The Little World

And how do they do it?

Okay, if you are tasked with reproducing a model of a Willy Ley space ship as seen on a 1950’s Disneyland show, it is still fantasy – but the responsibility for the imagination has been taken out of your hands. Ley and Disney are the ones setting the pace and you succeed if you copy them precisely.

Also okay if some other artist, producer, or franchise has put out a movie or representation that you can build to. Someone looking at your work has a benchmark to set it against.

But what if it is just a book with a description? I’ve seen interpretations that might be justified but equally might not be. A judge would be without a statute book in this case…and that can lead to some arguable decisions. There are enough arbitrary cultural and contest judges as it is, even when there are photos and blueprints.

In the end, I suspect the judgement can sometimes be upon the fantasist rather than the fantasy. And that is a human relations problem.