I know some guys who are great builders, that always seem to build the first place cars and Best of Show winning models. These guys always tell you they build for themselves and some of them truly do, but not all of them. I have seen several of these guys get a little upset and have "issues" with a show if they don't get a first place and/or a best of show. They don't want to return to a show if they think they have been slighted or the show was unfair. They appear completely oblivious to the fact that a lot of other guys entered their models and walked out empty handed. Not that I'm one of the everybody gets a trophy crowd, but sometimes it ain't your day. I have spent a lot of time trying to figure out why one car wins and another one loses and I have concluded there is no pattern; it's whatever the judges like. A well built model that is in the style of whatever is popular will beat out an exceptionally built car that's a little different. Right now, gassers are hot in the 1:1 world and in the model car world, if you want to win, build a gasser. That is not to say that is the only thing that wins, hyper-detailed Pro Mods are still winners, but you get the jist of what I'm saying. Each category has it's own "hot" style of build. Guys who like to win will shift what they build to what is hot and they will abandon a build if it starts to go a little south.
The part that annoys me about these guys is that the whole time they are building these contest winners they tell you how they only build for themselves. Really? Because if a car doesn't start winning within a couple of shows, it disappears from the show circuit, never to be seen again. I have actually know guys to sell them as built ups if they aren't winners, all the while telling me how they just build for themselves.
So all of this leads to the point of this post, why do the guys who rarely or never win enter contests? Why do I enter contests? I hung out with the guys who are concerned with winning and developed some of their attitude right up until I hit a dry spell with some cars that I thought were really well built, much better built and with more scratch building than stuff I had previously won with. This led me to really examine why I enjoy contests and I concluded it was more about seeing other guys cars and talking "shop" with other modelers. I really think I take my stuff to share with other guys and let them see what I have built. I went to the Toledo NNL this past year with a new understanding of that show. I have been several times in the past and I had fun, but I never really understood the draw. I went to see the really cool over the top builds that show up but I could never get why so many of these builds only show up at NNLs. I also never understood why my buddies who like to win don't seem interested in going up there even though it's close to home. Then I got it. It's not about your build, it's about seeing what others are building and sharing what you've built. Because I've always liked seeing other guys models, I've always liked the NNLs, my buddies were seeing other guys stuff as rivals for the win, they don't want to just go to check out models. So this little epiphany has changed how I look at contests and why I'm entering, I'm entering to share not to win. My weird builds are mine and fun to look at, if they win something cool, but I'm here to hang out and talk models.
"Rat Fink" Ron
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