To compete or not to compete that is the question. Whether is nobler to foster international fairness and equality or to enter the fierce and ruthless world of model contests.
In my travels around the web I have noticed several reoccurring themes that are common to them all; however I will focus on just one for now. The statement “I model just for my own enjoyment and not for contests” appears in one form or another on almost every modeling forum on the web. This attitude is by no means a bad one and if you can have this attitude and still excel at your craft then I commend you. For those like myself who don’t have the artistic fortitude of Leonardo daVinci, we need something to stimulate the perfection of our craft.
I believe the root of the “build for myself” attitude stems from a bad contest experience, the feeling of being outclassed, or the inability to take any kind of critique. Even those as passive as the kind given at your typical model contest. Believe me I have shared many of the same feelings like “This show is rigged”, “This is just a good old boys club”, or “The judges must be blind”. After a few contests I had convinced myself that I couldn’t win. The deck was just stacked too high. I just wouldn’t ever be good enough. Then, at one of our club meetings, an older modeler was complimenting me on the model I had brought. I made the comment “Thanks, but it won’t win anything”. He looked up at me with a knowing smile and took me aside and told me “If you want to be a better modeler? Learn what it takes to win”. From that point on my whole attitude about contests changed. With this simple statement and a little guidance I began to get better and more satisfied with my results, but the stimulus was the contest.
As you have by now surmised I am proponent of model contests. In my opinion the only way to excel is to put your models up against other modelers and see how they fare. For me the model contest is not about the $5.00 plaque. It’s about taking on the best in the room and winning and if not finding out how they won. Go to the winner and ask questions, take pictures of their work and analyze their work. Go to the judges and ask what they found amiss with your model. In other word use the contest as a tool to perfect your modeling work. With any competition modeling takes practice and skill, however all the practice and skill in the world is no substitute for combat experience. Contests keep you sharp and make you better if you choose to use them that way.
Now for those who are in the “I don’t model for contests” crowd I will repeat if you are satisfied and are perfecting your craft that’s wonderful. However I think there are some inherent dangers in taking this stance. 1. Your modeling skill will tend to stagnate. I work as a designer which requires me to make many drawings and I learned in school that designers and drafters suffer from a common disorder. That is after a few days of working on a set of drawing we begin to believe they are the best drawings ever made and are perfect. Enter the checker who proceeds to point out all the things we have missed and need to correct. The Checker is the most hated person in the engineering world because he dares to tell us of our failings. However without the checker many if not all drawings would go to the shop floor wrong and cost someone a lot of money. Modelers suffer from this same disorder. We set in dimly lit basements at a workbench under a high powered desk lamp and work for months on a model which when finished we believe is the best model ever made. At least until it’s put next to someone else’s. So to keep yourself from getting comfortable with your modeling skills you need some mechanism to keep you on the ball and a contest can do that because your friends may not have the heart to tell you your model is crap. 2. I think if you just model to please yourself you will eventually get bored. Without some kind of goal you will more than likely quit modeling altogether. I read all the time about modelers losing their mojo and they may not model for months. You need a goal and a contest could meet that need. Just think how long would a pro football team last if they never played a game against someone else. 3. You may develop the problem that many modelers have that is the inability to complete a build. They just keep starting new builds, but never completing them for the simple reason “why do I need to”.
I could list other things I have observed, and I’m sure some of you could too. This subject has been eating at me for a while now. I have presented my case of why contests are something everyone should participate in. The idea that some people think that those of us who compete just get our jolly’s by ripping up the new guys when they come to contest or that some may think they are on some higher plane because they don’t compete and are somehow above it all just cooks my tacos sometimes. Well just remember this is after all just my opinion. I think we can all agree that we all want to be better modelers and that’s why we are here. Feel free to comment that’s what this is for.
P.S.
Last week the forum was too damn quiet. That’s why I’m throwing a fire bomb into the camp. You can yell, scream, stamp your feet, or call me a dirty SOB, but for Pete's sake say something! This is a discussion forum.
In my travels around the web I have noticed several reoccurring themes that are common to them all; however I will focus on just one for now. The statement “I model just for my own enjoyment and not for contests” appears in one form or another on almost every modeling forum on the web. This attitude is by no means a bad one and if you can have this attitude and still excel at your craft then I commend you. For those like myself who don’t have the artistic fortitude of Leonardo daVinci, we need something to stimulate the perfection of our craft.
I believe the root of the “build for myself” attitude stems from a bad contest experience, the feeling of being outclassed, or the inability to take any kind of critique. Even those as passive as the kind given at your typical model contest. Believe me I have shared many of the same feelings like “This show is rigged”, “This is just a good old boys club”, or “The judges must be blind”. After a few contests I had convinced myself that I couldn’t win. The deck was just stacked too high. I just wouldn’t ever be good enough. Then, at one of our club meetings, an older modeler was complimenting me on the model I had brought. I made the comment “Thanks, but it won’t win anything”. He looked up at me with a knowing smile and took me aside and told me “If you want to be a better modeler? Learn what it takes to win”. From that point on my whole attitude about contests changed. With this simple statement and a little guidance I began to get better and more satisfied with my results, but the stimulus was the contest.
As you have by now surmised I am proponent of model contests. In my opinion the only way to excel is to put your models up against other modelers and see how they fare. For me the model contest is not about the $5.00 plaque. It’s about taking on the best in the room and winning and if not finding out how they won. Go to the winner and ask questions, take pictures of their work and analyze their work. Go to the judges and ask what they found amiss with your model. In other word use the contest as a tool to perfect your modeling work. With any competition modeling takes practice and skill, however all the practice and skill in the world is no substitute for combat experience. Contests keep you sharp and make you better if you choose to use them that way.
Now for those who are in the “I don’t model for contests” crowd I will repeat if you are satisfied and are perfecting your craft that’s wonderful. However I think there are some inherent dangers in taking this stance. 1. Your modeling skill will tend to stagnate. I work as a designer which requires me to make many drawings and I learned in school that designers and drafters suffer from a common disorder. That is after a few days of working on a set of drawing we begin to believe they are the best drawings ever made and are perfect. Enter the checker who proceeds to point out all the things we have missed and need to correct. The Checker is the most hated person in the engineering world because he dares to tell us of our failings. However without the checker many if not all drawings would go to the shop floor wrong and cost someone a lot of money. Modelers suffer from this same disorder. We set in dimly lit basements at a workbench under a high powered desk lamp and work for months on a model which when finished we believe is the best model ever made. At least until it’s put next to someone else’s. So to keep yourself from getting comfortable with your modeling skills you need some mechanism to keep you on the ball and a contest can do that because your friends may not have the heart to tell you your model is crap. 2. I think if you just model to please yourself you will eventually get bored. Without some kind of goal you will more than likely quit modeling altogether. I read all the time about modelers losing their mojo and they may not model for months. You need a goal and a contest could meet that need. Just think how long would a pro football team last if they never played a game against someone else. 3. You may develop the problem that many modelers have that is the inability to complete a build. They just keep starting new builds, but never completing them for the simple reason “why do I need to”.
I could list other things I have observed, and I’m sure some of you could too. This subject has been eating at me for a while now. I have presented my case of why contests are something everyone should participate in. The idea that some people think that those of us who compete just get our jolly’s by ripping up the new guys when they come to contest or that some may think they are on some higher plane because they don’t compete and are somehow above it all just cooks my tacos sometimes. Well just remember this is after all just my opinion. I think we can all agree that we all want to be better modelers and that’s why we are here. Feel free to comment that’s what this is for.
P.S.
Last week the forum was too damn quiet. That’s why I’m throwing a fire bomb into the camp. You can yell, scream, stamp your feet, or call me a dirty SOB, but for Pete's sake say something! This is a discussion forum.
