How do the Judges judge Aircraft models?

AIRCRAFT

Basic Construction

1. Flash should be removed from all parts.
2. Mold, sink, copyright and ejector pin mark should be filled or sanded off.
3. Seams must be filled.
4. Contour errors should be corrected.
5. Detailing that was removed while accomplishing the first four steps should be restored to the maximum extent possible.
6. Wings and horizontal stabilizers should have the same amount of dihedral or anhedral on both sides.
7. When viewed from above, the wings and stabilizers should line up correctly with each other and the centerline.
8. Fins or rudders in twin combinations should be aligned when viewed from the front and side, and their angles in relation to the stabilizers should be the same.
9. Engine pods, nacelles and cowlings should be lined up correctly when viewed from the top, side and front.
10. Landing gear should be properly aligned when viewed from the bottom, sides and front. Main gear should be aligned with each other when viewed from all 3 positions and all wheels should touch the surface.

11. Canopies and other clear areas should be free of fogging, fingerprints or white areas caused by glue. Scratches in clear parts should be polished out. Gaps between the canopy and other clear parts and the fuselage should be eliminated unless they would be visible on the real aircraft.

Details

1. Thick parts, like the trailing edges of wings and tails, bombs and missile fins, etc., should be thinned down to scale or replaced.

2. Wheel wells should be built if no kit detail is given. There should be no “holes” through which the interior of the wings is visible, unless the real plane was built that way.

3. Intakes should be blocked off if they allow you to see into the empty, un-detailed fuselage.

4. The openings on guns, exhaust stacks, intakes, vents, etc. should be drilled out if possible.

5. Details added to the model should be in scale with the rest of the model.

6. External stores should undergo the same care in construction as the basic kit. Care and research should be applied to make sure the combination of weapons and tanks is consistent with reality.

7. Any aftermarket parts should integrate well with the basic model. Photo-etched parts that require shaping should be precisely shaped and any surfaces that need to be built up to a thicker cross-section should be smooth and uniform.

Painting and Finishing

1. All glue marks should be removed.

2. Judges “shouldn’t” nit-pick colors, but any model with an especially unusual color scheme should be accompanied by documentation.

3. Frames on clear parts should be painted with crisp, straight lines.

4. Paint should be even and smooth, unless there is prototypical evidence to the contrary. There should be no brush marks, no “orange peel” or “egg shell” effect to the paint. No fingerprints, dust or fibers should be embedded in the paint.

5. Paint edges that are supposed to be sharp should be sharp.

6. Weathering should show concern for scale, the terrain and weather condition in which the prototype operated and should be consistent across the entire model.

7. Decals should be aligned properly, unless the modeler has documentary evidence to the contrary. Decal film should not be readily apparent and there should be no silvering or bubbling of the decals.