All,
I find this thread very sad, but interesting

From the posting, I find the contest rules bizarre at best. I am currently building a scale aircraft & if I was to entered the finished product in a competition & I was penalized for building it out of composite I would be very saddened.

If one purchased aircraft parts from someone else who made the moulds, yes I can see the point of being penalized, but to penalize the scratch builder for his own work Hmmm…

I enjoy building with my hands and that is enough gratification, If I was to enter my work in a contest & I lost to an ARF then my craftsmanship is not the same level as the ARF

Contests are subjective events, so easily corrupted by the fancy of the person judging.

If the contest is a privately owned/sponsored event then the corruption can further manifest itself into cancer Oops… am I taking part in a corrupted event or an event that does not share my same values?

If the event rules are the issue, what are the rules/processes governing changing of the rules of the event, do you have a voice?

I would hope your events are structured in such a way that corruption would be mitigated/not manifest itself.