So I'm in the midst of building my "challenge" kit..a Revell which dates from 1962. The decals are usable, but simplified and not particularly accurate. I have a much more accurate and complete set of decals for the plane I want to do, and they even date from the 1970s. The problem is, they're from a Hasegawa kit. Will that disqualify the model from the competition, or are they covered by the "Aftermarket Decals" rule?

SN

Short answer- take an old kit, build it well with your current skillset and make it look good without enhancing or correcting the basic plastic. You can use whatever decals you want.

(Long answer) Mask and paint if you want, make your own. Think "IPMS USA OOB rules"- I am not trying to make you build a hobbled or bad model with yellowed cracked decals, I'm trying to get you to polish a t*rd like they did once on Mythbusters (although I don't think of them as t*rds at all, I think of them as Classics.)

An antenna wire or some rigging (any appropriate material, but extra points for using the kit sprue!) is also OK, and you CAN drill out a gun barrel end if you like but I won't ding you if you put a spot of Sharpie marker on instead (as long as there is not a seam showing on the barrel end).

Any decal or paint finish is OK (I don't know yet on overall foil...), but I want you to keep the build "OOB-simple" in order to bring some fun into it for you by releasing you from any residual AMS syndrome guilt attacks.

At the same time, creative use of drybrushing, say, to pop the detail out on a Monogram P-47D wheelwell, is one of those basic skillbuilder exercises we all need. So is filling so as not to destroy raised detail (i.e. wipe off Mr.Surfacer with alcohol on a QTip like Jimbo taught me), filing down an ill-fitting tab or slot so that you don't HAVE to fill, hiding a kit's flaws by drawing attention away elsewhere (there's a gaping hole in the wheelwe... oooo, shiny landing lights!), etc etc.

I like to spruce up a blah cockpit with little spots of color and a few drawn-on plaques and such with a fine marker- the plastic is untouched, but the effect is much improved. Masking tape seatbelts with an oil wash can look great, put silver paint marker hardware on and they're even better.

I will judge basics,fit and finish, to modern standards, but the plastic shall be what it was in 1962. I'll be bringing a build or 2 Tuesday to show some examples if that'll help.

On something like an Addar/Polar Lights "Planet of the Apes" Cornelius figure it would be judged on eliminated seams and realistic, authentic quality of paintjob. Does the leather look like leather? It's not your fault his back looks stiff- that's in the period mold. But if you leave those huge gaps at the shoulders so his arms can swivel, you'll lose the first cut of this particular contest. Clear?

One possible exception I will gladly grant is any simple blocking of an otherwise distracting see-through effect. I don't want to look all the way through a jet intake to out the tail! Just don't make it detailed, just something like black painted cardstock.

Basics! "There's nothing wrong with that kit!"

Cool! That pretty much answers my questions. I'm planning to brush paint everything except the underside (trying to brush Neutral Gray over OD plastic doesn't work very well.) But I in keeping with the "spirit" of the build, I'm using a Testors spray bomb rather than an airbrush. I may also resort to spray-bomb dullcoat after decalling just to get a consistent overall finish.

Quote:

I'm actually having to do the opposite. As molded, the kit has a couple of windows that are clear parts, but are supposed to be glued into rectangular depressions in the fuselage..so I carved out the solid plastic to make them actual windows. I've also drilled out the exhausts and some intakes..but all the "enhancements" are are well within the scope of IPMS OOB rules, and are things I figure any "serious" modeler would have done..even in 1962! I'll try and preserve as many of the original rivets as possible, but some will inevitably be lost during filling and sanding.

Happy Modeling!

Steve

Yes, "drilling out" isn't limited to gunbarrels in the OOB rules, as long as you don't cross over the line to major modification ("I drilled all around the fuselage with a 1/8" bit, filed the edges, and glued it back together so the length is correct" goes against the rules and spirit of this contest.) Windows are OK if clear plastic is provided (odd, that).

Strange I haven't figured out what you're building yet from all the clues, but just as well.

I like to simply replace sanded off panel lines with a #11 blade (usually freehand over a fuselage spine, rolling the model as i slice) and rivets with a needle chucked in a pinvice. Under paint the holes are usually filled and they look fine.

I find it more disturbing to the eye to have detail just fade away in an area than to have just about anything there. My mind's eye sees the builder at work sanding and the illusion of scale is lost.

Of course the best way is to not have to do it at all, by trimming off locator pins and gluing in stages, etc. But obviously it is sometimes necessary, especially with old engineering.

Another challenge I have not solved yet to my satisfaction is weathering raised panel lines so they look as good as scribed lines with a wash in them. Light sanding after painting has been successful in some circumstances, particularly if the plastic is black or dark OD (or black primer is used). Pencil and drybrushing are other things I've tried, and oil pinwash.

Should I come up with a judging points scale for everyone to look at? I've said several times "extra points for...", maybe that was a mistake or should be quantified, because I do want it kept simple.

Another thing to possibly consider as a club is whether a modeler who has already won should be barred from winning for a year, starting AFTER this contest, in order to give a fairer chance to those who are not "national award-winning masters"? Or is this opening a can of worms about competition in general that we want to avoid?

I mention it because I love to participate and rise to a challenge (RED? You want something RED!!? OK, I'll give you something red...) but I don't need to hog this trophy. Of course, "sitting the next one out" could always be a personal choice.

I read your specification on antenna. I suspect that flying wires are not allowed i.e. biplanes. Also, I guess I would support the requirement on barring winners for a year.

Have a good meeting on Tuesday. I will be on my way to Phoenix.

Clare

Yuppers, Steve and I won't be there either, we'll be in Pensacola, FL

Will anyone be running the show Tuesday??? I don't recall this being decided on last month, but maybe I wasn't paying attention.

Clare, it is my understanding that biplane rigging is allowed under OOB rules.