I've only entered one diorama before. A small Gundam Wing diorama, so for description I just put what was going on in the dio, etc. Heres my question. If you have a fairly large dio. 3ft around there. It depicts an actual event, is accurate as possible. Should you list your references for the diorama. People who were actually there and witnessed it or were in it?? Should you list anything else in the diorama?

Tanks,
Mike

In my experience (which is not extensive, only local shows) judges vary. Some want background, some only want to get out their penlights and see if you made any mistakes on the interior details.
I would contact whoever sponsers the show you want to enter and try to get some intel on the background of the judges.
Also, I have been to shows where the judges end up being volunteers picked on the spot from attendees at the show.
Good luck.

John C. (Cavguy66)

It NEVER hurts to have references available. I'd note that on my ID sheet, since space may preclude having your references on the table.

When the penlights come out, I prefer a Mini Mag Light, you know the kit being examined in in contention. It always bugs the $%$%#^% out of me when contestants complain about judges using lights. The judges are being asked to pick the three best models on a table where light is often not ideal. How many folks build under a bank of flourescent lights 12 feet up? As the Boss says, "not many of you!" If I've put a ton of detail to an interior, I invite judges and others to look inside and see my craftwork. Many a time I've had to resort to a flashlight to determine which of two excellent models was going to take first. And yes, I'm looking for that stray spot of glue that didn't get dull coated or that little bit of silvering on a decal. Am I worried that a Sherman isn't the right shade of OD for August 1944? Hell, no. At virtually every judges meeting, that is emphasized. Basic first, give the modleler the beneft of the doubt when it comes to colors and paint schemes.


And, yes, judges often have to be chosen from the contestants because there aren't enough knowledgeable people volunteering.

I apologize if I offended those of you out there who have been judges. I agree that accurate detail and modeling skills should count, especially in a stand-alone model. But as a diorama builder, I also think that just as much weight should be given to creativity and the skillful telling of story.

John C.

I have judged alot of Dioramas in my days ...It never hurts to put as much info as possible down on paper all it can do is help ...I know I don't look for the same things when I judge a dio as I do judging a kit on its own ...For sure if the kit is badly built and the decals are falling off well you can forget a gold medal ...I'm very severe on things like making everything look like it should be there ...ie the road and the dust on the vehicles look like the same color...making sure figures are sitting down on something..look weighed down and not just glued in place with one cheek in the air(if you know what I mean)...Little things get my attention ...Road signs Make sure they make sence.(.I have seen things like Caen 2 km and on the other side berlin that way !!! ugh!! cost him big time )...Jerry cans ...garbage ...all things that make you stop and look twice ...Of course you must be able to tell what is going on with a quick look ..So remember me when you build your next dio...I'm the guy with the flashlite waiting to take your scene apart (acctually never did use a flashlight ) Remember to have fun ,it is only a hobby ...

Richard

Dioramas are perhaps the toughest things to judge. It is the one category that is most subjective and the winners are often determined by the whims, wants, likes and dislikes of the judges.

At some contests, it seems like bigger is better. At others, small, tight vignettes do better. I've seen a dio take Best of Show at one contest, then not even place at the next contest. In each case, the judges could justify their decisions.

My advice: try to avoid cliches. Tell a story that's easy to understand. If the viewer/judge needs to read a book to understand your dio, it's probably too complicated. If there is more than one vehicle in the dio, make sure they are all finished to the same level of detail.

Same goes with figures -- don't put an Ultracast or Warriors crew in the tank and have 25-year-old Tamiya lumps standing around it. One great trick, if you plan to use figures from several sources, is to replace all the heads with aftermarket heads. Verlinden, Hornet, Warriors and Ultracast all make good head sets that have personality. Make sure all the helmets are the same size.

Also, make sure everything in the scene makes sense (i.e., no panzerfausts in the South Pacific). Match the proper ammo with the gun (I recently saw a dio of a Priest being loaded with 75mm tank ammo). Despite what some people seem to think (Verlinden), every square millimeter does not have to be covered with clutter.

Finally, if you plan to enter contests, be prepared for disappointment. If you win, that's great, but don't fall into a pit of despair if you don't. Don't build to please contest judges -- build to please yourself.

Ok thanks guys for the tips. I'll keep in mind everything else, make everyhting the same. Well not exactly the same. what most of you said.

As for listing reference how should I go about doing that?

Mike

If I were you ...and I was doing something really special ...I would have a picture to back me up...ie an early Tiger 1 but rebuilt with steel wheels and painted in Panzer grey ...Yes bring a picture and references but I don't remember stopping and reading a 3 page list of references for an ordinary scene ..We judges just don't have time ... #:-) Of course it is nice to know a bit about what you are trying to show ...ie Russia 1943....

Rick

Like Rick says, most judges won't take the time to dig through a book of reference. IMHO, you may want to include a copy of a photo or other reference is you plan to depict something unusual. Try to keep it to one page, if possible.

For example, I built Italeri's M4A3 "Calliope" kit a few years ago and used the kit's decals for a tank named "Cold Storage." This particular tank is fairly well-documented and I found a nice full-page photo of it in Squadron's D-Day to Berlin book. It had some interesting details, like German helmets hung on the front glacis lift lugs, as well as a box of cans and track tools. I scratched the box and tools, corrected the elevation rod, added all sort of details (including the fuel stains) and put on those German helmets -- a detail I felt was a bit too cheesy to include without photographic proof. I simply made a copy of the photo that I always included with the tank when entered in contests -- it eliminated a lot of questions and/or negative comments.

Come to think of it, too much reference could actually work against you. Some nit-picking rivet counter might find details in the photos that you didn't include on your model. i.e., "He forgot to include the tie-downs and foundry marks that are prominent in the photos ..." or "Those headlight guards are obviously way over scale thickness."

Hi Mike - Happy New Year ! ...........Some advice;
Being a diorama judge myself, everyone has really covered evreything and has given you some great advice for enetering your dio into competition. The only thing I can add, and I like to see when judging, and will help you in the long run is to type and print out a good
" PRESENTATION " .....this is what the dio is about and a " CHEAT SHEET " ........ this will list all the work you have done and what you put into the diorama. You can do a short sheet or I've seen some modelers, like my friend Lynn Kessler who put's together a small 3 ringed binder of his work, with in progress photo's & text and then he does a section on the historical reference of the actual battle that the diorama portray's. It's really add's a nice touch to the dio and could help influence a judges score for your awarded point's. HOWEVER ....... if it's boring, dosen't impress the judge and is too long winded it can also work against y. Below is a "CHEAT SHEET " that I used for my diorama at AMPS 2002. It will give you a general idea of how to write one up
- ralph


MATERIALS FOR BUILDING & PAINTING DIORAMA

" INTO BATTLE "


1) FIGURES :
Dragon 1/35 Waffen SS Combat Unit ( Normandy 1944 ) Set.

2) PAINT :
Model Master Enamels - Uniforms.- Equipment, & weapons. - Shading & drybrushing.
Winsor & Newton Artist Oils - Faces, hands, rifle stocks, gun slings, equipment straps, entrenching tool handles. - Uniform & gunmetal washes .
Earth Tone Pastels - Were dusted on bottoms of figures boots & trousers to tie in with the ground colors.
Sanford Primsacolor Pencils, Metallic - All rasied detail on weapons gunmetal. - Bare metal wear & tear on gasmask canisters, mess tins, water bottle bakelite cups, and their metal fasteners.
Wood Rifle Stock's & Entrenching Tool Handles - Painted with W&N Burnt Sienna and drybrushed with Raw Umber oils .

3) VP LEAD FOIL :
Was used to make all gun slings, gasmask canister straps, and to simulate metal fastners for water bottles & mess-tins, and entrenching tool carrier straps for attaching it to the belt.
MG-42 leather carry strap was made from Maxwell House Coffee's "easy open foil top"
They were painted with W&N Raw Umber & Burnt Sienna oils.

4) COLORS FOR EQUIPMENT, WEAPONS, & WAFFEN SS CAMOUFLAGE UNIFORMS :
Books -
Waffen SS Uniforms In Color Photographs, by Andrew Steven & Peter Amodio.
German Soldiers of World War Two ( Histoire & Collections ) by Jean de Lagarde.

5) WOOD BASE :
Cut from scrap wood plank. Sanded to shape & smoothness. Stained & Polyurethaned.

6) GROUND BASE :
Sculptamold. - When dried, it was given a wash & drybrushed with Polly Scale acrylics earthtone colors.

7) DIRT ROAD :
Grinded down "kitty litter". - Glued, and weathered with earthtone pastels.

8) GRASS :
VLS TechStar Static Grass. - Glued down with "scenic cement" by Woodland Scenics.
Drybrushed with Yellow Ochre oils & earthtone pastels.

9) BUSHES & SHRUBS :
Woodland Scenics ( Lt. Green Clump-foilage & Lichen. - Harvest Gold Field Grass ) -
Glued down using Elmers Glue-All & Scenic cement, and drybrushed using earthtone pastels

10) TREE :
Twig used from own back yard. Using Woodland Scenics Hobby-Tac Adhesive I applied Woodland Scenics Lt. green Clump-Foilage to twig stems, and drybrushed with earthtone pastels.

* I bought the chalk pastels in stick form set's of 12, and grinded them all down by hand into powder with my hobby knife & sandpaper

Like a few others, I have done more than a few contests. My main "format" is to put a 50 word summary of what I'm detailing, and then a listing of vendors and any special processes used.

As for the "penlight" effect, my feeling is that if a hatch is open, or a window is bare, then a judge has the right and EXPECTATION to see something inside. I once put hanging file folders and papers inside of an open drawer of a filing cabinet!

But what get's me is when everything is closed up and the judges start using dental mirrors to look "UNDER" things that are not made visible to the naked eye. The bottom of my turrent doesn't get detailed the same way that my hatch handles and gun barrels do! I once lost precious points that cost me first place in a prestigious competition because the wiring I ran to a spotlight didn't terminate into a visible socket! Gimme a break!

I've always held that there are three types of builders...

1) Absolute "techno wizards" who must have the actual angle of the plate armor within 1/100th of an inch and the doorknobs on the kitchen cabinets must match the china cabinet...

2) "Effects People" who go for the "sense and setting". Getting it "darn close" and presenting the aura are the most important aspect (I fall into this category most typically)

3) "Hollywood Clueless" who think that because Chaffees were called "Shermans" and M46's were called "Tigers" in the movie Battle of the Bulge, that anything goes. Goering wasn't fat, Hitler wore an SS uniform, and Patton actually drove his own jeep.... sheesh!