|
Post by NoelSmith on Aug 1, 2012 19:58:21 GMT
I'll probably get pilloried by all you 'Wingy Thingy' guys by raising this question at all. But any way here goes. Basically. I did an overall analysis of all this years competition classes, not only the IPMS Classes, but also the Competition Trophies and the IPMS Awards sponsored by other IPMS National Branches.
Aircraft modellers have 66 classes in all to enter. Brilliant for them and long may it last.
Military Vehicles 12, Civilian Vehicles 8, Figures 8, Ships 7, Sci Fi/Fantasy 9, Misc 2 and Dioramas 7 All these combined make up to 68 classes altogether, averaging about 7 to 9 classes per subject.
This analysis did not include Juniors or Branch Champs.
Why do we have hardly any Mainstream Manufacturers Trophies? Only Airfix seems to support us in this way. Did we not have a Revell trophy some time ago? It would be nice to get trophies from Revell again and some other manufacturers. We used to have a Humbrol Trophy for best paint job didn't we? Being as a number of manufacturers tend to 'launch' stuff at our show, it would be nice if they were to support our trophies a bit more.
Whilst I fully understand and accept that Aircraft will always be the majority interest for plastic kit bashers, maybe IPMS could nurture and develop some outside trophies for some of the other classes as well. We are after all a general modelling society. But with so much trophy bias towards aircraft at present, other subject interests seem to be getting a bit overlooked, especially when you read down the competition entry list.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2012 21:05:53 GMT
Noel this is an old chestnut has been done to death. Are you saying that the IPMS should level out the playing fields and offer more classes for other genre's of modelling other than aircraft, even though aircraft occupy a substantial part of the hobby?
Would the models materialize if alternative classes were offered? ... doubtful.
When I was leader of the 'Trucks and Emergency Vehicles' SIG I persuaded the competition secretary to offer 5 more categories for truck modellers based on a promise that these models would appear. Well, the models never appeared from truck modellers and we had several classes with nothing or very few models in them, the classes were subsequently withdrawn at the next SMW.
Sorry to be slightly negative Noel, but I've been there and worn the T shirt as I am sure have all the competition secretaries I've known.
As for manufacturers trophies, remember the Trumpeter competition? ... what a farce! Modellers drooled over this contest initially but eventually delivered very little and Trumpeter withdrew.
Members will enter the competition if they want to, you can't make people enter. Are other interests being overlooked? ... in my opinion certainly not. Do the EC listen to members when they suggest other competition classes, they certainly do but when a class is asked for and then entries fail to appear, maybe the EC are cautious.
|
|
|
Post by John Tapsell on Aug 2, 2012 11:59:40 GMT
Noel,
Nick's right - having managed the IPMS Competition for several years in the past, I've seen the issues first hand.
IPMS is a largely 'aircraft' based organisation and that reflects the hobby generally. As an armour modeller I'd love to see a lot more AFV classes, but we don't usually get enough armour entries to justify more classes - same for most of the other categories too.
Now - you could argue that this is a bit of a chicken and egg situation, but I believe the current split of classes represents modelling interests fairly accurately within IPMS and the wider hobby.
There are also other issues to consider. Extra classes means extra judges are required and we struggle to find enough judges for some of the categories at the moment.
There is also the matter of cost and space. There is a limit to our competition budget and a limit to the space we can allocate to the competition. This year will see the first increase in space allocation for a good few years.
What myself and most other competition secretaries have done during our respective tenures has been to work largely within the existing number of classes and re-allocate classes to other areas where necessary. If classes are consistently attracting only two or three entries then we look to absorb that class into another one. Conversely, if a class is consistently attracting 20+ entries then we'll look at whether we can split the subject into two classes.
The balance of the competition alters slightly year on year as fashions and tastes change and we try to reflect that.
Trophies - short answer is that the major plastic model manufacturers don't see the need to. The 'return' they would get from sponsoring a major trophy is not sufficiently valuable to their business.
Sponsors, by their very nature, expect some level of return for their investment. They don't just give us money for altruistic reasons. They do so because the 'return' is beneficial to their business.
Nick mentioned the Trumpeter debacle - Revell no longer sponsor trophies either and the Matchbox Trophy has long since disappeared. Instead, we are getting the smaller, specialist companies offering trophies because to them, the 'return' is worthwhile.
Regards, John
|
|
|
Post by fastcat on Aug 2, 2012 12:53:27 GMT
Hi Noel, There's no doubt that IPMS is biased towards aircraft as are all general modelling forums and almost every branch of IPMS worldwide. But that's a fact of life and reflects the interests of model makers as does the interest in most things military. Your head count of classes almost exactly mirrors the survey results which IPMS carry out from time to time. And it's no coincidence that there are kits of the most obscure aircraft, including some that didn't exist, while there's no Alfa P2 or 3, Mercedes 154, ERA, pre and post-war Maseratis other than in 1/43 scale.
Sadly all the sponsored trophies also reflect that fact too and it's hardly surprising. When IPMS held it's annual event at Donington Park, the Thistle Hotel sponsored an amazingly generous award for the best car and motorcycle which required separate entries. It consisted of a day at a Donington event with use of their hospitality box plus overnight accommodation and meals. It was by far the most valuable prize on offer. I know because I won it several times!
The entry however was surprisingly poor. I even wrote a letter in the magazine to encourage participation, seemingly to little effect as numbers were unchanged. I believe Little-cars also sponsored a trophy and again there wasn't much interest. To this day, some of the civilian vehicle classes have only a couple of entries.
I don't think any of this can be altered by the EC. Maybe in the past they didn't try too hard but if you look at the current magazine content it's about as varied as you could get without alienating most of the membership and I know they would like to make everyone feel welcome especially in todays climate.
Maybe the answer lies within the minority groups. Participate more, enter the competitions, write articles for the mag. Les Garagistes did a great job last year. But it was done with only nine modellers who had an effect way beyond their numbers. The very least they did was to get noticed and their display was a hit with the public. Perhaps that's the best way forward. Stand up and be counted.
Regards Dave
|
|
|
Post by karlos on Aug 2, 2012 13:37:10 GMT
I am a confirmed tread head myself and notice the dearth of armour related classes in comps ( not that I enter myself as my attempts at throwing plastic together and adding glue are , well lets say not up to snuff, perhaps I am part of the problem for not entering comps?)....but as the other posters(postees?) say, it reflects the make up of the society, if not the world of modelling we live in, if you wish to see more armour classes for example, in comps, join M A F V A?.....on the whole any one who judges comps or indeed oversees the running of same( and that goes for ANY event in fact) , deserve the respect and admiration of all, having judged just the one put me off the job for life....
|
|
|
Post by NoelSmith on Aug 2, 2012 20:14:59 GMT
Thanks for the replies guys. Not surprisingly it's pretty much what I expected to hear. Regarding mainstream manufacturers trophies such as Humbrol, Tamiya, Revell etc. a returnable trophy would not make much of a dent in any of their PR budgets for one year only considering what annual publicity from SMW that they would get in return. The Airfix trophy is for the best model from an Airfix kit, no matter what the subject matter. If other manufacturers did the same it would open up the competition subject matter a bit without adding too many more trophies to SMW. The Trumpeter sponsored competition was mentioned as not being successful for the manufacturer. Well there is a vast difference between the cost of a returnable trophy for SMW each year and a sponsored trip to China! So yes I agree that it was very disappointing for the manufacturer considering their huge commitment at the time. Nick made some salient points with regard to the opening up of classes to be disappointed by the lack of number of entries, and then having to abandon the idea. It is a shame that many of the classes other than aircraft are not supported better in the competition. So whilst this continues, realistically the status quo will probably remain the same.
|
|
|
Post by tony on Aug 14, 2012 17:46:58 GMT
Hi Noel as previous comments this has been said before and no doubt will be said whilst we have a competition. something that has not been mentioned for this year is that we have lost a aircraft class and gained 2 additional sci-fi classes, in addition to this i have added a up and coming 48th scale military vehicle class and this is by popular demand. also i have added a civilian diorama class as well. so in effect the competition has grown and there has been no increase in aircraft classes. so we do listen to what is happening in the hobby. as for trophies i think the previous comments apply with regards to trophies from the trade, they come and they go and i will help any trader who wants to sponsor a trophy. It is the overseas people who are recognizing the importance of the competition and are willing to sponsor trophies for this year and i hope they will continue as they are the enthusiast and it is the clubs and braches that generate the models at Scalemodel world. without the clubs and overseas members the show would be very different.
|
|
|
Post by NoelSmith on Aug 16, 2012 6:02:38 GMT
Hi Tony Thanks for the timely reminder about the non aircraft classes that you have added to the competition. As modellers we tend to notice what particularly interests us like (in my case) the new civilian vehicles diorama class, and should make for some very different and interesting models. This will also help get around some of the civilian vehicles disqualification problems encountered in the past when a model has been entered with more than one figure on the base for example. Provided of course that the modeller reads the rules properly and ensures that the correct civilian vehicles class is entered there should be no problems as the new class now provides for this. I think that you have addressed this issue quite neatly by creating this new class. It will be up to the individual modeller who enters to consider how a straight model of a vehicle vehicle with 2 figures on the base pushing it into the diorama class will stack up against a proper diorama as most modellers understand it however. Two more Sci Fi classes added and another class for 1/48th scale military is also an encouraging development, so you were quite right to highlight what is being done here.
|
|
|
Post by tony on Aug 16, 2012 14:45:14 GMT
Thanks Noel for the comments. and your right lets hope people read the rules......... i am not going to change any class on the day, i a have stood by this for the last year and i will stand by this again. i will help anyone get the right class beforehand and i hope that all people who enter do read the rules and definitions. lets hope the new classes are well supported.
|
|
|
Post by kitmakerg on Aug 16, 2012 18:07:10 GMT
All aspects of modelling are biased toward aircraft simply because aircraft are the most popular subject amongst modellers
|
|
|
Post by jwhalen on Aug 23, 2012 21:38:20 GMT
Hi,
I'm pleased to say I have seen an increase in cars both in the competition and around SMW over the last few years so there are definitely some very good car modellers within the IPMS. I feel there is a good number of car classes and I am particularly pleased that there is a class for one of my favorite areas of civilian vehicle modelling (Hot Rods, Custom Cars and Dragsters). I have a model finished already for this class and hope to have another finished in time for the show.
However, although there are clearly some very good car modellers in the society they don't seem to be very active - a look at the cars section of this website will show that the last post was by myself on May 31st. It'll be for the benefit of the society as a whole if car members become more active. However it'd be interesting to see how many airplane modellers are active out of the total airplane modellers in the society and it may be that the percentage of active car modellers may not be that different.
Hope the new classes announced by Tony above are well supported.
Cheers,
|
|