12 replies to this topic

[rel14]

If your planning on a model contest, how much time, and money do you
invest in your model to make it, What tricks, and add ons do you install.
How many hours do you spend on making it prefect?
Thanks for your input...

[Danno]

Car Show Models?


I thought you were talking about those hot chicks who stand around half-nekked and point to show cars.

[Jantrix]

how much time, and money do you invest in your model to make it,
A contest winning model is not about money spent or how long it took you.

What tricks, and add ons do you install.
It's not about tricks or add ons.

How many hours do you spend on making it prefect?
Ah, now you're close. It's about making it perfect. Or at least as close as you can come to it. Whether this is a kit bash that required five kits and $200 is aftermarket goodies or a parts box build with nothing but leftovers, it's all about how well you do it. Period. Attention to detail. A single mold line or ejector pin mark will bring down the whole house of cards. A flaw in the paint as well. Glue marks. Poor fitment. Broken or missing parts. And for pete's sake, all four wheels better be hitting the ground. If you build a model box stock, and the build quality is better than anything else on the table, no matter how detailed, you should win. I say "should" because there are no certainties in life, as you know. Good luck Randy, I hope you do well.

Edited by Jantrix, 15 November 2012 - 01:53 AM.

[Futurabat]

I could never get one done in time. What I always did, was take the best couple models I already had on the shelf (if I thought they were worthy), cleaned them up and entered them. ...and I thought this thread was about babes too!

[DavidChampagne]

Question: Do the judges pick up a model to look under it or open the hood, etc? Or do they just judge it as displayed?

[mr68gts]

Most contests will only judge what is viewable while on display. Thats why people use various bases to be able to view the undercarriage etc. GSL is a contest however that will physically handle the model during judging. But that is not the normal way.

[plowboy]

A show that I used to attend would not allow displays of any kind during judging. They were only allowed during display time. It was the promoter's belief that it kept a level playing field for all contestants which it actually did. Some people would show up with some elaborate display setups, but always took their models off of them and removed the displays before judging. It did work because all of the models were just simply setting on the tables with no other visual effects.

[Pete J.]

Jantrix said it best. Take your time and do it right and you will have a winner. But, more importanty, you have to have passion for what you are building. That passion will make you do the best job you can. Just picking up any old model and building it will not spark the time and interest that you have to have to get it done right. Oh, and by the way, if you aren't having fun, put it down and set away from the table. Come back when you are. Great models take time and will try your patients. You asked about time, the last contest winner I build took me three years to complete. Trust me, it wasn't about the hardware. It was about the passion.

[BKcustoms]

I don't usually build a specific model for a contest but the contest winners I've built have usually taken around 6 months to build (I don't build just one at a time so it takes a while to finish one)

[MachinistMark]

as long as it takes till im happy with it

[Ramfins59]

It sometimes boils down to what the judges like... or don't like... One year I spent months working on a Pro Street '58 Chevy Sedan Delivery. It was a resin body from Art Anderson. I used the front half of an AMT '58 Impala chassis mated to the rear of a Pro Street Superbee chassis. I detailed a blown BBC engine with wiring, linkage, hoses, etc... & added a PE electric fan, aluminum radiator (made by a friend), a radiator overflow can, washer fluid container, wiper motor, master cylinder/booster with brake lines, a PE grille, painted it Candy Apple Red... I really went to town on it. At the same time, I was just "throwing together" a '37 Ford Cabriolet kit with the trailer. I detailed the engine with wiring & heater hoses and flocked the interior in 4 colors... It took a little over a month to finish it.
I took both models to the MassCar Model Show (1996) and the '58 Sedan Delivery didn't even place...... The '37 Ford took First Place Street Rod and Best Interior...!!! I was blown away, and kind of disappointed that the '58 didn't do anything after I had put so much time into it.
Now, I never expect any of my models to place in a show because you just never know what the judges will or won't like. If they get something... it's cool... if not, that's cool too... but I'm usually always happy with the way the models turn out when completed, and that is all that really matters.

[Lunajammer]

Supplementing all the of the above...

Contest Participation Rules.

1) Bring what ya got. Competition may be what brings ya'll together but entrants and visitors mostly just want to see tables of cool models and talk to you about yours. It also supports the host club.

2) Someone else's model will always be better than yours, except when it's not... and even then.

3) Money doesn't build models. Expensive aftermarket bling only makes people judge your skills harder. $50 in ham-handled photo etched parts and squiggly wires looks worse than a cleanly executed piece with no bling.

4) Time is relative. Setting a deadline can be good for achieving goals but it can also make a you a slave if you get behind or it starts taking you away from other things (or people) you enjoy. Part of the time it takes to build a model is the time it takes to walk away from it now and then.

5) Judges are idiots when you lose... wise and insightful when you win. Now reverse.

6) The presiding judge is usually a coin so don't despair over a loss or gloat over a win.

7) The more vendors there are, the less important your model is.

8) The thrill of victory only lasts as long as it takes to brag to your friends. Most of whom are just being nice.

9) If model building is homework, then contests are labs. You'll learn more in one day at the tables than in months at the bench.

10) All anybody really wants are the door prizes anyway.

[Joker]

Model Car Shows are EVIL . . .
I spend (way too much) time and money looking thru parts boxes.
My models are usually just displayed on our Club table display.
Not much of a show participant till I get the stinky eye from my club
buddies for not entering a model and for being hard on my self.
I get my name called out and I'm in SHOCK. Met lots of new friends
and get tips and ideas for my next build..you just never know.

pls excuse my ranting...haahahaaa