Judging Guidelines

After much testing and trialling we have developed a judging system that gives very consistent results in the shortest amount of time, allowing the judges to spend their time adding constructive comments to each entry. The system is very simple with each judge awarding a score of between 1 and 4, after considering all the elements of the model together. The scores from the 3 judges are added together giving a final result out of 12. The model is then awarded a Gold, Silver or Bronze medal based on the follow scores:

11-12 Gold
9-10 Silver
6-8 Bronze

Here are some guidelines the judges use when giving scores:

4 points for approaching perfection.

Very few minor flaws being acceptable. Impression is "excellent"

3 points for very good.

Some flaws being found under close inspection but overall impression is "very good"

2 point for good.

Flaws being apparent in several areas but no major flaws, overall impression "good"

1 points no medal

Flaws being apparent in most areas or has a major flaw or flaws, overall impression just "not quite good enough for a medal"

Here are some guidelines for the types of flaws to look out for:

Pre Paint (Construction & finish):
Misaligned tracks or wheels, other misaligned parts, inappropriate gaps, flash or mould seams, visible surface defects, sprue joins, construction evidence such as sanding or glue marks and un-sanded putty.

Paint (including markings):
Paintwork lacking smoothness, visible dust/hair, orange peel effect, paint splatter/spiders, brushstrokes, paint outside appropriate boundaries, appropriateness and scale of camouflage, appropriate colours. Decal flaws such as frosting, visible carrier film or cracking.

Post Paint (weathering & realism):
Lack of subtlety or out of scale dust, scratches and chipping, inappropriate placement of dirt/mud/dust, scratches, chipped areas, stains, oil spills or grease, lack of realism (does it look like a scale model or the real thing in miniature) and fingerprints (bigger than 1/72nd scale that is!)