Railmen2000 Posted September 11, 2021 Report Share Posted September 11, 2021 After coming back from an AMAZING convention put on by the IPMS Las Vegas folks, I was looking through the award presentation slide show (links available both on the IPMS 2021 National Convention website and the IPMS SVMC website) and saw a few winning Armor models that, under the current contest rules, were technically in the wrong category. For years there has been an inconsistency with armor models being moved or not being moved into a Diorama category due to the number of figures used. For example, Rule 15 states, in part: "Any model entered into an AFV category that is displayed upon a base, permanently or temporarily, may have no more than two (2) figures in total and the figure(s) must be a crew member; only one (1) figure may be affixed to the base off the vehicle; a second figure must be affixed to or within the vehicle model. If there are more than two figures total, the entry will be defined as a Vignette, and will be transferred to the appropriate Category for judging there." There was a winning entry, on a base, with three crew figures and another winning entry with two figures, neither of which were on the vehicle. The models were fantastic and worthy of an award, but technically they were in the wrong category. But since figures included in military vehicle models are not to be considered in judging the model, theses technical oversights does cause me to scratch my head and think "What are the judges doing here?" The one winning entry that is a head scratcher to me is the first place winner in Military Vehicles - Out of the Box Category 293 - 1/35 Soft-Skinned. It is a WW1 Italian 149mm Mortar. It is an artillery piece, not a soft skinned vehicle. Can someone explain how this happened? By the way a few winning entries in Figures had two figures rather than a single figure. A few of them came that way in the kit (eg. the two Iroquois La Crosse warriors), so I have no problems with those. But another first place winner ("Roswell) has two separate figures from different kits on a landscaped base. Again, a great model, but why this was not moved to the Figure vignette/small diorama category is puzzling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRechlicz Posted September 11, 2021 Report Share Posted September 11, 2021 I agree with you on category 293! A cannon is not a soft skin vehicle! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Walker Posted September 11, 2021 Report Share Posted September 11, 2021 At Chattanooga in 2019 one of Mark Ford's entry's had more than 2 figures on the base, a British A9 as I remember. I mentioned this to Dave Kahn, the head armor judge, in passing and he smiled and told me that one of the figures was pinned to the base and would be removed at the time of judging. Perhaps this is the case here, especially if it is Mark Ford's model (which are terrific BTW). John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Railmen2000 Posted September 13, 2021 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2021 Thanks for the replies. John - the two I mentioned were not Mark Ford's. His winning M10 was displayed as a full diorama with a lamp post higher than the vehicle and six figures during the show, but when judged it only had the maximum 2 figures and the lamp post was removed (see the photos below - 1st one from the awards presentation, 2nd one from the general armor photos found at the IPMS SVMC website gallery for the 2021 Nationals.) Obviously he knows the rules and abides by them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRechlicz Posted September 14, 2021 Report Share Posted September 14, 2021 That canon should have been in category 223. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schmitz Posted October 4, 2021 Report Share Posted October 4, 2021 I have suggested a few times that the detailed category descriptions be printed on the table signs identifying the categories, to make it easier for judges and entrants to see when placing models. I've even volunteered to type them up for Omaha. If you think it's a good idea you might want to lobby your favorite NCC member. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dakimbrell Posted October 8, 2021 Report Share Posted October 8, 2021 While I have seen this trick done before and agree it is a clever way around the rules, I also think it spreads confusion because not everyone will see it without all the figures. This will lead some to claim unfairness. I think the model should be displayed as it is to be judged from the start. (I'm not talking about covers.) Bigger category numbers which can be read from farther away would be helpful. There are always models get placed in the wrong category. There was a 1/16th tank vignette in figure vignette at Las Vegas. Dak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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