Monday, May 19, 2008

Pigs on the Wing: Rules clarifications and a classy entry.

I've certainly been stunned with the volume of emails and posts about the rules for the Pigs on the Wing contest. I'm glad so many of you are concerned about getting your builds right, but, really, this isn't rocket science.

I've posted clarifications to the rules page, and will continue to do so as necessary.



But the best way to show you what needs to be done, I think, is to show you the rules in action. Tim asked me to showcase Polywen's Red TRCTR v2 (above) as a prime example of the rules followed correctly. Be sure to check out the full stream to see the clever way the cow is mounted without using the feet.

Remember the five main rules:

1) The engine must contain 2 1x1 round plates in trans-orange (or trans-neon-orange)
2) Between the pilot and engine there must be 2 1x1 slopes creating the "ribbed for pleasure" effect.
3) The front of the craft must have "hover thingies" (a shovel and a spear-like-piece)
4) The pilot must be a LEGO animal (be sure to check the rules page for a discussion on just what that means for this contest.)
5) The pilot must hang from the rear of the craft. (Again, check the full rules for a discussion on limitations.)

That said, your model doesn't *have* to match up with the above. I'm accepting (and will shortly be posting) all the entires I receive. Just remember that the "follows the rules" part of the scorecard is 40% of the total...

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey, do the Winnie the Pooh Duplo figures count as animals? I have a Pooh and an Eeyore.

Christopher Doyle said...

Polywen:

I'd have to say most of the Disney-related figures would fall under "Duplo scaled Fabuland". The judges might not take off that many points for Eeyore, but I could see Pooh as geting major demerits as being too humanoid.

Personally, I'd recommend sticking with the "generic" animals. ;)

Anonymous said...

Chris
1)When is the entry grid gonna b updated

2)did you get my hotmail email?

Christopher Doyle said...

Adam:

I'll probably update the grid mid-week.
Not sure which of the many Adams you are, but I did reply to the emails I've received.

Nick said...

Chris, is there any rule against parts with stickers? I found a few parts I want to use but they have stickers. I just thought I'd ask before I got too far.

Christopher Doyle said...

Nick:

Stickers (even custom stickers) are fine.

Nick said...

What if said animal doesn't exactly have hands, but still has some form of round thing used to grab to a rod?

Nick said...

Sorry for so many questions, I keep thinking of them after I post.

Do the spear and shovel have to be like they are in both of Tim's where they're in the middle where they're on the bottom and one is over the other, or can they be in the front, but not on the bottom?

Geoffrey said...

I can't say I agree with your classification of the Pooh figure.

Pooh is most definitely a bear, in fact, Winnie the Pooh, Piglet on Ball, Eeyore, and Tigger all are animals.

In the BrickLink catalog, they don't even have arms that move, which the majority of minifigs DO most definitely have as standard.

They're certainly not scaled to LEGO system minifig size, although there is a lack of even approximate dimensional data for these Duplo minfigs. If it were my competition I'd certainly be ruling them as allowable, however, I feel Chris could relax the rules a little, as long as the guidlines for mounting them are followed.

Gambort said...

geoffrey> Actually they are most definitely stuffed toys (see the history of the books).

Geoffrey said...

gambort> There is most definitely a plastic version of the Pooh toy. See link to it on Peeron, which shows it clearly in the picture:

http://www.peeron.com/inv/parts/31267cx1

What polywen's question is about, is does Pooh count as an animal or a human? Since he's a fictional character given humanoid motion characteristics, and based on a bear I'd say he's definitely half and half.

But all the OP wanted to know was: Is he disqualified for the position of animal, as far as the contest is concerned?

Gambort said...

geoffrey> I think you missed the point here. The LEGO toys are based on fictional characters who are based on stuffed toys based on animals. That's a lot of stages back to real animals and a good argument to ban them.

Of course no argument is needed as, ultimately, Chris controls the show (with input from me).

Gambort said...

nick> Sorry I missed your question. No they don't have to be on top of each other but you should have a good reason for them not to be (can't work out how is not a good reason).

Anonymous said...

BTW

I'm totally cool with the ruling to discount the Pooh figures. Just wanted to check. Of course I had a whole hunny bee themed cave racer planned for Pooh. The Pooh sets are the only Duplo sets I own, so I guess I'm out the running for that contest. Heck I might do it for kicks anyways.

Geoffrey said...

Chris - where are the comic or comics you were talking about making??

If there is something that is taking up your comic-making time, please let us know what it is, or at least that it's taking up your time.

I would really like to see where you wanted to go with Donut's "regeneration" or whatever it turns out to be.

Hoping for a new comic (or three) soon - regards Geoff.

Maarten said...

(off topic)
Hey Chris when do you upload today's strip?

Maarten said...

Wups, didn't see your post Geoffrey!

Zacknut said...

Chris-
You forgot to change the header from Iron Man

-Toodles!