Turn your frown upside down
Hi guys
I'm very pleased to see this thread has turned from negative to positive.
Now that we've had a chance to throw our "two cents" in, we Planeteers are now starting to discuss how to improve our enjoyment of modelling, and get more satisfaction from attending and presenting at shows.
There is nothing to be gained by making accusations against judges; they are people just like us - passionate, dedicated figure modellers. Please, let other on-line forums do that. This Planet is too good to spoil with trash talk.
It's hard for me to look at the pics of the models that
didn't win at LPS, and not wonder at the standard of the models that
DID win. I'd kill to be as talented as you are, and I can certainly see why you are disappointed with the results at LPS. All I can say is "Better luck next time."
Your suggestion to hold "display only" model shows has merit for a number of reasons.
Firstly, I wouldn't want to enter my figures in a competition if I didn't think I had some chance of receiving some recognition. The recognition I enjoy is listening to people's comments as they view my models on the tables, and sharing my love of modelling with them. I don't enter comps to win awards, but I have won a few, and I get a tremendous buzz when I do, and I grumble and grizzle when I get passed over by the judges. It's only human.
Secondly, I think it can be threatening and intimidating to those modellers of modest modelling skill (and I am one of those), to put your best work up against professional masters. I know plenty of modellers who don't enter club comps because they lack the confidence to expose their work to criticism. This could possibly explain why the number of modellers entering major comps in recent years has been falling. As the quality of sculpting and painting produced by so many gifted professional artists leaves most of us gasping in awe, it does present a very daunting standard for enthusiastic amatuer to be compared to.
Thirdly and finally, we Planeteers should use our forum to exchange positive ideas, tips and encouragement and share our love of figure modelling, not vent our frustrations and make unproven accusations. There is no perfect way to "judge" our models, we all know that. But we can "appreciate" our models in a non-competetive way that rewards participation with encouragement.
At WASMEx, the Western Australian Scale Model Expo, every junior and intermediate entrant receives free kits as a reward for putting an entry into the competition, regardless of the standard, or if it wins a medal. Over the past 7 years the number of junior and intermediate entrants in the comp has quadrupled. Now many young modellers are attending local model clubs and learning new skills from "old grey haired" modellers like myself, and gaining huge enjoyment and satisfaction from their hobby. The fact that many of them gain their enjoyment in figure painting from the fantasy/ war gaming genre is simply a sign of the times.
If we "senior" modellers don't encourage these younger modellers to participate in comps, and join model clubs, our hobby has no future.
Guys, IMHO that's what ALL international, national and local shows should be about. They are a showcase for our hobby and the individual skills and artistic talents of modellers, and an opportunity for modellers to share their love of their hobby with others.
Now that this thread is on a positive spin, can the author of this thread please turn his
to a
?
Cheers
