Scott, I was myself judge for the IPMS-Belgium contests. When I was in doubt for an element, I always tried to inform myself and, in last resort, doubt was a benefit for the modeller.
But I remember some big errors made by auto-proclamed specialists: one of them said me that an Albatros D.III under Udet's colors was the best representation he ever saw...
...That was an Oeffag...
After that, and other constatations, I decided to never judge again.
It's very difficult to judge a contest even with good help, let alone with such "experten" to give sage advice......
I know what you went through! At one contest we were judging a particularly excellent group of soft-skin military vehicles. The best model on the table was a beautiful Sd.Kfz. 222. One barely noticeable flaw--a single decal had started to lift up just a tiny bit (the display hall was VERY hot on the day of the show--nearly 100 degrees farenheit) and I, one of the judges, dabbed a little spit on my finger and laid the decal back down when no one was looking.
The head judge of our group would have disqualified the model out-of-hand if he'd seen the tiny flaw, but I just had to help the modeler out. He would have kicked me out of the judging group also, but it was worth the risk. I suppose I "cheated" but the weather, not the builder, caused the issue.
