DENVER, March 19, 2015 – Calling all builders, tinkerers, designers, and creators! PCC is thrilled to announce a groundbreaking contest in which you can design, build, and show off your very own models at DPCC’15 —plus win mind-blowing prizes along the way. Judged by the CoMMiES (Colorado Model Militia Enjoying Sci-Fi) organization, this unique, family-friendly contest is an exciting addition to Denver Pop Culture Con’s all-new Pop Culture Classroom La-Bohr-atory.
Running from May 23th to May 25nd, the CoMMiES model competition, which combines aspects of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, & Math) and pop culture, offers a one-of-a-kind experience for participants. Not only will competitors be in the running for tickets to DPCC’16, prize packages with DPCC swag, but the four winners will get to have their models on display throughout DPCC and featured prominently on the PCC website. If this sounds like something you’re interested in, read onward!
To enter the contest, please follow this link and fill out the survey form by May 20, 2015. All participants must purchase tickets to one or all three days of DPCC’15 by the time of the competition. Applications will be considered on a first-come, first-serve basis, with submissions capped at 100 participants per day.
About the Competition
Whether you’re an origami master, a mechanical genius, or Lego guru, this model competition is for you. The competition is open to all ages and is limited to 2 models per participant.
Materials used and contest categories are fairly open to interpretation, though we highly encourage you build something that relates in some way to pop culture—whether that be comics, cartoons, games, movies, real-world subjects, or otherwise. Past submissions have included plastic models of the Star Wars spaceships, paper models of DC Superheroes like Batman, and detailed recreations of fantasy worlds from bird’s eye view.
Suggested categories:
- Mecha Models: robots power suits featured in Gundam cartoons and movies like Chappie and Pacific Rim.
- Vehicles: Real-space and science fiction space vehicles, as well as atmospheric, ground, and sea craft. Millennium Falcon, anyone?
- Creature: Animals, dinosaurs, monsters, and the like.
- Figure: Human/humanoid beings, including representations of anime characters and cartoons.
- Dioramas: Settings, alien landscapes, and fantasy worlds. Dioramas will be judged in part by the strength of the theme or story.
Competition Submission & Rules
To enter the contest, please follow this link and fill out the survey form by May 20, 2015. All participants must purchase tickets to one or all three days of DPCC’15 by the time of the competition. Applications will be considered on a first-come, first-serve basis, with submissions capped at 100 participants per day.
Additional rules:
- Every participant must select one day during DPCC’15 (May 23rd -25th) for his or her work to undergo judging.
- Participants must bring and register models to the Pop Culture Laboratory by 11:00 AM on their chosen judging day. Models will be placed in a secure area to ensure their integrity and safety during judging.
- Daily contest winners will be announced at the end of each day by 4:30PM.
- The overall winner will be announced on May 25th by 4:30 PM.
- All models—excluding winners—MUST be picked up by 5:00 PM of the competitor’s judging day. Winning pieces can either be picked up the last day of DPCC’15 or can be picked up at the offices of Pop Culture Classroom after 06/01/2015.
About the Judges
According to CoMMiES founders Daniel Holmes, Rob Merrill, and Brad Guy, the club was formed out of a common desire to share in the enjoyment of scale modeling—and, of course, show off what they were building. After meeting on a science fiction modeling forum, these three masters of the small-scale soon began recruiting members and running modeling contests. Since then, they have gained members from all across the world.
In addition to the contest, the CoMMiES will also be providing free “Make-and-Take” sessions at the PCC Lab in 2015. Novice modelers will be provided materials, tools, and instruction to help builders construct their own model kit from paper or plastic. There will also be demos for older, more seasoned modelers interested in re-sparking their modeling passion.
In all, the CoMMiES founders consider scale modeling is more than a hobby—it’s an art form that anyone can learn to embrace. According to Brad Guy, “Those who are interested in pop culture in 2015 can find a lot of satisfaction in building a piece of that culture with their own hands.” More than anything, they say, the CoMMiES is about enjoying the craft itself. “We have one rule, and that’s to have fun,” explains Daniel Holmes, though Rob Merrill puts it in even simpler terms: “Largely, we just like gluing things together.”
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