How to be a Gold Medal Winning Modeller

by Mark Powley

Have you ever noticed at Modelling competitions that the same people seem to win all the time? Frustrated that you never even seem close to winning? Can't figure out what you're doing wrong? Well, read on and I'll reveal all the secrets necessary to make your models winners.

The first and most important secret you need to know is this: Pay attention to detail. Right now you must be thinking," That's it? You've got to be bleeping joking!" Nope, I'm dead serious here. Attention to detail is what will sort the winners from the rest of the pack. It's the details that will make or break your model.

So, what do I mean when I talk about paying attention to detail? When judges look at a model they will be looking at three main areas: Construction, Finish and References. Let's look at each in turn.

Construction: You'd be amazed how many modellers come unstuck when it comes to construction. Mould seams, gaps, unfilled joints and parts alignment are the most important of items to take care of and yet many modellers manage to miss or ignore them. Unfortunately most judges don't and they'll make you pay for them. So what should you do? As you advance through each stage of construction pause for a moment and look back over your work. Look for glue marks, missed seams and joints and fix them up now. Restore panel lines that have been lost during the filling stage by removing the filler in the panel line or rescribing that panel line. Are your joints nice and smooth?

Clear parts such as canopies and windshields should come in for attention as well. Polish out any scratches and fingerprints and keep them dust free.

Check the alignment of the parts as well. What do I mean? On aircraft, are the tailplanes at the correct angle to the tail? Is each wing at the same angle to the fuselage? What about the undercarriage legs? Alignment applies to armour and autos as well. Do all the wheels touch the ground? Are they all square? Is all the stowage on the model strapped down or is it sitting on the model in defiance of gravity? Does your mounted figure sit upright on its horse? If unmounted, is your figure standing up straight? A simple way to check for all of these is to hold the model straight out in front of you and to check the alignment that way.

All of this sounds incredibly mundane and obvious but as I said before this is the stage many fall over at.

Finish: The big three in this area are Painting, Decals and Weathering with painting and decals the biggest danger areas. So what are the judges looking for here? The quality of the paintjob is first off. Rough looking paint jobs with lots of overspray, runs or paint build up where you've masked will be all to obvious to the judges eye. With decals, keep an eye out for silvering and alignment.

References: This is one area many modellers ignore to their own peril. Forgetting to bring along all the instruction sheets that go with the kit and any detail sets that were used has cost many modellers easy points. Even more important are any references that were used plus a list of any modifications that were made. Why? It's important to remember that while judges are modellers themselves they may not be judging in their normal field of expertise and even when they are not everyone is an expert in sub-marks of the Messerschmitt Bf-109 for instance. This is where references come into play. Being able to show what you have done and why you've done it will save you a lot of unnecessary grief.

As a courtesy, if you have brought a book along, remember to bookmark the relevant parts of the book so the judges can actually find the sections you want them to see. If you don't want to risk losing a valuable book then photocopy the relevant sections. Don't forget, references don't have to just books. Photographs, personal memoirs, letters and so on can also be used. The word to remember here is Proof.

All of that sounds like a lot doesn't it? The honest answer is no, not really. Most of what I've written are really just the fundamentals of good modelling and yet even the best of us fall over on the basics sometimes.

Now we come to the second modelling secret you need to know: Have Fun. It's all too easy to fall into the trap of forgetting that modelling competitions are not life and death events. Getting First place is nice but shouldn't become the focus of your life. Modelling competitions are really about meeting up with friends, buying lots of goodies from the traders, seeing and appreciating the work of others and being inspired by them.

So there you have it. All that you have to do now is go out and buy a model to practice all my tips out on. And remember, have Fun!

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