Starship Modeler's 10th on-line modeling contest: Red Planet

Contest Rules | Entries

The wait is over!! Starship Modeler is proud to announce the start of our tenth online modeling contest. The subject: Red Planet! What we're looking for are any science fiction (or science fact) ships, craft, vehicles, vessels, dioramas or vignettes that have a link to Mars (built there, set there, sent there, from there, studied the planet, etc.).

There will be three categories: Kits,Scratchbuilds and Dioramas. Each of these categories will have three "Popular Vote" awards plus an Editors' Choice award.

Judging/voting will be done by the Starship Modeler readership, just as in the past. Every reader gets a single Popular Vote in each category. A simple (free) registration form must be filled out to qualify voters and prevent ballot stuffing. Once placed you may change your votes, but you can not vote a second time.

The deadline for entries is October 17, 2004. The voting feature will be activated the next day. However, please get your entries in as soon as possible. Lots of last minute entries means delays in getting the voting feature up and running. A five dollar fee is required for each contest entry (to offset event and site expenses). You may submit entries in advance of payment, but they will not be posted to the site until we receive the contest fee. Payment may be made via PayPal, by check or money order, made out to "Starship Modeler". Send your payment to: Starship Modeler, 1580 S. Milwaukee Ave Suite 430, Libertyville, IL 60048 (USA).

Please read the full Contest Rules below for further details.

Contest Rules

Prizes will be given in three categories:

  • Box Stock: A model built from a commercially available kit (it may be out of production). Your kit can be lighted and/or super-detailed, but it must be recognizable as a commercially available kit.

  • Scratchbuilt: A model built from scratch or kitbashed from other components.

  • Diorama: Any model incorporated into a display with other models, figures, etc. that tells a story or presents a snapshot of an activity.

1) Eligibility. For the purposes of this contest, entries must have a link to Mars. That's it --- just state what link the entry has to the Red Planet. Examples of eligible entries are:

  • War of the Worlds Martian Tripods (came from Mars)
  • Viking lander (went to Mars)
  • Deja Thoris (a Princess of Mars)
  • USS Enterprise-D (built at Utopia Planetia, orbiting Mars)


  • We have no desire to nit-pick what "is" or "isn't" science fiction. As long as you can plausibly describe your entry as belonging to a science fictional background, we'll allow it in the contest. However - slapping an alternate paint scheme on Trumpeter's Chinese Tank Transporter and calling it a "Martian Rolligon" is unlikely to garner many readers' votes in the end, and highly unlikely to be rewarded with an Editor's Choice nod.

  • Entries can be spaceships, shuttles, fliers, mecha, submarines, automobiles -- it doesn't matter. They must otherwise meet the eligibility rule.

  • If any doubt exists as to whether a design is eligible, Starship Modeler staff will ask for documentation proving the design meets contest criteria. All decisions of the Starship Modeler staff are final.

    2) For the purposes of this contest, Dioramas are defined as any collection of models and/or figures that tells a story, or presents a snapshot in time. Simply adding one or more figures to a model will not qualify it for this category. It must be placed in an environment/context, and some sense of action or activity must be conveyed.

    3) You may enter as many models as you like. Each entry must be accompanied by a $5 entry fee. All payment must be made via PayPal, by check or money order for US dollars, made out to "Starship Modeler". Send payment to: Starship Modeler, 1580 S. Milwaukee Ave Suite 430, Libertyville, IL 60048 (USA).

    4) All entries must be received by midnight (CST - GMT -6.00) October 17, 2004. Judging will take place between October 18-25, 2004. Voting will be performed online by registered members of the Starship Modeler readership, as well as the staff for Editors' Choice awards. Starship Modeler staff and relatives are not excluded from the entering the competition but cannot win any of the prizes. All judging is final. The Starship Modeler staff will determine the winner in cases of a tie.

    5) Entries must include:

  • Your name
  • Your postal and e-mail address
  • Contest fee
  • Model description, including how you built the model. Fictional historical overviews are fine, but we'd rather hear what went into making the model. Long monographs covering every action in which the ship may have ever partcipated will be ruthlessly edited.
  • Up to six pictures. Three of the pictures should be a front view, top view, and side view. The remaining images are optional and can be used to show off specific details or just to shoot the model from some of its more attractive angles. If more than six pictures are sent, the Starship Modeler staff reserves the right to chose which, if any, additional images to include. You can send your submissions via eMail, or if you are unable to scan your photos, just mail them to: Starship Modeler, 1580 S. Milwaukee Ave Suite 430, Libertyville, IL 60048 (USA). Photos WILL NOT be returned unless a properly posted SASE is included. All entries will be posted, as long as they meet these Contest Rules.

    6) You can include as little, or as much, of a "back story" explaining the timeline from which your model springs. Lengthy stories will be set apart as a separate link. Please also include some descriptive text on how you built your model! Remember - this is a model contest, not a writer's symposium; tell us about the model.

    7) Do not add or subtract detail from your submissions, digitally or otherwise. i.e., do not add starry backgrounds or laser fire. All photos should depict the model, showing off its features and workmanship. We suggest you photograph the model in natural light against a plain, monochromatic background for best results. Scans should be done AT LEAST 100% (200% is better) image size, and at 72 ppi. Do not send images with greater density than 72 ppi, as it dramatically increases download time and were going to downsample them anyway.

    8) Prizes will be delivered by mail and sent out within one month of completion of judging.

    9) Starship Modeler reserves the right not to post images that are deemed distasteful. We're not going to be prudish, but all images should be presented in a tasteful manner. Any hull/nose/wing art, and the like, should forswear the depiction of genitalia, for instance.

    10) In the Stock category, detail sets such as aftermarket lighting kits or decals are allowed. While such extra detail could increase your chances to win, quality and creativity of the work is still a major factor in judging.

    11) Entries can be models which were completed prior to the contest, but can not be ones that have been previously submitted for publication on Starship Modeler.

    12) Starship Modeler staff reserve the right to reject any entry we feel does not meet the guidelines published here, or the underlying spirit of our contest.

    If you have any questions about these rules or other contest details, please ask us by dropping a note, or use the postal address given above.

    Contestants: make sure we have your mailing address!

    A link will bring you to the Vote Page, once it becomes active after October 18, 2004.

    Companies or individuals interested in sponsoring this contest should contact the Starship Modeler staff.

    • Starship Modeler will provide plaques for the first three places in each category, as well as Editor's Choice.



    Copyright Notes:

    These pages are intended strictly for personal use of those who appreciate the hard work, intelligence, artistry, and effort that go into making real and fictional spacecraft. This site is not intended to infringe on the intellectual properties of any copyright holders. Please address concerns, questions, and any notices we may have inadvertently missed to site administration for resolution.



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    This page was last updated 19 October 2004. © 2004 Starship Modeler