Golden Oldies Custom Contest
It's good to remember your roots, even if the past can be embarrassing at times. For September's contest here at Figure Realm, we'll be taking a trip down memory lane to visit the Golden Age of comic books. Some of today's most popular heroes and villains (not to mention more than a few forgotten ones) got their start during this era. The Golden Age of comics lasted about two decades, roughly the mid-to-late 1930s to the early 1950s, so, that's your target time period for this challenge.
You have two options for your submissions:
(1.) Make a custom figure of a Golden Age comic book/strip character you like, reproducing their look from that era as closely as you can. Any character, from any publisher, is fair game, as long as they fall within the time bracket indicated above. Wonder Woman, for example, made her debut in DC's All-Star Comics #8 in 1941.
(2.) You may take a comic book character introduced after the Golden Age and give them an old-school makeover so that they'll fit in seamlessly with their predecessors. Basically, imagine the hero/heroine as if they had always lived and belonged in the Golden Age time period, including changing their origin/history. Some ways that you could go about making a contemporary comic character "retro" include tweaking or redesigning the costume so that it matches the fashions of the 1930s-1950s and replacing modern gizmos/weapons with older technology appropriate to that era.
There are no size/scale limitations, nor are there any restrictions on the materials/parts/tools you can utilize to craft your vintage custom masterpieces.
Please remember to follow the
Contest Rules and to
Vote Fairly.
Contest Winners:
1st
2nd
3rd
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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.
- Don't wait until the last day to submit your entries. If your internet is down, or something happens beyond your control, you will miss the contest! Also keep in mind how many customs you can submit in one day. You may not be able to submit all your entries in one day.
- 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 dog 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.
What is the contest schedule?
| Begins: | Contest Closed |
| Ends: | September 30th, 2011 - Last day for submissions. No exceptions! Cut off is at midnight Central Standard Time. |
| Voting: | October 1st - 7th. |
Example Pictures for Ideas
View Contest Entries 
User Comments
For example, while Marvel Comics' Magneto is a Silver Age character, his experiences during World War II as a prisoner in the Nazi concentration camps are an integral part of his past, so, you could do a younger version of him during that period because it falls within the Golden Age time bracket.
The focus of this particular challenge is on characters who originated in comic books/strips, not characters from other media that have had comic book adaptations.