RPF 2014 Halloween Costume Contest - WINNERS ANNOUNCED!

First - congrats to the winners! As always, it's a blast looking at all the hard work in the build threads and getting to see the great work showcased like this.

And I have to say from my POV, this is one of the best costume contests to enter. No contest is going to be perfect, but this one is pretty awesome for what it is.

My son is 13 and this was his first year creating a costume and competing on his own - is it fair that he was up against 20 and 30 year olds with years of experience and more online friends than he does? Yeah - because the rules are the rules - the only thing that would make them unfair is if they change or are applied unequally.

We knew going in that his chances of winning with these odds were nil, but winning wasn't the point - it was sharing the costume, the work and KNOWING there were people here who would appreciate it. The comments he got on his thread were just as significant to his confidence and encouragement as were the 5 votes he got. That said, I only had one vote per category, and it was not easy, but I made sure to try to go in and comment on those costumes that stood out to me and I think there are others who do that as well. If you can't vote for ALL the costumes you love, here you can at least go and comment and encourage them.

Had there not been a contest, or had he not entered the contest, who knows if as many people would have seen LEGO Benny... the way it is, there is more of a concentration of people looking at costume contest threads and the gallery is a wonderful way to be able to see quickly what's being made and knowing there are build threads for it.

What also makes this contest so great is the intimate size of it. There are a couple other contests on line where THOUSANDS of people enter and hardly anyone even gets a comment - it's just impossible to go through all the contestants see everyone's costume... so we don't even bother to look - and I doubt we'll ever enter those again.

Anyway, thanks Michael for all the work you put into this thing and congrats again to all the winners, and those who didn't get it this year, please enter again!
 
These contests get worse every year and I predicted exactly who would win because I know how these contests work as they are too easily predictable.

I don't really want to get into this too much but I would like to state a few things which could easily be misunderstood about my particular circumstance:

1) You cannot just throw money at a 3d printer and get good results. Like any other process it takes a ridiculous amount of time, effort, and skill, all of which is evident if you browse my thread. If I hadn't had access to the 3d printer it would merely have taken me more time to get the exact same results. I wouldn't have settled for less.

2) I asked a grand total of TWO people to vote for me.

3) I can move in my costume very well and it is not only useful as a statue.

4) This was the first costume I ever made, and I didn't make it just to enter contests. I made it because I'm passionate about this particular character and wanted to do her justice.


I understand how hard it can be to be lacking in time and/or money, but you can't start excluding people for having those things. No one has exactly the same amount of either. Where would you even draw the line? The RPF should be an inclusive community for people passionate about making. All I saw in the other entries was a immense amount of passion and skill, regardless of other factors.
 
I believe everyone who entered did phenomenal jobs with the skill levels they have. Whether you win or you lose, it doesn't matter. I actually think the contest is more interesting every year. Just because you don't win doesn't mean you have to be bitter. It's called try again next year.

Also the RPF encourages you to share and asks for votes if that's your cup of tea. I see nothing wrong with it. Most of the people that actually took the time out to vote, already had screenames on here from previous builds. My costume build was posted with my photo for everyone to look at. And if I asked someone to vote, I put the link to where the could view said build, so the progress and hard work on my costume was in plain sight. No one's holding a gun to anyone's head. That's not how this works...that's not how any of this works.

Also, I probably spent all of $100 to $150 on my costume over the course of 8 months. If that...because COUPONS. And cheap materials. Sure I used leather and better quality materials for somethings...but if I can find cheap resin with a 40% off coupon at Michaels or back fun foam and eva foam to strengthen it...you bet your ass I'm using it! Shouldn't matter what it costs. In fact, I have seen the most amazing costumes whipped up for under $50 with stuff laying around someone's house or from Goodwill! Why should it even bloody matter??
 
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I don't really want to get into this too much but I would like to state a few things which could easily be misunderstood about my particular circumstance:

1) You cannot just throw money at a 3d printer and get good results. Like any other process it takes a ridiculous amount of time, effort, and skill, all of which is evident if you browse my thread. If I hadn't had access to the 3d printer it would merely have taken me more time to get the exact same results. I wouldn't have settled for less.

2) I asked a grand total of TWO people to vote for me.

3) I can move in my costume very well and it is not only useful as a statue.

4) This was the first costume I ever made, and I didn't make it just to enter contests. I made it because I'm passionate about this particular character and wanted to do her justice.


I understand how hard it can be to be lacking in time and/or money, but you can't start excluding people for having those things. No one has exactly the same amount of either. Where would you even draw the line? The RPF should be an inclusive community for people passionate about making. All I saw in the other entries was a immense amount of passion and skill, regardless of other factors.

I agree Talaaya I also only had 3 votes so hardly the third place winner being picked as the Judges pick. This too was my first costume and it took 9 months to finish and yes the grand total added up to a bit more than most because 1) It was the first costume I've made and I goofed up a few times 2) some of the materials were pricey but were the most accurate I could find 3) it was all worth it.

3D printing was a means to an end. I needed a few hundred of the silver slats for my belts and they had to be thin, light, and strong. It took a week or two to perfect the design and after several prints we got it right. Then there was the acetone polishing and then the painting, all by hand. A few other little pieces like the medallions at the kneels were printed but they were accents and the other 99% of the armor was all made by hand.

I can move fairly well, it's actually very comfy but stairs can be some effort. My only issue is... the bathroom!
 
Hey, is anyone else still waiting for the prize gift certificate? I've responded to the message from Art several times and have had no response.. I'm not really in a rush or anything, but not hearing back after multiple messages is kinda weird..
 
Hey, is anyone else still waiting for the prize gift certificate? I've responded to the message from Art several times and have had no response.. I'm not really in a rush or anything, but not hearing back after multiple messages is kinda weird..

I'll ping him for ya.
 
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