Armor Up Custom Contest

Armor Up - Custom Action Figure Contest!

Contest Winners:

1st

2nd

3rd

View Contest Entries

We hope your action figures learned a valuable lesson about what happens when you show up for a fight unprepared in April's Battle Damage contest--let's make sure that never happens again, shall we? The object of May's contest at Figure Realm is to "Armor Up" a toy with custom-made defensive gear. You're allowed to fortify any character you like, including original creations, with protective equipment. If you feel Strawberry Shortcake needs to be nestled inside a Cobra S.N.A.K.E. (painted candy red, naturally) to safeguard her the next time she takes on the Purple Pieman, then have at it.

The armor you equip your submission(s) with can be as complex as a mechanized full-body suit, as simple as a revealing scalemail bikini, or anything in between those two extremes. While repaints will be accepted, you're encouraged to make more substantial modifications to your figure(s). Force field generators, helmets, breastplates, bullet-proof vests, chainmail, shoulder/knee/elbow pads, shields, magical barriers, greaves, and even groin guards are all examples of items you might add to your figure for this contest. Don't feel limited to just humans/humanoids, you can provide a vehicle, animal, robot, etc. with more security too.

Show us your creativity! In addition to commonly used substances like metal and Kevlar, armor can be much simpler/organic in form (scales/shells, leather, bone, wood, etc.), supernatural/magical in nature (energy, force, elemental, astral/psychic, etc.), hi-tech (sub-dermal, stealth/cloaking, self-repairing, transforming, etc.), or even a living/sentient entity all by itself (Konami's Castlevania series, and roleplaying games in general, are full of examples of animate armor).

Let us know why your character felt the need to "Armor Up" in your entry description. Is it in preparation for dealing with a particularly dangerous foe or environment? Are they trying to disguise themselves to infiltrate the enemy's ranks? Maybe the gear has special ceremonial/cultural significance? If the armor is alive, how was it created or where did it come from?

There are no size/scale restrictions and you can use whatever parts/materials/tools you like to "forge" your custom for this challenge.

What is the contest schedule?

Begins:	Contest Closed
Ends:	May 31st, 2011 - Last day for submissions. No exceptions! Cut off is at midnight Central Standard Time.
Voting:	June 1st - 7th.

What are the rules of the contest?

Please use the form here to submit your custom figure.
At least a paragraph description is required with your entry. This paragraph, at a minimum, should answer the following questions:

How was this custom customized?
How does the custom fit into the contest theme?

You may submit up to three different entries for the contest.
Please only submit figures that were created for this contest. Do not submit old figures from the Showcase or previous contest entries.
Your entry should not be posted on this website, any other website, or anywhere on the internet until the contest is completely over.
The pictures for your entry will remain hidden until the contest ends and the voting begins.
Your identity will remain hidden until after the voting completes.
Do not include names, logos, signatures or anything on the pictures that will give you away as the creator of the custom. We want to keep the customizer's identity a secret until the contest is over.
The contest is purely for fun... well... and bragging rights!

How does the contest voting work?

Anyone can vote for their favorite customs in the contest, you don't even have to submit anything to the contest! You do have to be logged-in to your Figure Realm account though so we can keep track of the votes. Only appointed Figure Realm staff can see the votes, so anonymity is guaranteed. Voting begins once the entry deadline is met and lasts for a week.

It's hard to choose just one custom to vote on when there are tons of great entries, so Figure Realm has a unique voting system where you can vote on ALL the customs! When you click on an entry to view, there's a bar with buttons on it that lets you give the custom anywhere from 1 to 5 Stars. 1 Star means you think they could have done a better job on the custom while 5 Stars means you think they did a perfect job. The votes for each entry are added up when voting is closed and averaged-out to determine the winners. Also, don't abuse the system. Don't give your own custom 5 Stars and then give everyone else 1 Star to boost your rating. Remember, the votes are monitored.

Some points you might consider when casting your vote: Is the figure well-made? Is the paint smooth or crusty? Are there noticeable fingerprints on the sculpted parts? Is it an original custom? Is it accurate to the source-material (comics, photos, description in a book)? Are the pictures clear enough to see the details? Did the creator take the time to include a back-story or recipe? Is the custom so unbelievably awesome that you'd trade your girlfriend for it?

Craftsmanship and creativity are major factors to consider, but ultimately your vote should depend on how much you like the custom, and how well you feel it fits the contest theme.