Generic Contest Discussion

[Ngoc Nguyen]

5 minutes ago, msk6003 said:

minifigure scale technic car?

Isnt that just Technifying Speed Champion Contest

[bruh]

2 hours ago, Ngoc Nguyen said:

I guess that ship has sailed then 

How about just a size limit contest. Build a vehicle that fits inside a 11x19 base.

I also have some other contest ideas but they might not fit the small scale of an end of year contest.

I like the small size limit idea. Leaves room for more ingenuity for components and such.

[Ngoc Nguyen]

20 minutes ago, bruh said:

I like the small size limit idea. Leaves room for more ingenuity for components and such.

We can call it Technic Base Contest, or even better, Back to Base-sic Contest 

[bruh]

4 minutes ago, Ngoc Nguyen said:

We can call it Technic Base Contest, or even better, Back to Base-sic Contest 

That's perfect hahaha!

[artemisovsky]

It wouldn't be a bad idea to do an easier competition once in a while, which will attract more participants - 10€ set contest with requirement to build model A and B from the same elements and parts limit. If, in addition, the regulations included the possibility using pneumatics or motorization set, we wouldn't competing with TLG sets and the results may be interesting.

[JoKo]

34 minutes ago, artemisovsky said:

It wouldn't be a bad idea to do an easier competition once in a while, which will attract more participants - 10€ set contest with requirement to build model A and B from the same elements and parts limit. If, in addition, the regulations included the possibility using pneumatics or motorization set, we wouldn't competing with TLG sets and the results may be interesting.

I like the easy contest idea. Size limit would fit perfectly

Not sure i fully understand your 10€ idea. Designing a 100-120 pieces set with A and B model would be a fun challenge but including electronics if we aim at a 10€ cost seems weird.

[artemisovsky]

45 minutes ago, JoKo said:

Not sure i fully understand your 10€ idea. Designing a 100-120 pieces set with A and B model would be a fun challenge but including electronics if we aim at a 10€ cost seems weird.

You can make a contest with mini models in 2 ways:
1. Design a mini set with max 160-170 parts which may be released as an official set because it does not contain expensive parts - actuators, pneumatics, motors or hubs.
2. Crazy version - only limitation is the number of parts (e.g. 200) with possibility of using rare large and expensive components.
Both options have their advantages but also disadvantages.
These are just suggestions to encourage more people with lack of time to participate in the contest.

Edited December 1, 2025 by artemisovsky

[howitzer]

1 hour ago, artemisovsky said:

It wouldn't be a bad idea to do an easier competition once in a while, which will attract more participants - 10€ set contest with requirement to build model A and B from the same elements and parts limit. If, in addition, the regulations included the possibility using pneumatics or motorization set, we wouldn't competing with TLG sets and the results may be interesting.

This sounds fun, though I'd reframe it as "Small set contest" with rules requiring a limited number of parts (such as 150 total) and requirement to present 2 different models made of those parts (not required to use every part in each model). Also electronics, pneumatics and linear actuators forbidden and no Model Team style of building.

[Zerobricks]

Design a polybag model!

[JoKo]

1 hour ago, howitzer said:

This sounds fun, though I'd reframe it as "Small set contest" with rules requiring a limited number of parts (such as 150 total) and requirement to present 2 different models made of those parts (not required to use every part in each model). Also electronics, pneumatics and linear actuators forbidden and no Model Team style of building.

This could be a great challenge! 

I'm not sure if it will induce more contestants though. Maybe a little tough for a casual builder.

[Jundis]

52 minutes ago, Zerobricks said:

Design a polybag model!

Yes please! :-)

Or 10€ set with max 150 pieces?

1 hour ago, artemisovsky said:

1. Design a mini set with max 160-170 parts which may be released as an official set because it does not contain expensive parts - actuators, pneumatics, motors or hubs.

This!

*edit

[msk6003]

5 hours ago, Zerobricks said:

Design a polybag model!

I like this

[artemisovsky]

There is one problem  with the polybag contest - preparing the model may take only one evening, if not 1-2 hours.
How about a mini set marathon with 3 rounds (or more)?
1st round - time 1 week: technic polybag with parts limit 70
2nd round - time 2 weeks: technic mini animal contest with parts limit 150
3rd round - time 2 weeks: make 10$/10€ technic set with model A and B and parts limit 150
Each stage ends with voting and the results are the sum of points from the three rounds.

[Ngoc Nguyen]

4 hours ago, artemisovsky said:

preparing the model may take only one evening, if not 1-2 hours.

That makes it even better for a small sized contest.

How about combining the polybag idea with the technic base idea. Since the models are poly bag sized maybe the bounding area can be just a 15x11 or 7x11 frame.

[howitzer]

3 hours ago, Ngoc Nguyen said:

That makes it even better for a small sized contest.

How about combining the polybag idea with the technic base idea. Since the models are poly bag sized maybe the bounding area can be just a 15x11 or 7x11 frame.

I don't think there's much point in having a bounding box restriction at polybag scale, considering the builds would be pretty small anyway. I mean, sure you can put a dozen 1x15 liftarms in a row and call it an entry but who would vote for such a thing in this kind of contest?

Anyway, I like the idea of a requirement to build two models from the same set of parts (150 or so max total) because it's much more of a challenge than just a single polybag model.

[Ngoc Nguyen]

1 minute ago, howitzer said:

build two models from the same set of parts

The problem with this requirement is you can't really check the models to see if they comply. 

[howitzer]

1 minute ago, Ngoc Nguyen said:

The problem with this requirement is you can't really check the models to see if they comply. 

When keeping the maximum number of parts small, I wouldn't say that's a problem, people at this forum reverse engineer much larger sets all the time. There could also be a requirement to make a complete list of parts for the entry to be eligible so other people could build the entries to see if they comply.

[Ngoc Nguyen]

Contest Idea for the summer: Make Technic Great Again!

City sets have improved in terms of Technic-based functions while Technic sets seem to stagnate, so why not reclaim the old Technic spirit with a contests about 9 stud wide models + 55982 rims + 58090 tire? That is the scale of 42167 Mack LR. Those dimensions are the closest Technic sets can be to be comparable to City sets while still allow decent space for some functions. This scale is also very fun and challenging to work with. I know it's possible because I made one or two in that scale.  Also, there haven't been many official sets on that scale, so there are ample rooms to explore.

Edited December 3, 2025 by Ngoc Nguyen

[Paul B Technic]

That is a great idea.

[JoKo]

OK, it looks like there is a consensus about a small set with B model. 

I would personally push the max piece count to 250 pieces to allow for more diverse functions. I'm afraid we'll end with very basic entries  if we only have 150 pieces to play with. I would also suggest to allow one pull-back motor because they are widely available in quite cheap sets. And it would give us a power source that can be used in creative ways!

So, what do you think? what is the ideal piece count to make this contest simple, accessible and interesting?

[Jim]

How do you keep track of the piece count while building? And how do we judge entries?

[Jundis]

2 hours ago, Jim said:

How do you keep track of the piece count while building?

Provide a digital model, which can be dissected by the users for inspection. Should be easy to upload a .ldd or .io file.

[Jim]

Just now, Jundis said:

Provide a digital model, which can be dissected by the users for inspection. Should be easy to upload a .ldd or .io file.

So we are turning this into a digital contest? Or in a contest with mandatory digital file.

[Jundis]

7 minutes ago, Jim said:

Or in a contest with mandatory digital file.

I'd say both a real and digital model should be required.

2 hours ago, JoKo said:

OK, it looks like there is a consensus about a small set with B model. 

I would personally push the max piece count to 250 pieces to allow for more diverse functions. I'm afraid we'll end with very basic entries  if we only have 150 pieces to play with. I would also suggest to allow one pull-back motor because they are widely available in quite cheap sets. And it would give us a power source that can be used in creative ways!

So, what do you think? what is the ideal piece count to make this contest simple, accessible and interesting?

Thinking about it, you might be right, so we would have model sizes like the 42004 or 42032, so more like 15..20€ range:

*Edit: Or are we too close to the TC22 then?

Edited December 4, 2025 by Jundis

[JoKo]

22 minutes ago, Jim said:

So we are turning this into a digital contest? Or in a contest with mandatory digital file.

Not sure about it... could it discourage people that are not familiar with studio?  

 

15 minutes ago, Jundis said:

I'd say both a real and digital model should be required.

Thinking about it, you might be right, so we would have model sizes like the 42004 or 42032, so more like 15..20€ range:

*Edit: Or are we too close to the TC22 then?

 

Yeah, thats the size I was thinking about.

TC22 had an imposed theme, the size limitation was different and bigger... I think we are good!