Make me feel really good being paper modeler (even though I'm an amateur)
No worries Shika, I’m an amateur myself....
Thanks for the good words gents (and the interesting smilies)!
Perhaps I should point out some of the differences between the two judging methods currently in play in the IPMS system. In the more “traditional” judging style of “First-Second-Third” (FST), commonly found at regional and national IPMS contests, models are judge not only to a basic standard, but also against one another for their particular scale/category (for example: 1/72nd Military Jets, etc). In this way, the playing field is smaller, but only three people walk away with something (four if there’s an “Out of the Box” award) for each category.
The “Gold-Silver-Bronze” (GSB) method of judging, which I believe was started in the armor modeler community, specifically
AMPS, the models are lumped together in loosely define categories (such as “Aircraft-Military”, the category the Mitchell competed in) and are judged only against a more defined standard, not each other. I think the GSB method is a plus when paper models have to compete directly with plastic models, as comparing the two directly can be problematic, although not impossible, as I’ve had other paper models win against plastic in the FST method too. But IMHO, the paper model can fair better in a GSB contest as it can be judged on its own merits.
Now, for those of you who are turned completely off by “contests” and “judging”, etc., etc., I still highly encourage attendance (with your paper models in hand of course) to your local model club, be it IPMS sponsored or what have you. There were *many* models that were marked “display only” at the contest I attended (albeit plastic ones), and that’s usually been the case for any event or club meeting I’ve attended in the 18 years I’ve been active in IPMS. Plunking a model down on a table at a club meeting is the quickest and surest way to get positive feedback on your work, and talk model building with likeminded folks.
Alright, I’ll get down off my soapbox now....
ops:
Mike
