In the spirit of supporting local scale model clubs, the ACTSMS is on next weekend. This is for the Australian Capital Territory scale model club which I’m yet to join, so have no affiliation with yet, but thought this may be of wider interest. Also of interest, I usually speed read the acronym ACTSMS as ATACMS which hopefully others will also now do so I don’t feel so foolish as I do it every bloody time I read it!
I will hopefully catch up with @Dioramartin on Sunday 10 November but would love to say hi to anyone else going along. Unfortunately I’m still struggling with my stamina from chemo treatments so can’t commit to too much time there. I intend to take photos of the models which I’ll post here after the event.
Of general interest may be the parameters for the competition with the “Open judging system” which is apparently new. Details as per the club’s website are in quotes below. Are these standards as per other model shows or is this a new approach?
“Regular ScaleACT attendees will note that there are significantly fewer categories this year than previously. This is a result of our new Open judging system where entries are judged individually, entirely on their own merits. Entries are NOT compared to other entries on the table - we are no-longer trying to find the ‘best’ model in a category!
In the Open system, each model is assessed against set criteria (Construction, Finish and Presentation), so Category is now simply a label to help everyone position and find entries in the competition hall, rather than being a little competition in itself! It doesn’t mater if there are 1 or 100 entries ‘in a category’ - each will be assessed individually and if the model meets the assessment criteria in the eyes of the judges, it will be awarded!
So what are these criteria? When assessing an entry, the judging teams will be looking firstly at the basics, starting with Construction. Are any gaps or seams visible? Has surface detail been lost? Are there any glue blobs visible? Are all components aligned correctly? The judges will then look at the Finish of the model. Is the finish consistent? Are there any blemishes, brush-marks or overspray visible? Do decals exhibit any damage or silvering? etc. Once the basics are considered the judges will move on to the Presentation of the model, this is less tangible and more difficult to express - think of it as the X factor!“