What the Judges look for

[David Diaz]

Hello fellow modelers and dear friends.

It’s been a long, long time since I’ve posted anything. But after attending model shows and judging plenty of models during the past few years I decided to put an article together on how models are judged in the hopes that it will help those modelers preparing to enter their models in contests. Modeling has always been a very personal hobby and when you build your model as long as you like what you build, that is all that matters. However if you like to attend model shows and enter your models into the contests that are frequently held and get away with a price you need to step beyond the boundaries of what is acceptable for you and see how others look at entry models. Especially, the most important of spectators, the judges.

All the shows I have been judging are IPMS shows so the follow the judging rules of the IPMS. Things may be different from show to show, especially small, local events but in any case these guidelines are pretty useful to keep in mind when building a model that you intent to enter in a contest. Here are some of the most important things that judges look for when looking at a model.

1) Back to basics – Basic construction is the most important thing that judges look at. Things like mold lines, gaps that are not filled (and are supposed to be), gaps that are filled (and are not supposed to be), glue spots; sink marks, ejection marks, alignment of parts, etc. This is the most important thing to keep in mind as a mistake here will set you back no matter how good your model looks overall.

2) Consistency – This basically means that the finish on your model is even throughout the build. If you weather some parts really well and you leave other similar parts untouched that would not be very consistent.

3) Basic paint – The way paint is applied is very important. Not as important as basic construction but it still worth taking your time. Things like sloppy paint jobs, or poor application can set you back.

4) Weathering and Finish – Weathering is one of those things that while is very important to most modeler it will not sell your entry right away. An effective weathering may look good to the judges but what they look for is the answer to the question, “did the modeler pulled off what he attempted?” In other words if he presented a brand new vehicle, is the weathering appropriate? If he builds a battle tested vehicle, does the weathering supports that?

As simple as that sounds those are the basic things judges look for when evaluating entries. Now I will take about some of the most common things to avoid when building armor models. Hopefully this will help you avoid some of the major sins of modeling. (Continues…)