Welcome to Middle-Earth Custom Contest
Most if not all of today's fantasy and science fiction writers are inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien's work; including not only books but also films, music and paintings. Dungeon's and Dragons, George Lucas, J.K. Rowling, Stephen King, Led Zepplin and many-many more were inspired in some way by Tolkien. So Let’s dust off those Tolkien Books, flip thru the pages, enter the world he created and see what inspires you to turn characters or places into Customs, Dioramas or both combined. Any Tolkien style character/place is allowed, whether it's the First, Second or Third Age. They can be from Tolkien Books, Lord of the Rings Games and the Lord of the Rings / Hobbit Movies.
The Tolkienverse has so many characters and locations in it to choose from. Most of you know the popular characters and places from the movies and games but those are just the tip of the iceberg. There is an extensive history of Middle-earth. How much of Middle-earth do you know? For those whose knowledge comes only from the Movies, Did you know that the Middle-earth Map once looked different in the First Age. A Large amount of land called Beleriand once extended West past the Blue Mountains before it was completely destroyed in a Great War called the War of Wrath. There also once was an Island in the Second Age called Númenor; from that Island came the Ancestors of Aragorn. Even as powerful as Sauron was, he once himself served an even more powerful Dark Lord, the First Dark Lord Morgoth. Long before Rings of Power were sought and fought over, it was three Brilliant Jewels; the most renowned of all the works of Elves - The Silmarils!
I won’t go listing examples of mainstream Lord of the Ring / Hobbit Characters / Locations as most of you know them. Here are just some Examples/Ideas, in case you are not a hardcore Tolkien fan and want to try one not from the movies:
(The Valar) Manwë, the King of the Valar. Melkor/Morgoth, the Dark Power. Varda, the Queen of the Valar. Ulmo, Lord of Water. Aulë, Lord of Earth. Tulkas, Champion of Valinor. Nienna, Lady of Mercy. Yavanna, Lady of Earth.
(The Maiar) Eönwë, Chief of the Maiar along with Ilmarë. Arien, guardian of the Sun. Melian, a Maia that became Queen of Doriath by marring the Elven King Elu Thingol. Ossë, guardian of the waters. Thorondor, King of the Eagles. (Sauron and the Wizards fall under this group as they also are Maiar)
(Elves) Finwë, the first High King of the Ñoldor. Fëanor, maker of the Silmarils. Turgon, King of Gondolin in Beleriand and once bearer of the sword Glamdring. Eärendil, half-elven son of Tuor and Princess Idril; Father to both (Elrond, Lord of Rivendell) and (Elros, First King of Númenor). Lúthien, wife of the mortal Beren and daughter of King Elu Thingol.
(Dwarves) King Durin I, Eldest of the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves. King Durin IV, joined Gil-galad and Elendil in the Last Alliance. Dis, a Dwarf Princess and sister to Thorin Oakenshield; mother of Fili and Kili. Grór, founder and first Lord of the Iron Hills. Narvi, a Great Dwarven Craftsman; along with elf friend Lord Celebrimbor they made the mighty Doors of Durin. Azaghâl, King of the Broadbeam Dwarves in the Blue Mountains.
(Men) Barahir, Lord of the House Bëor. Beren, son of Barahir and hero during the First Age; husband to Princess Lúthien. Halmir, Lord of the House of Haleth, among the most famed of the Haladin. Hador, Lord of the House of Marach; First Lord of Dor-lómin. Húrin, one of the greatest warrior of men in the First Age. Tuor, Hero of Men; husband to Princess Idril; grandfather to both Elrond and Elros.
(Others) Tom Bombadil, an enigmatic figure that lived throughout the history of Middle-earth. Stone-giants of the Misty Mountains and North Moors. Gothmog, Lord of the Balrogs during the First Age. Ancalagon the Black, Largest and Greatest of all winged dragons.
(Places) Angband, Melkor/Morgoth's Fortress. Royal Palace of Armenelos, Capital of Númenor and founded by Elros, brother of Elrond. Belegost, Great Dwarven Kingdom of the Broadbeams in the Blue Mountains. Gondolin, the Hidden City of Elves in Beleriand. The Stone of Erech. The Two Trees of Valinor.
Trust me; the list can go on and on. There is a huge variety to choose from and if you need help or information please don’t hesitate to ask.
Creating New Customs/Diorama's is what this contest is about. The entering of previously posted Middle-earth Customs/Diorama's as a contest entry is not allowed. With that said, you are allowed to use previous Middle-earth posts for secondary pictures. An Example would be your new contest entry interacting with a previous custom/diorama for a action shot or group shot. As not to confuse Voters on what they are Voting on; the Thumbnail (1st) Picture must contain only the New Custom/Diorama you entered into the contest.
The challenge has been set - So go, research, find a character or place you are interested in, get to customizing and remember to have fun! Great Tales will be told of this contest, don't be one of those that missed out on this grand adventure! There are no Size Restrictions, so bring on those Dragons, Stone-giants and Trolls! Dioramas are allowed, "Break the Dam...Release the River...of Creativity!
Please remember to follow the
Contest Rules and to
Vote Fairly.
Contest Winners:
1st
2nd
3rd
| Size Restrictions: | None |
| Dioramas Allowed: | Yes |
| Original Characters Allowed: | No |
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: | January 15th, 2018 - Last day for submissions. No exceptions! Cut off is at midnight Central Standard Time. |
| Voting: | January 16th - 22nd. |
| Managed By: | Red Wolf Kustoms |
Example Pictures for Ideas
View Contest Entries User Comments
"Unfortunately, due to the lack of recent entries, the custom contests have been shut down. Any contests that are currently running will finish as normal."
Maybe the administrators will bring back the contests after a break period, if they do then believe me after getting my feet wet I have a few contests Ideas in mind!
"Even darkness must pass.
A new day will come.
And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer." - Samwise the Brave
Well, maybe because the superhero-section is exhausted.
WE few can easily come up with a ton of ideas...each month.
Middle earth offers almost unlimited potential.
To pay homage to Red Wolf, we should all create a custom of Grond.
CHEERS, guys !
Could be 18.5 hours from now or 24 hours from now. Either way the results will be on the 23rd.
Savour the moment!
But seriously I love how few comments we get compared to super hero stuff xD
Yeah I get what you mean I’ve always said the same it just makes one realise how saturated superhero interest is which whilst I love marvel and dc and others and collect action figures from all things I get extremely into detail with Tolkien. I was watching the Dwarves run from the Wargs into the hidden valley of Imladris and looking at each one going oh there’s the knife I made or remembering making Oins tunic or particular things and reminiscing (just glad that’s over haha) and of course others do the same with super hero stuff I just appreciate people making weaponry or face sculpts and mad hair more than getting spiderman eyes right (which I’ve also been guilty of haha). Glad we got in with a Tolkien contest “at the end of all things” competition wise, so regardless of results let’s all take an opportunity to say thanks to you RedWolf for organising this event and of course we will all keep on customising. I have 4 new works already started that I didn’t have time to add but been putting them off and I’m blabbering on again, anyway round of applause to all submissions and several cheers for RedWolf!
Almost fitting there was nine Customs in the Contest.
"Elrond: Nine customs. So be it. You shall be the Fellowship of the Realm.
Pippin: Great! Where are we going?"
A contest is over when the deadline for voting expires, which for this contest is 1/22/18. Results to all past contests can be viewed by selecting Custom Search under Features Section (Top left of the Realm Web Page). Once you click on Custom Search, select browse by Contest.
Hope this helps you. Thanks for stopping by!
Pippin: "I didn’t think it would end this way.”
Gandalf: “End? No, the journey doesn’t end here. Having no more contests is just another path… One that we all must take. Contest's or Not, Middle-earth Customs will continue to be sent out, and many ideas will still come to pass… and when you look under the new customs section, then you see it.”
Pippin: “What? Gandalf? See what?”
Gandalf: “Concepts brought into existence.. be they Middle-earth or beyond. Knowing a Customizer worked passionately to show their creations here, sometimes even working thru the nights until sunrise.”
Pippin: “Well, that isn’t so bad.”
Gandalf: “No, no, it isn’t.”
I hope, you are doing fine, man !? You know who you are...
All the entries are amazing !!!!!
hiiiiiddeeeeen ?
Congrats to you guys, for completing in time !
Aaah, Edgy 3 is confident of victory !
That‘s so cute !
I‘m immensely looking forward to see your guys creations !
The descriptions are very, very promising !
CHEERS !
Gimli: Never thought I'd Customize side by side with an Elf.
Legolas: What about side by side with a friend?
Gimli: Aye. I could do that!
“Glad to be with you RedWolf, here at the end of all submissions”
"Unfortunately, due to the lack of recent entries, the custom contests have been shut down. Any contests that are currently running will finish as normal."
To all you busy artists, who might struggle with the deadline : no more second breakfast ! No more elevensies and from now on : skip afternoon tea !
Just take a bite of lembas-bread, while working on your awesome creations !
My lifesize-model of Dol Guldur is finished...only have to wait for the helicopter-flight, to take pictures of it, on sunday, ha haha ! Ups, did I just blabber out something ?
Have a great and productive weekend, fellows !
Cheers !
One Contest to rule them all, One Contest to find them, One Contest to bring them all and in the Realm bind them!
We have just agreed... [falls asleep]
Merry:
Yes?
Treebeard:
[wakes up] I have talked to the Entmoot and it is agreed... the Contest still has four days left.
Pippin:
Well, that's good news.
Merry:
What about the customs? We are running out of time?
Treebeard:
Now, don't be hasty, master Meriadoc...
Merry:
Hasty? Our friends are out there! They need more time! Some may not finish by the deadline!
Treebeard:
Time, yes. It affects us all, glue, putty and paint. But you must understand, young Hobbit, it sometimes takes a long time to customize anything. And we never customize anything unless it is worth taking the time to do so. The Ents cannot hold back the deadline. We must weather such things as we have always done.
Pippin:
Look, the customizers! They're entering their customs!
Treebeard:
Bru-rah-rhum!
Merry:
Yes...!
Treebeard:
Come, my friends. The Contest is yet to be over. It is likely that more will be entered soon...the First March of Middle-earth Customs!
In the spirit of King Theoden;
Arise! Arise, Customizers of the Realm! Great deeds await, doesn't matter if you're a beginner or master! Inspiration shall be Tolkien, let your hurdles be shattered! It's a customizing-day, a building-day, win or not...your Custom is the True Prize!
Create now!... Create now!...
Admitidley im posting mine last minute assuming I finish in time as so much work it’s killing me xD
Maybe an exception, that it‘s allowed to submit MORE than three figures, each ? This limitation is KILLING me, man ! Haha !
Don’t know what to do with the rest of the remaining week.
Guys, I‘m SO stoked !
You can make it !
Regards !
I do feel if the time line was pushed back we would have more entries. Can't Wait To See all your works!!!
Hope '18 brings us all Sucess and Happiness !!!!!!!!!!!!
*holds up boombox playing Rocky theme song*