Modelfest 04 by Richard Dowhower III

The MODELFEST ’04 model contest and swap meet was held in Ventura, California on February 22, 2004.  The contest was located at the Ventura fairgrounds next to the beautiful Pacific Ocean.  Food was provided via a small concession. There was plenty of parking ($5.00 charge) and several restaurants are located in the area.

Both vendors and models were in the same area.  The floor space was quite large with the vendors filling ¾ of the floor space. 

The entry fee was $3.00 for the first model, $1.00 for any additional entries plus $5.00 admission fee (children were not free).  I think the admission should have been waived if you were a contestant.  The registration paperwork was well thought out and quick.  No personal information was displayed with the models (never a good idea!!!).

Oddly, no raffle was held at this contest. This is usually a great revenue generator for clubs. 

The display area was small; the vendors taking up most of the area.  The aisles could have been wider and the tables were very low (little fingers are always a problem).  The lighting was good.  There was plenty of room for model display (the number of entries were small).

There were many vendors selling a wide variety of kits, aftermarket items, tool, books and the like.

 The judging started at 11: 00 and ended at 2:00.  Why this took so long with so few entries is unknown.  No volunteer judges were used in the process.  I would like to emphasize the use of volunteers: I wish more clubs in the Southern California area would allow our peers to be involved in the process.  It speeds up the time it takes for judging and prevents club “sweeps” (clubs are familiar with their member’s models).  The name of each winner was announced.

Considering the cost of entries, parking and admission, the awards left something to be desired.  No trophies or plaques, simply a piece a paper!  First place included a picture of the winning model on a preprinted certificate that was laminated.  Second place had no picture, the model description was hand written.  Third place was called a “Certificate of Merit”, and again hand written.  I think if the awards with improved there would be more participation.

Concerning the picture for first place – a good idea but in practice not such a good one.  The models were picked up and moved to a location that had better lighting.  Of all the shows that I have been to this is a big no-no.  Models are moved during judging and only if they are on a base.  A model is never touched or moved from the display area!  In the future I hope this will change. 

With the exception of the admission fees, lack of trophies or plaques, no raffle, this was an “okay” contest.  Because of the above I will have think about it before deciding to attend next year!!