[Starship Modeler's 9th on-line modeling contest: The Other Guys]

Contest Rules | Entries

The wait is over!! Starship Modeler is proud to announce the start of our ninth online modeling contest. The subject: The Other Guys! "They Also Serve .... " is the theme. What we're looking for are the ships, craft, vehicles and vessels that are not the heroes or the stars of the show: the freighters, supply ships, trash haulers, prison hulks, escorts, police, trainers, hacks and other unsung, unremarked and unheralded vehicles and vessels that keep the keep things running behind the scenes.

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 January 18, 2003. 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, "the other guys" is defined as any vehicle or vessel that is not considered the "star", "hero" or otherwise something of which crew members might consider a plum assignment. For example, a tramp freighter would be eligible, but the Millenium Falcon would not (given the starring role it has in Star Wars), and neither would JMC Mining Ship Red Dwarf. Another example: A VF-1D Valkyrie would be acceptable, as it's generally employed as a trainer/hack, but a VF-1J fighter -- the primary strike fighter of UN Spacy -- would not. While warships are not prohibited, any such entries cannot be the "big guns" of the fleet or otherwise "glamourous" (think HMS Compass Rose, not HMS Hood, using a WW2 wet-navy example). Finally - a TOS-era Constitution-class heavy cruiser would not be eligible, but the same ship in the Movie Era converted to a starliner might.

  • 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 "Gundam Recovery Truck" 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) January 18, 2003. Judging will take place between January 19-30, 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 most browsers won't show the better image quality 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 January 19, 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.



    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.

    Go back up | Starship Modeler Home | Site Map | Feedback

    This page was last updated 11 January 2004.