Dreamsof51 Posted August 20, 2008 Report Share Posted August 20, 2008 Hi everyone, I live in the southern California area and recently rejoined IPMS after having let my membership lapse. I`ve been building models since I was 12 years old and came back to it a few years ago after many years off. I`m looking forward to attending an event in Orange County in October and have decided to enter some of my work for the first time. The subject is a 1/48 scale Fairley Firefly Mk1. its the special edition kit put out a few year ago by Eagle Strike. Im building it straight out of the box since the kit came with everything in it. Question is what are the kind of things I should take into concideration as I build it if I really want to compete? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghodges Posted August 20, 2008 Report Share Posted August 20, 2008 Basics, basics, basics! 1) Make sure your seams are evenly filled and any lost panel lines are rescribed (evenly and neatly). Be sure to rescribe across leading edges of the wings. Beware of sanding flat spots across oval or round sections (fuselage top, gun barrels, gear legs, etc.) 2) Alignment: be sure things are symetrical from side to side. Your angles can be slightly off IF they're the same on both sides (but ya have to be in the ballpark!). Consistency is the key here. See that the model sits level. Yea, a real pane may not, but the kit is DESIGNED to sit level if you build it properly! Be sure the tires point the same way (toe in/out, camber/etc). Make sure the ordnance is hanging properly and is aligned with each other, same for gear doors. 3) Make your glass sparkle! Polish it or dip it in Future. And, be sure your canopy frames are crisp! A crisp greenhouse will really make a good impression! 4) Smooth paint: be sure to avoid heavy coats of paint and sand out any orange peel that occurs. Make sure small parts are painted neatly. Camo overpray should be in scale. There should be NO paint piled up against masked edges. 5) Look for glue spots! Use a light and shine it into gear wells, etc to highlight shiny spots. All parts should be neatly attached without evidence of adhesive! 6) Be sure to remove mold lines from struts, antennas, gun barrels; and to fill/remove knock out marks/pins/ depressions. 7) Beware of silvering with your decals. Slice decals across panel lines and use solvent to get them into the lines if needed. 8) Weathering: BE CONSISTENT! If you weather the top, don't forget the bottom! Make sure any wash added is consistent in the lines and doesn't go heavy/light/fade out/ light/heavy/etc.. 9) BLEND IN all position lights and the windshield. Make sure they fit well and don't look "added on" last. Under things that won't help you (though you might think they would): 1) Accuracy: no one knows enough to judge accuracy accurately! Get the colors and the look of the model "in the ballpark". 2) Detailing: this will not help you if it's added but paintled poorly or if it has glue marks. Be sure to review the OOTB rules for the show. I'm sure more folks will be along soon to add what I missed. Best of luck, but remember, the real fun is attending and seeing all of the models. Winning an award is just gravy! Cheers! GIL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Nardone Posted August 20, 2008 Report Share Posted August 20, 2008 Basics, basics, basics! 1) Make sure your seams are evenly filled and any lost panel lines are rescribed (evenly and neatly). Be sure to rescribe across leading edges of the wings. Beware of sanding flat spots across oval or round sections (fuselage top, gun barrels, gear legs, etc.) 2) Alignment: be sure things are symetrical from side to side. Your angles can be slightly off IF they're the same on both sides (but ya have to be in the ballpark!). Consistency is the key here. See that the model sits level. Yea, a real pane may not, but the kit is DESIGNED to sit level if you build it properly! Be sure the tires point the same way (toe in/out, camber/etc). Make sure the ordnance is hanging properly and is aligned with each other, same for gear doors. 3) Make your glass sparkle! Polish it or dip it in Future. And, be sure your canopy frames are crisp! A crisp greenhouse will really make a good impression! 4) Smooth paint: be sure to avoid heavy coats of paint and sand out any orange peel that occurs. Make sure small parts are painted neatly. Camo overpray should be in scale. There should be NO paint piled up against masked edges. 5) Look for glue spots! Use a light and shine it into gear wells, etc to highlight shiny spots. All parts should be neatly attached without evidence of adhesive! 6) Be sure to remove mold lines from struts, antennas, gun barrels; and to fill/remove knock out marks/pins/ depressions. 7) Beware of silvering with your decals. Slice decals across panel lines and use solvent to get them into the lines if needed. 8) Weathering: BE CONSISTENT! If you weather the top, don't forget the bottom! Make sure any wash added is consistent in the lines and doesn't go heavy/light/fade out/ light/heavy/etc.. 9) BLEND IN all position lights and the windshield. Make sure they fit well and don't look "added on" last. Under things that won't help you (though you might think they would): 1) Accuracy: no one knows enough to judge accuracy accurately! Get the colors and the look of the model "in the ballpark". 2) Detailing: this will not help you if it's added but paintled poorly or if it has glue marks. Be sure to review the OOTB rules for the show. I'm sure more folks will be along soon to add what I missed. Best of luck, but remember, the real fun is attending and seeing all of the models. Winning an award is just gravy! Cheers! GIL More on the detailing issue: I learned the judge's art from Peter Harlem, who used to admonish us that just because a modeler crammed every photoetch and resin update they could buy into a kit didn't automatically ensure "Best of Show". All it ensured was that the builder had that many more chances to screw something up! In following the "Basics first" mantra, there will be times when you may want to add a little info for the judges. Here's a hypothetical situation that addresses the issue that "Not all judges know everything about everything": Let's say you've researched an airplane and discovered that the wing root had a gap of 2" between the root and fuselage on the real airplane (many, many WWI fighters had gaps at the wing roots, as did some WWII biplanes). You don't fill that seam. So, it would really help if you had a picture of that feature on the prototype with a note on the entry blank for the judges so you don't get gigged for not filling the seam on the model. I'll echo Gil on the awards thing, too--go, place the model on the contest table, then look at the other models. Talk to the other modelers. Ask questions if you have them. Prowl the vendor tables. Then, when awards time comes, figure that any award you take home is just icing on the cake. If you win, great. If you don't, that's okay too. If you want a critique of your model, ask one of the judges--more and more contests are having a "Judges Q&A" session so that a modeler can understand what they need to work on for the next time. Ralph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreamsof51 Posted August 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2008 Basics, basics, basics! 1) Make sure your seams are evenly filled and any lost panel lines are rescribed (evenly and neatly). Be sure to rescribe across leading edges of the wings. Beware of sanding flat spots across oval or round sections (fuselage top, gun barrels, gear legs, etc.) 2) Alignment: be sure things are symetrical from side to side. Your angles can be slightly off IF they're the same on both sides (but ya have to be in the ballpark!). Consistency is the key here. See that the model sits level. Yea, a real pane may not, but the kit is DESIGNED to sit level if you build it properly! Be sure the tires point the same way (toe in/out, camber/etc). Make sure the ordnance is hanging properly and is aligned with each other, same for gear doors. 3) Make your glass sparkle! Polish it or dip it in Future. And, be sure your canopy frames are crisp! A crisp greenhouse will really make a good impression! 4) Smooth paint: be sure to avoid heavy coats of paint and sand out any orange peel that occurs. Make sure small parts are painted neatly. Camo overpray should be in scale. There should be NO paint piled up against masked edges. 5) Look for glue spots! Use a light and shine it into gear wells, etc to highlight shiny spots. All parts should be neatly attached without evidence of adhesive! 6) Be sure to remove mold lines from struts, antennas, gun barrels; and to fill/remove knock out marks/pins/ depressions. 7) Beware of silvering with your decals. Slice decals across panel lines and use solvent to get them into the lines if needed. 8) Weathering: BE CONSISTENT! If you weather the top, don't forget the bottom! Make sure any wash added is consistent in the lines and doesn't go heavy/light/fade out/ light/heavy/etc.. 9) BLEND IN all position lights and the windshield. Make sure they fit well and don't look "added on" last. Under things that won't help you (though you might think they would): 1) Accuracy: no one knows enough to judge accuracy accurately! Get the colors and the look of the model "in the ballpark". 2) Detailing: this will not help you if it's added but paintled poorly or if it has glue marks. Be sure to review the OOTB rules for the show. I'm sure more folks will be along soon to add what I missed. Best of luck, but remember, the real fun is attending and seeing all of the models. Winning an award is just gravy! Cheers! GIL Thanks for the tips. I think I can cover all that. Most all thanks for the reality check. Modeling is supposed to be a "fun" hobby after all. I`ll do my best and see what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VonL Posted August 21, 2008 Report Share Posted August 21, 2008 ...remember, the real fun is attending and seeing all of the models. Winning an award is just gravy! Cheers! GIL A-MEN - !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghodges Posted August 21, 2008 Report Share Posted August 21, 2008 James makes a great point! Learning to judge models (ala IPMS style) isn't voodoo, it's just learning the system. 1) you have NO friends OR enemies in the room! Integrity rules! 2) You judge BASICS of each model. You're judging the quality of the construction and finish; NOT the accuracy of the model or the knowledge of the builder. You'll find that once you see how things are judged it'll give you a lot of ideas of how to improve your own builds. Take James' advice! GIL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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