Entries: $5.00 per model (to a max of 5 Entries)
General Admission: FREE
Kit instructions are not required with the entry. We prefer to use the honor system and we hope that we will have no problems. Please be accurate with your initial category selection, we have many people able to help you out. Please list any or all modifications done to the kit, for example the use of photo etch and aftermarket parts, be detailed as much as possible with the entry. Models on display bases may be subject to removal for judging. If the judging team determines an entry should be in a higher/lower category, it will be moved prior to judging. If the model is secured to the base, please identify that on the entry form.
A model is a winner only if it passes the basics. It will be easy to find the winners if you remove the ones that do not meet the basics.
Remember that with armoured vehicles the mold lines may be correct, for example on the road wheels as on the real ones they are there. Look for glue marks or smudges and finger prints. Check the mold lines and ejector pin marks to see if they are properly removed. Check your reference material. Make sure to see if mold lines are removed from the small parts. Wheels and tracks are the main culprit for mold lines. Check them out.
Make sure that all wheels touch the ground and yes alignment. Tracks should look natural, there may be a slight droop between road wheels which will depend on what type of armoured vehicle is entered.
Brush marks are not critical on armour as some times paint was applied with a broom. But the basics should be observed. No finger prints and only gross errors of paint colors will be Penalized. Check for differences in clean vs. dirty on the model.
Look for signs of silvering, misapplication, and they should look painted on.
Does the model look close to a scaled down real thing? Remember that weathering should not be overpowering but that armoured vehicles do not look like something that just came from the factory, unless that is the point of the entry.
Are the aftermarket items well incorporated into the model and make sure they are all listed. Are the aftermarket items correctly finished and to scale? The same applies to scratch built items. Are the extra items authentic to the subject entered?
Sci Fi is broken down into walker/ suits /figures/ tracked. Anything goes within these categories. With such a wide variety of styrene, resin, and scratch building possibilities.
This will encompass a lot of variety in subjects and periods.
This will include vignettes in this category and will be added together for ease of judging.
Entrants are encouraged to consult a judge or the chief judge at any time with questions or requests for clarification.
The 1,2,3's or Olympic-style judging.
If you've entered your models in any another model contest, you may have been exposed to a method known as the open type system. Each model is evaluated on its own merits and scorecard judged against a theoretical perfect model. Unfortunately, each judge's definition of perfection is different from everyone else's. For contests with hundreds of entries, the open system can also be very labor intensive and time consuming.
Trophies for Gold, Silver and Bronze are awarded to the top models in each category easy as 1, 2, 3. With this method, there is no theoretical perfect to compare each model against, eliminating the subjective-ness that comes with the open system. Once the contest entries have been closed, each category is guaranteed to have a gold medal winner.
The team of judges will independently review each model against our standards. Start with the basic construction, and work your way through the paint out to the final finish. The winning models are easily identified during this visual review.
After the team has had time to review the category, they will point to the model they individually feel is the best. When the majority chose a particular entry, that model is given a Gold. The other models are held in comparison to it to determine Silver and Bronze rankings. The winners are judged to be the best models on the table on the day of the competition. As with the Sports Olympics, multiple silver and bronzes are possible, and in extreme cases so are golds.
Once this is all done for each category the fun will start to see what is the best of for each category and for the theme award, so when it comes time to award them all is done and we have the winners.