Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Pigs on the Wing: More rule clarifications and Entry Grids

First up, the fun stuff: I just posted the starter Entry Grids. We're still clarifying rules, but there are already 10 examples to look at - some in compliance, some with a defiant spirit that refuse to be constrained by anyone's rules, and some inbetween.

Speaking of rules clarifications, here's what I hope to be the final words on the subject of "What is an Animal". I was going to go to the extreme of listing out all the LEGO part numbers, but, really, that's a bit much. I think the following shows what you can use freely - and where you're taking a risk.

From the rules page:
  • The pilot must be a LEGO animal
    • Brickforge and other custom built animals are allowed
    • Megablok and competing major brands, however, are not allowed.
    • When wondering if a particular item counts as a LEGO animal, ask yourself "Does this figure look like a human wearing a costume"? If the answer is "yes", then odds are you're going to lose some points. If the item looks like the animal as you'd see it at the zoo, you're fine.
    • Monkeys are allowed, but be warned: The judges consider their use "too easy" so your build will have to be pretty spectacular to impress them! (Monkeys must be mounted as a "traditional" cave racer - they hang from a pair of handlebars by their front limbs.)
Yes, that's a flip-flop on Monkey use for those of you paying close attention. Since the animal-pilot twist was my contribution to this sub-theme, I figure I'm allowed to change my mind once early on. (Besides, having a Monkey-themed Prize doesn't make a lot of sense if you can't have monkeys in the contest, y'know?)

Anyway, that's it for now. Happy building!

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12 Comments:

Anonymous dave the rave said...

Ok, my entry is ready for entering (I just have to wait for my mom to get home).

Now I wanted to ask: are the bigger, longer spear pieces from #7621 a good substitute for normal spears.

Also can they be placed at both sides (I mean like one shovel, one spear on one side and same thing on the other)?

May 21, 2008 3:16 PM  
Blogger kile said...

So, I'm gonna be finished with mine soon, so I'll send it your way. (Class 3, remember that ;) ) I just need to deicide on my pilot...dinosaur, crab, starfish, rat, what should I use? Sigh. Anywho, I have one last question for you, Chris:
Is the racer able to open in places? (Engine, trunk, etc.) Okay, TWO questions:
Are ya gonna see Indy tommarow?

May 21, 2008 7:46 PM  
Blogger Geoffrey said...

http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=x59

Chris, or Gambort, is this a legal contest animal pilot?

BrickLink lists it as an animal, but I'm unsure if it'd mount onto the paddle part, although it should, if it's short stubby mounting rod fits onto a 1x1 round as portrayed in the set I found it in.

It would certainly make for an unusual entry.

May 22, 2008 5:26 AM  
Anonymous Jeff said...

Wants Lego monkey. Must have Lego monkey.

May 22, 2008 12:20 PM  
Blogger Nick said...

Hey Chris, see how the honey Bee hold the shovel and spear? Is it okay to do it like that where they're separate?

May 22, 2008 5:34 PM  
Blogger Christopher Doyle said...

Nick:

The standard is to have them mounted on top of each other - if you use alternate locations, there'd better be a good design reason for it. You know how grumpy Gambort is about needless deviations....

May 22, 2008 7:21 PM  
Blogger Gambort said...

geoffrey> The fish looks, to me, like it should mount on a paddle.

nick> As for side-mounting the over thingies... given that I never made it explicit that it should be that way I think it's best I don't deduct points for 'rules' breaking if they're not but I am likely to prefer models that do have them on top of each other unless there's a good reason.

May 22, 2008 7:50 PM  
Blogger Gambort said...

Hmmm... missed some words up above... ok, summary is:

hobvr thingies top mounted > hover thingies side mounted

May 22, 2008 7:51 PM  
Blogger Zacknut said...

Hey Chris, you havent changed the pic on the banner, maybe a brickforge pig with wings?

May 22, 2008 9:12 PM  
Blogger Nick said...

My only reason is that it looks a bit better, I'll see what I can work out though.

May 22, 2008 10:49 PM  
Blogger Joshua said...

Quick question, can the same PoW appear in different categories? That is, if I build three PoWs, can I enter each of them as basic PoWs and then use all three of them in a PoW diorama?

Thanks.

May 28, 2008 12:44 AM  
Blogger Christopher Doyle said...

Joshua:
There's nothing in the rules to prevent you from cross-submitting like that.

It's your call if that's going to annoy the judges or not...

May 28, 2008 4:10 AM  

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