AST Competition Ideas

[Steam235]

Xen, I'd suggest making an executive decision and pick a contest. After all over the course of the year I think there is a chance for each contest.

[DouglasGlenn]

I voted for the kitbash, but I think the Group Build and World Tour could be fun too. I wouldn't worry about someone stealing the ship on tour. Yes, something could happen to it, but if someone signs up to take part I'd assume the best.

A variation on the World Tour might be to start with a Ptolemy class tug and have people build transport pods/containers to attach to it. Containers could be scratchbuilt to general specs, or a minikit could be made available at a nominal fee for anyone who wants to take part, but is unsure of their scratchbuilding skills. Each container could be decaled/decorated as stated, reflecting that person's home region, etc.

You might make the guidelines loose enough so that containers didn't have to be the standard "tube" if they had an idea for something a little different from that. The important thing would be that they fit in line with other containers.

Here's where I get into perhaps excessive detail... Each container would be built with its own base that would not exceed the length of the container. Guidelines would specify how high the centerpoint would be on the container so they would all fit together. People might even fit a 2 or 3mm neodymium magnets in each end so they would attach to each other.

Maybe instead of shipping the Ptolemy around everywhere, people send their containers in to you. Then create a thread or Gallery where we see pics of the model(s) as more containers are attached.

Well, enough of my rambling...

[Resin-Modeller]

What about a Scratchbuild Competition.

Terms:

Any Scale though model size no longer than 8 Inches. Any Era, Any Race. No premade parts, all custom built parts. No canon designs, must be unique and brand new. The kit should be built as a model part kit.


Think it'd be a great idea as it'd generate some fun, freedom of creativity, plus some potentially new and exciting designs. Styrene Sheets of varying thickness cost about a $1 per A4 Sheet so it doesn't cost a lot to do, you could probably build a ship for like $5 if you like. All that is required is time and patience.

The winner could have their kit produced by either Delta Quadrant, OdyseySlipways, myself or anyother kit producer so others can add that ship to the fleet. A Gallery Hall of fame and forum banner could also be made to show off the choosen kit. The three runners up could also have their models converted to kits.

Not sure how the monetary side would work on that as the kit producer would have to be willing to create a free mould for the model, with the model being charged at cost rather than profit. So would also create a great cheap kit. Probably costing like $10-$15 or so for a large kit.


The votes could either be held by a panel of modellers, the entire forum or whatever, with votes going towards: Design, Complexity, Detail, etc.



Just throwing my idea out there


Adam,

[Alun]

My 2p worth, for what it's worth, is that the Group Build idea has the most mileage in it as it can cover any multitude of build styles within the overall theme and therefore have a straight-from-box group as well as a kitbash group etc so everyone is happy. Having something which is turned into a kit is really about the prize rather than the competition itself (although it might limit the size of any given build substantially) and might limit the number of people who feel that they have the skills or desire to do a scratchbuild or kitbash. This has worked well for Starship Modeler for many competitions, setting an overall theme and then letting people have a free hand within it. Leaving it as broad as possible always seems to be a good idea, so how about "Anything but the Enterprise" or the "In the 25th Century" idea that was proposed above. Or something to showcase the lesser seen ships such as the support vessels? Lots of possibilities.

I was part of a world tour build once and it took forever to get it around and interest had honestly waned by the time it was half way. And with postage increasing so much it's now a substantial cost involved if it goes outside of a given country.

Just some thoughts anyway...

Alun

[zookman]

bit off tpic but i think it fit best here ... for the scale of the kit smaller is good for reproduction but also limits detail that can be added by most ... what i was wondering .. say i kitbash a 1/537 enterprise into something real cool and say it wins or i scracth up something totaly original in same scale ... now something that big would be rather costly to reproduce so my question is .. could said kit be 3d scanned and then manipulated into say maybe the other main scale we see built 1/1000 ... 1/1400 ... and 1/2500 ... maybe even 1/3900 .. for gaming .. not sure how many if any of the kit makers here have such equipment but its an maybe an option .. course it would mean shipping finished kit or possibly finding someplace near winner that also have this 3d equipment ... and then just send that file of it maybe

[Protoceratops]

Sorry, I had to be difficult and tie it up!

[Kratok]

Group build here, though that name seems a misnomer to me. It isn't a "group build" like the Wonderfest station from a few years back. It is really a themed contest.

I don't really have much to add to some of the already excellent suggestions posted, other than to agree that the themed contest would/could also allow kitbashing, diorama entries, etc - so it seems the most encompassing of the options.

Since we are all about eye candy here, it would also generate a lot of new images and inspiration.

LOTS of themed ideas:
Future Trek
Support Ships (and/or support craft like shuttles. I also like the pod concept mentioned above)
Adversaries
The Fallen/Casualties
Dominion war
The Lost Years
Starbases and Stations (UFP and Adversary)
Light 'Em Up
Cutaway/Under Construction at the Shipyards
Never released as a kit (scratchbuild/kitbash)
Variants on a theme (Ambassador variants only, etc)
Kitbashes only

For those who aren't really into starships, how about props and equipment?
Places of interest (dioramas of things like the Gaurdian of Forever, bridges, etc)

Open to ALL scales.

A contest that supports the kit producers, increasing their sales, and maybe spurring the continued release of new offerings? That could only benefit the hobby.

I have reservations about promising castings of the winner. There are a number of concerns there - size and expense among them. The possibility that the winning ship would have to be cut apart to generate a plausible mold is also a concern. Not something I would want done after producing my best work. I would prefer a small entry fee, the proceeds of which would go towards a small monetary award to the winners. Maybe a customized AST trophy for the winner to place on their shelves next to their entry?

As a side note, it seems to me this discussion might be better served if we were to move it out to the root directory of AST, instead of being located here under Support and Feedback. I think this would be something we would want to give maximum exposure to, and having it be one of the first things you see when logging in would probably be helpful. Based on the number of views versus posts in this topic, I also think we need to get maximum exposure. Frankly, although the suggestions to date have been great, the fact remains that we are going to need a broader interest base than has posted so far if we hope to make this a meaningful and practical endeavor.

[Scotchyn]

I like the kitbash...sometimes the most outrageous thing can be really cool

[steelfox]

I selected "Own Idea" however of the choices I would go with the scratchbuild option.

My idea?

Reimagined
Given that the JJ-Prise from Trek '09 was somewhat....."controversial" amongst fans:
What can we come up with?

Does not have to be just a new "E".
Can also include "What if..." ideas, alternate Trek universes, timelines etc.
Feddies, Klin, Roms, your own creations all welcome.

The main downside is that it is less suited to straight forward out-of-the-box builds however I am sure we could find away to incorporate them.


Da Fox

[azreal1300]

I would prefer the group build. Kit bashing is a close second.