Fairy Tales Custom Contest
Uh-oh, the kids want to hear a Fairy Tale, but you pawned the story book to get that last DC Universe Classics character you needed to complete the Collect & Connect figure (now, that's quality parenting!)--looks like you're going to have to crack open the toy box, wrangle up some figures, and improvise. The goal of this challenge is to customize any character/thing from the Fairy Tale of your choice.
- For the purpose of this contest, you may consider a Fairy Tale to be loosely classified as any pre-industrial age folk story or legend dealing with the fantastic or supernatural. Fables, nursery rhymes, parables, apologues, and similar/related works, are also fair game as far as subject matter goes. Even literary scholars disagree on what should, or should not, be defined as a Fairy Tale, so, don't worry about the classification too much--we're going to be pretty liberal here.
- The story you pick as your focus doesn't necessarily have to be "old"; many contemporary authors, particularly those that write fiction for children and young adults, have penned adventures that would fall into the Fairy Tale genre. Modern adaptations of classic stories in another medium (movies, cartoons, comic books, video games, etc.) are also acceptable.
- Some examples of stories that you could use characters from for this challenge include: Alice in Wonderland, Beauty and the Beast, the Boy Who Cried Wolf, Cinderella, the Emperor's New Clothes, the Frog Prince, the Gingerbread Man, the Golden Goose, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Hansel and Gretel, Jack and the Beanstalk, the Little Mermaid, Little Red Riding Hood, the Pied Piper of Hamelin, the Princess and the Pea, Puss in Boots, Rapunzel, Rumpelstiltskin, the Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Rose Red, Three Billy Goats Gruff, the Three Little Pigs, Thumbelina, the Ugly Duckling, and the Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
- You can customize a traditional interpretation of the Fairy Tale character of your choice OR you may reinterpret/redesign them however you see fit. If you've ever dreamed of making a horror, sci-fi, steampunk, western, etc., version of Snow White, here's your opportunity.
- There are no size/scale restrictions and you can use whatever parts, materials, tools, and techniques that you wish, including a pinch of magic pixie dust (Figure Realm assumes no responsibility for any accidents resulting from the improper use of pixie dust.)
On a final note, regarding the contests in general, there's been concern expressed to me, from time-to-time, that it's often too easy to guess the identities of contest participants, due to subtle, and not-so-subtle, clues in the presentation of their entries, despite the anonymous nature of the challenges. To some extent that's unavoidable, as we all tend to have unique mannerisms and styles, but I'd just like to encourage everyone (including myself) to try to mix things up a bit to help keep the voters guessing.
Please remember to follow the
Contest Rules and to
Vote Fairly.
Contest Winners:
1st
2nd
3rd
Please wait...
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: | April 30th, 2012 - Last day for submissions. No exceptions! Cut off is at midnight Central Standard Time. |
| Voting: | May 1st - 7th. |
Example Pictures for Ideas
View Contest Entries 
User Comments
As RedRebelCustoms just mentioned, there was discussion, some time ago, when this contest idea was first suggested, as to what should, or should not, be included as subject matter. While I could have gone with a more restrictive classification, I generally try to provide a lot of creative freedom to the customizers, which, in turn, I feel helps to garner more participation for the contests. Sure, with a broader definition, we might get some entries that are questionable, but, by and large, I think most of the submissions will be on the mark.