Here are the updated rules for Aeroscale's Model of the month:

We are proud to announce the new format for the Aeroscale Model of the Month. Here is a breakdown of the contest rules.

What models qualify?
ANY model of an aircraft
ANY manufacturer
ANY scale
From January till November inclusive the competition will be open for all entries in one class. In December the contest will consist of the models that won in each month January to November. Members will then Vote forn the Model of the year

How do I enter?

1. The model should be a recent one that you have completed in the past few months. This rule is based on an honour system and we hope everyone will comply with it. More than one entry per user is permitted provided the models completed comply with this criteria. Please do not submit a model to the contest more than once.

2. The photos should be of a single aicrcraft-related model against a plain background (white or Blue preferred, but other light neutral colours are acceptable. If your subject is overall light colours, then a dark background is acceptable.) not attached to any base or with any figures. If the model is built gear-up, it may be displayed on a simple stand. It must be clearly marked as your entry with the photo titled "Contest Entry (month)" with the month replaced by the name of the month you are entering i.e. January for January etc.

3. One of your photos should include (in the shot) a piece of paper with the following info:
a. The contest name: Aeroscale Model of the Month
b. Your full name
c. Date the photo was taken

4. Submit from 5-10 photos of your entry to jessica(dot)cooper(at)aeroscale(dot)co(dot)uk

5.Photos should be a minimum of 800x600 and shot against a plain background.

6. Include the following information in the email:
a. Your full name
b. Your shipping address (for prize fulfilment)
c. Your KitMaker username
d. The title/name of your model
e. Your preferred contest entry photo. If you do not indicate an entry, Jessica will choose one which may not be your favourite.

7.The rest of your supporting pictures can show the model as the modeller intends with figures and a base, and even some of the construction should you wish as the remaining images will be used to publish your winning entry on the homepage after the contest has concluded. In addition to the winning entries, we may select additional photos for publishing at a future date in a feature.

8. Aeroscale staff members may not enter the contest.

What are the Prizes?

First Place will be decided by a popular vote by the site membership. The prize will be a Latest or Upcoming release of a Dragon Model Kit .

Second Place will be decided by a popular vote by the site membership. The prize will be an honourable mention .

Third Place will be decided by a popular vote by the site membership. The prize will be an honourable mention .

Prizes for the competition are provided by Dragon Models LTD and as part of the agreement for entering and winning we would like the winners to send us a picture of themselves with their model and winning prize, which will be used for future promotions.

In the event of a tie the managing editor will decide the order of the tied entries.
Please Note: if less than 5 entries are received only a single prize for the winning model will be issued. If less than 3 entries are received then the models for that month will be carried over to the next month and the current contest will be declared void.

Note
One prize per entrant. If you have entered more than one model, and more than one of your models wins, you will recieve a prize for the one with the most votes only. Any subsequent model which wins will receive an honourable mention after all other winners are announced.

Disclaimer Neither Dragon Models or the Kitmaker Network or any of its staff are liable in any way for any Excise or duty that the winner's country may levy on the winning item when it enters that country, it will be the winner's responsibility to cover this cost should it occur.

When can I enter a model?
A person who wins a prize in a MoM cannot win the following month. In addition, competitors are limited to winning three times in any calendar year
You can enter at any time as each month entries may be submitted for that month's contest (all month!) until the final day of the month.
A "Submission Open" Reminder thread will be posted in the forum as a reminder each month. Entries must be received by the Editor Staff before the last day of the month to be eligible for that month's contest.
Public Voting will commence on once all entries for that month have been entered in the gallery.

How does the voting work?
1. Once voting opens, voting will begin on entries for the prior month, with each user able to vote for one entry in each contest gallery. Voting will end 10 days later.
2. Any entrant found to be self-promoting their entry (example: "check out my model and vote for me!") on this or other sites will be disqualified.
Note for Voters: Please only vote once in each group. The system does track IP addresses to prevent voter fraud, and only a single vote will be counted. Also "buddy" or "group/community" voting is frowned upon. Please vote for the best kit as you see it.

Annual entry dates
Any model entered will automatically be used in the month that it is entered. Late entries will be entered into the following month's contest with no further effort from the entrant required.
Jan 1st till 31st
Feb 1st till 28th
March 1st till 31st
April 1st till 30th
May 1st till 31st
June 1st till 30th
July 1st till 31st
August 1st till 31st
September 1st till 30th
October 1st till 31st
November 1st till 30th
December 1st till 31st (winners from previous months in Model of the year Contest)

Judging will be open for 10days after voting begins.

Hi Jessie,
Does this now mean that staff members can enter?

Yeah, go on...Lemme have a go...I might manage to get one a year finished then

Nige

It's always been understood that staff members are exempt from any contest we run. Do you think that we should have an explicit rule?

I don't see why staff shouldn't be able to enter- the competition has been anonymous for a while now, and I doubt anyone would believe that there would be any insider fiddling to fix the result.

The problem is that I count the votes, therefore I know who has entered. This creates the appearance of a conflict of interest which I dearly wish to avoid. The simplest way to avoid it is the one which is chosen by every oranisation which runs contests such as this: staff do not enter.

I only asked because there wasn't a specific rule. I was actually accused of cheating when I started this way back when, before Dragon were involved and there was no prize. That is why I included the rule in the original set up.

However the way that the voting system is now I don't think that you can be accused of cheating. If you are then then it just proves that there are some sad people out there!

I actually think that staff members should be allowed to enter, they contribute to the site and give their time freely so the chance of any reward would be good. It would probably increase the number of entries as well.

Jessie, you run the MOM so it is your decision?

I think that's a good idea to let the people involved in creating a site to compete in MoM. Actually, why not? When we vote we do not know the authors of the models. If only the sponsor agrees to change the rules...Irek

Hi Jessie,
Any decision on this?

I'm going to stay with the "no staff" option. That way nobody can ever accuse any of us of favouritism and it won't make our sponsor nervous.

Roger that Jessie, understood

Jessica, I posted my thoughts on the MOM in the Oct thread, but thought that a cross post would be in order.

Have you and/or the other Admins ever given any thought to changing the model of the month, which doesn't seem to get many entries to lets say a quarterly contest instead?

One thing that has bothered me about the MOM contest is that the present format of just a single picture with no credence given to detailing, model corrections, etc. Perhaps a change in format which up to lets say 6 pictures of the entry is posted along with a limited paragraph or two describing the build.

This way everyone can vote on what the model represents more then just a single picture which doesn't really tell the whole story. It shouldn't be taken for granted that the viewers have followed the build blog, if there was even one.

Joel

Our sponsor offers prizes for a monthly contest. I have yet to actually have to cancel a contest, although this month came close. I really don't want to upset our sponsor by changing the way we offer their prizes.



That is deliberate. I want everyone's model on the most level playing field possible. Not everyone sends in the same number or even type of pictures. Not everyone can send in the kind of pictures you're asking about. Not everyone throws in tons of extra detail, and photos showing tons of aftermarket can influence the voting.




Not everyone does a blog, and even if they did, I wouldn't want it linked. The contest photos are anonymous for a reason. The contest is not about how much money and aftermarket someone threw at their model, it's about how well it's built and what the finished product looks like.

I think that the current format is good and is managed very well.

I only have to get the discipline to start participating, but then, with the number of models that I am finishing, I don't get much chance

The only suggestion that I could ùmake is that next to the current MOM format, an "open category" is created aiming at diorama's, exotic idea's, fancy photography, photoshop experiments ...

A thought on your no staff item, why not run a staff only contest, no prize just the admiration and accolade of the members

I like the current contest as-is - voting for the finished build that stood out from the rest, caught my eye at a glance or just spoke "this one" to me. I see the spirit of this Comp as the best impression / end result and exercise of showmanship (on top of the skill level of build)

Winners get the full feature run-down the month after, with breakdown of 10+ shots, work-in-progress, details etc. Runners up can get featured articles with the same treatment. This generates constant flow of new work features and inspiration - keeps me checking the website to see what's new.

Picking that one photo is part of the challenge - show off the model best side/details, while thinking of dramatic angle and FOV.

Real life applications are also there - at a competition / meet, I'll see a model with a number... I can view the model from different angles, but that's about it. The difficulty of the process is also not mutually exclusive to the great final result - some of my best work kind of fell together, while I detailed the heck out of some unfixable mess.

I fell that the competition is long process that was worked out through numerous trials and learning through what worked / didn't work.

Maybe the staff could have a separate competition? Not every month but now and again type thing. The prize could be something that has been donated to the site for review and the winner reviews and builds it?

Just throwing this out there as a thought which needs embellishment

The original idea of the competition was to improve the photography of models and to get more pictures of models posted on the site. Not about how much after market stuff you can through at a model. The one photo per contestant is a fair way of having the model judged (on line). The contestant photographs his/her model and chooses the picture to show off their build. Be creative when photographing your model, get the light right and seek advice. The idea of no base and no background was to eliminate the awful pictures taken on an over crowded work bench, which simply detract from the model.

Jessie you are doing a wonderful job

Jessica, I understand your reasons for staying with the monthly format.

When I suggested a multi picture format, and a paragraph of what was done past an OOB build, I wasn't necessarily referring to AM parts and purchases. In the case of my SBD-4, all the added details were hand made by me, corrections and additions came from references that I found on the Web. There was no additional outlay of funds.

My point was that since this is an open monthly competition, shouldn't the complete model story be presented? Staying with a single photograph format just limits the overall presentation of the model. Even with a cell phone camera, one can take fairly good pictures. Right, left, top, & bottom should be presented for a fair model to model comparison. And the option to let the viewers know that additional work was done would seem like the fair thing to do. Detailed cockpit, detailed wheel wells, etc. No link to Build Blogs would be needed.

Joel

Just to check - is it implied that super-detailed model is always superior?

What will the layout for multi-image submission will be? Will each submission have multi-frame "click here to display larger image" or a bunch of large images all in a row?

How will it work in the months with 10+ participants? Is it reasonable to expect members to wade through dozens of images to make the decision? I already have problem with pre-qualifying the 2 models that load in top page (before I scroll down).

"Just to check - is it implied that super-detailed model is always superior?"

Not necessarily. If one took a bare to the bones cockpit, and detailed it so that it more closely represented the actual aircraft, why shouldn't that effort be brought to the attention of the viewer? What if the builder opened up the radiator intakes, and screened them, and someone building the same aircraft didn't, under the assumption that the work was done correctly, shouldn't that extra detail be taken into consideration as to which model is the better of the two? If not, then why bother to enter a detailed model, when only paint, decals, and weathering are the determining factors.

"...What will the layout for multi-image submission will be? Will each submission have multi-frame "click here to display larger image" or a bunch of large images all in a row? how it work in the months with 10+ participants? Is it reasonable to expect members to wade through dozens of images to make the decision? I already have problem with pre-qualifying the 2 models that load in top page (before I scroll down)".

The odds are greatly against any change in format or number of pictures per entrant. My questions and concerns were about extra detailing, and having a way for the viewers to realize that a particular model is not an OOB build.

Your issues with picture loading sounds more like your ISP's limits on bandwidth/download speeds. Hopefully those issues can be corrected, as many of us don't seem to have similar issues.

Joel