Germanic January

We held a virtual turning competition in January 2021 (as we couldn't meet face-to-face due to the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic). The title was "Germanic January", and the theme was "Make a German smoker figure". Here are the results.

The competition was judged independently and anonymously by Dave Gunner and Richard Peers. They were judging on four categories: Brief, Form, Function and Finish. The committee have decided not to publish the scores, but to show the entry photographs and a summary of the judges' comments for each entry. We received a total of 6 entries.

Member	Judges' Comments
Peter Wade	Fits the brief very well Delightful design; innovative solution for the legs	Hard to tell how well it works from just a picture In general, this would work as a smoker, but not for long: it needs airholes to allow the incense to continue burning. Also, the plastic in the bottle cap needs to be removed (fire risk!)	Very good proportions I love the specs, and the sitting position; the face is well drawn, too	Good finish I love the hair added on It's all a bit "rustic", but these items are not meant to be high art
Neil Innes	Nice outside the box thinking Interesting design; I think it falls between the two stools of being a snowman and being a German smoker, and doesn't quite achieve either	Hard to tell how well it works from just a picture It's not obvious from the photos how (or even if) the incense can be inserted and burnt, nor where the smoke could come out (the pipe stem is too thin for that). A good first effort as a learning piece, and I would encourage the maker to have another go	Unusual shape body and also to see a snowman with legs but I still like him he has character The key element for a smoker is the burning platform inside, and this design doesn't seem to have one. The neck is too tall and thin for a snowman, as is the lower body tapering to the legs	I love the fact that it's colour shows what it is but the grain is still visible. Hard to tell where the smoke pellet goes? The turning is good, but the face is not well drawn (don't be disheartened, it's not an easy thing to do, and I struggle with this too!)
Graham Mee (winner)	Brilliant I love the addition of the cigar and the detail on the newspaper Really innovative design, with the pinstripe suit and the seated position - I love it!	Hard to tell how well it works from just a picture Looks good, and all the right features are there - air holes in the base, heat shield, smoke exit in the head. For best smoke flow, the cigar should slope upwards.	Looks brilliant proportions look good Some great elements here: the newspaper, the suit and tie, the hair...	I love the pin stripe suit on this guy The turning is good; the paintwork is mostly well done. Pinstripes are a bit wonky (not sure how they could have been made straight, though!)
Nick Laking	Great job very seasonal Fairly classic smoker form and subject	Hard to tell how well it works from just a picture Looks right, but there is no heat shield on the burner base (essential to prevent fire risk!)	Looks as though the right hand is at an odd angle? It's a nice enough Santa; good attention has been paid to the stand, both top and bottom	Not bad I like the addition of the white beard The turning is well finished and smooth; the painting is a little "naive" (especially the belt buckle, which stands out being on the front in yellow)
Nick Laking	I love this one and really shows some out of the box thinking Highly innovative - I love the "baby dragon in egg" idea, which turns the normal smoker design upside-down. I'd like to see this one in action, with smoke coming from the nostrils...	Hard to tell how well it works from just a picture The photos don't show the incense base, but there are clear airholes in the stand. I hope there is a heat shield in there!	Looks great to me The stand and egg are clearly turned; the dragon is carved (which is fine). Being picky, the top rim of the egg should not be a flat circle.	The finish looks good I love the speckled effect and the crack on the egg Some good attention paid to the egg and the stand; the dragon though has some very rough paint elements (such as the eye sockets) that sadly draw the eye and detract from the overall piece
Nick Laking	Good job Another classic smoker form; I do like the drum, which adds another turned element	Hard to tell how well it works from just a picture This one is actually seen in use! For safety, there should be a heat shield on the burner platform to prevent fire risk	Looks good to me I particularly like the detail on the drum The overall shape is really good, and very similar to the original German designs. I like the way the stand has been turned	Very good The turning is crisp, underneath the paintwork; the face and paint details are a little rough, but I like the happy smile

Member

Image

Judges' Comments

Brief

Form

Function

Finish

Peter Wade

Fits the brief very well
Delightful design; innovative solution for the legs

Hard to tell how well it works from just a picture
In general, this would work as a smoker, but not for long: it needs airholes to allow the incense to continue burning. Also, the plastic in the bottle cap needs to be removed (fire risk!)

Very good proportions
I love the specs, and the sitting position; the face is well drawn, too

Good finish I love the hair added on
It's all a bit "rustic", but these items are not meant to be high art

Neil Innes

Nice outside the box thinking
Interesting design; I think it falls between the two stools of being a snowman and being a German smoker, and doesn't quite achieve either

Hard to tell how well it works from just a picture
It's not obvious from the photos how (or even if) the incense can be inserted and burnt, nor where the smoke could come out (the pipe stem is too thin for that). A good first effort as a learning piece, and I would encourage the maker to have another go

Unusual shape body and also to see a snowman with legs but I still like him he has character
The key element for a smoker is the burning platform inside, and this design doesn't seem to have one. The neck is too tall and thin for a snowman, as is the lower body tapering to the legs

I love the fact that it's colour shows what it is but the grain is still visible. Hard to tell where the smoke pellet goes?
The turning is good, but the face is not well drawn (don't be disheartened, it's not an easy thing to do, and I struggle with this too!)

Graham Mee (winner)

Brilliant I love the addition of the cigar and the detail on the newspaper
Really innovative design, with the pinstripe suit and the seated position - I love it!

Hard to tell how well it works from just a picture
Looks good, and all the right features are there - air holes in the base, heat shield, smoke exit in the head. For best smoke flow, the cigar should slope upwards.

Looks brilliant proportions look good
Some great elements here: the newspaper, the suit and tie, the hair...

I love the pin stripe suit on this guy
The turning is good; the paintwork is mostly well done. Pinstripes are a bit wonky (not sure how they could have been made straight, though!)

Nick Laking

Great job very seasonal
Fairly classic smoker form and subject

Hard to tell how well it works from just a picture
Looks right, but there is no heat shield on the burner base (essential to prevent fire risk!)

Looks as though the right hand is at an odd angle?
It's a nice enough Santa; good attention has been paid to the stand, both top and bottom

Not bad I like the addition of the white beard
The turning is well finished and smooth; the painting is a little "naive" (especially the belt buckle, which stands out being on the front in yellow)

Nick Laking

I love this one and really shows some out of the box thinking
Highly innovative - I love the "baby dragon in egg" idea, which turns the normal smoker design upside-down. I'd like to see this one in action, with smoke coming from the nostrils...

Hard to tell how well it works from just a picture
The photos don't show the incense base, but there are clear airholes in the stand. I hope there is a heat shield in there!

Looks great to me
The stand and egg are clearly turned; the dragon is carved (which is fine). Being picky, the top rim of the egg should not be a flat circle.

The finish looks good I love the speckled effect and the crack on the egg
Some good attention paid to the egg and the stand; the dragon though has some very rough paint elements (such as the eye sockets) that sadly draw the eye and detract from the overall piece

Nick Laking

Good job
Another classic smoker form; I do like the drum, which adds another turned element

Hard to tell how well it works from just a picture
This one is actually seen in use! For safety, there should be a heat shield on the burner platform to prevent fire risk

Looks good to me I particularly like the detail on the drum
The overall shape is really good, and very similar to the original German designs. I like the way the stand has been turned

Very good
The turning is crisp, underneath the paintwork; the face and paint details are a little rough, but I like the happy smile