What do your contest displays look like?

[sjordan2]

I don't go to model shows or contests like IPMS, etc., but there is a current thread about problems with those competitions, and I think I and others who don't attend these shows would be interested to see what your displays look like at the shows. I say this because I'd like to see what you do to encourage the WOW factor when judges see your work.

[peter31a]

I think that at most contests displays are discouraged due to space comcerns. Usually a mirror underneath might be allowed to show the underside of the car. Of course the exception would be dioramas.

[sjordan2]

I think that at most contests displays are discouraged due to space comcerns. Usually a mirror underneath might be allowed to show the underside of the car. Of course the exception would be dioramas.

Well, that's not what I'm asking. I'm hoping that people will post pictures of the way they display their models at shows and contests to catch the eyes of the judges.

What are you doing to SELL your model to the judges? Are you just laying down the model on an entry sheet? Can you add a miniposter to the display that talks about what you did? Do contests allow you to place a totally unpainted and unimproved kit next your build so they can see what you added?

Edited September 14, 2010 by sjordan2

[Karmodeler2]

Okay Skip,

here you go. I will admit that this is over the top and the most elaborate set up I have ever used. However, it was an over the top build with 1500+ hours, so I felt it deserved it. If you look at the first photo carefully, you will see a screen below it. I made a 5 minute DVD showcasing some of the raw parts being made in brass, aluminum and stainless. I showed before and after pics and where the parts where on the model. I made a stand, that held the DVD player and on top, held the mirror and the glass to showcase what you were looking at on the model.

Most of the time, my stuff is on a mirror, that is sitting on a turntable that is on the table. Very basic setup. A mirror shows that all 4 wheels are either touching or not, and shows the underside. Since the truck model would have been too close to the mirror to see the underside, I borrowed Dirk Joseph's idea and used a piece of glass, elevated with craft store barrels, so that there was a distance between the mirror and the bottom of the truck. I also had a photo book next to it to show some other stuff.

And can you believe, that with a video, pics in a notebook and the model on a mirror, with a note that said "Please do not touch", some jerk, and I know who and do not use that term lightly, decided he needed to touch it to judge it? That's the kind of excrement that IPMS has. No thank you please. If you can't figure it out with a video, pics and a mirror, then I think you better find something else to do with your time, because you certainly know NOTHING about model building.

He said that he doesn't trust mirrors, and I reminded him that he looks in one every morning.

David

[sjordan2]

David, that is awesome, a superb presentation. I amended my original post since you posted this one, and I think it's important to note my question, "what are you doing to SELL your build to the judges?" But how far can you go with display material? I don't know. A big fat book with information that someone has to pick up and thumb through has much less impact than a small poster in an acrylic frame, which you can see right away, that has bullet points on what you did. It's right there for anyone to see.

All I'm saying is that salesmanship is part of the contest equation, and just sticking a model on top of an entry form is putting too much trust in the hands of judges who will not necessarily get it.

Edited September 14, 2010 by sjordan2

[Jon Cole]

An acrylic display holding a typeset description is always a good idea. I don’t care to decipher the chicken scratchings of poorly hand wrote displays. I would suspect that the judges are not too thrilled about them either, but that’s just an assumption on my part.

Even without acrylic, a good typeset description is a must. I also use a disk that I decorated to display the model on; many will use mirrors which look great.

I did this one maybe fifteen years ago. That was before I knew what a “kompootur†was, so I had someone do the typeset quotations for me. I never really did advance beyond the ‘colored pencils’ stage of artwork.

EDIT: I just realized that one roll of checkerboard contact paper really goes a long ways!

Edited September 15, 2010 by Jon Cole

[Romell R]

I display my builds on a simple rotating, mirrored turntable.....

[comp1839]

when i display my models. i use a little more low key approach to it. i have a paper with a brief explanation about the car. i try to let the model itself draw the attention. i try to use exciting subject matter (at least to me) and i try to accurately detail the heck out of it.

i am starting to believe the signs are worthless, though. even though the signs state these cars are scratch built. i still hear that i've used r.c. parts or they're diecasts(which i think is kind of a compliment)but, none the less. most people don't read. it's like the really big "please do not touch the model" sign to the right of the altered. there must be about 10 finger prints on the body. so much for public education.

[Karmodeler2]

I agree with you Skip.

You have to sell your model and this is how I normally do it. I set a small note, that I have typed up (and laminated to keep it from curling up or blowing away and I keep with the model in it's case when I travel and store it so I don't lose it) and it is very small and includes 6 simple areas...here is an example:

1947 Ford COE Street Rod

Kit - Resin cab, most of the rest is scratch built

Body Mods - Extended the width of the front fenders to match the

running boards to the rear wheels. Reworked the trim

pieces and removed the warp, then recast entire cab

Scratch Built Items - Entire rear bed, floor, tailgate, fenders, frame rails,

engine cover & top rails, and running boards all from

plastic. Rear fender was made from plastic then cast.

The floor in back is plastic painted to look like wood.

Machined Items - Headlight bezels (and buckets, then cast in resin),

taillights, grab handles, mirror holders, mirrors,

lower hood handles and bases, distributor & solenoid

exhaust tips, base and bracket for antenna which is .005,

.010, & .015 telescoping stainless steel

Cast Items - Cab, rims, rear tires, headlight buckets, rear fenders

Paint & Decals- Tamiya white primer, Metallic blue (from Mark Jones),

Tamiya Racing white and PPG Clear & Tamiya clear. The red

stripe is red decal paper trimmed to fit.

The above is in a format where the Item is on the left and the paragraph is on the right. Although it did not show up this way, the paragraph and all words should be like this:

Machined Items- kkkkkkkkkkkk

and then the following sentence would start below the first "k", not underneath the words "Machined Items", but I can't get this board to work correctly for me. This sets the item off by itself so the user can find what they want. I make these small (4in wide and 2 inch tall or not more than 4x5 in the case of the one above, it's longer than most) and in small print. If they want to read it they will. If they don't read it, I'm not taking up a bunch of space and I don't have to write the stuff ever again at every show I go it....it's done.

And I find that big books and lots of writing go to waste, as 85% of most don't read it and 100% of IPMS judges, as it looks like from this thread.

David

[Railfreak78]

Here is a couple overall pics from Desert Scale Classic. This event had a lot of builders from this very site there. It shows a lot of ways people display. John T. and a few others had mirrors and a lot of people like myself just had them on the entry slip. I have a few in there including my 70 Superbee. In the last picture shows a display with lifts and mirrors I ended up using at my club meeting but thought it was to much so I never used it again even though I like to show the underneath. Do you guys that compete think a little set up like that is ok?

[Danno]

Brian,

Thankfully the guy in the blue shirt in your first picture was wearing a hat. No glare or reflection or flashback from your camera shot.

Too bad the guy in the black tee shirt in your second picture wasn't so considerate! The shine kinda bleached out a little of the photo's detail! (But John Teresi looks good!)

Seriously, though, I think your pics demonstrate good and not so good presentations. Not meaning to be critical but, I think your elevated rack (showing the '70 Dodge) was a little too "busy" to effectively display your Dodge. The rack was constructed of thick, heavy beams and crossmembers, etc. ~~ it tended to obscure the mirrored views of your car's undercarriage, and being nearly the same color as your Dodge, it caused an optical clutter that (I thought) took away from your build. The rack virtually overpowered your Dodge as the center of visual attention.

I think a display should enhance the presentation of the model, rather than compete with it. Take a look at the two cars on mirrors in your first picture (as circumstances would have it, John Teresi's '49 Merc and John Teresi's '59 Caddy). The very simple mirrors with minimal elevating structures don't detract or compete with the cars, and don't obstruct the mirror surface ~ providing maximum reflection of the cars. And because the supporting or elevating components were contrasting (black, in fact) colors, they did not blend visually into the cars being displayed. Thus, no confusion as to where the car left off and the display started, or vice-versa.

I agree with others, an over-the-top display tends to distract the viewer from the build. Less is more.

IMHO.

[highway]

Unfortunately, I have no show pictures to share, I haven't competed in a show since maybe 2004, but when I was younger, I competed in almost every show I could get to. Even in those younger days competing in the Under 18 classes, I learned the most valuable thing I took to the show was a mirror to display my build on. I usually used one just slightly larger than the model itself and I used a cheap but effective method for raising the model high enough to see the full underside. I either used the clear plastic square tubes that toothbrushes came in or the little three legged "tables" that you find in the center of your pizza.

The mirrors were definitly the selling point to the judges at one show I attended when I was 15 in Parkersburg, WV, that was a show specifically for race car models. I had a "Days of Thunder" Chevy Lumina stock car I built for my LHS as advertisement with the shop's name as the primary sponsor on the car, and my other entry was a Revell Lincoln LSC Pro street that was a sister kit to the Matt and Debbie Hayes Thunderbird. I had both on their mirrors, and in the case of the stock car class, the mirror was the winning factor. My car and the second place car were near equal, but I won because of the mirror and the judges being able to see the underside. I know that as a fact because after the awards were handed out, I overheard the mother of the 2nd place car ask one of the judges why my car won over her son's. The judge simply told her mine beat out her son's model because mine was displayed on a mirror, so they could see the underside detail as well, something they couldn't see on her son's model.

Oh, and by the way, the Lincoln pro street also placed 1st in the drag racing category, and was also the Grand Champion of the age group. I didn't think that was bad for a build that took me only 2 days to build!

[Karmodeler2]

Brian,

Thankfully the guy in the blue shirt in your first picture was wearing a hat. No glare or reflection or flashback from your camera shot.

Don't we have age limits or something.....Just how old IS that guy? Looks like he may need glasses or a back brace so he can see the models!!!!

Seriously, though, I think your pics demonstrate good and not so good presentations. Not meaning to be critical but, I think your elevated rack (showing the '70 Dodge) was a little too "busy" to effectively display your Dodge. The rack was constructed of thick, heavy beams and crossmembers, etc. ~~ it tended to obscure the mirrored views of your car's undercarriage, and being nearly the same color as your Dodge, it caused an optical clutter that (I thought) took away from your build. The rack virtually overpowered your Dodge as the center of visual attention.

I think a display should enhance the presentation of the model, rather than compete with it.

Well said Danno. I thought the same thing when he asked what we thought of his display. The rack is too heavy (blocking most of the underside....which is why it was elevated...right?) and it is contrasting in a color so close to the car, it's nerve racking to the eyes. I think you gave him great advice.

And I would expect nothing less.........Now, to get that senior citizen out of my mind........what's that therapy number again?

David

[my80malibu]

Brian,

Thankfully the guy in the blue shirt in your first picture was wearing a hat. No glare or reflection or flashback from your camera shot.

Too bad the guy in the black tee shirt in your second picture wasn't so considerate! The shine kinda bleached out a little of the photo's detail! (But John Teresi looks good!)

Seriously, though, I think your pics demonstrate good and not so good presentations. Not meaning to be critical but, I think your elevated rack (showing the '70 Dodge) was a little too "busy" to effectively display your Dodge. The rack was constructed of thick, heavy beams and crossmembers, etc. ~~ it tended to obscure the mirrored views of your car's undercarriage, and being nearly the same color as your Dodge, it caused an optical clutter that (I thought) took away from your build. The rack virtually overpowered your Dodge as the center of visual attention.

I think a display should enhance the presentation of the model, rather than compete with it. Take a look at the two cars on mirrors in your first picture (as circumstances would have it, John Teresi's '49 Merc and John Teresi's '59 Caddy). The very simple mirrors with minimal elevating structures don't detract or compete with the cars, and don't obstruct the mirror surface ~ providing maximum reflection of the cars. And because the supporting or elevating components were contrasting (black, in fact) colors, they did not blend visually into the cars being displayed. Thus, no confusion as to where the car left off and the display started, or vice-versa.

I agree with others, an over-the-top display tends to distract the viewer from the build. Less is more.

IMHO.

Thankfully the guy in the blue shirt in your first picture was wearing a hat.

Yeah, It looks like. He is well Accustomed to having his hands placed behind his back

Edited September 15, 2010 by my80malibu

[Danno]

Yeah, It looks like. He is well Accustomed to having his hands placed behind his back

Whoa! GOOD point! I missed that one. But now that I go back and review the photo again, I see that it does look like a very natural pose! Good eye, Gabe!

[Sport Suburban]

I can't beleive you guys are picking on the heavily weathered gentlemen.

Here is my view of displays. They are more for the participants than the judges. I like them because they show everyone the details of the model but keep it simple. As for the judges, They should be able to pick up the models for closer inspection and really get a good look at the finished models. The judgeing I have done we were allowed to do that unless the builder didn't want it picked up or the display was done so that it was not nessasary. Some classes like curbside are judged as they sit on the table. Of cource each show is different in the details.

[highway]

As for the judges, They should be able to pick up the models for closer inspection and really get a good look at the finished models. The judgeing I have done we were allowed to do that unless the builder didn't want it picked up or the display was done so that it was not nessasary.

I'm sorry, but I HEAVILY disagree with you there! That is my whole reason that mirrors are my most important item if I ever do start attending shows again, and why they were important when I was showing in my younger years. The show the former club I was a member of NEVER touched a model in the show, and if there might have been a detail we wanted a closer look at underneath, we would hunt the builder down to pick the model up for us. Believe me, if I was at a show and I seen a judge picking up my model, they would be bringing back a bloody stump or at the least a broken arm!!!

I see it this way, there are three things in life you don't touch:

1. Another man's wife.

2. Another man's 1:1 car.

3. ANOTHER MAN'S MODEL!

[Kodiak Island Modeler]

I'm not attempting to be snide, but the best display for your model, is the model itself. The displays are great for the casual viewers, but I can tell you, as one who's judged shows in the past, that the judges don't have a lot of time to work with. Often the displays are more of a detriment than an asset. The best way to draw attention to one's entry, is to employ excellent modeling techniques. I couldn't believe the amount of cars that still had mold lines between the rear window and the quarter panel, mold lines not sanded off of the tires, oil pans that still had the gap between the two halves, and cars that didn't sit level on the table. No fancy display can offset the damage of a poorly constructed entry.

If one wants to WOW the judges; think quality of build and detail. The only addition I liked, was a simple mirror to show the underside detail. I refused to touch somebody's entry (something breaks; I get blamed), which resulted in either I skipped the underside or went looking for the owner.

[Danno]

I'm sorry, but I HEAVILY disagree with you there! That is my whole reason that mirrors are my most important item if I ever do start attending shows again, and why they were important when I was showing in my younger years. The show the former club I was a member of NEVER touched a model in the show, and if there might have been a detail we wanted a closer look at underneath, we would hunt the builder down to pick the model up for us. Believe me, if I was at a show and I seen a judge picking up my model, they would be bringing back a bloody stump or at the least a broken arm!!!

I see it this way, there are three things in life you don't touch:

1. Another man's wife.

2. Another man's 1:1 car.

3. ANOTHER MAN'S MODEL!

There are critically judged contests that evaluate the undercarriage, chassis, frame, underside of the entries. Typically, they make it clear in at time of registration or in advance that models will be picked up by judges.

Judges generally take very seriously the responsibility of careful handling; they don't want an entry damaged any more than the builder does. If they don't take that responsibility seriously, they shouldn't be judging. Those events quickly develop a reputation and builders stay away.

In the case of a critically judged contest that makes it clear that models will be handled, if you do not want your model handled, you don't enter.

[crazyjim]

I haven't entered a model show since the mid to late '70s. Here's a pic of a first place entry.

[Steve Keck]

Elder abuse must stop!

Quoting another elder, "Payback is a Bitch" and "Revenge is best served cold". So watch your backs. Those footsteps you think you hear in the dark parking lot may be mine..........................

[Karmodeler2]

Elder abuse must stop!

Quoting another elder, "Payback is a Bitch" and "Revenge is best served cold". So watch your backs. Those footsteps you think you hear in the dark parking lot may be mine..........................

and that clanking noise with the footsteps......would that be your walker?

[Steve Keck]

and that clanking noise with the footsteps......would that be your walker?

Yeah, and I'm closing the distance...........

[Jon Cole]

and that clanking noise with the footsteps......would that be your walker?

The heck with a walker... I'll get a Segway with Minilite wheels .

[Jon Cole]

I think the playing field is level… so if someone wants to make a display, more power to ‘em! As long as the display doesn’t cross the line into ‘Dioramas’.

Classic Plastic uses a points system for judging their contest. Chassis is one of the… five (iirc) judged categories. If they cannot see it, nor allowed to pick up the model to look under it, than you; the builder, are out of luck!

Even in points judging, a tie still happens. That means they go back for a second look. If the judges have not read your description before, they sure will the second time! While I don’t like a tall sign that blocks a view of another model, I think that is less likely to happen than running into “table hogsâ€. It seems that the first people to park their builds think they can claim the entire table! Once the space gets crowded, I can still see who the “table hog†was. Man I hate that!