So what makes a MOTM winner? [Archive] - Automags.Org Online Forums

OPBN

07-29-2014, 10:11 AM

The MOTM contest has been running for a number of years and sometimes the winners surprise me, sometimes they don't. There have been some lean months where I have felt the winners weren't actually worthy of winning anything, but due to the lack of competition they did. But that's my opinion.

Recently, a member mentioned in a thread that they had thrown some amazing markers but had yet to win and it started me thinking as to what makes a Mag worthy of MOTM? I know when I look at entries I look deeper than flashy ano. For me, the uniqueness and amount of actual work that went into an entry is at times more important that something put together with completely stock parts and anodized crazy colors. While I appreciate the entry, I am more likely to vote for something less flashy that has had special milling done and is unique. With that said the uniqueness has to be attractive. Simply slapping an oddball frame onto a stock Mag isn't going to do it for me.

I also think at times that some members' markers win due to popularity of that member. Kind of like the cool kids winning Prom King and Queen. But that's another thread. LOL.

So what in your opinion makes a Mag worthy of MOTM?

dboggs79

07-29-2014, 10:32 AM

Uniqueness is typically the first thing I look for. Then complexity of the build and overall aesthetics. If I don't see anything that particular month that I think is something special I don't vote.

Edit: Simple answer; We do. We build them, we vote on them.

BLachance75

07-29-2014, 10:38 AM

In the classic class I generally look at how classic it actually it first. There are a lot of things that are entered as classic that I don't think are. Then I look at aesthetics and if it is a splashed kit the completeness of the kit.

For open I look at the overall thing, milling, parts, finish, and uniqueness. I'm often surprised at what wins and how close the vote is.

knownothingmags

07-29-2014, 10:40 AM

TwilightG

07-29-2014, 10:46 AM

everyone has their own criteria for how they vote and that's what makes it fun

if flashy ano is your thing, vote for it. if you like rare or unusual parts, there ya go. if you just think someone is a cool guy and you want to help him/her out with their votes, that's ok too.

just remember that it's fun. there's been a few times where bickering has almost shut it down (and I've been guilty of it myself) but in the end, we all appreciate Mags and this gives us an outlet to show 'em off to each other.

OPBN

07-29-2014, 10:57 AM

uniquiness is definently what I look for too,
I have yet to post anything into open that didn't take time and effort into putting together. along with the milling and such.
but some times open class is a flashy competition.

it is a cool kids club most of the time, I can see that.

its ok, though.

I just posted that comment in the thread just to get people thinking I guess.

While I generally agree with what you are saying consider I've won 4 times, twice in open and all of them were black. And I don't consider myself particularly popular on here either.

One thing I forgot to mention above it how certain things drive me nuts and will cause me to not vote for something. Mismatched or rusty grip screws. Poor choice in air fittings. To me nothing is more distracting than seeing a beautifully anodized marker with ugly chewed up macro fittings. Raw milled parts. Strip it down completely and polish it or get it anodized. Just my opinion. And naked girl stickers, drops, or barrel covers. Instantly gets a thumbs down for me. If I wanted anime pron I would be trolling those sites.

SoulCoffin

07-29-2014, 11:01 AM

i tend to vote for whatever strikes my fancy at that particular moment. my reason for one vote may be completely different from another instance. you could post the same entrants in consecutive months, and i may very well pick two different ones. one month it could be the cool lines/flow of a marker, the next could be the outrageous ano.

dboggs79

07-29-2014, 11:10 AM

Guess I've missed the whole popularity trick to all of this. There are people who I respect because of their knowledge and willingness to share it. There are other people who I think should pause and think before hitting send. They end up making what could have been a useful thread into a pissing contest. That being said I wouldn't not vote for the latter persons marker if I felt it was deserving.

BigEvil

07-29-2014, 11:20 AM

Become a cool kid

vintage

07-29-2014, 11:23 AM

first of all if i am entered i will not vote for myself but thats just me. for open class i say bring it on, whatever you like but as to what makes me vote for it that differs all the time. i've seen a lot of Classic winners that i thought didn't think were classic enought but thats just me again. maybe we need a 3rd catagory for heavily modified.

robertreed711

07-29-2014, 11:49 AM

While I generally agree with what you are saying consider I've won 4 times, twice in open and all of them were black. And I don't consider myself particularly popular on here either.

One thing I forgot to mention above it how certain things drive me nuts and will cause me to not vote for something. Mismatched or rusty grip screws. Poor choice in air fittings. To me nothing is more distracting than seeing a beautifully anodized marker with ugly chewed up macro fittings. Raw milled parts. Strip it down completely and polish it or get it anodized. Just my opinion. And naked girl stickers, drops, or barrel covers. Instantly gets a thumbs down for me. If I wanted anime pron I would be trolling those sites.

I agree with some of this. I can't stand old chewed up air fittings and I really dislike when people use screws that don't have Allen heads for there grips. A philips head screw just looks so out of place.

That being said, my vote usually comes down to the moment, whatever tickles my fancy will get my vote that day. Sometimes it's ano, other times it is the milling or rare parts but usually it's how well I think the parts compliment each other. For example I think certain frames match up better with certain types of foregrips and so forth.

But then again, what do I know?

ScottyBeans

07-29-2014, 12:35 PM

No clue what wins. I'll let you know if I ever figure it out.

splat15k

07-29-2014, 12:44 PM

Often it seems the best picture wins, which is obviously not ideal.

Cyco-Dude

07-29-2014, 01:08 PM

Often it seems the best picture wins, which is obviously not ideal.
a good, clear picture showing off the marker definitely helps. have good lighting, take off all the stuff that is not marker-related (tank, loader, barrel bag), make sure the lighting is good, no harsh shadows, make sure the entire gun is in frame (no cut-off barrels, etc).

that said, the past couple of entries i voted for, or really liked, won, and it wasn't just because of the picture quality, but the build quality.

I also think at times that some members' markers win due to popularity of that member.
i dunno; most of the time they are just nice builds, and said member just has a lot of them. there does seem to be a bias towards fancy anodizing, though.

While I generally agree with what you are saying consider I've won 4 times, twice in open and all of them were black. And I don't consider myself particularly popular on here either.
proving the point that popularity is not a major factor, and build quality is. if it's unique enough, and well-done, it'll get votes. your last entry, if i recall correctly, was a deserved win in my opinion (certainly got my vote).

Spider-TW

07-29-2014, 01:35 PM

One short cut for winning is a pump-mag, they always seem to get a few extra votes. For that reason, I think the question for many people is "would I want to play with that?", while others wonder "would that look good on my wall?". The open class especially will make me ask both questions, not that I have a wall (sniff). Sometimes you have to enter just to shake the tree and get the competition going.

I haven't figured out if pneumags get as much credit as pump-mags. Also, extreme custom mags often don't get the votes you might think, and I wonder if part of it is because they are basically unobtainable for everyone else, as compared to a build from rare parts and contracting. Maybe they don't look much like mags anymore.

maverick13

07-29-2014, 01:47 PM

For the open class :
Definetely, first thing I'm looking is the uniqueness of the parts, and the marker. That shows a lot of work and efforts to get the parts together.
After comes the attention to details, nice fittings, no rusted screws, etc
Overall looking, scuffs and marks ...
The ano comes after these, because it's a subjective critera. On my side, I'm not fan of complicated ano like acid wash or splash (even I find some to be very nice), I like simple ano, one or 2 colors, fade.

But of course I've to like what I see !

Spiritchaser

07-29-2014, 02:05 PM

I think my highly subjective criterion would be

Would I personally desire that as my own marker, would I prefer it to what I have?

If I would then I should consider voting.

Craftsmanship is definitely a big part of that, so is style, but basic shape and intended purpose are pretty critical

This month there are three I might decide I would trade for (maybe)

If I finally decide I'd trade my marker for one of those, I'd vote for it.

need4reebs

07-29-2014, 02:18 PM

:rofl::rofl::rofl:id say a Bad ASS Mag that people vote for...makes a MOTM winner….haha

knownothingmags

07-29-2014, 02:42 PM

Become a cool kid

lol I wont be cool for long wont have anymore mags soon.

not saying I was cool anyways,

lol
this will be a good discussion let see what people say. :D
:PopCorn:

Fred

07-29-2014, 03:02 PM

I don't vote often.

I have never presented a marker for the contest.

I think its a fun concept, but that being said, I don't view it very seriously. It is as much a popularity contest for the member as much as the marker, but even that depends on the flavor of the month, or overall quality of submissions that month.

Heck it probably comes down to quality of the image, rather than the market itself, sometimes.

Now the Best Automag at Tunaball... THAT is a competition I take seriously. :)

ScottyBeans

07-29-2014, 05:55 PM

Agree - can't take it too seriously. At its very worst MOTM is a monthly photo gallery of awesome guns. That's a pretty high floor, I'd say.

Mole1119

07-29-2014, 06:58 PM

For open class I generally go for what is the most "polished", I normally look at how the parts compliment each other in both form and function, finish of fittings and screws has swayed me. A lot of times I think less is more, a beautiful gun can be overdone with too crazy an anno, or an anno that hides the body milling. I guess I like guns that look like they could have been designed and came straight from the factory, ones I wished AGD had made.

Splat15k's milled emag rail on his XMTbodied mini is perfect example, taking the time to mill the front side to remove the spot for the jewls. And the hardline with ccm fittings!
TwilightG, Dec 09 chrod, dallara, m90, so clean!

I don't chime in too often, but voting and buying parts from the dealers is my way of participating. I hope everyone just keeps making them and being creative with their builds.

OPBN

07-29-2014, 08:04 PM

Agree - can't take it too seriously. At its very worst MOTM is a monthly photo gallery of awesome guns. That's a pretty high floor, I'd say.

Not sure anyone was really taking it too seriously, I was just curious what does and doesn't strike a chord with people. Definitely was meant to be a fun discussion.

cougar20th

07-29-2014, 08:16 PM

Alot of how I vote is based on this thought process.
Would i build it that way
would i own it.

I admit there are some absolutly fantastic guns that i see but just dont meet the criteria.

Im also partial to guns with parts ive designed.

luke

07-29-2014, 08:20 PM

Im also partial to guns with parts ive designed.

LOL, :rofl:that's the exact reason I opt out of voting 99.9% of the time. My parts reflect what I like so that is where my vote always goes. :D

OPBN

07-29-2014, 08:26 PM

LOL, :rofl:that's the exact reason I opt out of voting 99.9% of the time. My parts reflect what I like so that is where my vote always goes. :D

With that said, all of my individual winners have had at least one part milled or made by you on it.

luke

07-29-2014, 08:36 PM

With that said, all of my individual winners have had at least one part milled or made by you on it.

:cheers:

I always feel guilty when I vote, with that said I normally vote on killer anno (with my parts) ;) just can't resist.

vintage

07-29-2014, 08:37 PM

:nicethread:

wetwrks

07-29-2014, 09:38 PM

Who's gun it is never plays into things for me. Frankly I don't even look at that till I go to vote.

What I look at is the artistic elements. Do the parts work with each other...blocky tactical parts don't often flow well with the more curvy organic parts. Then I go to anno...does it go with the design of the gun? An anno that works well for tactical gun may or may not work well on a more organic gun. Occasionally it does but often not.

It is like a piece of art...do all the elements work with each other?

RT Lover

07-29-2014, 09:52 PM

for me its just the one i like the most out of the selection, just because something has a certin part or whatever doesnt mean it should automatically win... for me its just the one i like the most of the ones listed. that doesnt mean the others are less of a marker in any way! setting standards like if it has this and that will stop people from winning that would have a chance..... it should just be the marker u like the most nothing more

besides they are all mags.... they all win!

Billz804

07-30-2014, 08:29 AM

I only have one criteria --

If your foregrip is one of those skinny carbon fiber ones, I can't vote for you.

dboggs79

07-30-2014, 09:09 AM

i only have one criteria --

if your foregrip is one of those skinny carbon fiber ones, i can't vote for you.

amen !!!

Cyco-Dude

07-30-2014, 10:26 AM

I only have one criteria --

If your foregrip is one of those skinny carbon fiber ones, I can't vote for you.
lol, why is that?

dboggs79

07-30-2014, 11:41 AM

lol, why is that?

They're way overused. And I see them on a lot of markers that they don't really flow with. It kills me to see a marker that is amazingly put together and nicely anno'd and have that grip just hanging out there screwing the whole thing up. They do fit with a few markers I've seen. But that is rare in my opinion .

going_home

07-30-2014, 12:11 PM

Personally I hate seeing a loop of airline going from valve directly to tank asa.

Gas thru foregrip (with the right foregrip) looks so much better IMHO.

;)

SoulCoffin

07-30-2014, 12:40 PM

They're way overused. And I see them on a lot of markers that they don't really flow with. It kills me to see a marker that is amazingly put together and nicely anno'd and have that grip just hanging out there screwing the whole thing up. They do fit with a few markers I've seen. But that is rare in my opinion .

i saw armada prime in person last sunday... that's one setup where it most definitely looks hot.

Cyco-Dude

07-30-2014, 12:47 PM

i saw armada prime in person last sunday... that's one setup where it most definitely looks hot.
he just needs to get a dw barrel where the weave matches that of the body and foregrip.

i guess that's a pet-peeve of mine...mis-matched carbon fiber layups. if you're going through the trouble, you may as well match the weave, direction and finish.

robertreed711

07-30-2014, 01:03 PM

Personally I hate seeing a loop of airline going from valve directly to tank asa.

Gas thru foregrip (with the right foregrip) looks so much better IMHO.

;)

Haha, I feel just the opposite. I like the simplicity of going straight from the asa to the valve rather than adding 2 more fittings and tiny little pieces of air line.

That's why mags are so awesome though, build them how you want to.

ScottyBeans

07-30-2014, 01:13 PM

Personally I hate seeing a loop of airline going from valve directly to tank asa.

Gas thru foregrip (with the right foregrip) looks so much better IMHO.

;)

Agree that they can look better sometimes, but they feel so much worse IMO. The way I hold a the marker, I'd be grabbing the upper macro fitting while I am shooting. Not a huge deal, but certainly not as nice as a smooth grip. The "loop" method is also marginally easier to take apart, if you're into that kind of thing.

RTP length rail and a long loop of macro is how I run things. SOooooo comfy!

BLachance75

07-30-2014, 01:53 PM

The 12" loop of line is my perfered method. I prefer steel braid on mags and it is the easiest way of doing it. I can never get the right length of sttel braid for it to look clean.

Billz804

07-30-2014, 02:29 PM

lol, why is that?

I agree mostly with what dboggs79 said; I think they just kill otherwise good builds because they very seldom flow with the rest of the marker. Just about the only marker I liked one on was "Armada Prime".

BigEvil

07-30-2014, 02:47 PM

Now the Best Automag at Tunaball... THAT is a competition I take seriously. :)

Having Tom Kaye, Simon Stevens, Tunaman and Mike Quinn vote for your marker definitely caries some weight doesn't it?

Flatliner333

07-30-2014, 03:45 PM

i saw armada prime in person last sunday... That's one setup where it most definitely looks hot.

x2

Loguzzzzzz

07-30-2014, 04:06 PM

Having Tom Kaye, Simon Stevens, Tunaman and Mike Quinn vote for your marker definitely caries some weight doesn't it?Wait?! What?!?

Fred

07-30-2014, 04:30 PM

Quiet you. :P

wetwrks

08-01-2014, 01:33 AM

Leave it up to tbaggin to throw a wrench in the entire July MOTM by a last minute entry of a pumpmag.

:D

tbaggin

08-01-2014, 02:19 AM

Lol. I had to. I had a mag at tunaball this year.

Sk8ermog

08-01-2014, 05:06 AM

Often it seems the best picture wins, which is obviously not ideal.

I've always wonder how much pictures help. I spend a lot of time preparing and trying to take quality photos of my guns but I don't know if it's really worth it. I've started to take pictures out in my grassy front yard and I think they give a more "Natural" look compared to the white background. Here is an example:

http://m9.i.pbase.com/g9/15/525015/2/156816469.3ZPAUQpL.jpg

VS

http://m1.i.pbase.com/g9/15/525015/2/156816471.QR1RTKdD.jpg

The grass might be a little distracting and I've always been a fan of simpler things in life so might stick with the white background. It might take longer to clean up in photoshop, but I like the "Documented" feel of having an image with a white background.

Regarding voting on MOTM Guns....

I am a big fan of blue so that tends to get my votes most of the time, but that's my personal preference. It does go alone with my mantra of voting for guns that I could see myself playing with verses hanging on a wall. I have a price limit in my mind as well. Paintball guns are tools to me and I can't see myself using a tool worth $600+ when it does the same thing as a $200 tool but just has a nice paint job. Heck I'd play with my Tippmann before taking an Xmag on the field. One of the main reasons I won't own an Xmag unless I find one on ebay or craigslist for a stupid price. ;)

Cyco-Dude

08-01-2014, 07:00 AM

I've always wonder how much pictures help...
a lot. you can have a great marker, but a bad picture will make it look a lot worse than it really is. also, i like the white background vs grass. speaking of which, the grass pic looks a little over-saturated to me.

knownothingmags

08-01-2014, 08:00 AM

I think the over saturation is sunlight :D

Spider-TW

08-01-2014, 11:43 AM

I've always wonder how much pictures help. I spend a lot of time preparing and trying to take quality photos of my guns but I don't know if it's really worth it. I've started to take pictures out in my grassy front yard and I think they give a more "Natural" look compared to the white background. Here is an example:

The grass might be a little distracting and I've always been a fan of simpler things in life so might stick with the white background. It might take longer to clean up in photoshop, but I like the "Documented" feel of having an image with a white background.

Regarding voting on MOTM Guns....

I am a big fan of blue so that tends to get my votes most of the time, but that's my personal preference. It does go alone with my mantra of voting for guns that I could see myself playing with verses hanging on a wall. I have a price limit in my mind as well. Paintball guns are tools to me and I can't see myself using a tool worth $600+ when it does the same thing as a $200 tool but just has a nice paint job. Heck I'd play with my Tippmann before taking an Xmag on the field. One of the main reasons I won't own an Xmag unless I find one on ebay or craigslist for a stupid price. ;)

If you have a polished or glossy marker, outdoor pics can be pretty nice. I kind of like "natural" pics, with air lines, barrels, loaders, and tanks. Pics aren't a huge thing, but it's nice to see how the mag hits the field. There are often some that simply look like an intermediate project pic. I'll give "points" for play-ability as well as high dollar glossy-ness. Also, highly photo-shopped pics start to look like complete fabrications or retouched. I honestly don't like plain blue markers, but I reckon that's why we are voting.

The only "unfair" thing that ever strikes me is when you look at the voting and there's two or three markers that got all of the votes, say in open-class, a pump mag and an SFL. There will be some markers that ran a close second or third to either of those, but the distinct types gathered up all of the votes and makes it look like other markers are completely unappealing.

OPBN

08-01-2014, 12:16 PM

The only "unfair" thing that ever strikes me is when you look at the voting and there's two or three markers that got all of the votes, say in open-class, a pump mag and an SFL. There will be some markers that ran a close second or third to either of those, but the distinct types gathered up all of the votes and makes it look like other markers are completely unappealing.

I agree with this. Obviously sometimes a Mag will be so outstandingly done that it will garner almost all of the votes, but it strikes me wrong sometimes if it gets a lot of votes just because it's an SFL for example. I've never kept track though so I really am not quite sure how often this really happens. There have definitely been some months that I didn't vote because I either didn't like any of the entries or knew pretty much which one was going to win regardless of my vote.

river031403

08-01-2014, 12:33 PM

I've entered and I've never won. I hate you all.
Lol

OPBN

08-01-2014, 12:40 PM

I've entered and I've never won. I hate you all.
Lol

I'm sorry. I can't hear you up here on my winners pedestal. :thefinger:

* obviously joking for those with no sense of humor.

river031403

08-01-2014, 01:14 PM

I'm sorry. I can't hear you up here on my winners pedestal. :thefinger:

* obviously joking for those with no sense of humor.

Some people just buy there wins.

Jk jk

OPBN

08-01-2014, 01:43 PM

Some people just buy there wins.

Jk jk

Oh, next thing you'll pull the race card!!!! lol

mpsd

08-01-2014, 01:55 PM

Good thread. I look for uniqueness, as other people said. I look for custom parts, custom ano jobs, what marker components were used, if it has something really odd and, of course, if it pleases my eyes. :)

EDIT:

Let me add this as well, as I believe it is important:

When I started to manage the polls every month, the main modification I did was to make the votes public. I did this for transparency reasons as I want people to be able to see who are the ones voting. The funny thing behind it (and I'm NOT saying there was something wrong before) is that a few years back, it was common to see a specific marker getting like 10 votes on the very last day of the poll. It was almost like those crazy eBay deals where people wait until the last minute to bid, you know? Today, you can see that this behavior changed and most of the time you can see who is going to win just three or four days after I open the poll. Interesting.

Now, let me stop blabling here and do my job as we are on the 1st already and it's time for me to prepare July's polls.

On that, please feel free to provide me feedback on how I am setting up these polls, if I'm being too strict or too lose with the rules, if I look to be somehow biased etc, ok? I love getting feedback and I am absolutely open to it so don't be shy!

mpsd

08-01-2014, 01:56 PM

Some people just buy there wins.

Hey, really? They must have sent the funds to the wrong account then!! Where's my cut!?!?? LOL

Billz804

08-01-2014, 03:50 PM

I like that the votes are transparent, because it's always funny to see who votes for their own mag. For shame!

OPBN

08-01-2014, 03:53 PM

I like that the votes are transparent, because it's always funny to see who votes for their own mag. For shame!

I vote for mine most of the time unless there is one that I truly feel is a superior build like this month. With that said, why is it that once you vote you can't see who voted for who anymore? Or am I doing it wrong?

Cyco-Dude

08-01-2014, 05:59 PM

I like that the votes are transparent, because it's always funny to see who votes for their own mag. For shame!

there is nothing wrong with that.

Billz804

08-01-2014, 07:07 PM

Haha, naw, nothing wrong with it. And if your mag really IS the best, then by all means, pat yourself on the back.

But if everybody votes for their own mag, that means ~7 or 8 votes just cancel each other out, which means less variety in the results.

Just my opinion, no offense.

going_home

08-01-2014, 08:32 PM

I've noticed electronic/pnuemags generally win with the third variable being a 450 dollar anno job.

RT Lover

08-01-2014, 08:38 PM

I've noticed electronic/pnuemags generally win with the third variable being a 450 dollar anno job.

I vote for the coolest one. If u have a 400 anno it's most likely bad Ass lol

bowcycle

08-02-2014, 09:05 AM

anno is the absolute last thing that I look at.

I first look for flow between the body, rail, frame, and foregrip. If those parts just don't look smooth together, you're not getting my vote. Then I tend to look at uniqueness of the parts used. I want to see that effort was put into the build, not just money.

Anno also gets the last vote for me, because I will probably never do another custom anno marker. I have in the past, and it means that I can never split that marker apart or change any parts on it. I hate being boxed in like that. So a super custom anno to me just feels like a prison.

bowcycle

08-02-2014, 09:06 AM

and I too cannot see the votes anymore after voting.

SPLATTER-ZONED

08-02-2014, 11:40 AM

... certain things drive me nuts and will cause me to not vote for something. Mismatched or rusty grip screws. Poor choice in air fittings. To me nothing is more distracting than seeing a beautifully anodized marker with ugly chewed up macro fittings. Raw milled parts. Strip it down completely and polish it or get it anodized. Just my opinion. And naked girl stickers, drops, or barrel covers. Instantly gets a thumbs down for me. If I wanted anime pron I would be trolling those sites.

All these and cut trigger frames. I hate cut trigger frames. It's ugly and more ugly.

SZ