Mechanized Custom Contest

Mechanized - Custom Action Figure Contest!

Contest Winners:

1st

2nd

3rd

View Contest Entries

Flesh is weak. For this challenge, everybody is trading in their squishy organic bodies and upgrading to cold hard steel and high speed circuitry. The goal is to take your favorite flesh-and-blood characters and show us what you think they'd look like if they became completely mechanical beings. The three best engineered constructs will be awarded with virtual gold, silver, or bronze medals stamped into their metallic hides.

- You can convert any existing organic character that you want into a machine for this contest. Your custom toy's design can be high-tech (hydraulics, nuclear-powered, etc.), low-tech (clockwork, steam-powered, etc.), or anything in between.

- No cyborgs! Whatever you create has to be 100% mechanized. It is, however, acceptable to upgrade an existing cyborg character into an entirely robotic entity.

- If there's a fictional character that you want to make that has already been turned into a machine, in whatever source material they originated from, that's fine, provided he/she/it started out life as an organic being before that transformation (i.e., TMNT's Fugitoid.)

- Mechanical decoys/doppelgangers don't count; your chosen character must actually become a machine for this contest (a robotized version of the real Victor Von Doom would be a legal entry, but one of his Doombots would not be, because they're just "fake" Dr. Doom constructs that were never flesh.)

There are no size/scale limitations and you can use whatever parts/tools/materials you like to transform your favorite character into a merciless machine. And please remember NOT to put any logos/names/watermarks on your entry photos that identify you as the customizer; each toy's creator is supposed to remain a secret until the conclusion of the contest's voting period!

What is the contest schedule?

Begins:	Contest Closed
Ends:	November 30th, 2011 - Last day for submissions. No exceptions! Cut off is at midnight Central Standard Time.
Voting:	December 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.