armornut

   I also am truly apaulled that you would bring such obvious " TURDS" to such a time honored and prestegious event. How dare you! You obviously gave no forethought nor bribes to the keen eyes of those judges, the oddasity to think that free thinking and creativity could bring you into their good graces....wow I'm not sure I should accociate with you lest your " inadiqueicies" rub off on me and diminish my chances of glory.

When I was in Massachusetts, there was this terribly built truck that kept getting entered with a new paint job applied over the former paint job in each of the local shows on the "circuit". You coud barely make out any detail.

I think they finally gave it a 3rd place medal so it would have to be retired from competition.

I've seen children build some awesome kits, better than I could do at double that age. And I've seen grown men proudly display kits with glue marks on clear parts and finger prints on the finished product.

Everyone builds to a different standard which is why they say, build for yourself. But it is nice to get accolades from fellow modelers.

I built the 1/35 Tamiya Flakveirlilng Quad 20mm in a field applied winter wash over grey which commonly wore/washed off in great streaks and splotches as my build depicted. The comment from the IPMS judge was - "paint the whole model".....lol

Rob Gronovius

 

 

armornut

   I also am truly apaulled that you would bring such obvious " TURDS" to such a time honored and prestegious event. How dare you! You obviously gave no forethought nor bribes to the keen eyes of those judges, the oddasity to think that free thinking and creativity could bring you into their good graces....wow I'm not sure I should accociate with you lest your " inadiqueicies" rub off on me and diminish my chances of glory.

 

 

 

I know this is tongue in cheek, but I've seen some very horrible builds.

 

When I was in Massachusetts, there was this terribly built truck that kept getting entered with a new paint job applied over the former paint job in each of the local shows on the "circuit". You coud barely make out any detail.

I think they finally gave it a 3rd place medal so it would have to be retired from competition.

I've seen children build some awesome kits, better than I could do at double that age. And I've seen grown men proudly display kits with glue marks on clear parts and finger prints on the finished product.

Everyone builds to a different standard which is why they say, build for yourself. But it is nice to get accolades from fellow modelers.

 

   I agree Rob, thanks for seeing the tongue in cheek aspect. I have also seen what you have discribed, I won a special award at a regional contest with a King Tiger painted in ambush, it was a commission buikd for a friend and admittedly one of the best kits I have ever produced. It beat a Tiger I with zimmeret, the zimmeret looked like cake frosting and was washed in black, making it look like it just rolked out of a charcoal factory. The builder was so upset he didn't speak to me for months. When he finally did engage it was how inaccurate my model was, how unfair the judges were not seeing the effort put into his zimmeret, then he accused me of stealing one of his other kits. He hounded me until I threatened violence and I still think he thinks I stole his model. For the record I DID NOT TAKE HIS MODEL.

Tcoat

Too late

 

That gif has to be the work of an ex-wife or spurned girlfriend! The model was way too nice to suffer that fate otherwise! I find the lack of firecracker usage particularly egregious!

JoeSMG

 

 

Tcoat

Too late

 

 

 

 

That gif has to be the work of an ex-wife or spurned girlfriend! The model was way too nice to suffer that fate otherwise! I find the lack of firecracker usage particularly egregious!

 

Nope!

https://doogsmodels.com/2017/09/23/its-my-model/

That's pretty damned funny.  I got rid of a bunch of models, mostly because they were displayed in the garage and the dust ended up sticking to/in the paint over time - ended up taking about a 4 year break from modeling.  I do miss a couple of them but it is a bit liberating.  I find myself buying the same models to redo...

Almost all of these are gone:

Note the flakvierling in the upper right from my previous comment lol

Tcoat

JoeSMG

That gif has to be the work of an ex-wife or spurned girlfriend! The model was way too nice to suffer that fate otherwise! I find the lack of firecracker usage particularly egregious!

Nope!

https://doogsmodels.com/2017/09/23/its-my-model/

 

keavdog

 

 

By the looks of that collection you must have cornered the market on grey paint for a while!

Tcoat

I didn't see a badly built kit in the place. Most were spectacular actually. Part of what took me by surprise was the shear scale of this show. I figured a couple of hundred of local models, a half dozen venders and maybe a few spectators. There were dozens of venders, around 1,500 models and I heard the people at the doors say there was something around 2,500 people throughout the day. There were people from Europe, the US and all across Canada. Probably was not my best bet for a first show! I will be attending my local show in September and hopefully it is closer to what I thought I was headed to on Sunday. FineScale was there taking pictures so I am sure the show will appear in an issue at some point. 

Yeah, now, in each and every category, a few guys have to choose 1st, 2nd and 3rd place out of all those model kits. It's not easy, and no one is always happy with the choices.

https://doogsmodels.com/2017/09/23/its-my-model/

I wonder if this is our Doog, Karl Logan? I know he ran afoul of the law and went offline for a while.

I built a lot of our (US) armor. A lot of kits I built, I gave to fellow soldiers. Sometimes I even built them in a particular bumper number and paint scheme to represent the track they served on.

When I left Germany, I gave my former platoon sergeant's boys my built and unbuilt kits. I gave a neighbor boy my built kits when I left Texas.

I've given kits to my nephews. Yes, even though they are too fragile for sandbox play, the kit on their dresser or shelf might inspire them to begin building models themselves. And really, that's an important part of our hobby, passing on the hobby to the next generation.

When I was a kid, virtually every young boy and some dads built model kits from the 5 and dime. Today, only guys who remember what 5 and dimes were probably build.

Rob Gronovius

 

 

 

Yeah, now, in each and every category, a few guys have to choose 1st, 2nd and 3rd place out of all those model kits. It's not easy, and no one is always happy with the choices.

When I was a kid, virtually every young boy and some dads built model kits from the 5 and dime. Today, only guys who remember what 5 and dimes were probably build.

 

To be very clear I was not at any point condemning the judges on their choices nor disappointed that I did not win with everything I entered. The winners were all miles ahead of what I entered when you consider the judging criteria. My observation was more in line with the topic of the "turd" thread and how some were not even glanced at because on the surface they seem turd like so the rest was not looked at even though the "faults" found were very deliberate and in some cases hard to do. If I hadn't overheard (it was coincidental I happened to be nearby I wasn't following them around to listen) the judges comments on why mine were automatically rejected I wouldn't have given the situation a second thought.

I didn't mention that my silver winner was a very basic OOB build literally thrown together one day and painted with what I had on hand. The bronze winner was the exact same kit with the addition of the full photoetch set (rails, guns, periscope details, etc) and was very well painted 100% per instructions. I guess my point is that the addition of detail does not always make a model "better" in everybody's eyes. 

The show really opened my eyes as to the ages of the builders. I expected to see a majority of the "5 and dime crowd" but I doubt they (well... we) even made up 20% of the attendees. I bet the average age was early 40s and there were probably more late teens early twenties than those of us that paid $1.50 for models at the 5 and Dime store. I even mentioned to my son (early forties) that I was very surprised at the age range since you always hear how this is a "dying" hobby. From what I saw not only is it not dying it is thriving with a whole new generation. Even most of the venders were late 30s or early 40s at best. It made me very happy to see. 

Tcoat

To be very clear I was not at any point condemning the judges on their choices nor disappointed that I did not win with everything I entered. The winners were all miles ahead of what I entered when you consider the judging criteria. My observation was more in line with the topic of the "turd" thread and how some were not even glanced at because on the surface they seem turd like so the rest was not looked at even though the "faults" found were very deliberate and in some cases hard to do. If I hadn't overheard (it was coincidental I happened to be nearby I wasn't following them around to listen) the judges comments on why mine were automatically rejected I wouldn't have given the situation a second thought.

I understand, it's just that with hundreds of entries to look, it's easy to make the first cut with some "noticeable" (to a judge) errors, so they can concentrate on a handful of entries to judge for 1st, 2nd and 3rd and then move on to the next category.

AMPS judging is even more difficult because they judge each entry for Gold, Silver and Bronze. They judge each kit based on a standard and if deserving, it gets a gold, silver or bronze medal. With this method of judging, there can be any number of G/S/B medals awarded or no medals awarded per category.

If you're interested, ask if you can watch or assist in the judging and learn to be a judge. It is a thankless job, especially if you're put in a category that you don't have a lot of experience with.

Yeah, as I said, my very first 1st place medal came from a car kit I put very little time into. I don't normally build cars and it was a very basic build.

Rob Gronovius

 

 

Tcoat

To be very clear I was not at any point condemning the judges on their choices nor disappointed that I did not win with everything I entered. The winners were all miles ahead of what I entered when you consider the judging criteria. My observation was more in line with the topic of the "turd" thread and how some were not even glanced at because on the surface they seem turd like so the rest was not looked at even though the "faults" found were very deliberate and in some cases hard to do. If I hadn't overheard (it was coincidental I happened to be nearby I wasn't following them around to listen) the judges comments on why mine were automatically rejected I wouldn't have given the situation a second thought.

 

 

 

I understand, it's just that with hundreds of entries to look, it's easy to make the first cut with some "noticeable" (to a judge) errors, so they can concentrate on a handful of entries to judge for 1st, 2nd and 3rd and then move on to the next category.

AMPS judging is even more difficult because they judge each entry for Gold, Silver and Bronze. They judge each kit based on a standard and if deserving, it gets a gold, silver or bronze medal. With this method of judging, there can be any number of G/S/B medals awarded or no medals awarded per category.

If you're interested, ask if you can watch or assist in the judging and learn to be a judge. It is a thankless job, especially if you're put in a category that you don't have a lot of experience with.

Yeah, as I said, my very first 1st place medal came from a car kit I put very little time into. I don't normally build cars and it was a very basic build.

 

Sure it doesn't help when they expected a few hundred entries and had two or three times that many! No doubt there was plenty of scrambling at the last minute.

I heard some of the organizers saying that they should probably do preregistration next time so they at least have an idea. When the doors opened in the morning there were lines ups both front and back that were over a block long each. You could see the panic in the registrars faces!

I am not a club sort of guy since my work can have weird hours and I doubt they would be interested in some random guy off the street helping out. Now maybe if there was an online forum show! 

I am taking Armornut's challenge to heart and will be doing my best to stay within his original intent.  I will abstain from using the aftermarket tracks, and anything I do add will be simple home made stuff (nothing elaborate).

When I first built the kit back around 1979, I added a tissue paper mantlet cover.  This time around, I am considering adding a poly-capped friction brake inside the turret, so the gun can remain moveable yet not require "model viagra" later on down the line.  My one concession to maintain "playability".    I will probably drill out and replace the headlight lenses since I stink at neatly painting small stuff like that.

The kit is chock full of heavy mold seam lines, providing lots of fun scraping and sanding that's for sure!  I hate-hate-hate-hate-hate smoothing out the seam lines on the wheels!  Bleah!  I got so sick of doing them after only two sets of wheels that I switched over to cleaning and installing the detail bits.  Much more fun!

  Stay strong brother, you will succeed Q-pla.

ka'plah! - YouTube

  LOL, think of the error as my Northern accent LOL

Armornut,

Over here we don't care how it's spelled.  This isn't the Star Trek forum.    If it were, they would HAVE TO KILL US NOW.  

I never owned a pair of Spock ears.  Or a light saber.  I guess I'm not a true "Trekkie" or whatever it is that rabid Star Wars fans are called.  I'm just here for the models.  

Real G

 

The kit is chock full of heavy mold seam lines, providing lots of fun scraping and sanding that's for sure!  I hate-hate-hate-hate-hate smoothing out the seam lines on the wheels!  Bleah!  I got so sick of doing them after only two sets of wheels that I switched over to cleaning and installing the detail bits.  Much more fun!

 

Leave the seams on the wheels. How much can you see anyway. 

JOIN US

Ah, well you see young Jedi, the Dark Side is ALL about cleaning up every single seam!  Once you travel down the path of the Dark Side, forever will it dominate your destiny...

Tcoat

I am not a club sort of guy since my work can have weird hours and I doubt they would be interested in some random guy off the street helping out. Now maybe if there was an online forum show! 

When running a show, the more the merrier. More guys helping means more models can be judged more quickly.

This is the home-made friction lock I made for Tamiya's IS-3 Stalin.

It uses a polycap commonly used in Japanese robot kits, a "tee" cut from the kit's runners, and some plastic sheet and tubing.  The Chieftain will get one as well, as I remember my older build needing to have its main gun glued in place.

Hey Tcoat congrads on your win! 

And yeah contests are a little strange, I don't enter any except our own to support the club and rarely ever win anything. 

One thing you have to remember is that people generally don't judge subjects they know anything about. Say you're an armour modeler, well that's a subject you do know something about, but generally you'll have a couple of armour models in that catagory- so you're disqualified from judging it.

As a guy who builds mostly armour and aircraft the few times I've judged it's been auto and ship models- both subjects that I really know nothing about. So if someone puts hubcaps from a 2023 Ford Mustang on a 1959 Dodge I really would have no idea. So you're stressed to judge the model on assembly and painting rather than anything else.

As to the weird reasons you got knocked on stuff, I really don't have any idea- other than that contests are just odd. I really don't build for them anymore and don't really care all that much. 

  My apologies for not giving props for your win Tcoat, how rude of me.

    Gamera, your post is part of the reason for this thread. I, like you, would never know about hubcaps on a car, and though I worked on aircraft, I am by no means an " expert". I primarily build armor also. Thinking about it armor is judged by people who know next to nothing about the subject....but they CAN tell you about and often enter thingies with hubcaps.

    Perhaps the system is a bit flawed, it really would make more sense for someone who knows armor to judge armor since it appears that accuracy is used in the criteria more so than the techniques used. I know that a super shiny color coat on a car is important...mostly..as well as it requires ALOT of work to achive it. However I have NEVER heard a judge say " that 2005 Daytona R/T Charger was never produced in Mary Kay pink that build shouldn't even be looked at" yet put the wrong unit designater on a piece of WWII German armor and holy smokes that kit is garbage.

    Anyway I'll still enter my " turds" and enjoy just being around fellow glue sniffers.

armornut

    Perhaps the system is a bit flawed, it really would make more sense for someone who knows armor to judge armor since it appears that accuracy is used in the criteria more so than the techniques used.

They rely on volunteers "off the street" as well as members of nearby clubs to assist in judging.

That means, you get who you get to judge. If the club leans towards a particular genre, say armor, the majority of their expertise lies in armor modeling and the club might have only one or two aircraft builders and no car builders or ship builders.

My local club is a military modeler club with armor being the main focus, but there are a few aircraft modelers and at least one highly rated airliner modeler (former USAF pilot, retired UPS pilot).

But the show is going to have the garden variety categories, cars, trucks, tanks, warplanes, ships, figures, sci-fi, etc. Someone has to judge those categories. You might be an armor modeler, but you have to judge all the categories that are there.

And some categories are so vast and popular that they have to split them into sub-categories like WW2 Armor, Open Topped Armor, Modern Armor, 1/72-1/48 Armor, or WW2 single seat fighters, multiple engined aircraft, etc.

That's why I was mentioning to Tcoat that the clubs will take the random guy off the street to help judge.

Before I got really in depth with scale models, I used to build a bunch of Gunpla models. One think that really sets it apart from other models it its playability, and the fact that you don't have to paint the robot for it to look good. You can pose it any way you want, and that you can see your own prized Gundam figure in the actual anime, seeing it do crazy stunts and high-speed fights in space.

That was the time around my elementary school years, where I didn't have to worry about buying paint, or even cement, because it was all so simple to assemble. It made was one of the things that really gotten me into building scale models in the first place. I don't really build Gunpla anymore because I lost track of all the new Gunpla releases and such, as well as some fitment issues. Fixing it all can make it tedious, and can oppose to your original intent. But, it was really fun while it lasted. 

I went the opposite way - I was an airplane/armor guy back in high school, but got into Gunpla in college. Perfect timing for me, as I had an income by then.  And the kits were cheap too!  I was already using an airbrush and putty, so no turd Gunpla for me.

Actually, early 1980s anime kits were mostly terrible.    The first gen Gunpla were kinda dumpy and posed poorly.  The MSV kits that followed were a step up, but it took another decade until the HG and MG kits arrived.

  Your last sentence TM is the basic  premiss of this thread. It was a way to try to help my fellow modellers return to a simpler time where the " fun" was simply slapping a kit together and zooming off to bomb the coffee table. It has morphed into thus AWESOME thread that has been fun, informative, and even a bit competative.

    Thanks for jumping in, now that you are kinda up to speed TM, are you up to the challenge to build a " turd"??. Check out first post or ask it something isn't clear.

Teenage Modeler

Before I got really in depth with scale models, I used to build a bunch of Gunpla models. One think that really sets it apart from other models it its playability, and the fact that you don't have to paint the robot for it to look good. You can pose it any way you want, and that you can see your own prized Gundam figure in the actual anime, seeing it do crazy stunts and high-speed fights in space.

Originally, model kits were assembled toys with moving parts and "molded in color" so there was no need to paint the majority of the kit. Even Matchbox did their kits in vivid colors that reduced the need to paint.

If you take a look at the older Renwal armor kits, Aurora and Lindberg kits, they had operating features. The Lindberg M46 Patton tank was motorized and the gun tube rotated back and forth as it crawled across the sandbox. Yeah, we played with these kits in the sandbox and there were many casualties in the "Great BB Gun Wars" many of us had.

I started building kits like the Gunpla when I was in college and Revell started reboxing Japanese model kits under the Robotech line. They were awesome and I still have many of my kits from the 1980s along with some nostalgia purchases from eBay the last decade or so.

Armornut,

I was not allowed to bomb our coffee table.  Mom designated the carpet as the only sanctioned bombing range in the house.  Or I had to take it outside.  But that's where I played with my dinosaurs!