THIS IS NOT AN ANTI-SCORING THREAD!!!

[DaN]

Just wondering - having read Fieldarchy\'s thread about scoring - how do we all actually decide how to rate a mini?

Personally myself, I TRY to remain subjective and rate on the painting etc, but I admit I probably will - even if only subconsciously, rate a mini lower if I dislike the \"race\" or the style etc...

For example, I dislike fantasy in general, so I probably have rated most fantasy minis lower than I would sci-fi or steampunk...

Having said that, I DO try and take into account:

* Whether there has been any work to the mini - such as a conversion.

* If it is unpainted I will NOT rate higher than a 9 even if I think it\'s amazing

* The base (If needed)

* The idea/story etc

And, of course, the actual painting quality

 

[Hinton]

Originally posted by DaN
For example, I dislike fantasy in general, so I probably have rated most fantasy minis lower than I would sci-fi or steampunk...

Oh, so you\'re one of the people that\'s sniping my pieces. :bouncy:

Seriously, though...

I just look and see what I think. Things like:

1. Can I see it? (A clear, focused, well-lit shot with multiple angles)

2. Is it a clean paint job? (Or is the paint just all over the place?)

3. Is there anything special about it (something that makes me say \"Wow!\")?

4. Is it a nude female (or painted by one)?

5. Was it painted by Fieldarchy or by Ritual, Uberdark or any other brush-licking freak? If so, minus 2 points.

(The last two are jokes, people; relax)

The first three are serious considerations when I\'m going through and rating minis. Bascially, I\'m just rating on what I think about it and if I think it\'s cool or not. I try to comment on the ones where people are posting their first mini and asking for help.

I\'m not overly familiar with all of the minis out there, so I can\'t always tell if it\'s a conversion or not.

Biggest pet peeves:

1. It\'s named \"Another Mini\". Come on, people; take a little pride in your work.

2. Only one angle. There are free photo programs out there (Gimp comes to mind) that allow you to place multiple angles into one photo. Spend a few moments putting all together into one photo instead of cluttering up the gallery with nine different shots of the same mini.

Ok, rant mode off.

 

[JesterzUSMC]

Yeah, I look after my first impression.
Usually if it WOWs me enough at first I slap it with a 10, then I\'ll go back and really look at it and try to find something wrong with it. If I find enough, I\'ll post a comment with an 8 or 9 and make my remarks as suggestions.
Sometimes I just plain like it and will comment that way.
Usually if it isn\'t what I would consider table-top I will give it a 3 or 4 but unless it is dipped in 2 colors and half melted I can\'t see giving a mini less than a 3.
And if I would give it less than a three I will score it a 4 with comments.
I mean I think putting any effort should be worth at least 2 and a half!!
Not everyone will surpass a 7! But at least they keep at it.

I won\'t post anything that I expect more than a 7 for, simply because my emotional attachment wouldn\'t be able to survive less than that.

But honestly, after coming to the forums, I could really give a sh*t in a bag what they score on the voting side. I appreciate the comments from the threads alot more, and they tend to be more insightful and helpful as well.

so if you\'re whining about a score FOR ANY REASON...don\'t bring it to me. Been there, done that, just get over it.

 

[Rigged4Mini]

I rate minis with alot of red lower.

I don\'t want anything to do with red.
Red\'s my bad luck color.

 

[Naukhel]

I\'m with Hinton on the \'Another Mini\' thing.
If you can\'t tell me what it is, I can\'t give it a stellar vote.

First thing I look at... Is it actually a cool mini?
Or is it just another space marine?
I don\'t even vote on space marines anymore. I\'ve seen way too many.

When it\'s a green/scratchbuilt... I honestly just don\'t feel qualified to vote.
I don\'t know enough about the craft.

Is the picture focused enough to make it out?
Is the paint smooth or blotchy?
Do the colours work on the mini? (Darth Vader in pink just doesn\'t work)
Was attention paid to details? (Some people do 19 layer NMM on frickin\' buttons!)
Was it based? Was it based well?
I also look at how long the person has been painting, often. If it\'s an earlier effort, I\'m MUCH more inclined to make comments.

I\'ve also been floored by amazing minis so many times here, that I think I\'ve gotten a bit jaded, and sometimes score them more harshly than I used to.
I\'ve learned what to look for, and all.

 

[PegaZus]

Hmm... lessee...

Start at 6.
-1 for thick paint
-1 for unimaginative base (black plastic)
-1 for blurry pic
+1 for any \"wow\"s
+1 for cool base

Anything higher than 8 that I give has something special to it that bumps it up higher. I rarely give 10s, as those need to be something that cannot be improved upon.

Anything lower than a 3 must be a joke or some mitigating factor. My son\'s skeletons and Eldars would be down in the 2s if I posted them without the caveat that it was done by a 5 year old. When I run across something like that (blind painter, amputee, crazed child on a Halloween sugar rush, etc) I usually don\'t go lower than 4.

Now, granted I don\'t actually sit there with my fingers and count plusses and minuses. And if I\'ve decided on a low score (like a 4) and its got enough votes and a higher score (like a 7), then I figure I\'m just screwy on that one and bump my score up by 1.

 

[No Such Agency]

Originally posted by Hinton
Biggest pet peeves:

1. It\'s named \"Another Mini\". Come on, people; take a little pride in your work.

As they say on other web forums, \"THIS\". If you can\'t be bothered to name it, why should I spend time voting on it?

 

[freakinacage]

Originally posted by No Such Agency

Originally posted by Hinton
Biggest pet peeves:

1. It\'s named \"Another Mini\". Come on, people; take a little pride in your work.

As they say on other web forums, \"THIS\". If you can\'t be bothered to name it, why should I spend time voting on it?

agreed.

there should be a proper name and also a small explanation. ie any new techniques, what you are proud of/disappointed with etc

good photo is a must

and wow factor. does it make me think \'cool\'?

 

[Nexus17]

Originally posted by DaN
* If it is unpainted I will NOT rate higher than a 9 even if I think it\'s amazing

Does that apply to greens, especially those destined for production?

 

[mattrock]

I start at 5 and then add a point for each cool thing and subtract a point for each not so cool thing. Sometimes in my thought processes I\'ll actually cancel out the point I just gave.

ie,
+1 cause the shading and highlighting is smooth
+1 cause they attempted NMM or some other technique that requires some risk and skill

-1 cause they didn\'t pull it off so well
+1 for a nicely finished base
etc.

And my first impression plays big. There are times when I\'ll give an extra two points right off the bat because a mini caught my eye before I even begin my little process. I try to keep myself objective.

 

[Avelorn]

I use my magic 8-ball.

 

[DaN]

@Nexus - yep.
Even an AMAZING intricate, super-detailed green is unlikely to get a 10 (Though not impossible - never say never)

 

[Nexus17]

Seems a pity, since the foundation of a many a strong miniature paintjob is a fantastic sculpt.

Then again, I find there\'s generally quite a low appreciation for sculpts on this site (not necessarily suggesting that you don\'t appreciate them, of course, just that you\'ve basically set yourself a cap) so I wouldn\'t be surprised if other people have a limit to how high they\'ll rate a green.

 

[Infidel Castro]

Rating...

Rating...

Raaatttiiiiiinnnnngggggggg...

I\'ve got a gripe about certain painters getting much higher scores than they deserve by \'networking\'. It\'s the Emperor\'s New Clothes scenario, where someone will have normally 0.5 to 1.0 more than any sane person would score their works. Sometimes it\'s worse than that even. Apart from that I normally only vote on pieces I do like in the first place or, otherwise, focus on one artist and squizz through their work properly. Back to the phoney-rated pieces though, I do mark them down at times which - though childish - makes me feel a bit better. It\'s like a crusade.

 

[Friar]

I wouldn\'t say theres neccesarily a low apreciation for sculpts here, perhaps that in general a good portion of folk reserve a 10 for a \"perfect\" mini which often entails a completed one.

But if you look thru the top 10 lists year by year theres a a green or greens in 2008 (lol just startin i know), 2007, 2006, 2003, and one on the all time top 10.

I know I grade prob a bit differently then some on here, I rate more per the minis field, so if it\'s a sculpt I rate it as such, if it\'s a scratch build, a conversion, a regular mini, historical, anime, and so on. I find it near impossible to use the same standars for say an anime resin kit and a historical mini the effects are totally different one should look like a cartoon runnin about and the other like a picture out of Time magazine made 3d. but all the previously mention criteria is definatly a part of my process to some extent.

 

[Nexus17]

Originally posted by Friar
a good portion of folk reserve a 10 for a \"perfect\" mini which often entails a completed one.

As far as the person sculpting it is concerned, the green is the complete miniature. That\'s what I mean, their appreciation is diminished because it isn\'t painted. Although some sculpts are rated highly, I\'d say many are rated lower than they ought to be.

 

[Friar]

well i wouldn\'t worry too much about it the score is totally subjective and all in all it\'s only real purpose is as an indicator that one\'s skills are improving I get 4-5 avg on my stuff lol when I start gettin 5-6\'s then woo-hoo i\'m moving in the right direction. Thats bout all it\'s good for not like ya get a cookie for gettin in the top ten.... tho that might motivate my skills more. Any how it\'s best to focus on minis and enjoyin the hobby then bein concerned over scores.

 

[Wren]

No cookies for the top ten? Sheesh, why am I trying so hard then! ;->

 

[Torn blue sky]

Awwwww! I\'ll give you a cookie Wren! lol

 

[DaN]

Careful! She\'s married!