Scottrc’s comments about getting the public to vote for ‘best in show’ are spot on - it’ll be big, bright and colourful every time. You can display the most accurate and period Victory on which the builder has lavished a fair proportion of what’s left of his life, a military diorama so life-like you can almost hear the rifle shots or a Sopwith Camel with hand-stitched fabric wings alongside a 1:8 Model T Hot-Rod built straight from the box with nothing added but a pretty paint scheme, and the latter will win every time.
Fortunately these ‘competitions’ are usually just a means of levering a donation from the viewers and a prize/trophy, if offered, is regarde (by most) as meaningless.
What is equally frustrating is to have a member of the great unwashed inspect and admire a beautifully built and finished model on the show table, then look up at you and ask “Is that a die-cast?”. I find myself gripping edge of the chair firmly until I can overcome the primeval urge to go for his throat! One thing I’ve discovered from this is that if you want to sell a model built from a plastic kit, especially ships, you can’t go wrong if you add a little weight. It seems to me that the popularity of die-cast ‘models’ these days is due in no small measure to the feeling of substance and value-for-money their weight seems to impart to the impressionable.
This discussion has been useful, while I didn’t think the Artesania, et al, kits were all that good I never realised they were quite so bad. I’ve often picked one up and wondered if it’s worth doing. Likewise many of the plastic offerings. I’m not a stickler for absolute accuracy and I’m usually happy if a model kit captures what I see as the ‘spirit’ of the subject, but to pass a Bounty off as a Beagle…that’s just no on.