Announcing The Hybridfighter Contest

[Solo]

I'll just shut up now and see what I can accomplish.

That's the spirit. I very much look forward to your entry after all this. Same goes for every one of you who's been asking these crazy questions! I want to believe there was a reason beyond testing my sanity.

[Robzula]

Yeah, Mister Ed, we don't want any gorram noobs here! It's almost as if you think this contest is primarily for fun and building the community and that it should be easily accessible to everyone and not just the elite that will make this site look better!

Ahem

This whole thing has just been bugging me all day. This

But If you look at the samples that Don posted, there's a very distinct lack of effort, like this one

particularly rubs me the wrong way. It feels like a case of elitism here, which I really can't stand. If someone can only come up with something that good, who cares? They're not wrecking the contest, they're having fun. They shouldn't be disqualified from entering because they're not a great builder, they'll just be dummied out by the voting.

[Solo]

I think it's a stretch to call this elitist, it's just part of the challenge this time. The examples used to illustrate what not to do were not intended to belittle the people who made them. If I still had pictures of the X-Tie I built years ago, which was just the official Tie Fighter wings on an X-Wing fuselage, I would have used that at the sole example. kikimaru and Thadiator, I'm sorry if anything we've said about your models was unduly harsh. Those were perfectly valid entries for the previous contest but we wanted to push members to be more creative this time, so we made it a requirement to scratch build everything. Anyone is capable of this, not just "the elite", it just takes more effort. But that's why we have this big spectacle and the prize - to entice people and push their limits.

This is accessible, and it should be about fun and building the community, which is exactly why I wish people wouldn't spend so much time ranting about how they don't like a tiny detail at the core of the challenge and instead just try building something to submit.

[theStuck]

This is accessible, and it should be about fun and building the community, which is exactly why I wish people wouldn't spend so much time ranting about how they don't like a tiny detail at the core of the challenge and instead just try building something to submit.

Amen to that !

[Sydag]

One question,

Can I actually put a R2 unit on my hybridfighter if neither of the two ships it is made of don't have one ?
In an other way, is a R2 unit considered as some kind of a co-pilot or a constituent part of a ship ?

[SuperDave]

...we wanted to push members to be more creative this time, so we made it a requirement to scratch build everything. ...

An excellent distinction: this contest wants builders to scratchbuild, not kitbash, their entries.

[Mister Ed]

An excellent distinction: this contest wants builders to scratchbuild, not kitbash, their entries.

We get that. It just seems ironic to have a scratchbuild requirement for a contest involving a ship-type that is, at its very core, a "kitbash". And it seems like a missed opportunity for accessibility, as kitbashing is far more accessible to those with limited collections than scratchbuilding is. (Though it is NOT inaccessible, this is true. Just LESS accessible.)

I say this not by way of argument, but simply as clarification, to make clear that I'm not misunderstanding the distinction.

Now I must get back to planning what I can scrape together.

[Marmeus]

Hi guys
I started my ugly...


With the Porax P38 utapaun and the old set of the ARC 170 starfighter !
To be continued..
Bye !

[buriedbybricks]

"Irony is someone with the name of a famous horse, beating a dead one." - Abraham Lincoln

[Solo]

Marmeus: I sent you a private message about your entry.

One question,

Can I actually put a R2 unit on my hybridfighter if neither of the two ships it is made of don't have one ?
In an other way, is a R2 unit considered as some kind of a co-pilot or a constituent part of a ship ?

Sure. Maybe the droid is needed to manage the integration of control systems in the two ships. Who knows! R2 units are generally co-pilots, even if they seem like part of a ship at times.

[Mister Ed]

"Irony is someone with the name of a famous horse, beating a dead one." - Abraham Lincoln

Is it still ironic if the famous horse is dead, too? Or does that make it even MORE ironic?

[buriedbybricks]

Of course, Of course!

[Boyfromvalley]

About the droids, do the full bodies have to fit on the moc or could it just be their head like the Jedi Starfighters in AOTC or ROTS?

[Solo]

Either way is acceptable.

[LegoHead]

Starfighter1 by LegoWookie, on Flickr

Here's my entry: the all-powerful Snowfighter.

It's a mix of Obi-Wan's Jedi Starfighter and a good old reliable Snowspeeder.

Enjoy!

[Daiman]

Well Legohead...if that is your real name.
I can see as a lego fan that you have indeed 'MASHED' the two sets together, however...
I cant seem to make out any actual forms that resemble that of a speeder.
I think the point of the build is to retain some of the features that describe the ships in question.
Not to take anything away from your build as a great ship in itself but I would say that it lacks recognition.
I would suggest you could retain the design concept of a speeder wing or two on either side or keeping the starfighter nose together to boost it's appeal.
Goodness knows Hoth would have been full of debris after that fateful battle.

Cheers.

[edit to add]

Now I just found these after a quick search for Star Wars uglies


http://www.starshipmodeler.com/ugly_chal.cfm
http://store01.prostores.com/servlet/em ... ter/Detail
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Ugly
http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/6703/ugliesnm1.jpg
http://todd587.deviantart.com/art/quot- ... ss-4588185

Can't wait to see some more mash ups folks

[Robzula]

I just wanna apologize. I was angry and acted brashly and ended up sounding like an sarlacc. I still don't agree with models being disqualified for being mash-ups, but I can see why you'd want to go that way for your contest (and for better reasons than I'd mentioned before). Sorry.

And it seems like a missed opportunity for accessibility, as kitbashing is far more accessible to those with limited collections than scratchbuilding is. (Though it is NOT inaccessible, this is true. Just LESS accessible.)

This was essentially what I was trying to say, just... less eloquently and more accusatory. Again, I understand now why you chose not to go this way.

[Knobby Plastic]

Well Legohead...if that is your real name.
I can see as a lego fan that you have indeed 'MASHED' the two sets together, however...
I cant seem to make out any actual forms that resemble that of a speeder.
I think the point of the build is to retain some of the features that describe the ships in question.
Not to take anything away from your build as a great ship in itself but I would say that it lacks recognition.
I would suggest you could retain the design concept of a speeder wing or two on either side or keeping the starfighter nose together to boost it's appeal.
Goodness knows Hoth would have been full of debris after that fateful battle.

I fail to see why the Ugly should obviously resemble the source ships. I believe Solo said:

Imagine, if you will, a mad mechanic in a junkyard without a single functioning ship... but workable parts from two, and as much scrap as needed to merge them into something that flies. That's this contest.

I think LegoHead's entry is fine and it certainly fits with the previous illustration.

[Joedward]

I fail to see why the Ugly should obviously resemble the source ships.

reserved for rule clarifications.

Clarifications from page 2: No transition/evolution models where you make a new ship inspired by two others - use recognizable parts from two (and only two) ships and as much scrap as needed to merge them into something that flies. Alternate color schemes are OK.

That's from the first page, but it's an edit so it may have been missed.
Here's what prompted it though.

Does the end result have to resemble an existing starfighter? Or can it be its own (new) fighter-like vehicle?

You are making your own new starfighter that resembles two existing vehicles.

Now, I'm really not trying to be difficult, and this is just my point of view here, but I just can't see how that resembles a snowspeeder, or which part of the original vehicle would have been used to make this new one. I don't think I would have recognised it for what it was if it hadn't been pointed out, and that just seems almost counter intuitive to the contest.

[Knobby Plastic]

reserved for rule clarifications.

Clarifications from page 2: No transition/evolution models where you make a new ship inspired by two others - use recognizable parts from two (and only two) ships and as much scrap as needed to merge them into something that flies. Alternate color schemes are OK.

OK Now I see where (EDIT) Daiman was coming from. I missed that rules clarification.