fact we all liked one more than another. If I had had my way, we would have had a tie for first place, but that was not an option. Again, the head judge had no problem with our decision. In culling in another category, none of us liked a particular model. A quick look was all it took to see it was not in the same class as the other entries. There was no in depth study; it was just quickly pushed aside. Nick, I have confidence my judging skills are as good as yours. I keep a copy to the hand book on my phone. Dak

I can say I have NEVER been to a contest were personal appeal has not ultimately come into play. If all the category entries are poor quality....and you know some are nothing but weak entries...or there is a mass of superb work, at some point, the judges will have to base a decision on what they like. A Ferrari over a Mustang, a Sherman over a Tiger tank, a Zero over a Fw-190, etc. There are many cases where there is no other way to decide. Unless you contrive to find some defect everyone can agree on. Contest awards. Last year, you had 2367 entries. This year, they are hoping to do better than that. The target of 3000 has been passed around. With a fixed number of categories, that means a smaller percentage of entrants can expect an award. Even if they only go to 2450, the winning percentage still shrivels. Dak

What came first, the chicken or the egg?As I said, it depends on your point of view. Many, like myself, see craftsmanship and accuracy as going somewhat hand in hand. As I said, it is a complicated subject and cannot be clearly wrapped up in a few paragraphs. I remember an aircraft builder who had carefully puttied over some seams on a tank model, which should be there. If someone filled up the intake of his F-16, people would have a fit, if he won with it, regardless of how well done it was. Craftsmanship has is own limitation as a tool for judges and you can err by leaning too much either way. I think the system we have now works fine, such as it is. Most of the judges I have worked with have been knowledgeable and prepared for the job. I still feel personal appeal is an important factor. I have had excellent success building my models in a way that have good visual draw to them. One submarine I did was weathered as I would a tank and has never failed to get an award. In fact, all the ships I have done that way have won awards, so I will stick with what works, even if you believe it has no effect. Certainly, I like to think I've put good work and research into a project, but making it so people want to look at it never hurts. Of course, like the stock market and craps table, past performance is no guaranty of future performance. As for the contest design, we already run out of awards on occasion. If the number of entries continue to grow...as we hope it will...then we will need to expand the categories to allow more people a chance to win and increase the number of awards. 600 awards is still 600 awards no matter how we hand them out. I would say there would be less categories. OOB, for one would no longer be needed. And each contest would get some custom fitting as is done now. That's why we have splits, right? No, I don't see the Skill Level idea going over with the membership because many are obsessed with ranking their model, even thought they would stand more chance of winning an award than they do now. I'll be in Chattanooga on Wednesday, around noon. I'll be wearing the cape and goggles. Dak

I don't see all that many reading this, particularly non members. And those who "just want to have fun" get very unhappy went the contest gets messed with badly. Dak

We are picky because we have chosen this sort of thing as a point of craftsmanship because real things rarely have glue and big open seams. Others, do not see this lack of craftsmanship as a problem. They have a totally different take on what makes a good model. I do not agree with them, nor do I think we should try to accommodate them. I merely use this one guy as an example of different points of view. He has never won our local monthly contest which is judged primarily following IPMS rules. Accurately modeling globs of silicone glue is exactly the sort of thing that needs to be note on the entry sheets. Preferably, a photo should accompany the sheet to clearly illustrate what and why it was done. No, just claiming a glue glob is something like silicone doesn't cut it. Not true. Often, both in culling and in the final choices, what the Judges like is always the a factor in picking the winners. This does not preclude all the other elements which are looked at first. In one contest, we had two Tiger tanks with interiors (same kit). One was pristine, no weathering what so ever, with bright polished brass shells in the racks. The other had realistic weathering which is why it placed and the other did not. All the judges agreed as did the head judge. The first Tiger had nothing significant wrong with it, but we felt it lacked something. In the past forty-two years, I have worked with judges that positively hated any weathering because they felt it was a way to hide defects. Also, I have worked with judges who seem to believe mere kit complexity made a model the winner. Others that felt a diorama wasn't good unless it duplicated a picture. This is why a well balanced team is essential to get the best results. When one style is dominant among the judges, the results are reflected in the winning models. It is not uncommon for two different teams to get different results from the same category. Who said that? Class and categories certainly help organize things. You are correct, I did misspeak about the number of awards. So, we round off at 600 and split them up according to the number of entries. If 1/72nd Novice aircraft gets 200 entries, it gets allotted more awards than 1/72nd scale Novice ships with only 5 entries. Yes, the Single Award System only uses one award and does not rank the models as does the current systems. You would win an award or not; no quibbling over 1st, 2nd, or 3rd, or Gold, Silver, Bronze. Do you feel we NEED to rank the winners? The award itself could be a medal, like in Phoenix or a big bowling trophy; there is simply no ranking. Why would Masters win more awards, if the awards are apportioned? The idea is to let the entrants pick a level at which they are comfortable. The Advanced judging would be more strict than Novice and Masters would be more exacting than Advanced. Winning in the Master division would be both more difficult and more prestigious because of that. But a adult entering a National for the first time, would not be forced to compete with the top players, as they are now. I have been building models since I was four years old and entering contests and judging since I was eleven. I am well aware of the IPMS rules and build most of my models to comply with the rules. I feel this gives me good experience from which to draw. Dak

Really? What makes it an important construction point? I have a local guy that regularly leaves glue globs on his models because he sees it as an unimportant item. He thinks we are silly for being so picky. We are picky because real P-51s rarely have glue globs at the wing root. However, I was recently looking at a real Cobra gunship with enough silicone globs around some panels, it would get bumped for poor craftsmanship. As for style, check back to a previous issue of the Journal on an article on pre-shading, I think. There are photos of two models of the exact same aircraft. One is fairly pristine and one is weathered much more heavily. The choice of which you like is based on style. It is hard to explain, but two models being equal, but one being weathered and the other not, one will win and one will not. That involves style and the artist's approach to the subject. There are plenty of other elements that come into judging models, but I am not so naive to pretend style is never considered, at all. This is why you need a well mixed judging team. The big trick is to be able to recognize something as style and not as the only way to build an acceptable model. Currently in contests, we have some categories that are entered lightly or not at all and we arrange for splits in others. The national gives out about 200 place awards. So, in a skill level event, you apportion them based on the numbers entered in the divisions. There are three divisions....Novice, Advanced, and Master. Say the National has 2400 entries, 1200 of them novice, 800 advanced, and 400 master. Using a Single Awards System more awards would be given out in the Novice than the other two. You still only give out 200 awards. Its far easier than trying to keep creating more categories. Dak

Well, I suppose that is how you look at them, so I stand by my statement. I would never judge the shade of paint, or put calibers to a model, but that big glob of glue is not accurate (generally) and is poor craftmanship as well. All model building is art. Not all is great art anymore than the doodles on a napkin by Picasso are great art. (regardless of how valuable they are.) At the very least, model building is found art...where you take premade items and turn them into something else. Each model builder brings his own unique take on how something should look. That means the shade of color used, specific placement of markings, application of paint, and countless other little details. For example, that figure you mentioned is based on a two dimensional picture, so you paint the back side...the unseen side...to suit your minds eye. There are a number of vehicles where not all wheels touch the ground unless it is under load. I have seen aircraft that sag to the side because of pneumatic or hydraulic bleed off, when powered down. There are countless things which not all are aware of and the entrant must make the effort to explain things. The judge should not impose his view on the situation. In times past, I have met judges that did claim something is not possible even though the evidence was presented to them. It is hard to discuss this because for every example given someone will find an exception. We do judge style. It is ambiguous and changes over the years, but a certain look becomes popular...like Verlindenization was in the late seventies...and if the model isn't following that style, it suffers in competition. Its all part of a big picture that people pick up on subconsciously. Certain colors are not appealing, no matter how accurate they are and thus put people off. The skill level based contest as I have described it over in the Survey string, is based on the entrant's own personal choice as to what level they want to compete at. We would not be creating a Master class. If you feel you are as good as those in the master division, then enter there. It does keep the allow the newbies from being FORCED to compete with the masters, as they are now. The number of awards needed would not change, if we use a single award system. I.E. you win an award or you do not; there is no ranking of the award as the is now. The awards would be apportioned out based on the number of entries in a class. More models in a class; more awards in a class. Dak

Absolutely! It has always amused me that so many act ashamed that they build models. It is an art and people should respect it as such, but they will not if people keep acting like wall flowers. Toujours de l'audace! Dak, renaissance modeler

Just finished the Hobby Boss kit while waiting for leave for the National. The figure is from Platoon. Dak

Kellerkind Miniaturen RFC pilot playing with his puppy. Dak

I don't even remember who the manufacture was. She is just something I have been keeping busy with before the National. The shirt say I love BBQ.

Don't do it. See the Judging survey. Dak