Marvel's Hydra coupe 1/12 scale full scratch build

[François]

Stef, I was going to reply to your comments but decided against it. 

I apologize if I've offended any traditional non computerized modelers out there.

 

[64SS350]

From what I've seen and or heard, there has been a standing debate about styrene kits vs resins being side by side in shows. Now a new kid is in town with 3D printing.

If your "traditional" model builders assemble a kit as box stock, that's one category. If he modifies or customized it, that's another. But if a guy uses custom parts from a 2 or 3 in 1 kit, it's custom, but he didn't make the parts, and still is box stock or custom??

Resins are designed and made from existing items or scratch built. 3D is the same, just newer technology. It's designed, printed, and assembled....to whatever end.

I would think and hope that builds are judged on quality of build, paint,and detail. Not necessarily presentation, content, or build material. And no I haven't judged anything, but to me these are the basics that should be looked at. 

And as far as dedicating immense amounts of time to the craft, so do resin builders and now 3D creators. There is still a lot of prep work, fit up, and scratch building that has to be done.

And how many "traditional" guys are using resin or 3D parts in their builds? 

All in all, the hobby needs encouragement, not discouragement!

My two cents.

[kensar]

Welcome to the world of model contests!

[Big John]

Not to mention the CAD development time.  "But it's not Brass!"  You do amazing works of art however the process. Very much enjoyed the ride, thanks for sharing!

[Big Messer]

How do put a model in a category that doesn't exist so far?. It is a full creation based on a movie prop, no other prototype exists. Then it was fully 3D developed, no existing parts AT ALL. No files available anywhere. It has to make sense, like it would work in the real world. And the obvious high quality of the build. Now step into the judges' shoes (people that has seem quite a bit of quality work before). All this is a whole lot above the Joe Average modeling experience.

[Bugatti Fan]

Model show judging will always be a contentious issue, so don't be too disappointed Francois.

I have been lucky enough to win awards at national.level and have had to accept losing many more times as well. Having also judged at national level accept that one cannot please everyone either having now seen contests from both sides of the coin so to speak.

My own philosophy about entering competitions is that you win a few and lose even more as the standard gets even higher but I don't lose any sleep over it. A judge's verdict is just someone else's opinion at the end of the day, that's all. And one must remember that your models will be no worse at the end of the show from when they were placed on the table at the beginning.

[bobthehobbyguy]

First off an amazing models. They demonstrate the exciting possibilities provided by 3d printing.

The quality of judging for contests for difference shows can vary from very good to bad. That has been one of the reasons that NNL ( display only) had become so popular. 

Congradulations on your people choice award which shoews appreciation for your fine work.Please continue to build and share your work and don't get discouraged. 

[François]

Thank you Bob. The public was very interested and impressed and many said that they voted for me in the people's choice but I did not win it. Just wanted to clarify that. 

All in all, it was a great experience manly due to the appreciation given by all the visitors. 

[Big Messer]

On 9/16/2025 at 5:56 AM, 64SS350 said:

From what I've seen and or heard, there has been a standing debate about styrene kits vs resins being side by side in shows. Now a new kid is in town with 3D printing.

If your "traditional" model builders assemble a kit as box stock, that's one category. If he modifies or customized it, that's another. But if a guy uses custom parts from a 2 or 3 in 1 kit, it's custom, but he didn't make the parts, and still is box stock or custom??

Resins are designed and made from existing items or scratch built. 3D is the same, just newer technology. It's designed, printed, and assembled....to whatever end.

I would think and hope that builds are judged on quality of build, paint,and detail. Not necessarily presentation, content, or build material. And no I haven't judged anything, but to me these are the basics that should be looked at. 

And as far as dedicating immense amounts of time to the craft, so do resin builders and now 3D creators. There is still a lot of prep work, fit up, and scratch building that has to be done.

And how many "traditional" guys are using resin or 3D parts in their builds? 

All in all, the hobby needs encouragement, not discouragement!

My two cents.

If yo intend to compete probably the greatest chance of winning would be to aim at a particular contest and stay strictly within the limits of the rules for the intended category. Deviations, no matter how small or inane, will be met with "foul play" screams from the run-of-the-mill MMs (Mediocre Modelers) with smooth brains.

[Bugatti Fan]

Jose.    Run of the mill mediocre  modellers with smooth brains.   

Hmmm. That's a bit strong and I feel disingenuous to a great many model makers. We all have different levels of ability so please don't lose sight of the fact that this is a hobby that all should enjoy and not be concerned about over competitiveness.

There are however the out and out 'pot hunters' who make a big thing about the most trivial 'violation' as they see it to complain and get another competitor's model disqualified. All I can say is that they are quite sad people if they are that desperate enough to have to win by any means. They are not always mediocre modellers by the way. Some are very good but so fiercely competitive they seek out any way to get an advantage. Competitions could do without those sort of people where winning is the be all and end all, make complaints about other competitor's models and try to remain anonymous to avoid any personal flak !

Personally I would not dream of complaining about another competitor's model as I consider it to be gamesmanship and underhanded.

Edited 11 hours ago by Bugatti Fan

[Big Messer]

5 hours ago, Bugatti Fan said:

Jose.    Run of the mill mediocre  modellers with smooth brains.   

Hmmm. That's a bit strong and I feel disingenuous to a great many model makers. We all have different levels of ability so please don't lose sight of the fact that this is a hobby that all should enjoy and not be concerned about over competitiveness.

There are however the out and out 'pot hunters' who make a big thing about the most trivial 'violation' as they see it to complain and get another competitor's model disqualified. All I can say is that they are quite sad people if they are that desperate enough to have to win by any means. They are not always mediocre modellers by the way. Some are very good but so fiercely competitive they seek out any way to get an advantage. Competitions could do without those sort of people where winning is the be all and end all, make complaints about other competitor's models and try to remain anonymous to avoid any personal flak !

Personally I would not dream of complaining about another competitor's model as I consider it to be gamesmanship and underhanded.

I saw some models that belonged UNDER the table, but the modelers were al apoplectic about not being the winners. Do your best, show up and be ready to lose to someone else who does a better job. Learn from your shortcomings and do better the next time. Great modelers don't magically pop up, they have a lot of mistakes in their pasts. Check the current WIPs, there are a few that screwed up, corrected the offending part (or made an entirely new one, even a brand new start), posted about it and kept going on, with the evidence there for everybody to see and learn. Like this: https://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/174758-bmw-507-cabrio-1957-elvis-presleys-one-revell-old-kit-124/

 

Edited 8 hours ago by Big Messer
Added context

[François]

Not sure I'm following this new tangent. Bugatti fan, who's jose?

Big Messer, are you suggesting I should expose UNDER the table? If so I really need to re evaluate. 

[Bugatti Fan]

 Francois,       Jose is Big Messer. His name is to the left under his post avatar.

Big Messer is not suggesting for one minute  that your particular models belong under the table in his last post..

He was getting at those regular pot hunters who enter numerous contests and get very upset if their models do not win anything. So don't think that you were personally being got at. His comments were meant to be encouraging folks generally to approach competitive model making with the right mind set.

Edited 3 hours ago by Bugatti Fan

[François]

Big Messer. Funny you should link that particular wip. Crazy crank (Thierry) was just here for a visit!

Very nice guy and extremely talented. Very nice visit.