All of my award plaques, not a great amount of them by any means, are stacked in a box in the basement. I’ve been given some awards because there weren’t a lot of entries in the category and my model wasn’t as bad as the others. I don’t think of my kits as award winning models, but some of them won something.
I’m more proud of the couple of bronze and one gold I received on kits I thought I did a decent job on. While I know much of the criteria for GSB and can read the rules, having a group of your peers evaluate your model at near perfection is much more rewarding than getting a plaque out of a random number of entries. Besides, three experienced judges will catch more than I can on my own kit.
The feedback I received on the gold & bronze kits was invaluable in helping me get better, catching things I didn’t see or know about. In a 1/2/3 contest, all I know is I won something or nothing for that model and that there happened to be better models (or worse) in that specific category than mine. I’ve won a third place trophy with a figure that is not really an “award winning” model, but was one of only three entries ao it is technically an award winning model.
As far as the number of entries in the same category, that modeler probably only builds certain subjects. I knew someone who only built 1/48 scale WW2 naval fighters. All his builds tend to go into the same category. When I used to build mainly 1/72 scale armor, all my kits went into the same category. Once in a while, if there are a lot of 1/72 scale armor, the category might get split into armor and softskins or WW2 and modern armor, something along those lines. We’re not using a “shotgun tactic”, it’s just the genre of models we like to build. You probably know modelers that build just one category of kits too.
So guys who build a lot and of the same range of kits will end up entering a lot of kits into the same category. I see nothing wrong with this. If modelers didn’t bring kits to show, there’d be no model show. I tend to be a cheapskate and only bring the amount of kits to enter that come with the basic entry fee. I go to contests to see other people’s models rather than to try to enter everything I’ve built the past year. But there are some guys who go for validation and will enter everything and the kitchen sink.
I agree with you about the contestants being the problem; getting upset at not winning or throwing away models that didn’t win is a personality fault, not the judges fault.
Wow… tossing a kit in the trash just because he felt he/she should have won? Kinda over-reacting a bit too far and immature in my opinion. It only makes him/her look like a sore loser.
Lol, absolutely it is! But honestly, that not only shows up in “trashed models”, but even here online. I can remember people to whom I had given well-intentioned critique and advice, and they just went off-the-charts ballistic for my having the temerity to criticize them! Unfortunately, when you’re dealing with personal artistic expression, you’re going to find these over-sensitive types. There are PLENTY of them in the field of Music as well, believe me!
That is sad…what’s worst is that they call themselves adults. That is one of the great things about the forums here. I want everyone to point out my errors or give suggestions…that’s the best way to improve your skills and knowledge. Maybe they will grow up one day.
I guess it’s something you’d really need to have a desire to do. I’ve found that if it’s something I’m good at, like drawing, I’ll put up with the criticism.
Whoever suggested that the judges write the pros and cons of the model on the entry slip should run for president. That is an excellent idea. A simple ,“good paint job, but a few glue spots,” or “great rigging, but mast is crooked” would be an idea that I think may work. The only problem with it is, some builders would be following the judges around and griping about what was written. As for what I said about the guys who enter tons of models. It’s not so much about them getting tons of awards, but they enter the same model several years in a row in the same show. That I dont understand. Also, i understand the shotgun affect. I’ve entered models in the same catergory before, too. i just didnt get the idea of hauling 13 models to the show and entering in one category.
Brian, good points about some builders following the judges around afterwards to gripe. That would definitely happen with some guys. I was happy to get feedback on my builds from the judges. To be honest, I had no idea who wrote the notes on my kits. Might have had a name back then, but I doubt I had a face to connect it to.
One socially inept modeler from one of my old clubs built 1/144 scale aircraft. He built a lot of those little fighters and was very prolific. He would enter all new kits in the local contests for the year. He’d then retire them and enter new kits the next year. Probably over a dozen in the same category each show. He was pretty good and would scratchbuild some parts so they were different variants. He would jokingly say it included a fully scratchbuilt cockpit inside, you just can’t see it.
There were some Braille scale armor modelers that would haul in dozens of poorly and well built kits and enter them. I guess if a smaller kit takes less time to build, you can knock out many more than more complex large scale builds. The poorly built ones often looked like they were dipped in cans of paint and they were all the same color.
I have seen several models that appear to show up again and again in local shows. So much so that it isn’t a show until Old Joe’s glue bomb hits the table again. That one, I will never understand. Another one I won’t understand is when guys buy someone’s built kit and then attempts to enter it on our own. Heck, I’d give the guy some of my old plaques if he wanted one that badly.
I was once shown a diecast, pre-built M3 halftrack that was exactly like a model someone entered in a local New England show. Okay, the halftrack was decent for a pre-built display piece, but obviously not a serious model contest entry. Yet someone did enter it.
I know many friends who build a lot of models per year, and all in the same category. Others are more varied in what they build. Most of my friends enter everything they build in the past year, as a way of displaying what they built in the past year. The fact that some specialize and build only one type of model doesn’t bother me, even though I am one of those who aspire some day to have an entry in every category.
You are so right .But;Esch contest sector has its inner circle.Example::At one time a modeler entered a 1:48 scale P-47D fully detailed,and did not place.Later on that year that same modeler entered the same model at the nationals and got best of show.I also seen at one contest hosting club members scramble around asking people (Strangers) if they can judge.It’s not going to get fixed.Thats why the hobby slowly going down.Hobby shops went down now Soon contest will to.Modeling is just a pleasure type of hobby.Not the Olympics.