In most years, the usual post-Nats churning would be settling down by now. But 2023 is simply not most years. We’ve had sub implosions and Hawaii burning and orcas waging asymmetrical warfare against yachters. We’re gonna have a crazy eclipse in about two months. The government was like…”yeah aliens”…and NOBODY GAVE A SHIT.

So I guess it’s not surprising that the fallout from the 2023 Nats would turn out to be…extra.

Let’s play a bit of “previously on…” before I spill the tea. If you’re as terminally online as I am and already know all of this, feel free to scroll down a bit.

Previously on…

If you are in any way involved in the modeling community you probably hear this shit every year. Even if you’re in the parts of the community, like gunpla, where IPMS’s influence is barely felt.

I don’t want to rehash all of it here. It’s like how every Batman movie has to show the Waynes getting murdered. Very broadly speaking, you have two camps. One camp has ideas for ways the contest (and Nats overall) could be improved. The other has no. And excuses for why anything is too hard. And lazy ad hominem attacks.

This year’s Nats had something of a Marie Antionette “let them eat cake” moment that added an interesting twist. An armor judge hoisted aloft a tank like a pairs figure skating team to peer at the underside.

This, plus a not-small number of models damaged in the course of judging, created an inciting moment. You could probably draw lines and make arguments from all of the various D&D character alignments. You had some (like me) arguing that 1) this is disrepectful to the modelers and their work and 2) there is never a good reason to look under a tank. There’s just not. You had some taking a more legalistic approach. He should have been wearing gloves. He shouldn’t have lifted it so high. You had others who insisted that they have to judge the whole thing. Or that if they aren’t allowed to move models they wouldn’t be able to judge. And other judges from other international systems saying that’s completely ridiculous.

Basically, your good old internet donnybrook/PR firestorm.

To its credit, IPMS leadership did something other than 1) nothing or 2) dismiss the outcry as bitching entitled children just mad that they didn’t get their participation trophies. The e-board met and decided – moving forward, picking up models during judging would be discouraged.

It’s rare in this age of shamelessness, but theirs was a solid PR response to growing outcry from IPMS members.

So that’s…where things stand.

Spilling the tea

Today, a few different people sent me some pretty explosive emails. They’re quite revealing in more ways than one, and the ongoing fallout almost certainly means some massive changes ahead for IPMS and what goes down at contests.

I’m going to post them below – and interject here and there with my own thoughts and rebuttals.

Strap in. The following is verbatim, except where I’ve added some additional paragraph breaks to ease reading.

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On Fri, Aug 25, 2023 at 4:52 PM JAMES CLARK <REDACTED> wrote:

All Aircraft class judges

I want to take a minute to thank all of you for your hard work and dedication to our annual Friday night judging. But as they say all things come to an end and this is one instance of that. I am resigning my position of National head aircraft judge and I wanted to let you all know why, you deserve that much. I have not come to this decision lightly but given the circumstances and actions by current the E-Board I must take this action.

   The elephant in the room that can’t be avoided is the current state of mind of the E-Board. Their insistence that 1) we work for them (Quote from Dave Knights to me directly)  2) All things must be approved by them and the latest fiasco about handling models is to much overreach for me to tolerate. In their latest move with this ban they convened a meeting EXCLUDING any one from the NCC. Mark Persichetti asked if he needed to be in attendance and he was told flat out, No!. I wonder why that is especially when it concerns a topic of judging. This militant E-Board want to rule from on high and only views judges as worker bees to do their bidding. They will be asking the new NCSC committee to form another committee to go over ALL rules for the national convention this next year.

This is for me an outright violation of 8,2,D in the constitution. While we serve at their pleasure we do not get to be dictated to. Now where does it say the E-Board can hand down rules for the contest, that is the NCC’s domain. If they are not happy with the NCC then they need to take action but not do our job for us in direct violation of the constitution. If they want to do our job then fire us and do it. If not then leave us alone to administer the contest and I would suggest quit listening to the vocal minorities.

      I didn’t sign up for this kind of treatment. Also I will not be recommending anyone for the position as I wouldn’t do that to someone including my worst enemy, to have to deal with all this BS from the board.. Mark gave me the option to do so and provided a list of 10 year plus judges, He also offered up the option of the current NCC doing it or the E-Board. I told him take the option of the E-board since they have to have total control.

    It’ is truly sad to see this happen, to see all the hard work over 59 year years get tossed aside as old and irreverent . In favor of the vocal minority who complain, and then break rules to makes their own. And what’s worse is that its from our very own board.

   The now famous photo taken during judging was done by friends and members of Johns podcast . John Bonanni current 2nd VP knows who did it but will not name them, hummm I wonder why?. He certainly used it to his advantage with plausible deniability. I saw the whole thing go down. Three of his fellow podcasters where there judging with him and next to him and had the same angle as the one in the photo So all of this is a deliberate act to rile the masses.

Only if the masses read the rules and would understand that sometimes we do need to see the bottom of a three dimensional object. But they again don’t care, will say its wrong and go on the war path, bitch publicly to force the change by and E-board who wants to make that change , they only need the excuse and they get it from their loyal listeners of their podcasts. They pander to a few who complain about damage who believe that it must happen during judging but what they fail to realize in their haste to push rules thought in an authoritarian manner is that we moved close to 300 aircraft models’ alone way before judging even happened with getting entries to their correct categories (Since people don’t read the rules) and then having to split 9 of the most populous categories. So lets make a rule that prohibits judges from doing their job and maybe picking 20 models on a Friday night but they acknowledge that models still need to be moved , so that’s ok, its ok to risk damaging 300 but not 20.

It makes no sense other then they don’t’ like the bottoms of models judged, they are all about the may up application to the top but to hell with the bottom. It also shows the utter lack of experience in those that are calling for the change. “Who cares about the bottom”, “Who cares No one will see it”. All that is excuses for sloppy craftsmanship.

    If this is how IPMS wants to do business then they can have it. I am leaving because I can’t stand the stench anymore. Some will say good riddance but I am leaving on my own accord knowing that I did my best, followed the rules and served with some truly great people.

    I wish you all luck with what’s coming down the pipeline as they say. Certification classes, Multiple day judging, feedback (God I hate that word) having to be given on every model. These are but a few things that will be implemented by the E-Board. I know where I’ll be if I bother to attend anymore and that’s in the bar. I guess I’ll be a freeloader now 😉

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So, wow. That’s a lot to take in.

Let me address a few things:

1. Elephants in the room are usually avoided. Or at least unacknowledged. That’s what the phrase means.

2. The IPMS bylaws/constitution/whatever note that all committees (including the National Contest…uh…Committee) work at the pleasure of the executive board, and indirectly for the entire membership who elected said board officers. Pushing back against this would suggest Jim favors a… lifetime oligarchic cabal of anti-democratic judges running the competition in the shadows with minimal oversight or input from membership or their elected e-board. Huh.

3. “Serving at the pleasure of” means you can be dictated to. You don’t have to comply, but if you don’t, you lose that pleasure and open yourself up to removal and replacement. From my understanding, IPMS leaders have been trying to find paths of progress with the NCC for years and it never goes anywhere. And the first time the board puts its foot down and says “no, we’re doing this” you quit? Profiles in courage, my man!

4. Wouldn’t wish this position on his worst enemy? My kids don’t get this dramatic, and one of them’s in middle school.

5. Someone confused irreverent and irrelevant. Pet peeve. It’s, uh, sloppy craftsmanship.

6. Did you know that John Bonanni started the Chicago Fire of 1903? Or that he distracted the lookout on the Titanic? Or that he was the second gunman on the grassy knoll? Where does this paranoid boogeyman bullshit come from? What’s the argument here? Did JB slip this judge a $20 to do Circle of Life with the Char?

What exactly was this deliberate act, Jim? Exposing shitty judging behavior? If you were there to witness it, why didn’t you intervene? “Hey man, don’t need to life it that high and put some gloves on you dolt”. Nope. Instead you took the noble route of shitting on the whistleblowers.

7. “If only the masses could read!”. Jesus do you hear yourself? We made like 40 categories for aircraft and didn’t even fucking bother to put them on the tables in sequential order and maybe we should revisit those choices and see how we can make it easier for entrants to find the right table. No, fuck that. They’re illiterate, ungrateful rubes.

8. Anyone who doesn’t paint the bottom OF A FUCKING TANK is a sloppy craftsman. Huh. There are plenty of world renowned modelers who would disappoint you then. Why do bases and groundwork and total presentation not factor into judging when they are far more visible than the bottom of a tank? Doesn’t giving mid basework a pass reward shoddy craftsmanship as much or more?

9. All of the things coming down the pipeline sound pretty good to me.

Certification of judges? Who could possibly be against qualified judges? Afraid they’ll realize that triaging through wheel alignment is myopic?

Multiple day judging. You mean so people who could only stay through Friday could have their work evaluated without having to try to figure out how to collect it/get it back after leaving? God forbid.

Feedback on every model? Know what the most praised act of any of the judges at Nats was this year? The team that took it upon themselves to provide a bit of feedback on every entry in the categories they judged. How can you hate the word feedback? You don’t think there’s value in someone understanding what knocked their build out of contention? Or knowing they were 4th or 5th and not 12th? What traumatic experience is in your past that makes you hate the word feedback? That’s fucked up man.

But wait, there’s more!

Jim’s wasn’t the only email sent my way. Scott Brown did a little reply all.

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Goddamned straight. As I’ve stated many times, I’ve never taken the results of what 3 random people think about my model on one day the least bit seriously but I put all my efforts into judging according to the rules…which have served us well for many years.

This trend of the children on their mutual admiration society podcasts bullying the people who build this society has now been rewarded. Congratulations. I think there’s something seriously the matter with people who want to garner trophies badly enough to behave this way, but I guess that what comes from the everyone gets a trophy culture.

Whatever, more beer for me. Fuck ‘em, I got better things to do with $30 a year. 

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It amazes me how people can say two things that directly contradict each other and just…not notice.

So you don’t take judging results seriously because the judging is inconsistent, capricious, and subjective…but you take the judging seriously. The fuck? THAT has served you well for many years? Lives of ridiculous opulence served the French nobility well for many years until it suddenly didn’t.

I’m tempted to start a Mutual Admiration Society Podcast (MASP!). Tell us what you really think, Scott.

Again with the participation trophy culture thing. Do boomers get royalties when they say this or something? Tell me, what’s more of a participation trophy than splitting a category 12 different ways and ending up with categories of like 3? It’s nothing but trophy inflation. My silly red R35 won 1st at Nats and it’s easily the most meaningless of the hardware I brought home. But you’ll probably just spout the same silly shit again tomorrow.

…and more

I guess ol’ Jim started a trend. Maybe if we’re lucky the entire NCC will resign?

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“While I’m appalled by what occurred in Texas, ultimately it happened on my watch. I should have never let Mr. Bonnani unattended but I never would have thought that he would stoop so low.

Unfortunately I didn’t make the zoom meeting but seeing these threads has made my decision that much easier. Effective immediately, I too resign as Head Armor Judge. It’s been my pleasure to have served with you all. I only wish this whole rigamarole never occurred.

But as I’ve said over and over, the AMPS supporters have been trying for years to take over the judging to their liking. Sadly, it appears they have succeeded. All the best and know we did our best.

Dave Kahn (Ex) Head Armor Judge”

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First, today is the first time I’ve even heard the name Dave Kahn. So this zany email is the only impression I have. And as first impressions go, not the best.

Second, can someone explain to me, in actual words and not implications, what horrifying, dastardly deed JB did? Because as far as I know, he judged, he witnessed “the lifting”, and he’s not giving up the identity of the photographer (if he knows who it is). Probably because he’s concerned said individual might face retaliation (does IPMS have whistleblower protections?). Maybe because these lovely people didn’t say please. They don’t seem the type.

Once again, the thing that you SHOULD be appalled at is the careless manhandling of entries at the premiere contest in North America. Not that somebody recorded it for posterity. 

Third, the disdain and us-versus-them attitude in those last lines is troubling. It’s not a battle. Or it shouldn’t be. This is where I’m a big fan of old school, Burkean conservatism. What I’ve heard termed the conservatism of doubt. “Consider that you may be wrong”. Try it on for size. Poke holes in your reasoning. Instead of villifying anyone who has different ideas. 

Change is impossible until it isn’t

After this year, and after the shittiness and defensiveness of the status quo crowd over the tank hoisting affair, I’ve been considering letting my IPMS membership lapse and, if I attend Madison next year, only doing so with a general admission ticket and entering stuff into a display SIG or two.

Now, I’m leaning toward renewing. Still on the bubble, but let’s say it went from 40/60 to 60/40.