I feel as though I should know the answer to this, and I'm sure it's been asked before, but what the heck, here we go:

The benefits of enclosing a completed diorama and/or vignette are obvious. But can an enclosed diorama still be judged in a model contest? I know that some contest categories do not allow for (standalone) models to be mounted on a base (if it is it gets classed as a dio) or encased, but is this generally applicable to dioramas as well?

TIA

Rudi

(I apologise in advance for possibly asking some that has been asked before or if the question doesn't make sense - I blame it on a traumatic day at work, stress and the 40 degree Celcius heat we've had all week)

By "an enclosed diorama", I assume you mean a display of figures and/or armour interacting with terrain to tell a story, create atmosphere and convey emotions or ideas?

By "encased", do you mean a subject displayed on diorama confined within a frame?

I can only make this comment based on my first entry into the WASMEx competition last year. The category definitions are as follows:

3.7 In Diorama or Vignette entries, all models and materials contained within the perimeter of the base shall be judged as a single entity. These categories are defined below.

Vignettes: The modeller is to include no more than three human figures with livestock and/or personal equipment on a simple scenic base.

Diorama: The modeller is to depict a scene that may include multiple models and scenic effects. A Diorama should tell a story.

3.8 The Figure category is for true to life representations, being models of an identifiable real person or of a 'typical' real person wearing the clothing and bearing the accoutrements of an identifiable historical event or period.

Hope this helps,

Chas


Out on the patio we’d sit,
And the humidity we’d breathe,
We’d watch the lightning crack over canefields,
Laugh and think, this is Australia.

By enclosed or encased I mean a clear display case over the diorama.

And yes, I know what a diorama or vignette is. Given the misuse of both of these terms so often, I wonder how many others do.

Ok, I guess a diorama with a clear display case wouldn't be judged any differently from one without...

As long as the judges are able to see the subject inside, pick up the diorama and turn it around if necessary to view from different angles, it will be judged as any other diorama would be.

Again, I'm only making assumptions as I've only been to one contest and IIRC there were no enclosed diorama there.

Are those IPMS rules and classifications? Their rules have always seemed heavy-handed with regard to anything other than aircraft. Weathering is frowned upon, models aren't to be attached to bases etc..

Dioramas and vignettes are more artistic and less technical, so it kind of bothers me that they have to fall into one category or another. Limiting the amount of figures and/or contrivances is stifling to the modeler that's building it. I've seen a clear story told with three figures or less, and I've also seen pieces that include a crowd of figures and a couple of tanks that hardly tells a story, so which is which?

Two things, I imagine a clear cover could be constructed to be removeable. The case could be left on except when being judged. If it weren't removeable, surely some allowances could be made to judge the thing. I think about shadow-boxes too. In this case, the box is integral to the finished piece. Hopefully, the judges would have enough foresight to handle a question like this, and it wouldn't be a problem.

Rudi, Very interesting question with has baffled me and caused aggrivation at times. What I do not understand is why we have to remove a clear cover to display and be judged at a show. There is no reason in the world for a judge to have to touch a dio to judge it or to remove the protection case to view it. Cases are there to protect a piece from dust and dumb peoples fingers and the ocasional critter. If you spent the time to build a dio or vin. then you are not too happy when things get broken ( especially when they are hard to reach let alone replace a scratch built part). I have been to shows where we were asked to remove them and some shows that don't care. I have built a few box dio's and the encloser is a part of the display which not only protects it but if skillfully done can bring the story past the end of the border. I think that those who demand that cases be removed spend their time building a dio and leave it unprotected and see just how short a time it takes for time and dust to ruin a piece.