Thanks Steve, coming from you, that is worth winning the Best of Show.
I did win Best of Show once, and also the Peoples Choice Award at the Montana State Fair in 1984 for a 16th centrury galleon. After that, winning awards for models didn't mean much to me any more. I have judge at IPMS Nationals in 1996 and 2006, and quite frankly, building to win awards burned be out on plastic modeling. I ended up fretting months over trying to make the perfect model and it was no longer fun. I now build from the heart, on subjects that mean a lot to me. The Orsikany was built based on how my father felt from serving in the Navy in the Korean War. The movie Bridges at Toko Ri told a lot about how life in the Navy was during that war and I wanted to build the Oriskany (aka Salvo Island), which he was serving on at the time. His in-laws didn't even know there was a war going on, they thought he was having a good time in Japan chasing geisa girls. The model has flaws, but it also is grey, depressing, and gives a cold, dull feeling whenever its displayed for the very reason of that was how it was for that period of time. I entered in it two Nationals and still enter in in shows just to have people see it and get a feel of a forgetten time in our military history. For me, getting reponses from the spectators is worth a lot more than some trophy.
So I make models that have a lot of detail and I over extend my limits as a craftsamen. I make mistakes and leave them and don't dwell on them, yet still enter the model in a show. For me, its listening to the comments and talking to the folks who stop and look at the model makes my day, I can care less what judges think. At Nationals, I didn't win any awards, but got so much positive feed back from the top modelers and more important, spectators, that it made it worth more that any trophy.
What turned me onto this way of thinking was when I won a best of show Junoir class in the early 1980's for a B-17. The model was flawless from a plastic model IMPS judgement, but since they could not judge on accuracy, I had a mistake in that the rear door open toward to rear of the aircraft. An old veteran came up to congratulate me for the win, but commented that the door was opening the wrong way. I said, well why would it not open into the slipstream, and he replied, ya, any engineer with common sense would have thought so, but it opens toward to front of of the aircraft. I tried to open that damn door while going down in a B-17 over Hollland and it doesn't work, hence why we jumped throught the bomb bay. Needless to say, it turned my perspective on researching for future builds.
I almost gave up on ever entering shows after 2006 if it was not for a correspondence from Professor Tilley over on the Ships Forum saying that all modelers need to show their work on all aspects to the puplic without fear of being outdone due to the judgement from a panel of peers that only look at rivets and glue seams. You need to show what you create from your heart regardless of any flaws and trying to outdue your fellow modeler. Its what you show that gives emotion that counts, even if your the only one who gets emotional.
Max's show at the local library is what would make Professor Tilley proud. to go into a place and have adults and children ask questions more about the subject and less about what brand of PE or paint was used on the model makes is so worth while to continue to build and present.
The folks in Tulsa put on a great show. There is a lot of tallent and I got a lot of great tips on techniques I want to impove on. To me, that is why I go to shows, to gain knowledge and build on my skills and not focus on any competition. When they annouced my Uboat took first in Submarines, I dange near replied if they were kidding, I mean, I built that bugger, from a kit a I bought at a swap meet for $3, for a weekend Group Build here on FSM. But the judges were right, I cannot find any flaws in the actual build. My two carriers, well, I can fill pages of flaws. That in its self is what makes this hobby so dang fun.
I hope the Lewisville and Flowermound area will have a show this summer. They are also a great group of folks who put on a fun show, but I think they now hold it off for EageQuest, which in my opion, is just too commerical and expensive to attend.
Scott