2) For the purposes of this contest, Dioramas are defined as any collection of models and/or figures that tells a story, or presents a snapshot in time. Simply adding one or more figures to a model will not qualify it for this category; neither will adding a scenic base. It must be placed in an environment/context, and some sense of action or activity must be conveyed.

For examples and clarification, please see the Discussion Board.

3) You may enter as many models as you like. Each entry must be accompanied by a $5 entry fee. All payment must be made via PayPal through the StarshipModeler Store, by credit card (VISA or MasterCard), check or money order for US dollars, made out to "Starship Modeler". Send payment to: Starship Modeler, PO Box 549, Lake Villa, IL 60046 (USA).

4) All entries must be received by midnight (CST - GMT -6.00) January 17, 2011. Judging will take place between for approximately 10 days afterward. Voting will be performed online by members of the Starship Modeler readership, as well as the staff for Editors' Choice awards. Starship Modeler staff and relatives are not excluded from the entering the competition but cannot win any of the prizes. All judging is final. The Starship Modeler staff will determine the winner in cases of a tie.

5) Entries must include:

You can send your submissions via eMail, or if you are unable to scan your photos, just mail them to: Starship Modeler, PO Box 549, Lake Villa, IL 60046 (USA). Photos WILL NOT be returned unless a properly posted SASE is included. All entries will be posted, as long as they meet these Contest Rules.

6) You can include as little, or as much, of a "back story" explaining the timeline from which your model springs. Lengthy stories will be set apart as a separate link. Please also include some descriptive text on how you built your model! Remember - this is a model contest, not a writer's symposium; tell us about the model.

7) Do not add or subtract detail from your submissions, digitally or otherwise. i.e., do not add starry backgrounds or laser fire. All photos should depict the model, showing off its features and workmanship. We suggest you photograph the model in natural light against a plain, monochromatic background for best results. Scans should be done AT LEAST 100% (200% is better) image size, and at 72 ppi. Do not send images with greater density than 72 ppi, as it dramatically increases download time and we're going to downsample them anyway.

8) Awards will be delivered by mail and sent out within one month of completion of judging.... more or less, depending on how organized we are this time around.

9) Starship Modeler reserves the right not to post images that are deemed distasteful. We're not going to be prudish, but all images should be presented in a tasteful manner. Any hull/nose/wing art, and the like, should forswear the depiction of genitalia, for instance. Think: "Would I show this to my mother?"

10) In the Stock category, detail sets such as aftermarket lighting kits or decals are allowed. While such extra detail could increase your chances to win, quality and creativity of the work is still a major factor in judging.

11) Entries can be models which were completed prior to the contest, but can not be ones that have been previously published anywhere on Starship Modeler. This includes reviews, features, Reader's Gallery entries and completed projects displayed on the forums.

12 Entries are to remain anonymous until the contest ends. Your name will not be attached to your entry(ies) until winners have been announced. This is intended to ensure the playing field remains level. Do not announce on the discussion forums (ours or anyone else's) which entry is yours - until after the voting has ended. Oh, and don't bother eMailing your mom, your siblings and your only friend to vote for Entry Number XX ... it's really, really obvious when that happens and those votes get thrown out.

13 We use Windows machines with Photoshop and the other usual suspects loaded. This means we can take almost anything you want to send - but for the love of all that is holy, Mac users please PLEASE don't make us jump through hoops to decode your esoteric files. Come to think of it, don't anyone else make us jump through hoops either. Send your text description as a text file or a Word document or in the body of your eMail. Send your pictures as JPGs, PNGs or GIFs (JPG is the preferred format). Do not, under any circumstances, send us your pictures as part of a Word file or your whole submission as a PDF. That's just asking for trouble. And by "trouble" we mean "rejecting the submission while drawing cartoon mustaches on all your pictures".

14 We make allowances for people whose first language is not English. In almost every case, however, their written English skills are better than those of the average native English speakers (though here's a special note to German speakers: the first person pronoun "I" is always capitalized in English. Just FYI). Every computer has a [Shift] key - use it. Don't make us go back and capitalize every single word that should have been capitalized (proper nouns, the first letter of a sentence, etc. - c'mon, you learned this in the first grade). ENTRIES TYPED IN ALL CAPS WILL BE SUMMARILY REJECTED. Every word processing program and almost every eMail program has a spell check function - use it! We're not expecting post-graduate level prose - just don't make the editing job harder than it has to be, please.

15) Starship Modeler reserves the right to reject any entry we feel does not meet the guidelines published here, or the underlying spirit of our contest. Don't make us go there.

If you have any questions about these rules or other contest details, please ask us by dropping a note, or use the postal address given above.

Contestants: make sure we have your mailing address!

A link will bring you to the Vote Page, once it becomes active after January 17, 2011.