Contests are by there very nature very difficult in many ways to judge
for a least a couple of reasons. I've found that even S guys who have
been around sometimes forget what has been scratch-built and what might
have been just part of a kit--now bring in a typical HO judge and it
takes awhile to figure things out. Other times a particular judge might
have a prejudice against a particular railroad, one of the manufacturers
or even if it's NG or standard.
I also think a brass import or even a typical plastic kit might loose
out to a scratch-built model simply because a judge knows everything is
done by the modeler. I know this was a distinct feature when our own
Rusty the brassbasher, entered his 0-6-0 a few years back as he made his
own brass castings--it's hard to beat that.
Since I have photographed most of the S contests (until a couple of
years ago) and several NMRA regionals, I'm in the room when judgment
hour happens. In one case two judges gave a On3 model a very high grade
simply because it was narrow gauge (as they were) and because this
particular modeler's technique was well known (it's nice to have friends
in high places). To be fair, it was a well done model, but those two
factors cinched the award.
Another time, a structure was being judged. It was one of those mega
kits made by BTS. The judge knew the kit's manufacturer and immediately
expressed his displeasure in the way the kit was designed. So at that
point the builder's chances of taking home a blue ribbon are diminished,
no matter how well you built the kit. The secret here might be to
either scratch-build or modify the kit enough to make it entirely new.
Luckily in most cases this doesn't happen and with several judges things
get ironed out correctly for the most part. I have been asked to fill
in a couple of times in regular model judging and a few times for the
photo contest. They don't ask me to judge the photo contests anymore
because the last time I gave most photos a rather poor score--they were
horrible but I had to pick a winner none the less!
I'm attaching a couple views that I received from a local friend who
models in G. He scratch-builds many models. The is now semi famous for
his own resin castings. I was surprised to see however, that he seems
to be placing all the boiler rivets individually--quite a task to keep
even and straight I would think.
Bob Werre
PhotoTraxx
On 8/12/13 2:14 PM, Bill Lane wrote:
This is NOT a complaint! I truly has a stellar time at Scranton.... I
would like to thank Jamie Bothwell and his volunteers for a truly
wonderful weekend.
This is the first time I have entered a judged contest in many years
- this time with my K4 5495. I was the only steam loco in the room
not that it matters much. I scored 91 out of 100. I am absolutely
scratching my head wondering what I could have possibly done to get
more points! I guess the comment on the contest form of 1000 hours +
spent making it did not impress them much! (:->) I did forget to put
out the examples of the castings I made.
I lost best in show to Pieter's boxcar. He confirmed it did not take
him 1000 hours to make it! YIKES!
Thank You,
Bill Lane
Modeling the Mighty Pennsy & PRSL in 1957 in S Scale since 1987
See my finished models at:
http://www.lanestrains.com <http://www.lanestrains.com/>
Look at what has been made in PRR in S Scale!
See my layout progress at:
http://www.lanestrains.com/My_Layout.htm
Custom Train Parts Design
http://www.lanestrains.com/SolidWorks_Modeling.htm
PRR Builders Photos Bought, Sold & Traded
(Trading is MUCH preferred)
http://www.lanestrains.com/PRRphotos.xls
***Join the PRR T&HS***
The other members are not ALL like me!
http://www.prrths.com <http://www.prrths.com/>
http://www.lanestrains.com/PRRTHS_Application.pdf
Join the Pennsylvania Reading Seashore Lines Historical Society
It's FREE to join! http://www.prslhs.com <http://www.prslhs.com/>
Preserving The Memory Of The PRSL
